LAFC Final Club to Advance to 2019 U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals

CHICAGO (June 20, 2019) – Los Angeles FC became the final club to book passage to the Quarterfinal Round of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 3-1 win against fellow Division I competitors San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday night at Banc of California Stadium. LAFC’s advancement sets up a rematch of last year’s West Quarterfinal showdown with the Portland Timbers.

The 2019 Quarterfinals will consist of four games played on July 10 and will be followed by the Semifinals on Aug. 7 and the Final on Aug. 27 or 28. A draw to determine the Semifinal hosts and the priority order for hosting the Final will take place on July 11. Fans can watch every game of the 2019 U.S. Open Cup on ESPN+.

The Timbers, along with Division II underdogs Saint Louis FC and New Mexico United advanced to the Quarterfinal Round on Wednesday night along with Major League Soccer sides New York City FC and Orlando City SC. Atlanta United and Minnesota United were the first clubs to secure Quarterfinal berths when they advanced on Tuesday night.

The 106^th edition of American soccer’s longest running competition will feature five first-time Quarterfinalists in Atlanta United, Minnesota United, NYCFC, New Mexico United and Saint Louis FC with a sixth team, Orlando City, matching their best-ever run as Quarterfinalists in 2015 and 2018. The tournament will also crown a first-time champion as all the remaining clubs have yet to capture an Open Cup title.

Los Angeles FC (MLS) 3, San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 1
Los Angeles FC booked a ticket to the 2019 U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals with a 3-1 win against San Jose Earthquakes in front of an energetic crowd of 14,028 fans at Banc of California stadium on the final night of the Round of 16 Thursday. After falling behind to an early goal, LAFC scored three unanswered goals to set up a tasty replay of last year’s West Quarterfinals against the Portland Timbers, who will again visit the Banc on July 10 to play for a spot in the 2019 Semifinals.

San Jose gave a good account of themselves throughout the night after landing the first blow in just the seventh minute when Cristian Espinoza got out on the break and fed Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili for a one-time blast from inside the box into the bottom left corner. San Jose talisman Chris Wondolowski nearly doubled the Quakes lead but was flagged for offside when his headed shot powered past young LA goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega. The woodwork would later bedevil San Jose’s attempts at a late comeback as the men from the Bay Area gave as good as they got.

Just past the half hour mark, LAFC began their slow march to victory as Diego Rossi latched on to a Lee Nguyen feed to lift a deft chip over Quakes keeper Andrew Tarbell at the near post. After the interval, Adama Diomande broke the 1-1 deadlock on the hour mark, finishing off a counter attack with pace to beat his defender to a through ball and round Tarbell, who had come out to cut down the angle, before depositing the ball into the vacated net. LAFC were made to sweat out their 2-1 lead until the 85^th minute when the inimitable Carlos Vela received the ball on the right side of the box, danced past two defenders on his way to the penalty spot where he snapped a low drive through traffic into the left side of the goal for the insurance strike that cemented the final 3-1 scoreline in favor of the hosts.

2019 U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 Schedule

2019 U.S. Open Cup Potential Quarterfinals Schedule

# Date determined by decision table in Open Cup Handbook (page 15)
^ Venue changed 6/18