HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS v D.C. UNITED
Wed., July 11, Hempfield H.S. Stadium, Lancaster, Pa., 7:30 p.m. ET
D.C. United once again takes on a neighboring side when they face the USL Second Division (third tier) Harrisburg City Islanders in Lancaster, located just a couple hours from the nation's capital.
HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS
IN THE OPEN CUP: This is the first year the City Islanders have ever qualified for the tournament proper in the U.S. Open Cup. In their first Open Cup, they defeated Washington, D.C.-area USASA side Aegean Hawks 4-0. After a scoreless first half, Harrisburg got goals from Adam Clay (56), Mo Oduor (68), David Schofield (69) and Steve Fisher (87). ... In the second round, the City Islanders knocked off the PDL Ocean City Barons 2-1 in Ocean City. Leon Brown (42) gave the home side the lead, but goals from Chad Severs (44) and Schofield (48) on either side of halftime sent Harrisburg through.
FORM GUIDE: The City Islanders sit in fourth place in the USL Second Division (third tier) with 25 points from 13 matches. They won their two matches last weekend, defeating Wilmington 2-0 and Charlotte 1-0, both on the road. ... Mo Oduor leads the City Islanders with five goals, while David Schofield has four assists.
D.C. UNITED
IN THE OPEN CUP: The first MLS winners of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, United has been a losing finalist and a three-time semifinalist since, but haven't repeated the inaugural success. In 1996, they became the first club to complete the U.S. double, defeating the Rochester Raging Rhinos 3-0 three days after winning the first MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy. ... The following year, United again reached the Open Cup Final after winning MLS Cup 1997, but lost on penalties to the Dallas Burn after a scoreless draw through 120 minutes. ... United reached the semifinals in 2001, 2003 and last year, losing on each occasion: to the New England Revolution 0-2 in '01, to the MetroStars 2-3 in '03, and to the Chicago Fire 0-3 last year. ... United have been dumped out of the competition at the first time of asking on two occasions - the loss in both instances coming to lower-division opposition, in 1999 to the Charleston Battery and then in 2004 to the Richmond Kickers.
LAST YEAR: United passed their first U.S. Open Cup test, but it didn't come easy, defeating the Columbus Crew 2-1 in extra time in the fourth round on Aug. 1 at the Maryland Soccerplex (Moreno 22, Walker 93 - Marshall 18) ... In the quarterfinal, Jamil Walker's two goals sent United through with a 3-1 win. With the score knotted at 1-1, Walker scored in the 64th minute on a header and later in the 84th minute. Josh Gros put D.C. on the scoreboard with a goal in the 37th minute, but New York's Amado Guevara tied the match four minutes later. ... In the semifinals, the Chicago Fire defeated United 3-0 on their way to a fourth U.S. Open Cup title in club history (Mapp 58; Carr 76, 91+)
