CHARLESTON BATTERY v HOUSTON DYNAMO
Tue., July 10, Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, S.C., 7:30 p.m. ET
Charleston has never been a terribly hospitable host for MLS teams in Open Cup play, and this year the USL First Division Battery will be taking on Houston Dynamo, who reached the semifinals a year ago in their first season in Texas.
CHARLESTON BATTERY
U.S. OPEN CUP: Another USL team with a rich pedigree in U.S. Open Cup play - especially at their Blackbaud Stadium home, always a tricky proposition for MLS teams. Three times MLS teams have gone down to defeat in Charleston: D.C. United in the third round in 1999 (3-4 aet), the first visit by an MLS club to Blackbaud Stadium; MetroStars in the fourth round in 2001 (1-4); and MetroStars again in 2004, in the fourth round (0-1). ... A year ago, they nearly made it a fourth, but Kenny Cooper scored the third goal in his hat trick in the final minute of extra time, and FC Dallas advanced on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw. ... Each time the Battery have knocked off an MLS team, they have later seen their Open Cup run ended by an MLS side, twice in the semifinals (1999, Colorado Rapids 3-0; 2004, Chicago Fire 1-0 aet).
THIS YEAR: The Battery's Open Cup run began with a 3-0 victory against PDL side Central Florida Kraze in the first round. Stephen Armstrong opened the scoring in the fifth minute and Luke Vercollone added two before the half was out (12, 42). ... In the second round, the Battery scraped through against lower-level competition. Anthony Catalano scored the game's only goal 15 minutes from the end to give Charleston a 1-0 win against USL2 El Paso Patriots.
FORM GUIDE: The Battery currently sit in seventh place in the USL First Division with 20 points from 16 matches. They come into the match off a scoreless draw with the Puerto Rico Islanders last Saturday, extending their winless streak to four matches. ... Byron Alvarez leads the Battery with six goals and an assist, while Stephen Armstrong has five goals.
HOUSTON DYNAMO
IN THE OPEN CUP: A year ago, in their first season in Houston, Dynamo reached the semifinals of the competition. ... It followed a distinguished record the San Jose Earthquakes had in the competition. They entered the Open Cup on eight occasions, and seven times, reached at least the quarterfinals. However, they advanced beyond that stage just one time - in 2004, when they lost 1-0 to the Kansas City Wizards in the semifinals. On four occasions the Los Angeles Galaxy dumped out the Earthquakes at the quarterfinal round (2000, 2001, 2002, 2005). ... The Earthquakes twice lost to lower-division competition. In 1997, they lost 2-1 to the D3 Pro League San Francisco Bay Seals, then in 2003 lost 1-0 to the A-League Seattle Sounders.
LAST YEAR: In the club's first-ever Open Cup match, Houston Dynamo advanced with a 4-2 victory against the Carolina Dynamo of the PDL (fourth tier) ... Alejandro Moreno scored a pair of goals four minutes apart in the first half, then when Ronald Cerritos made it 3-0 on 58 minutes, the match seemed over. But Wells Thompson and Randi Patterson scored 10 minutes apart to pull the Carolina Dynamo within one, but Eddie Robinson headed home eight minutes from time to put the game away. ... In the quarterfinals, Dynamo continued their dominance against FC Dallas with a 3-0 win Aug. 23 at the Carl Lewis Sports Complex (Robinson 13, Moreno 57, Chris Wondolowski 61). ... In the semifinals, the Galaxy defeated Houston Dynamo 3-1 at The Home Depot Center (Gordon 6, Donovan 44, Quaranta 93+ - De Rosario 12).
