2015 US Open Cup Goal Scorers - MLS Edition

Sporting Kansas City took home the 2015 U.S. Open Cup Trophy after knocking off the Philadelphia Union 7-6 in a shootout. It marked the Kansas City franchise's third title, and first since 2012. Here's a list of all the MLS players who scored in this year's tournament led by Sporting's Dom Dwyer and Krisztián Németh. The top American scorer in the tournament was a 5-way tie between Adam Bedell, Benny Feilhaber, Mike Magee, Dillon Serna and Chris Wondolowski.

5 GOALS

Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting Kansas City - Finals
Krisztián Németh (Hungary) - Sporting Kansas City - Finals

4 GOALS

Carlos Rivas (Colombia) - Orlando City SC - Quarterfinals

3 GOALS

Michael Barrios (Colombia) - FC Dallas - 5th Round
Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - Quarterfinals

2 GOALS

Erik Ayuk Mbu (Cameroon) - Philadelphia Union - Finals
Adam Bedell (USA) - Columbus Crew - 5th Round
Benny Feilhaber (USA) - Sporting Kansas City - Finals
Kennedy Igboananike (Nigeria) - Chicago Fire - Semifinals
Sébastien Le Toux (France) - Philadelphia Union - Finals
Mike Magee (USA) - Chicago Fire - Semifinals
Javier Morales (Argentina) - Real Salt Lake - Semifinals
Kwadwo Poku (Ghana) - New York City FC - 4th Round
Lloyd Sam (England) - New York Red Bulls - Quarterfinals
Dillon Serna (USA) - Colorado Rapids - 5th Round
David Texeira (Uruguay) - FC Dallas - 5th Round
Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 5th Round

1 GOAL

Anatole Abang (Cameroon) - New York Red Bulls - Quarterfinals
Kellyn Acosta (USA) - FC Dallas - 5th Round
Quincy Amarikwa (USA) - Chicago Fire - Semifinals
Jairo Arrieta (Costa Rica) - DC United - 5th Round
Dominique Badji (Senegal) - Colorado Rapids - 5th Round
Will Bruin (USA) - Houston Dynamo - Quarterfinals
Ricardo Clark (USA) - Houston Dynamo - Quarterfinals
Facundo Coria (Argentina) - DC United - 5th Round
Sean Davis (USA) - New York Red Bulls - Quarterfinals
Nick DeLeon (USA) - DC United - 5th Round
Fabinho (Brazil) - Philadelphia Union - Finals
Ethan Finlay (USA) - Columbus Crew - 5th Round
Olmes García (Colombia) - Real Salt Lake - Semifinals
Joseph Greenspan (USA) - Colorado Rapids - 5th Round
Mike Grella (USA) - New York Red Bulls - Quarterfinals
Baggio Husidić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - LA Galaxy - Quarterfinals
Sebastián Jaime (Argentina) - Real Salt Lake - Semifinals
Kaká (Brazil) - Orlando City SC - Quarterfinals
Sacha Kljestan (USA) - New York Red Bulls - Quarterfinals
Cyle Larin (Canada) - Orlando City SC - Quarterfinals
Sebastian Lletget (USA) - LA Galaxy - Quarterfinals
Mauro Manotas (Colombia) - Houston Dynamo - Quarterfinals
Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 4th Round
Aaron Maund (USA) - Real Salt Lake - Semfinals
Leonel Miranda (Argentina) - Houston Dynamo - Quarterfinals
Soni Mustivar (Haiti) - Sporting Kansas City - Finals
Lewis Neal (England) - Orlando City SC - Quarterfinals
Patrick Nyarko (Ghana) - Chicago Fire - Semifinals
Kofi Opare (USA) - DC United - 5th Round
Lovel Palmer (Jamaica) - Chicago Fire - Semifinals
Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - Semifinals
Maximiliano Urruti (Argentina) - Portland Timbers - 5th Round
Diego Valeri (Argentina) - Portland Timbers - 5th Round
Jose Villarreal (USA) - LA Galaxy - Quarterfinals
Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica) - Portland Timbers - 5th Round
Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - Quarterfinals
Sal Zizzo (USA) - New York Red Bulls - Quarterfinals
Ronald Zubar (Guadeloupe) - New York Red Bulls - Quarterfinals
Graham Zusi (USA) - Sporting Kansas City - Finals

Union-Sporting KC set for 2015 U.S. Open Cup Final

The 2015 U.S. Open Cup Final is set as the Philadelphia Union get set to host Sporting Kansas City at the end of September. Nobody should be surprised to see Sporting Kansas City in the Finals as Sporting leads the league in points per game (37 pts in 21 matches), and has the fewest losses of any MLS club with four. Add in star power in the likes of Benny Feilhaber, Graham Zusi, Dominic Dwyer and Matt Besler, and solid contributions from newcomers Soni Mustivar and Krisztián Németh, and you have a recipe for success. On the other side of the pitch, you have the Philadelphia Union. The Union lead MLS with 13 losses and have the fewest points per game in the league (23 points in 24 matches). Still, for the second year in a row, it's Philadelphia who find themselves in the U.S. Open Cup Final. It's been quite a run for the Union who have twice overcome red cards, and twice overcome shootouts, in their 4-game journey to the Championship. It was fitting too that the tournament's all-time leading scorer, Sébastien Le Toux, would be the one to send the Union through in their 1-0 win over Chicago. Still, the Union will head into the final as heavy underdogs. The two clubs met just once this season with the Union squandering a 2-1 lead in stoppage time and falling 3-2 on Németh's game winner in the 94th minute. That was still during the Raïs M'Bolhi era though which the Union have moved past. The Final is set for September 30th with a berth in next year's Champions League on the line. Here's a look at how each team made it to the Finals.

