We'll cover this week's matches later, but here's a look at the Quarterfinal Pairings for this year's US Open Cup. Matches will be played the 21st and 22nd of July:
East Regional: New York Red Bulls vs Philadelphia Union
In an Eastern Conference showdown, the Red Bulls will face off against last year's tournament runner-up, the Philadelphia Union. The Union knocked off the Red Bulls in their only match-up so far this season, 2-0 on May 24th behind goals by Vincent Nogueira and C.J. Sapong. While the Red Bulls have beaten up on the likes of the Atlanta Silverbacks and New York Cosmos, outscoring the two NASL sides 7-1, the Union have had a much tougher route to the quarterfinals. After playing the Rochester Rhinos to a 0-0 draw and defeating them in a shootout, they turned around and upset DC United scoring a pair of goals after going down to 10 men when Sapong was sent off 24 minutes in for a hard foul. Cristian Maidana assisted on both of the Union's goals in the win.
South Regional: Orlando City SC vs Chicago Fire
Two teams headed in opposite directions will face off when Orlando City takes on the Chicago Fire in the Southern Regional. The Fire have won just once in their last nine league matches and have dropped their last four including a 3-2 decision against Orlando on June 6th thanks to a pair of own goals by Adaílton. Orlando, on the other hand, is 4-1-2 in their last seven matches and Carlos Rivas is tied for the tournament lead in goals scored with four.
Central Regional: Houston Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas City
Dom Dwyer exploded for four goals in Sporting's 6-2 rout of FC Dallas in the 5th Round, more than making up for their lackluster performance against Saint Louis FC in their tournament opener. Houston, meanwhile, has yet to concede a goal in the tournament with Joe Willis posting back-to-back shutout wins over the Austin Aztex and Colorado Rapids. In their only meeting this year, the two clubs played to a wild 4-4 draw.
Western Regional: Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy
The Galaxy shut out the Wondo-less Quakes 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Jose Villarreal, winning without Gyasi Zardes, Omar Gonzalez, Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard or Jaime Penedo. Real Salt Lake reached the quarterfinals by shocking the Portland Timbers 2-0 as Portland suffered a letdown following a pair of emotional wins over the Seattle Sounders. Real Salt Lake has been shut out twice by the Galaxy so far this season. The two clubs played to a 0-0 draw on May 6th and the Galaxy rode a Juninho PK to a 1-0 win on May 27th.
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