And then there were four.
The US Open Cup resumes on Wednesday night with a quartet of MLS teams in action in the semifinals, including the three-time defending champion Seattle Sounders vying for the chance to move one step closer to history.
They’ll once again get to prove their worth at home, this time against upset-minded Chivas USA (10 pm ET, streamed live at SoundersFC.com).
"We haven't talked a lot about winning four — that's a game away — but we're talking about getting the opportunity to get that," says head coach Sigi Schmid. "Certainly the history ... and to win four is something that hasn't been accomplished before. All that makes it unique, makes it special."
There’s evidently good news for the Sounders beyond the USOC matchup as well, as goalkeeper Michael Gspurning inches closer to health and could return to the lineup soon.
Despite some tough odds to make it to their first USOC final, there’s no quit in Chivas USA. The Goats head to Starfire with former Sounders defender James Riley in tow, and he’s more than familiar with the challenges ahead, especially if Chivas play without forward Juan Agudelo, as expected.
“To do it at Starfire isn't going to be easy,” Riley said, “and I think we're up for the challenge, for sure.”
There’s plenty at stake on the other side of the bracket as well, as the Philadelphia Union host Sporting Kansas City at PPL Park (7:30 pm ET, live stream at PhiladelphiaUnion.com). It’s rematch of sorts from a one-sided match earlier this season that the Union dominated, but don’t expect Sporting Kansas City to be out for revenge, necessarily.
“I’m religious, and revenge – that’s against religion,” SKC center back Aurelien Collin said. “But it definitely gives us some motivation to go there and get the most goals possible, to make them believe and make them know that it was an error, what happened last time.”
The match is crucial for a Union team still gelling under interim head coach John Hackworth, who has stressed the importance of the tournament as a way of making history for a club still finding its feet. “For a third-year club to be in position to win that thing is pretty amazing,” Hackworth said, “so we have to put the emphasis on that, for sure.”