Philadelphia Union

D 0-0 vs Rochester Rhinos (USL), W 3-1 on PKs
W 2-1 vs DC United - Ayuk (1), Fabinho (1)
D 1-1 vs New York Red Bulls, W 4-3 on PKs - Ayuk (2)
W 1-0 vs Chicago Fire - Le Toux (1)

Sporting Kansas City

W 1-0 vs Saint Louis FC (USL) - Zusi (1)
W 6-2 vs FC Dallas - Dwyer 4 (4), Németh 2 (2)
W 3-1 vs Houston Dynamo - Feilhaber (1), Dwyer (5), Németh (3)
W 3-1 vs Real Salt Lake - Mustivar (1), Feilhaber (2), Németh (4)

US Open Cup Quarterfinal Match Summaries

Upsets were the story in the quarterfinals as Real Salt Lake, Philadelphia and Chicago all advanced in a wild round of play. Here's a rundown of all four matches. The semis will pit Philadelphia against Chicago and Sporting against Real Salt Lake.

Real Salt Lake 1 LA Galaxy 0

Steven Gerrard's insertion in to the LA lineup wasn't enough to stop Real Salt Lake from pulling off a narrow victory and knock the Galaxy out of the 2015 US Open Cup. Aaron Maund's 87th minute header, his first professional goal, was the difference in the match as the Galaxy couldn't overcome the absences of Gyasi Zardes, Omar Gonzalez and Jaime Penedo. Real Salt Lake outshot the Galaxy 15-6 while maintaining possession for 60% of the match.

Philadelphia Union 1 New York Red Bulls 1, Philadelphia wins 4-3 in Shootout

Philadelphia survived a first half red card for the second match in a row in the tournament and against all odds, have advanced to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. Conor Casey, who got the start because C.J. Sapong was red carded in Philadelphia's 5th Round win over DC United, was sent off 40 minutes in with the score tied at 0-0. Philadelphia took the lead in the 56th minute but then watched New York tie the match 4 minutes into stoppage time. Still, the Union persevered winning the shootout 4-3. The Red Bulls outshot the Union 34-8 and John McCarthy made nine saves for Philadelphia.

Sporting Kansas City 3 Houston Dynamo 1

Luis Garrido suffered an early ejection, and while Houston was able to take a lead behind a Will Bruin goal, Sporting roared back with goals of their own from Benny Feilhaber, Dom Dwyer and Krisztián Németh as they advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 win. Erick 'Cubo' Torres made his 2015 debut for Houston, and while he wasn't a factor in this match, the hope for Houston is that he'll add some punch to a struggling offense.

Chicago Fire 3 Orlando City SC 1

Kennedy Igboananike came off the bench to score twice in the closing minutes as the Chicago Fire stunned Orlando City 3-1. The Fire, who have struggled for much of the year, outshot Orlando 20-8 despite losing the possession battle and eventually broke through when Igboananike found the back of the net late. Orlando got a goal from rookie of the year candidate Cyle Larin in a losing effort.

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 20

Here's this week's recap:

Aaron Maund's 87th minute goal was the difference in the match as Real Salt Lake spoiled Steven Gerrard's official Galaxy debut knocking them out of the U.S. Open Cup, 1-0. Gerrard did not start the match but logged 45 minutes off the bench, while Real Salt Lake becomes the first team to clinch a berth in the Open Cup semis... The league's leading scorer (Kei Kamara) combined with the league's leading distributor (Ethan Finlay) for the only goal of the match as Columbus got a much needed win over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday... Quincy Amarikwa scored two quick goals, but the Galaxy countered with five unanswered as the tandem of Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard completely overwhelmed the Quakes' defense. Gerrard finished his MLS debut with a goal and an assist... Sebastian Giovinco notched a goal and an assist as Toronto knocked off Philadelphia 2-1. The news gets worse for Union fans as they lost both Richie Marquez and Andrew Wenger to injuries during the course of the match. Jozy Altidore returned to TFC and turned in an 85 minute shift up top... Lee Nguyen scored in the first half, and the Revs benefitted from a second half red card to Ned Grabavoy as New England snapped their 5-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over New York City FC... Cyle Larin was sent off in the first half and the Red Bulls capitalized riding the man-advantage to a 2-0 win over Orlando City. Bryan Róchez appeared in a match for Orlando for the first time in over two months when he came off the bench in the second half... Benny Feilhaber's career year continued as he notched a goal and an assist in Sporting's 2-1 win over Montreal. Dom Dwyer also scored as Sporting won their third straight and fifth in six matches... FC Dallas won their fourth in a row as they took advantage of Bill Hamid's injury and used a stoppage time winner from Fabián Castillo to defeat DC United 2-1... The Rapids used a late winner from Kevin Doyle to send them to a third straight win and knock off the struggling Sounders, 1-0. The win spoiled the return to Seattle of Swedish midfielder Erik Friberg and leaves the Sounders with five losses in their last six while being shutout four times during that stretch... Joao Plata scored for the first time since September and added an assist as Real Salt Lake picked up their second shutout of the week with a 2-0 win over the Giles Barnes-less Houston Dynamo... A pair of stoppage time red cards spoiled an otherwise exciting match between the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps that ended in a 1-1 draw. Vancouver's Christian Dean, formerly the third overall pick in the 2014 draft, made his first MLS appearance of 2015... Columbus made it a sweep of the Fire on Sunday behind goals from each of their big three, Federico Higuaín, Kei Kamara, and Ethan Finlay. Chicago's Jason Johnson earned a second yellow early in the second half for diving.

