Riverhounds Fall 3-1 to Cincinnati in U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds magical run at the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ended Tuesday evening after suffering a 3-1 defeat to FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium.
The Riverhounds had a shaky start and would lose their best offensive weapon in Albert Dikwa 13 minutes into the match due to a shoulder injury. The Riverhounds kept the affair at an even 0-0 draw going into halftime, but Cincinnati played with a vengeance in the second half that would lead to a 56th minute goal by Brandon Vazquez, followed by a beautiful volley from a corner kick in the 71st minute by Alvaro Barreal. Cincinnati would slam the door shut on the Riverhounds in stoppage time, as Santiago Arias netted the third goal of the night for the Orange and Blue. The Riverhounds would get a goal back one minute later from a Tola Showunmi finish inside of the box, but ultimately fell short 3-1 as the full-time whistle blew.
The Orange and Blue move on to the semifinal rounds of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and away the winner of Birmingham and Inter Miami. The Riverhounds will look to bounce back quickly, as they are set to face off against first place Charleston at Highmark Stadium June 10 in a battle for the top spot on the USL table.
Dynamo Take Down Fire 4-1 to Advance to U.S. Open Cup Semifinals
The Houston Dynamo made things look easy on the field in their 4-1 thumping over the Chicago Fire in Chicago Tuesday evening.
The Dynamo had an attacking oriented offensive gameplan for the Fire and displayed that from the opening kickoff of the match.
Houston would take a lead in the 12th minute after Chicago conceded a penalty after a poor tackle inside of the box. The Dynamo would double their lead after a beautifully delivered through ball over the top of the Chicago back line by Adalberto Carrasquilla, followed by an Aliyu Ibrahim finish.
The Fire would eventually break through and net one back before half time after an Arnaud Souquet header from a Xerhdan Shaqiri corner kick.
Aliyu Ibrahim would make a tap in during the 56th minute to extend the Dynamo lead to 3-1 before another counterattack goal in transition from Nelson Quinones to solidify a 4-1 quarterfinals victory for Houston.
The Dynamo will face off between the winner of LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake in the semifinal rounds of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, while the Chicago Fire look to bounce back against Columbus on June 10.