CHICAGO (May 23, 2023) – Opening night of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 was highlighted by FC Cincinnati settling an old score by advancing past the New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy dumping their cross-town rivals out of the competition for the second time in as many meetings. Inter Miami CF and Houston Dynamo also booked their tickets to the tournament Quarterfinals, which are set to be contested on June 6-7.
Cincinnati’s 5-3 victory via penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw avenges the club’s 2017 Semifinal loss to the Red Bulls when the Queen City side was still in Division II (USL Championship). A giant-killing run that year helped FC Cincinnati build their case to ascend to MLS (Div. I) in 2019. Cincinnati will host their Quarterfinal match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (Div. II – USL Championship)-Columbus Crew (MLS) winner.
The Galaxy, who eliminated LAFC 2-0, will hit the road for a second straight Open Cup match when they travel to face the Colorado Rapids-Real Salt Lake winner in the Quarterfinals.
Inter Miami continued their dramatic Open Cup run with yet another slim win – this time nabbing a 2-1 victory against visiting Nashville SC, who defeated the South Florida club by the same scoreline in league play less than a week ago. Inter Miami will travel to face the Birmingham Legion (USL Championship)-Charlotte FC (MLS) victor in the next round.
On the strength of a Corey Baird hat-trick, Houston Dynamo cruised to a 4-0 win against visiting Minnesota United FC and will travel to contest their Quarterfinal against either Austin FC or Chicago Fire FC.
The Round of 16 concludes Wednesday night with four matches, two of which present Cupset opportunities. The action begins at 7 p.m. ET when Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (Division II – USL Championship) tackle the Columbus Crew (Div. I – MLS) on CBS Sports Golazo Network. The B/R app and B/R Football YouTube will stream Birmingham Legion (USLC) hosting Charlotte FC (MLS) in the night’s other possible Cupset at 8 p.m. as well as Austin FC (MLS) taking on Chicago Fire FC (MLS) at 9 p.m. Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake will then draw the curtain on the Round of 16 with an Open Cup edition of their Rocky Mountain rivalry at 10 p.m. on CBS Sports Golazo.
Check usopencup.com for the full schedule and links to watch all the games.
Inter Miami CF (MLS) 2, Nashville SC (MLS) 1
Nicolas Stefanelli struck a thunderbolt to settle a game delayed by lightning. His cracking goal proved to be the winner as Inter Miami CF won a weather-delayed match at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
After a scoreless first half, Inter Miami CF’s Robert Taylor set up Franco Negri, who nutmegged Nashville SC goalkeeper Elliot Panicco for the opening goal in the 57th minute. Nashville SC’s Alex Muyl came on as substitute in the 65th minute and proceeded to score in the 66th with a diving header from a deft cross from Laurence Wyke to tie the match before local lightning halted play in the 72nd minute.
Stefanelli entered the match when play resumed following a 35-minute delay, running onto a ball lumped forward from midfield and taking a touch before unleashing a right-footed blast beyond the reach of Panicco that settled into the back of the net.
Inter Miami reached the Round of 16 last year but lost 4-2 in a shootout to Orlando City SC, the eventual champion. This year’s win advances David Beckham’s club to a first appearance in the Quarterfinal round and a date with the winner of the showdown between USL Championship side Birmingham Legion (Division II) and Charlotte FC (MLS).
New York Red Bulls (MLS) 1, FC Cincinnati (MLS) 1 (3-5 PKs)
Goalkeeper Alec Kann saved the Red Bulls' first penalty kick attempt from Dante Vanzeir in the shootout, then watched his teammates convert all five of theirs as the MLS Supporters' Shield leaders advanced to the Open Cup Quarterfinals at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. Alvaro Barreal put away his decisive attempt to the left side after Luciano Acosta, Junior Moreno, Dominique Badji and Yerson Mosquera scored their penalty kicks against NYRB goalkeeper Ryan Meara.
Although the Red Bulls dominated the opening half in possession (59.2-40.8 percent advantage) it was FC Cincinnati that found paydirt first via a counterattack in the 42nd minute. Marco Angulo passed the ball to Japanese forward Yuya Kubo, who fired a 16-yard shot into the lower left corner past the outstretched arms of Meara. It was Kubo's sixth goal with Cincy and his first since a 6-0 league win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Sept. 11, 2022.
Two minutes into second-half stoppage time, the Red Bulls, who pushed up for most of the half, connected for the equalizer. Vanzeir took full advantage of a short clearance by the visitors. He volleyed home a one-bouncer from the top left of the penalty area for the equalizer, his second tally of the year, to force extra-time. Vanzeir was making his first start since returning from a six-game suspension due to his racist comments directed at an Earthquakes player last month.
Though they were eliminated from the competition, the Red Bulls remain unbeaten in Open Cup play (10-0-3) at Red Bull Arena since the stadium opened in 2010. Cup matches that are decided by penalties go down in the books as a draw for both sides.
Cincy will host the winner of Wednesday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and the Crew.
Houston Dynamo (MLS) 4, Minnesota United (MLS) 0
Corey Baird, who hadn't scored in 12 MLS matches this season, recorded a hat-trick and set up a fourth goal to boost Houston over 10-man Minnesota at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas. Aliyu Ibrahim added a fourth for the Dynamo as goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell made three saves to record the clean sheet.
After the teams traded huge saves around the half-hour mark, the game took a drastic turn in the hosts' favor within a five-minute span. Minnesota's Bongokuhle Hlongwane was called for a handball in the box, as referee Ramy Touchan awarded the hosts a penalty kick. Baird drilled his attempt down the middle of the net past a diving Clint Irwin to give Houston a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Kervin Arriaga was issued his second yellow card of the match and given his marching orders. That forced the visitors to play the remaining 52 minutes with 10 men.
That one-man deficit caught up to Minnesota in the second half as the Dynamo struck three times. Baird continued to command the spotlight with his second goal after some nifty, one-touch passing by his teammates in the 68th minute. An onrushing Ibrahim got into the act in the 79th minute as he latched onto a Baird feed for a three-goal advantage.
Baird put a bow on his career night in the 89th minute as he scored from the middle of the penalty area with Ibrahim returning the favor to assist on the goal.
The Dynamo will play the winner of Wednesday night’s encounter between Austin FC and the Chicago Fire in the Quarterfinals.
Los Angeles Football Club (MLS) 0, LA Galaxy (MLS) 2
Is it still a ‘Cup’-set when the winner is a former champion? Tyler Boyd and Riqui Puig scored second-half goals, and reserve goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann had his best performance for struggling LA Galaxy in an ‘El Trafico’ shutout of the defending MLS champion at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
LAFC goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic made a save on Puig’s penalty kick in the 34th minute, and the fireworks started in the 35th when five yellow cards were issued by referee Allan Chapman.
“We’re all competitors and stuff like that is bound to happen in a rivalry like this when emotions are running high,” LAFC midfielder Daniel Crisostomo said.
LAFC had started mostly reserve team and academy players, similar to the squad that earned an impressive road win against Monterey Bay Union (USL Championship) in the previous round. The youngsters tested Klinsmann, who got airborne to make a pair of daring saves near halftime to keep LAFC off the scoreboard.
Boyd, who scored against LAFC in his MLS debut last month, gave the Galaxy the lead with a left-footed thunderbolt against the run of the play in the 49th minute, and Puig weaved through the LAFC defense in the three minutes later before flicking the ball over the goal line for a 2-0 lead that proved all the MLS originals would need.
Last year, LA Galaxy defeated LAFC 3-1 in the Round of 16 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, and reached the Quarterfinals before losing 2-1 to eventual runner-up Sacramento Republic FC.