Here's a rundown of all the action:

RESULTS

MONDAY

Haiti 1 Honduras 0 - Gold Cup, Group A
USA 1 Panama 1 - Gold Cup, Group A

TUESDAY

Jamaica 1 El Salvador 0 - Gold Cup, Group B
Canada 0 Costa Rica 0 - Gold Cup, Group B
Real Salt Lake 1 LA Galaxy 0 - US Open Cup Quarterfinals

WEDNESDAY

Cuba 1 Guatemala 0 - Gold Cup, Group C
Trinidad and Tobago 4 Mexico 4 - Gold Cup, Group C
Columbus Crew 1 Chicago Fire 0

FRIDAY

LA Galaxy 5 San Jose Earthquakes 2

SATURDAY

USA 6 Cuba 0 - Gold Cup Quarterfinals
Jamaica 1 Haiti 0 - Gold Cup Quarterfinals
Toronto FC 2 Philadelphia Union 1
New England Revolution 1 New York City FC 0
New York Red Bulls 2 Orlando City SC 0
Sporting Kansas City 2 Montreal Impact 1
FC Dallas 2 DC United 1
Colorado Rapids 1 Seattle Sounders 0
Real Salt Lake 2 Houston Dynamo 0
Portland Timbers 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 1

SUNDAY

Panama 1 Trinidad and Tobago 1, Panama Wins 6-5 in Shootout - Gold Cup Quarterfinals
Mexico 1 Costa Rica 0 (a.e.t) - Gold Cup Quarterfinals
Columbus Crew 3 Chicago Fire 1

NOTABLE GOALS

Blas Pérez (Panama) - Pérez scored against the U.S. for the third time in his career, all three times in Gold Cup matches, and now has 38 goals in his international career. He is two goals behind teammate Luis Tejada for Panama's all-time scoring lead.

Michael Bradley (USA) - Not a bad week for the Bald Eagle as he scored his 14th international goal in the U.S.'s draw with Panama and added three assists in their 6-0 win over Cuba.

Clint Dempsey (USA) - After his hat trick against Cuba on Saturday, Dempsey is just ten goals away from tying Landon Donovan for the U.S.'s all-time scoring lead. This was Dempsey's first international hat trick and his six goals lead all players in this year's Gold Cup.

Omar Gonzalez (USA) - Gonzalez scored his first international goal in the U.S.'s rout of Cuba. He scored twice for the US U-18s back in 2007.

Gyasi Zardes (USA) - Zardes hit a nifty volley off of a Fabian Johnson cross to, for all intents and purposes, put the game out of reach against Cuba. Zardes, who scored against the Netherlands last month, has two goals for the U.S.

Giles Barnes (Jamaica) - Barnes, who only became eligible to play for Jamaica this year, scored his second international goal and punched Jamaica's ticket to the Gold Cup Semifinals.

Kei Kamara (Columbus) - Not slowed by his omission from the MLS Fan XI voting for this year's all-star game, Kamara scored in both of the Crew's matches with Chicago this week and now has a league-high 14 goals on the year and 66 goals in his MLS career.

Aaron Maund (Real Salt Lake) - Aaron Maund's first professional goal, an 87th minute header, has sent Real Salt Lake through to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. Maund, in his fourth MLS season, has still yet to score his first MLS goal.

Quincy Amarikwa (San Jose) - In just his second match with San Jose, Amarikwa scored a pair of quick goals, but had his evening spoiled when LA rattled off five in a row unanswered.

Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) - After a quiet start to the season, the 35 year-old Keane has back-to-back hat tricks, first last weekend against Toronto, and now this week against San Jose. Keane has nine goals on the season, and already has 62 goals in his MLS career.

Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy) - Welcome to MLS, Steven Gerrard. The English star scored a goal and added an assist in his MLS debut as the Galaxy rallied from a 2-0 deficit to rout the Quakes 5-2.

Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy) - Lletget scored his fifth goal in six games and now has 5 goals in just 466 minutes of play since joining MLS. The Galaxy are 4-1-1 in that stretch.

Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC) - The Atomic Ant continues his stellar first season adding another goal and an assist in Toronto's win over Philadelphia. Giovinco now has 12 goals and nine assists, just over halfway through the 2015 campaign.

Conor Casey (Philadelphia) - Casey scored his first goal of 2015 in Saturday's loss to Toronto. He now has 69 goals in his MLS career (good for 22nd all time). He needs just one more to tie Cobi Jones for 21st.

Lee Nguyen (New England) - Nguyen's third goal of the season snapped a five game losing streak for the Revs. Nguyen led New England with 18 goals in 2014.

Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls) - Just watch the video.



Benny Feilhaber (Sporting KC) - Feilhaber's career year continues as he extended his career high with his sixth goal of the season and reached double-digit assists for the first time in his career in Sporting's 2-1 win over Montreal.

Dom Dwyer (Sporting KC) - Dwyer hasn't been the prolific scorer he was a year ago, but with his goal against Montreal on Saturday, he now has six goals on the season and 30 in his brief career.

Fabián Castillo (FC Dallas) - Castillo has scored or assisted in each of Dallas's last five matches during which Dallas is 4-0-1. With eight goals on the year, the young Colombian is just two shy of his career high set last season.

Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas) - Acosta doesn't turn 20 until next weekend, but now he has scored his first MLS goal.

Kevin Doyle (Colorado) - Doyle has started to find his scoring touch (two goals in the last three games), and not coincidentally it's aligned with Colorado's three game winning streak.

Joao Plata (Real Salt Lake) - Plata scored for the first time since mid September as his return to form appears to be complete. Plata, who scored 13 times for RSL last year, now has a goal and three assists in his last four matches.

Diego Valeri (Portland) - Valeri, who set the Timbers single season scoring and assist records last season, scored his second goal of 2015 in Portland's 1-1 draw with Vancouver.

Ethan Finlay (Columbus) - Finlay continued his recent strong form and now has a goal or an assist in six of Columbus's last seven games.

SHUTOUTS BY:

Jeff Attinella (Real Salt Lake) - Attinella helped Real Salt Lake to wins in both the U.S. Open Cup and in League play as he shutout the red hot LA Galaxy in the Open Cup Quarterfinals and the Houston Dynamo in action on Saturday. Saturday's shutout was Attinella's first of the season and the fifth of his MLS career. In 19 career starts backing up Nick Rimando, Attinella is 5-8-6.

Steve Clark (Columbus) - Clark beat the Fire twice this week, earning his fourth shutout of the year during Wednesday's 1-0 win.

Brad Knighton (New England) - Bobby Shuttleworth's back-up earned his first shutout since July of 2013 while making a rare start in place of the Revs' starting net-minder. Knighton has made just four starts in two seasons with New England, and now has eight shutouts in his eight-year career.

Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls) - The Red Bulls won their fourth in five tries behind four saves from Luis Robles. It was just Robles's fifth shutout of the season, but his next one will equal his season total from 2014 where he made all 34 regular season starts.

Clint Irwin (Colorado) - Irwin made three saves against the Sounders to help Colorado to their third straight win, more than their win total in their first 17 matches combined. Irwin now has 7 shutouts on the season, just three shy of his career high set during his rookie season (2013).

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 18

Here's this week's recap:

First, the US Open Cup's 5th Round: The Union lost CJ Sapong less than 30 minutes into the match to a red card, but still managed to score twice while a man down and stun DC United to advance to the quarterfinals... Carlos Rivas scored for the fourth time in the tournament as Columbus was shutout 2-0, but more importantly, the Crew's Will Trapp returned after a 3-month absence following a concussion. Trapp had not played in a match since April 8th against Vancouver... Mike Magee scored his first two goals of 2015 as Chicago rallied from a 1-0 deficit and knocked the USL's last representative out of this year's tournament... Joe Willis picked up his second shutout in a row and 19 year-old Colombian Mauro Manotas supplied all of the offense as Houston knocked off the Rapids 1-0... The Red Bulls rocked another crosstown rival as they defeated the Cosmos 4-1, but lost right back Chris Duvall in the process to a broken leg. 18 year-old Anatole Abang (Cameroon) continued his hot streak as he added another goal in the win... Dom Dwyer scored FOUR times, Krisztián Németh scored twice, and Benny Feilhaber tallied three assists as Sporting KC destroyed FC Dallas 6-2. Dwyer needed less than a half to achieve his hat trick... The Portland Timbers couldn't solve Real Salt Lake and despite knocking out their nemesis, the Seattle Sounders, they will not advance to the quarterfinals... Jose Villarreal scored early and the Wondo-less (read punchless) Quakes had no answer as they came up short against their intrastate rivals.

Now, onto league play: Alex came off the bench to score against the team that traded him, but Houston couldn't hold a late lead against Chicago. Patrick Nyarko entered the match at halftime for Chicago making his 2015 debut and scored the equalizer... DC United's Fabián Espíndola was sent off in the opening 30 minutes and the Sounders eventually took advantage behind Tyrone Mears' first MLS goal... Normally on the distributing end, Ethan Finlay scored twice in Columbus's 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Red Bulls. Kei Kamara assisted on both goals while youngster Anatole Abang continued his hot streak by adding another goal for New York. Will Trapp appeared in his first MLS match since April when he came off the bench in the 88th minute... David Villa scored twice as New York City FC knocked off Montreal 2-1. The Spaniard has 5 goals in his last four matches including a pair of braces... New England's struggles continue as they got buried 3-0 by FC Dallas. New England has lost four straight and won just once since May 2nd... Irish international Kevin Doyle opened his MLS account with a game winner against Vancouver. It was just Colorado's third win of the season and their first since May 23rd, ironically also against the Whitecaps... Kaká scored and then earned his first red card EVER as Orlando City was forced to settle for a draw with Real Salt Lake... Robbie Keane scored three times and the Galaxy routed Toronto 4-0 in Stefan Ishizaki's last game as a member of the Galaxy before he heads back to Sweden. Toronto played without Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore who are both with the U.S. for the Gold Cup... Jack Jewsbury scored in stoppage time as the Timbers snuck by the Earthquakes 1-0. Portland has won six of seven and is 5-0-0 in games started by Will Johnson.

