US Open Cup: Harrisburg do their part, LA Galaxy don’t

Remember how the Harrisburg Islanders had sold out a US Open Cup match against David Beckham and the LA Galaxy that wasn’t even scheduled? At the time you probably scoffed at the notion of a third division team making it as far as the semifinals to face the global giants from Southern California. Your skepticism was justified. The match won’t take place but you can’t blame Harrisburg for messing up the fun.

The Islanders did their job on Wednesday evening by knocking off DC United 1-0 to advance to a quarterfinals match against the New England Revolution. The Galaxy on the other hand lost to the third division Richmond Kickers 1-0 on Tuesday, thus ending their run in the US Open Cup and the prospect of Beckham playing in a stadium that holds 78,000 less spectators than the Bernabeu.

Even with the dream match-up ruined, the US Open Cup will feature some compelling games in the next round; compelling if you are a fan of lower division teams taking on the big guys rather than the big guys playing one another for the 900th time during the season. In addition to the two USL Second Division teams in the final eight, the USL First Division Charleston Battery advanced after knocking off a Houston Dynamo team that has been playing the best soccer of any team in MLS of late. The Battery will fact FC Dallas, who had to go to penalties to defeat the Atlanta Silverbacks.

Two more quarterfinals spots are still for the taking with the Carolina RailHawks taking on the Chicago Fire on Sunday and the Seattle Sounders facing Chivas USA next Wednesday.

US Open Cup Bracket

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Category: MLS, World Football