The underdogs of the USL ruled the day in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round on Tuesday night, taking four of the six matches, and assuring themselves of at least one team in the semifinals.
The biggest upsets of the night came from USL Second Division clubs. In New BritainConnecticut, the Harrisburg City Islanders defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 in extra time. Ahead 1-0, the Revs allowed the game-tying goal after losing a player to injury after having used all of its substitutions. Another New England player left near the end of full time due to injury, leaving the MSL side with just nine men. The City Isles took advantage and scored the game-winning goal in extra time.
In Wilmington, The USL-2 Hammerheads edged out the four-time Cup champion Chicago Fire 1-0. USOpenCup.com Player of the Second Round Kenny Bundy scored the deciding goal in the 37th minute to give Wilmington just their second win over an MLS foe in Open Cup play.
With Rochester winning their penalty kick tiebreaker over the Columbus Crew after a 1-1 draw, the two clubs will meet in the quarterfinals, assuring the USL of t least one club in the semifinals for the third year in a row.
The Charleston Battery clinched their third consecutive Quarterfinal appearance with a 3-1 win over Chivas USA at home in Blackbaud Stadium . Randi Patterson scored twice to pace the USL-1 club.
The two MLS teams that escaped upsets didn’t get away without difficulty. While coming out 2-0 victors, D.C. United didn’t overcome OceanCity’s defense until the 74th minute, when Chritian Gomez converted on a penalty kick.
In the final game of the night, Kansas City let a 2-0 lead slip away when two Ricardo Sanchez penalty kicks sent the game to extra time. The Wizards and Thunder traded goal in the extra sessions, but the MLS side prevailed in the penalty kick tiebreaker 4-2