US Open Cup Quarterfinal Match-Ups Set

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.

This Week's US Open Cup Match-Ups

The Round of 16 is upon us. Here's a rundown of this week's matches:

Tuesday

Orlando City SC vs Columbus Crew, South Regional

Philadelphia Union vs DC United, East Regional

Chicago Fire vs Charlotte Independence (USL), South Regional

Houston Dynamo vs Colorado Rapids, Central Regional

Wednesday

New York Red Bulls vs New York Cosmos (NASL), East Regional

Sporting Kansas City vs FC Dallas, Central Regional

Real Salt Lake vs Portland Timbers, West Regional

San Jose Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy, West Regional

In case you missed it earlier, here's our breakdown of the match previews.

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 16

Here's this week's recap:

Check here and here for our US Open Cup Round 4 recaps. 14 of 17 MLS clubs have advanced to the Round of 16... FC Dallas's winless streak continued after giving up a late equalizer to Dillon Serna. Serna, who had only seen limited action for the Rapids this season, got the nod after scoring twice against Colorado Springs (USL) midweek... The Quakes got two goals from people not named Chris Wondolowski and stunned the Sounders 2-0 in Seattle. In Seattle's defense, all three of their designated players, Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Osvaldo Alonso, missed the match... Sacha Kljestan was ejected ten minutes into the match and Bradley Wright-Phillips had TWO penalty kicks blocked by David Ousted as Vancouver became the second MLS club to nine wins this season... David Villa scored twice as New York City FC has quietly won three in a row after an 11 game winless streak... Montreal snapped Orlando's unbeaten run at five games and picked up just their second shutout of the season. Montreal has five wins in their last seven... The Galaxy scored 11 goals this week which not coincidentally coincided with Robbie Keane's return to the starting lineup... Portland extended the longest winning streak in their young franchise history to four games with a 2-0 win over the short-handed Dynamo... Olmes García scored deep into stoppage time to give Real Salt Lake a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City Javier Morales assisted on both RSL goals giving him five assists on the year. Benny Feilhaber notched his eighth assist in a losing effort... Chris Rolfe scored twice in the second half as DC United rallied for a 1-0 win over New England. With the win, United moved atop the Supporters' Shield Standings.

Here's a rundown of all the action:

RESULTS

TUESDAY

Canada 4 Dominica 0 - World Cup Qualifying
New York Red Bulls 3 Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) 0 - US Open Cup
Philadelphia Union 0 Rochester Rhinos (USL) 0 - Philadelphia wins in shootout, 3-1 - US Open Cup
Sporting Kansas City 1 Saint Louis FC (USL) 0 - US Open Cup
Chicago Fire 1 Louisville City FC (USL) 0 (a.e.t.) - US Open Cup
FC Dallas 4 Oklahoma City Energy FC (USL) 1 - US Open Cup
Colorado Rapids 4 Colorado Springs Switchbacks (USL) 1 - US Open Cup
Real Salt Lake 2 Seattle Sounders FC 2 1 - US Open Cup
San Jose Earthquakes 2 Sacramento Republic 2 - San Jose wins in shootout, 6-5 - US Open Cup
Portland Timbers 3 Seattle Sounders 1 (a.e.t.) - US Open Cup

WEDNESDAY

DC United 3 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL) 1 (a.e.t.) - US Open Cup
Columbus Crew 3 Richmond Kickers (USL) 1 - US Open Cup
New York Cosmos (NASL) 2 New York City FC 2 - Cosmos win in shootout, 4-3 - US Open Cup
Orlando City SC 4 Charleston Battery (USL) 4 - Orlando wins in shootout, 8-7 - US Open Cup
Charlotte Independence (USL) 1 New England Revolution 0 - US Open Cup
Houston Dynamo 2 Austin Aztex (USL) 0 - US Open Cup
LA Galaxy 6 PSA Elite (USASA) 1 - US Open Cup

FRIDAY

FC Dallas 1 Colorado Rapids 1

SATURDAY

San Jose Earthquakes 2 Seattle Sounders 0
Vancouver Whitecaps 2 New York Red Bulls 1
New York City FC 2 Toronto FC 0
Montreal Impact 2 Orlando City SC 0
LA Galaxy 5 Philadelphia Union 1
Portland Timbers 2 Houston Dynamo 0

SUNDAY

DC United 2 New England Revolution 1
Real Salt Lake 2 Sporting Kansas City 1

US Open Cup Round 4 MLS Goal Scorers

In case you missed it, here's a rundown of all the goals scored by MLS players in Round 4 of the US Open Cup. Players listed in red were eliminated from the competition.

