We had plenty of tournament action across the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. Here is what went down.
St. Louis squeeze past Chicago
Unlike some of the earlier matches, fans were forced to wait over an hour for this deadlock to break before St. Louis edged Chicago 2-1.
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Anton Salétros proved why he’s the captain after rising and heading home the opener.
Then two goals in seven minutes were the difference as Thomas Totland turned things 1-1 and Eduard Löwen scored the winner after previously assisting the equalizer with a sublime back-heel.
Houston survive Louisville scare
Fans almost had an upset heading into the quarterfinals but Houston rallied to beat Louisville City 2-1 after extra time.
The USL Championship side had about 20 minutes to go and their 1-0 lead hanging on marginally, only to be undone on the stroke of full-time as Erik Sviatchenko‘s header found the back of the net.
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Ezequiel Ponce‘s winner then arrived in the 101st minute, too. Proving it’s never too late for the Dynamo’s attack to pounce!
Colorado remains MLS territory
Wednesday’s late show also almost delivered an upset as Colorado Rapids required penalties to edge-past the Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
Rafael Navarro and Alexis Manyoma initially combined in the first half to put the Rapids ahead, but the USL Championship side rallied back.
Brennan Creek was left unmarked in the box and bundled home a deflected ball for 1-1.
It wasn’t until the 114th minute that Georgi Minoungou raced through and scored what he thought was the winner.
But the Springbacks had their say late, as Khori Bennett’s penalty in the dying seconds ensured the game went to spot-kicks.
Despite the late rally, the Rapids then prevailed.
NYCFC get last laugh over rivals
Efficient scoring was the difference during this match in New York as City beat the Red Bulls 3-1.
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Kai Trewin opened the scoring within 10 minutes before an in-form Julian Hall equalized for the home side.
Things were different in the second half, however, as City scored twice more to make it three goals from five shots on target.
Two headers from Raul Gustavo and Thiago Martins won the match. Yet, it was the magic of Maxi Moralez who truly made the difference with his hat-trick of assists.
Crew cruise past One Knoxville
Columbus’ might proved to be too much for USL League One side One Knoxville as four goals carried the hosts into the quarterfinals.
Hugo Picard got the party started early before the visitors equalized, but almost in the blink of an eye his brace turned things 2-1.
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A comfortable control of the ball was volleyed home between plenty of traffic.
A stunning strike from Daniel Gazdag then blasted into the far right corner to increase the margin to 3-1.
Teenager Chase Adams later scored his first senior goal as the celebrations continued for both the team and the player.
Seven-goal thriller in Rhode Island
Seven goals thrilled the neutral fan as Orlando City rallied in the 92nd minute to beat New England Revolution 4-3.
The opening goal arrived from a ridiculously tight angle, as Malcolm Fry put the hosts up 1-0. And after that, the entertainment continued!
In total, seven different players managed to get on the scoresheet with the match sitting all square at 2-2 by the break.
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Griffin Dorsey particularly helped drag Orlando back in it after conceding first with a rocket effort.
The Revolution grabbed the lead 3-2 just as time reached 60 minutes but Justin Ellis equalized for the visitors before Zakaria Taifi bundled home the winner.
Did we mention it was his first goal?
We’ll see you in the quarter-finals!
