CHICAGO (Wednesday, July 14, 2004) – The four quarterfinal pairings for the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup have been determined as the fourth round of the tournament is set to kickoff tonight in Portland, Ore., when the Portland Timbers (A-League) host the San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) in the Timbers’ first ever Open Cup match.

All 16 of the remaining teams represent Major League Soccer and the A-League, the top two divisions in the U.S.  The Chicago Fire are the defending champions, and are the only team left in the tournament with multiple Open Cup crowns (1998, 2000, 2003) to their name.

To make it through to the semifinals again this year, the Fire will have to beat at least two former Open Cup winners on the road. Their fourth round match sends them to face the 2002 champion Columbus Crew (MLS), and, if they advance, their quarterfinal will be at either 1996 champion D.C. United (MLS) or 1995 champion Richmond Kickers (A-League).

With six of the last nine champions in one quarter of the bracket, the only other former champions still in contention are the Dallas Burn (1997), Rochester Raging Rhinos (1999) and Los Angeles Galaxy (2001). Each of these teams is set in a different quarterfinal draw, meaning that with a victory they would not face off until the semifinals.

Geographical pairings and host proposals received from each club determined match-ups, as they will through the quarterfinals of the tournament. Complete U.S. Open Cup schedules, results and news are available on the competitions page of ussoccer.com.

At stake in the tournament is $180,000 in prize money broken down as follows: $100,000 to the champion, $50,000 to the runner up and $10,000 to the team which advances deepest in the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels.

In 2004, two Division III teams from the Pro Soccer League and four amateur teams from the Premier Development League tied for the prize money in their respective divisions. The Wilmington Hammerheads and the Utah Blitzz of the PSL each left the tournament with $5,000 in prize money, while the Boulder Rapids Reserve, Cape Cod Crusaders, Carolina Dynamo and Chicago Fire Reserves split the $10,000 prize four ways.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

U.S. Open Cup Schedule
Round 4
#     Date     Teams                 Venue; City     Time
25     July 14     San Jose Earthquakes at Portland Timbers     PGE Park; Portland, Ore.         7 p.m. PT
26     July 20     Los Angeles Galaxy at Minnesota Thunder     Metrodome; Minneapolis, Minn.         7 p.m. CT
27     July 20     Colorado Rapids at Dallas Burn         Cotton Bowl; Dallas, Texas         7 p.m. CT
28     July 20     Rochester Raging Rhinos at New England Revolution     Lusitano Stadium; Ludlow, Mass.         7:30 p.m. ET
29     July 20     Chicago Fire at Columbus Crew         Columbus Crew Stadium; Columbus, Ohio     7:30 p.m. ET
30     July 20     Kansas City Wizards at Atlanta Silverbacks     DeKalb Stadium; Clarkston, Ga.         7:45 p.m. ET
31     July 20     MetroStars at Charleston Battery         Blackbaud Stadium; Charleston, S.C.     7:30 p.m. ET
32     July 21     D.C. United at Richmond Kickers     Univ. of Richmond Stadium; Richmond, Va.     7 p.m. ET

Quarterfinals
#     Date     Teams                 Venue; City     Time
33     Aug. 4    Winner 25 vs. Winner 26
                         Los Angeles Galaxy or Minnesota Thunder at Portland Timbers     PGE Park; Portland, Ore.        7 p.m. PT
                        San Jose Earthquakes at Los Angeles Galaxy    Titan Stadium; Fullerton, Calif.        7: 30 p.m. PT
                        San Jose Earthquakes at Minnesota Thunder    James Griffin Stadium; St. Paul, Minn.    7 p.m. CT
34    Aug. 4    Winner 27 vs. Winner 30   
                        Colorado Rapids or Dallas Burn at Kansas City Wizards    Blue Valley Athletic Complex; Overland Park, Kan.    7:30 p.m. CT
                        Colorado Rapids or Dallas Burn at Atlanta Silverbacks    Dekalb Memorial Stadium; Clarkston, Ga.    7:45 p.m. ET
35   Aug. 4    Winner 29 vs. Winner 32
                        Chicago Fire or Columbus Crew at Richmond Kickers    Univ. of Richmond Stadium; Richmond, Va.    7 p.m. ET
                        Chicago Fire or Columbus Crew at D.C. United    RFK Stadium; Washington, D.C.    7:30 p.m. ET
36    Aug. 4    Winner 28 vs. Winner 31
                        MetroStars or Charleston Battery at Rochester Raging Rhinos    Frontier Field; Rochester, N.Y.    7:30 p.m. ET
                        New England Revolution at MetroStars    Yurcak Field; Piscataway, N.J.    7:30 p.m. ET
                        New England Revolution at Charleston Battery    Blackbaud Stadium; Charleston, S.C.    7:30 p.m. ET