3 GOALS

Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy 
Carlos Rivas (Colombia) - Orlando City SC 

2 GOALS

Michael Barrios (Colombia) - FC Dallas
Adam Bedell (USA) - Columbus Crew 
Kwadwo Poku (Ghana) - New York City FC 
Dillon Serna (USA) - Colorado Rapids 
David Texeira (Uruguay) - FC Dallas
Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes

U.S. Open Cup 5th Round Match Previews

EAST

Philadelphia Union vs DC United

The Union and DC United have split two meetings this year with the Union taking the first 1-0 on May 17th and United rallying for a 2-1 win two weeks later. Neither side won in regulation in Round 4 with the Union being held scoreless for 120 minutes and requiring a shootout to get past Rochester, and United scoring twice in added time to defeat the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-1. In 2013 these two sides faced off in the fourth round with United walking away with a 3-1 win on the strength of a Dwayne De Rosario hat trick, but the Union have had the more recent Open Cup success as they reached the finals of last year's tournament before falling to Seattle 3-1 in added time.

New York Red Bulls vs New York Cosmos (NASL)

The Cosmos look to bounce the Red Bulls from the Open Cup for a second consecutive season after humiliating them 3-0 a year ago behind two goals from Norwegian striker Mads Stokkelien. The upset-minded Cosmos already have a taste of beating MLS clubs this year as well after rallying from a 2-0 deficit to shock New York City FC. The Red Bulls were no slouches in round 4 either though as they cruised to a 3-0 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks, but lost midfielder Lloyd Sam to an injury in the process.

SOUTH

Chicago Fire vs Charlotte Independence (USL)

Not exactly sure why Dallas and Houston aren't in the South Bracket and Chicago and Columbus aren't in the Central, but I'm sure whoever the geographically savvy person was who came up with this had a good reason. Anyhow, the Independence are the lone USL squad to reach the Round of 16 after pulling off a 1-0 upset of a short-handed New England Revolution club. While clearly the underdogs, the Independence will take on a Fire team that aren't exactly world beaters either. Chicago needed 116 minutes to break through against Louisville City FC in their 1-0 win.

Orlando City SC vs Columbus Crew

The Crew got a big boost from Adam Bedell who notched a brace in his first match of 2015 while Ethan Finlay added a goal of his own in their 3-1 win over the Richmond Kickers. Orlando meanwhile was the beneficiary of three penalty kicks, all of them scored by Carlos Rivas, and still managed to blow a 4-2 lead before winning a ten-round penalty kick shootout 8-7 (during which Rivas ironically missed). In two matches against Orlando this season, Columbus has scored five goals, winning 3-0 and drawing 2-2.

CENTRAL

Houston Dynamo vs Colorado Rapids

The Rapids and Dynamo tied 0-0 in their only match-up this season, but the Dynamo have been playing much better as of late thanks to the tandem of Will Bruin and Giles Barnes. The Rapids got a big boost this week from Naval Academy graduate Joseph Greenspan who scored in his Rapids debut and helped them to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. Both clubs lost in the 5th round of last year's tournament and neither side has reached the tournament quarterfinals since Houston did so in 2010.

Sporting Kansas City vs FC Dallas

Dallas broke out of its offensive slump thanks to braces from David Texeira and Micael Barrios against Oklahoma City, but they'll have a much tougher task ahead of them when they face Sporting Kansas City. Sporting routed Dallas 4-0 just three weeks ago atoning for an earlier 3-1 loss back when Dallas was actually playing well. Dallas has not raised the Cup since 1997 while Kansas City won in 2004 and again in 2012.

WEST

Real Salt Lake vs Portland Timbers

This match features two clubs going in opposite directions. Real Salt Lake has won just two of their last eleven MLS matches (2-5-3) while Portland is in the midst of the longest winning streak in the history of their franchise. Not to mention that the Timbers just knocked their chief rivals, Seattle, out of the U.S. Open Cup. These two teams met on opening weekend and played to a 0-0 tie.

San Jose Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy

The San Jose Wondos get ready to face off against the Galaxy in the latest installation of the California Clásico. Both of these teams leaned heavily on their stars in Round 4 as Chris Wondolowski put the Quakes on his back and rallied them from a 2-0 deficit to knock off the Sacramento Republic while Robbie Keane picked up a hat trick in LA's 6-1 win over lower division side PSA Elite. The two clubs haven't faced each other yet this season, but LA won the season series a year ago with a win and two draws. Wondo scored a pair against LA last season.

US Open Cup Recap - Round 4, Day 2

Columbus Crew 3 Richmond Kickers 1

Appearing for the Crew for the first time this year, 6'7" striker Adam Bedell scored a pair of goals and Ethan Finlay added another as the Crew defeated the Kickers 3-1.

DC United 3 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1 (a.e.t.)

Facundo Coria's first DC United goal wasn't enough by itself as United needed 30 extra minutes to knock off the Riverhounds. Kofi Opare netted the game winner while Nick DeLeon added an insurance goal.

New York Cosmos 2 New York City FC 2, Cosmos win 4-3 in Shootout

City wasted a pair of goals by Kwadwo Poku and blew a 2-0 lead on their way to elimination. Cosmos strike Lucky Mkosana scored in the 90th minute to tie the game and Patrick Mullins missed saw his attempt to win the shootout saved by Jimmy Maurer, the 4th overall pick in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft. Shay Facey then missed his attempt from the spot and Hunter Gorskie buried the game winner. The Cosmos have now knocked off MLS clubs from New York in consecutive tournaments.

