The Fourth Round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup continued with seven games on Wednesday. This stage of the United States' longest-running soccer competition will see all 17 US-based MLS teams enter the fray this week. Check out all the results from Wednesday's action below:
LA Galaxy 6
PSA Elite 1
LA: Lletget '15, Zardes '19, Keane '29, '53, '70, Husidic '77
PSA: Salazar '12
CARSON, Calif. -- Robbie Keane scored his first goals since March, and the LA Galaxy made quick work of their fourth-round clash with visiting amateurs PSA Elite.
Keane netted a hat trick and assisted Gyasi Zardes' go-ahead goal as the Galaxy dominated the USASA club from nearby Irvine, the last amateur side in the competition.
UC Riverside's Michael Salazar fired PSA ahead in the 12th minute, finishing a Jose Carrera-Garcia feed, but the Galaxy answered in the 15th and 19th minutes, through Sebastian Lletget and Zardes, Keane added to the tally with strikes in the 29th, 53rd and 70th minutes, and Baggio Husidic added the sixth in the 77th.
There was some controversy to LA's first goal, with Lletget's header from a corner kick seemingly saved on the goal line by defender Trevor Haberkorn, who headed the ball off the crossbar and away from the net. Assistant referee Issam Ashkar ruled the ball had crossed the line.
The Galaxy had a 22-6 shot advantage -- 9-3 in shots on goal -- over PSA, which last year lost 5-0 at Seattle in a fourth-round clash.
-- SCOTT FRENCH
Houston Dynamo 2
Austin Aztex 0
HOU: Miranda '24, Clark '91
HOUSTON – Leonel Miranda’s 24th-minute goal and a stoppage-time score from Ricardo Clark propelled a reserve-laden Houston Dynamo to a 2-0 win Wednesday night over the USL’s Austin Aztex to advance to the Round of 16 in the US Open Cup at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Miranda’s goal came after a sustained spell of knocking the ball around the box, before Alex played the Argentine loanee into space for the opener. With time winding down, newcomer Mauro Manotas highlighted his Dynamo debut with an assist by playing in Clark, who chipped the ball in to ice the game.
The only Houston starter to start and play a full 90 minutes was Raul Rodriguez.
New York Cosmos 2 (4)
New York City FC 2 (3)
COS: Fernandes '65, Mkosana '90
NYC: Poku '24, '57
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Kwadwo Poku struck for a brace, but the New York Cosmos rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat New York City FC in a penalty-kick shootout after the teams played to a 2-2 draw after 120 minutes in a fourth-round US Open Cup match Wednesday night in front of a lively crowd of more than 11,000 at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
Hunter Gorskie scored the winning penalty, and Cosmos goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer made two saves in the shootout. It’s the second time the Cosmos have beaten an MLS team from New York in the Open Cup; last year it was a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in the same round.
NYCFC raced out to a 2-0 led on a pair of goals by Poku – the first an overhead kick in the 24th minute and the second in the 57th minute.
But the Cosmos rallied to force extra time as Leo Fernandes, on loan from the Philadelphia Union, scored in the 65th minute and Lucky Mkosana equalized in the 90th minute.
-- DYLAN BUTLER
Charleston Battery 4 (7)
Orlando City 4 (8)
CHS: van Schaik '58, Kelly '67, Portillo '105+3 (AET), Portillo '116
ORL: Neal '64, Rivas '76, '94 (AET), '105+2 (AET)
Orlando City dodged a US Open Cup bullet in the form of the Charleston Battery, taking a dramatic penalty kick shootout to the 10th round to advance to the Round of 16 with a win over their old USL rivals.
Carlos Rivas was the hat-trick hero, scoring all three from the penalty spot, but the Lions blew a 4-2 lead in extra time to allow the Battery a shootout lifeline in front of their home crowd at Blackbaud Stadium.
Orlando head coach Adrian Heath chose to rest all but three of his regular starters, and the decision almost backfired.
Charleston twice took a second-half lead, only to be pegged back by Lewis Neal in the 64th minute and the first spot-kick by Rivas, which came in the 76th minute.
Rivas then profited from two penalties in extra time to make it 4-2 before Battery staged a late comeback with two goals in the last nine minutes.
Orlando fell behind 2-0 in the shootout, only for goalkeeper Earl Edwards to make two fine saves. The Lions then cashed in with seven straight scores. The clincher came from Danny Mwanga, and Edwards pulled off one final stop in the 10th round for an 8-7 success.
-- SIMON VENESS
New England Revolution 0
Charlotte Independence 1
CLT: Herrera '55
BOSTON, Mass. – The Charlotte Independence made a declaration Wednesday and did so loudly, eliminating the New England Revolution from US Open Cup play with a 1-0 fourth-round victory at Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium.
With a plethora of reserves in the New England lineup, the Revs’ usual high-paced offense was lacking, producing no shots on target in an uneventful first half.
That carried over into the second, and Charlotte took advantage in the 55th minute on a Jorge Herrera bender from about 20 yards out that found the top right corner of the net. Late concerted efforts by the Revs fell short, and the USL side became the first lower-division club to knock off an MLS team in the 2015 tournament.
-- CRAIG FORDE
Richmond Kickers 1
Columbus Crew SC 3
RIC: Owusu '23
CLB: Bedell '17, Finlay '42, Bedell '63
Columbus Crew SC made fairly easy work of the Richmond Kickers, defeating the USL side 3-1 in a fourth-round US Open Cup match at Richmond City Stadium to kick off Wednesday’s slate of games.
Debuting a 3-5-2 formation, as opposed to head coach Gregg Berhalter’s normal 4-2-3-1, Crew SC forward Adam Bedell notched a brace in his first real action of the season with goals on either end of halftime. Ethan Finlay added a 42nd-minute goal that broke a 1-1 tie.
Fred Owusu Sekyere briefly leveled the score for the Richmond Kickers with a 23rd-minute goal.
Crew SC will have captain Michael Parkhurst back in their next Open Cup match, when the defender returns from a red-card suspension from last year's tournament.
-- ANDREW KING
Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1
D.C. United 3
PIT: Vincent '23
DC: Coria '8, Opare '92 (AET), DeLeon '104 (AET)
PITTSBURGH, Penn. -- D.C. United fought off a pesky Pittsburgh Riverhounds side on Wednesday night, riding extra-time goals from Kofi Opare and Nick DeLeon to victory over the USL side at a sold-out Highmark Stadium.
Argentine midfielder Facundo Coria opened his DCU scoring account early in the first half, but Pittsburgh pulled even on a Rob Vincent PK not long after. The Riverhounds, now eliminated, have never advanced past the fourth round of the competition.
-- PABLO MAURER
