CHICAGO (May 22, 2024) – The 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 delivered more heroics on Wednesday night as three final teams joined yesterday’s five victors in July’s Quarterfinal Round. In a night full of action, U.S. Soccer also conducted the draw that set the Quarterfinal pairings and established a bracket for the remainder of the 109th U.S. Open Cup.
The excitement began in the heart of the country where USL Championship club Indy Eleven defeated their Midwest rivals Detroit City (also of the USL Championship), earning the Boys in Blue their first trip to the Open Cup Quarterfinal round.
Soon thereafter, FC Dallas (MLS) squeaked by the Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC) 2-1 thanks to an astonishing performance from goalkeeper Maarten Paes. The Dutch netminder defied a game-long Rowdies onslaught, making eight saves and countless other interventions to help his teammates ride their first two shots of the match – both of which ended up in the back of the net – over the finish line despite a late penalty kick goal for the hosts giving Tampa 10 final minutes of hope.
Before the final match of the night and the round kicked off, U.S. Soccer conducted the Quarterfinal Draw, thus givingfour-time champs Seattle Sounders FC and reigning USL Championship kings Phoenix Rising FC the knowledge of who they would face in the next round. After trading penalty kick goals, it was the Sounders that emerged victorious at their Open Cup fortress, Starfire Sports Complex, with an 88th-minute strike.
U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 Calendar – Wednesday, May 22
Indy Eleven (USLC) 3-0 Detroit City FC (USLC)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC) 1-2 FC Dallas (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) 2-1 Phoenix Rising FC (USLC)
(see below for full match recaps)
The Quarterfinal Draw established the pairings and hosting scenarios for the next round of the 109th edition of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which will take place July 9-10. The Draw set up a final bracket that establishes a path for the eight remaining clubs to know who they would face en route to the tournament’s Final on Sept. 25.
Quarterfinal Pairings – 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Home teams listed first. Winner of the top pairing will host the winner of the bottom pairing in the Semifinals.
visit usopencup.com for full schedule details including venues and times
EAST DIVISION
Sporting Kansas City (MLS) vs. FC Dallas (MLS)
Atlanta United (MLS) vs. Indy Eleven (USLC)
WEST DIVISION
Sacramento Republic FC (USLC) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)
Los Angeles Football Club (MLS) vs. New Mexico United (USLC)
Major League Soccer (Div. I) (5): Atlanta United FC, FC Dallas, Los Angeles Football Club, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City
USL Championship (Div. II) (3): Indy Eleven, New Mexico United, Sacramento Republic FC
The Quarterfinal pairings were created by placing the eight remaining teams into two, four-team groups based on geography and drawing randomly from those groups. Home teams for each round were determined by random selection among those who applied to host.
Indy Eleven (USLC) 3-0 Detroit City FC (USLC)
With the Indianapolis 500 just days away, a red-hot Indy Eleven fittingly raced out to an early lead for the third time in as many Open Cup games en route to downing Le Rouge at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium. The smoke first rose from the Brickyard Battalion after 15 minutes when Ben Ofeimu’s cross deflected off Detroit captain Stephen Carroll at the six and snuck past a stranded Carlos Saldana for the opening own goal. The Boys in Blue really hit the gas just after the half hour mark, as Augi Williams’ first-time finish off a counter through Jack Blake and Douglas Martinez, plus Ofeimu’s powerful header of Aeden Stanley’s back-post corner barely two minutes apart gave Indy its eventual 3-0 final margin. A shock DCFC comeback similar to the one that eliminated defending champion Houston Dynamo in the previous round would not come to fruition, thanks in large part to a desperate display of group defending by the Eleven in the waning moments of the first half that took the salt out of their Motor City rival. From there, Eleven goalkeeper Hunter Sulte had little work to do across the second half to earn the Eleven a third consecutive shutout in cup action and seventh win in their last eight outings overall. Tonight already marked the furthest Indiana’s Team had ever gone in the Open Cup, a run that will continue in the Quarterfinals at MLS’ Atlanta United.
Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC) 1-2 FC Dallas (MLS)
It was a classic super hero tale at Al Lang Stadium on the Gulf Coast of Florida where the unstoppable force of the Tampa Bay Rowdies offense crashed into and immovable object that was FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes. From the beginning of the match, the Rowdies peppered Paes with numerous high-powered shots that brought out Spider-Man-like acrobatics from the Texas ‘keeper, who faced 30 shots on the night, 10 of which were on target. For their part Los Toros Tejanos only needed two shots on target to take a 2-0 lead inside the opening half hour. Patrickson Delgado and Logan Farrington put the visitors’ first two shots of the night – out of their seven total – into the back of the net. From there, it was the Maarten Paes show with the only way past the flying Dutchman coming via an 85th-minute penalty kick that Tampa’s captain Josh Perez cooly slotted home. The Rowdies huffed and puffed over the final five minutes plus stoppage time but even in the last sequence of the game – a later series of corner kicks for the home team – Paes made save after save to see his side into the Quarterfinals.
Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) 2-1 Phoenix Rising FC (USLC)
If it’s at Starfire Sports Complex, it’s going to include some drama – and that script stayed true thanks to a spirited second half comeback by Sounders FC in Tukwila, Wash. Seattle captain Christian Roldan’s Olimpico attempt that clanged off the crossbar five minutes into the match was indicative of a start that immediately put Rising FC on its heels. However, Phoenix absorbed the early pressure and asked questions of their own, a steady climb across the opening half culminating with Panos Armenakas earning a penalty in stoppage time that Remi Cabral buried for a 1-0 lead at the break. Seattle earned a turn from 12 yards out midway through the second half via a clear handball in the Rising FC area, and Alex Roldan put his spot kick just out of the reach of Patrick Rakovsky’s full stretch to equalize. From there Seattle’s stranglehold on the second half only strengthened, making the 85th minute go-ahead goal by former University of Washington standout Kalani Kossa-Rienzi a just reward for the pressure applied. Sounders FC will continue their chase for a history-tying fifth U.S. Open Cup crown on the road with a Quarterfinal tilt against another USL Championship squad in Sacramento Republic FC.
Now in its 109th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer's Club Championship – has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2024 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the Concacaf Champions Cup and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally-contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.
Houston Dynamo are defending Open Cup champions, having earned the club's second tournament title thanks to a 2-1 victory against fellow MLS club Inter Miami CF on September 27, 2023 in a Final played before a capacity crowd at Miami’s Chase Stadium.
usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook @OfficialOpenCup.