Orlando City SC 4 Charleston Battery 4, Orlando wins 8-7 in Shootout

Orlando City rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to force extra time and then blew a 4-2 lead in extra time and needed a 10-round shootout to sneak past the Battery. Carlos Rivas made three penalty kicks during the match, but ironically missed during the shootout. Danny Mwanga scored the winning kick.

Charlotte Independence 1 New England Revolution 0

The Revs were the first MLS team to fall to a lower division side as they dropped a 1-0 decision to Charlotte. The Revs did not start Charlie Davies, Lee Nguyen, Juan Agudelo or Teal Bunbury and the offense struggled as a result.

Houston Dynamo 2 Austin Aztex 0

Despite using a lineup comprised mostly of back-ups, Houston scored on either side of halftime and knocked off Austin 2-0. Joe Willis, formerly a backup to Bill Hamid in DC, picked up the shutout in net for the Dynamo while Ricardo Clark added the insurance goal in second half stoppage time.

LA Galaxy 6 PSA Elite 1

LA actually trailed briefly against underdogs PSA Elite before blowing the game wide open. Robbie Keane scored three times, while Gyasi Zardes and Sebastian Lletget each had one apiece.

US Open Cup Recap - Round 4, Day 1

New York Red Bulls 3 Atlanta Silverbacks 0

The Red Bulls were eliminated in this round of last year's tournament by the New York Cosmos 3-0. They didn't mess around this year against Atlanta starting regulars Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sacha Kljestan, Lloyd Sam, Luis Robles and others and cruised to a 3-0 win of their own. Sam and Ronald Zubar each scored in the opening 15 minutes, but Sam left the match just over 20 minutes in with both groin and ankle injuries. Sean Davis added an insurance goal in the second half.

Philadelphia Union 0 Rochester Rhinos 0, Philadelphia Wins 3-1 in Shootout

After 120 minutes of scoreless action, the Union edged out the Rochester Rhinos 3-1 in a penalty kick shootout. Maurice Edu, Vincent Nogueira and Cristian Maidana each converted for the Union. John McCarthy played the full match in net for Philadelphia and was scored on just once in four tries during the shootout.

Sporting Kansas City 1 Saint Louis FC 0

Benny Feilhaber connected with Graham Zusi for the match's lone goal as Sporting knocked off Saint Louis FC 1-0. Tim Melia remains unbeaten in net for Sporting in seven starts across all competitions since taking over for Luis Marín. Perhaps more importantly though for Sporting, Chance Myers made his return to the field for the first time after tearing his achilles tendon a year ago. Myers went 55 minuets before coming off in favor of rookie Saad-Abdul Salaam.

FC Dallas 4 Oklahoma City Energy 1

David Texeira and Michael Barrios both netted a pair of goals as FC Dallas jumped out to a 3-0 first half lead and cruised to a 4-1 win over the Energy. Dallas reached the semifinals of last year's tournament before falling on penalties to the Philadelphia Union.

Chicago Fire 1 Louisville City FC 0 (a.e.t.)

Quincy Amarikwa broke a 0-0 tie in the 115th minute as the Fire snuck by Louisville City. Sean Johnson picked up the shutout in net for Chicago. Scottish international Shaun Maloney came off the bench for the Fire, but left in extra time after taking a knock.

Colorado Rapids 4 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 1

Rookies Dominique Badji and Joseph Greenspan each scored goals while Dillon Serna had two and an assist as the Rapids routed the Switchbacks 4-1. Greenspan was making his first appearance for Colorado while Badji had lost his starting spot and had been seeing only limited minutes in recent matches.

Real Salt Lake 2 Seattle Sounders FC 2 1

Real Salt Lake rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit thanks to goals by Joao Plata and Javier Morales. Playing without regulars Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando, Jámison Olave or Tony Beltran and only getting five minutes from Álvaro Saborío, RSL got strong performances from its reserves and advanced to the 5th Round for the first time since 2013.

Portland Timbers 3 Seattle Sounders 1 (a.e.t.) 

In last year's quarterfinals, Seattle knocked off Portland 3-1 in extra time behind goals from Kenny Cooper and Marco Pappa. The Timbers returned the favor this year though as Rodney Wallace and Maximiliano Urruti scored after regulation guaranteeing a new U.S. Open Cup Champion in 2015. Seattle fought valiantly despite going a man down in the 69th minute when Brad Evans picked up a second yellow card, eventually drawing even behind a goal from Obafemi Martins, but they couldn't conjure up enough magic to knock off their rivals. Matters were made that much more difficult when they were reduced to seven men in extra time following subsequent ejections of Michael Azira and Clint Dempsey, AND an injury to Martins who left the match on a stretcher. Diego Valeri also scored for the Timbers as he made his return from injury.

San Jose Earthquakes 2 Sacramento Republic 2, San Jose Wins 6-5 in Shootout

In a rematch of last year's 4th Round match-up won by the Quakes, Sacramento looked to be on their way to a revengeful upset only to surrender a pair of goals to Chris Wondolowski in a six-minute span to force overtime. Still, Sacramento had their chances in extra time, AND had a chance to win in PKs, but Bryan Meredith made a huge save at 3-3, the Quakes made their final 3 kicks to win the 8-round shootout, 6-5.

U.S. Open Cup Preview

In a few short weeks, MLS clubs will enter the U.S. Open Cup. Here's a rundown of the 16 Round 4 matches that will kick off on June 16th.

