LOS ANGELES GALAXY v ROMA FC (USASA)
Tue., Aug. 1, Home Depot Center Track & Field Stadium, Carson, Calif. (7:30 p.m. PT)
The defending U.S. Open Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy begin defense of their title as they play host to the real Cinderella of this year's competition, amateur side Roma FC, who knocked out stadium-mates Chivas USA in the third round.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
IN THE OPEN CUP: The defending U.S. Open Cup champions begin defense of their title facing a USASA (adult amateur) team for the first time ever. The Galaxy have reached the U.S. Open Cup Final three times in the last five years, winning in 2001 but losing the following year, before winning the Dewar Trophy for the second time last year in a 1-0 victory against FC Dallas. ... Just once have the Galaxy been dumped out of the Open Cup in their opening match - in 2005, when they 1-0 to the Minnesota Thunder (A-League) in the fourth round. It snapped a run of five consecutive appearances where they reached at least the semifinals. ... The Galaxy have lost just five times in 23 Open Cup matches - two of those coming against Columbus Crew, once in the quarterfinals in 1999, and once in the 2002 final. The other two losses both came to the Fire, in the semifinals in both 2000 and 2003. ... Before '04, the Galaxy's shortest run in the Open Cup came in 1999, when a quarterfinal loss to the Columbus Crew followed a win against the San Diego Flash (A-League).
LAST YEAR: The Galaxy began their run by dumping out stadium-mates Chivas USA with a 5-2 triumph at The Home Depot Center's Track & Field Stadium (Sequeira 4, Ramirez 20 - Jones 16, Ngwenya 36, Gomez 45, Donovan 89, Albright 91+). ... In the quarterfinals, the Galaxy dumped the San Jose Earthquakes out of the U.S. Open Cup for the fourth time ever, getting two goals from Herculez Gomez (5, 31) then surviving going a man down midway through the second half to hold on for a 2-1 victory. ... The Galaxy put an end to the Cinderella run of the USL First Division Minnesota Thunder with a 5-2 semifinal victory on Sept. 13 at The Home Depot Center (Donovan 29, Gomez 44, 81; Marshall 77; Ngwenya 82 - Johnny Menyongar 54; Chad Dombrowski 85). ... Then in the final, Herculez Gomez scored the game's only goal in the 25th minute - his sixth in four Open Cup matches - to give the Galaxy their second Open Cup championship.
ROMA FC
FORM GUIDE: After pulling one of the most surprising results in U.S. Open Cup history in the second round, Roma FC followed it up with perhaps the greatest shock in the entire 93-year history of the competition, defeating Chivas USA on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw in their third round match on July 12 at The Home Depot Center. Ante Razov was sent off after 57 minutes, then Roma FC won 4-2 in the penalty shootout. Roma FC has advanced further in the competition than any USASA side ever since MLS teams started entering the USOC and became the first to defeat an MLS club; previously, the closest a USASA side had come was in 2000 when Florida's uruguay SC fell to the Tampa Bay Mutiny 1-0 in extra time. ... In the second round, Roma FC defeated USL First Division side Miami FC. ... Featuring World Cup winners Romario and Zinho, the Miami team was frustrated all night, the game's lone goal coming from the penalty spot in the 13th minute through John Waters after Zinho was adjudged to have handled the ball. Miami finished the match two men down. ... It was the first time an amateur side has defeated a USL First Division team in Open Cup play, and Roma was just the second club since 1995 to advance even to the third round of the cup.
IN THE OPEN CUP: It's the second time in the tournament proper for Roma FC. A year ago, they hammered Cocoa Expos of the PDL 7-2 in the qualifying round, before defeating fellow Dallas-area USASA side Azzurri FC 5-2 in the first round. In the second round, they lost 5-0 to the PDL's Wilmington Hammerheads.
THIS YEAR: Roma FC entered the competition in the first round, where they took on the Laredo Heat of the PDL. The teams ended in a 2-2 draw before Roma advanced 4-2 on penalty kicks (Flanagan 50, Calandro 116 - Contreras 33, Presas 106). Roma FC advanced out of Region III qualifying in the USASA, where they qualified to the tournament proper out a seven-team final tournament involving teams from Florida, Georgia and Texas.
