It was a busy night for MLS teams in the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday. And after the smoke cleared, the Columbus Crew were the only casualty of the eight, with the Chicago Fire, New York Red Bulls, Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy all moving on to the quarterfinal stage of the contest.
Chicago Fire 1, Rochester Rhinos 0
The Chicago Fire advanced to the quarterfinals by the skin of their teeth, overcoming a very poor first half to defeat the USL-Pro Rochester Rhinos 1-0. A goal from Fire forward Diego Cháves in the 37th minute stood for the remainder of the match, setting up a showdown between the Fire and the New York Red Bulls on July 12. (FULL RECAP: Chicago hang on to edge Rochester)
Columbus Crew 1, Richmond Kickers 2
Matt Delicate scored on a diving header in the 85th minute and a strike by Nozomi Hiroyama in the 20th minute helped Richmond offset a goal from Columbus' Cole Grossman in the 37th to pull off a 2-1 upset of the short-handed Crew. The Kickers will now go on to face Sporting Kansas City on July 12. (FULL RECAP: Columbus upset by Richmond)
New York Red Bulls 2, FC New York 1
Rookies John Rooney and Corey Hertzog helped the Red Bulls avoid the upset against a determined FC New York. The USL side first went up in the score via a 56th minute strike from Owen Morrison, but Hertzog anwered right back with a tally of his own two minutes later. Rooney sealed the match in the 65th minute after driving a shot just past the opposing goalkeeper inside the left post. (FULL RECAP: Rooney, Hertzog lead Red Bulls over FCNY)
Sporting Kansas City 3, Chicago Fire Premier 0
Sporting KC cruised into the quarterfinals with a comfortable 3-0 victory against the Chicago Fire Premier with goals from Teal Bunbury, Milos Stojcev and Kei Kamara. Kansas City will now host the Richmond Kickers in the next round. (FULL RECAP: Sporting cruise past Chicago Premier)
Real Salt Lake 2, Wilmington Hammerheads 0
RSL beat the Wilmington Hammerheads 2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium with goals from Jean Alexandre and Tony Beltran to advance to the next stage of the tournament. Both Beltran and Alexandre scored their goals late in the first half to lead a dominant RSL to victory. The Claret-and-Cobalt will now face FC Dallas in the quarterfinals on July 12. (FULL RECAP: RSL ease past third-div. Wilmington)
FC Dallas 3, Orlando City 2
With just moments to spare, Milton Rodríguez scored a winner in second-half stoppage to help FC Dallas hold off Orlando City 3-2 at Pizza Hut Park. The Lions' Lewis Neal kicked things off in the 24th minute, but FCD rallied back behind Ricardo Villar in the 38th and Jackson in the 50th. FCD entered stoppage time up 2-1, but Orlando City’s Yordany Álvarez hit a cracking volley from outside the 18-yard box to even things up, before Rodríguez scored soon after for the win. (FULL RECAP: Rodriguez pushes FCD past Orlando City)
Seattle Sounders 2, Kitsap Pumas 1
Mike Fucito scored two goals as Seattle survived a late scare to defeat regional rivals Kitsap Pumas 2-1. Fucito tallied in the 39th and 62nd minutes to stake Seattle to a two-goal lead, but the PDL side pulled a goal back in the 71st minute through Nik Besagno. That led to an exciting finish, but in the end, Kitsap could not find the equalizer to force an overtime period. The Sounders will now go on to face the LA Galaxy on July 12. (FULL RECAP: Sounders fight to 2-1 win over Pumas)
LA Galaxy 2, LA Blues 1
Three days after making his debut at goalkepeer, Mike Magee continued his startling run with a game-winning goal as the LA Galaxy beat the LA Blues 2-1. Magee and Omar Gonzalez scored six minutes apart as the Galaxy overcame a deficit. Cesar Rivera had scored in the 62nd minute to give the Blues a surprising lead. (FULL RECAP: Magee the hero as Galaxy stop Blues)