6/16

Philadelphia Union vs Rochester Rhinos (USL)

The Rhinos are New England's USL affiliate. The reached the fourth round by defeating the GBFC Thunder 1-0, and the Harrisburg City Islanders 3-1 in extra time. They've been lead by Jamaicans Kenardo Forbes and Asani Samuels, both of whom have two goals in the tournament.

New York Red Bulls vs Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL)

After falling behind 1-0 in the 87th minute against Chattanooga FC, Atlanta rallied behind a penalty by Sierra Leonean striker Shaka Bangura and an extra time winner from Jaime Chavez to advance. Atlanta knocked Real Salt Lake and Colorado out of the tournament in 2014 before falling to Chicago in the quarterfinals. Chavez scored three goals in last year's tournament.

Sporting Kansas City vs Saint Louis F.C. (USL)

Saint Louis is the Chicago Fire's USL affiliate. Their roster features former MLS defender Brandon Barklage and they recently knocked out Miguel Ibarra's Minnesota United FC on penalties in the tournament's third round. Their leading scorer in the tournament is Bryan Gaul, the 19th overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft who spent two seasons with the LA Galaxy.

Chicago Fire vs Louisville City FC (USL)

Louisville is Orlando City's USL affiliate. They advanced to the fourth round by defeating Lansing United 1-0 and the Indy Eleven 2-0. They're lead by former U.S. youth national teamer, Conor Shanosky and striker Sidney Rivera, the 63rd overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.

FC Dallas vs Oklahoma City Energy (USL)

Oklahoma City is coached by former Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, and not coincidentally they're Sporting's USL affiliate. Striker Kyle Greig leads the team with two goals in the tournament.

Colorado Rapids vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks (USL)

Coached by former U.S. National Teamer Steve Trittschuh, an MLS original, the Switchbacks are one of the few USL clubs without an MLS affiliation. That said, they do have Houston's Taylor Hunter, the 49th overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft on loan with them. Northern Irish Striker Martin Maybin leads the team with two goals in the tournament.

Real Salt Lake vs Seattle Sounders FC 2 (USL)

The Sounders USL farm team is loaded with talent including MLS prospects Aaron Kovar, Andy Craven and Victor Mansaray. Craven already has two goals in the tournament while teammate, Argentine midfielder Pablo Rossi, has three. Seattle dispatched their rivals, Portland Timbers 2 in extra time in round 3.

San Jose Earthquakes vs Sacramento Republic (USL)

Coached by soccer legend Preki, Sacramento won the 2014 USL Championship in their inaugural season and now they'll face their MLS parent club, San Jose. Sacramento's roster features the tournament's leading scorer, Northern Irish striker Thomas Stewart, former MLS striker and current captain Justin Braun, 2015 MLS SuperDraftee Cameron Iwasa, and former Seattle Sounders striker David Estrada. Sacramento has scored 11 goals so far in the tournament led by hat tricks from Stewart and Bosnian-American striker Adnan Gabeljic, a second round pick (38) by Sporting KC in 2014.

Seattle Sounders FC vs Portland Timbers

The only match-up between two MLS teams in the fourth round features two of the league's biggest rivals.

6/17

Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL) vs DC United

The Riverhounds are another USL side without an affiliation with MLS. They have yet to be scored upon in advancing to the fourth round of the tournament and are led by two goals from English midfielder Rob Vincent.

Richmond Kickers (USL) vs Columbus Crew

DC United's USL affiliate has outscored its opponents 5-0 on its way to the tournament's fourth round. Former MLSer David Yeisley (38th overall pick, 2010 MLS SuperDraft) leads the team with a pair of goals.

New York Cosmos (NASL) vs New York City FC

With a roster bolstered by former MLSers Hunter Freeman, Carlos Mendes, Danny Szetela, and Adam Moffat, U.S. Youth International Haji Wright, and Spanish legend Raúl, the Cosmos are looking to build on there 2014 success that saw them knock out the Red Bulls 3-0.

Charleston Battery (USL) vs Orlando City SC

The Battery are the USL affiliate of the Houston Dynamo. The Battery reached the tournament semifinals back in 2004 and lost in the finals in 2008 when they defeated the Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas and the Seattle Sounders before falling to DC United.

New England Revolution vs Charlotte Independence (USL)

Affiliated with the Colorado Rapids, the Independence got a hat trick from Polish striker Thomas Zahorski in the second round before upsetting the Carolina RealHawks 1-0 in the third round. The Independence roster also includes former MLSer Ryan Finley, a runner-up for the 2012 Herman Trophy and the 9th overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.

Houston Dynamo vs Austin Aztex (USL)

The Aztex are the Columbus Crew's USL affiliate. The Aztex roster includes former MLSers Kris Tyrpak and Adam Bedell, and Crew draft pick Kalen Ryden (69th overall). The Aztex have won both of their matches by a score of 2-0.

LA Galaxy vs PSA Elite (USASA)

The only club remaining from the first round of the tournament, PSA Elite is an amateur soccer club based in Irvine, California. They defeated the Golden State Misioneros 7-1 in the first round, the Orange County Blues 2-1 in the second round, and the Ventura County Fusion 2-1 in the third round. They're lead by Mats Bjurman's three goals.