The Crew will host a third-round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday, May 29, at 7:30 p.m., against the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL Pro League, who defeated the Chicago Fire PDL 2-1 last night (May 22) in second-round action.
Tickets priced at $12 in advance in all seating areas – $10 for Crew Soccer Nation members – will go on sale this Thursday, May 24, at 10 a.m. at the Crew Stadium Box Office, all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at http://www.thecrew.com/opencup. All tickets will be $15 on the day of the game, and parking will specially priced at $5..
The second round concluded on Tuesday, with 16 lower division teams advancing to the third round to face the 16 qualified Major League Soccer teams. Dayton's Dan Holowaty found the game-winner several minutes into second-half stoppage time for the win at the Toyota Park Practice Field in Bridgeview, Ill. The Fire PDL's Brendan King had tied the score at 1-1 in the 90th minute, but Holowaty quickly got that goal back during a scramble in the box shortly after a Dayton corner kick.
The 99th edition of the U.S. Open Cup includes a 64-team field, which represents the largest pool in the modern era (1995-present). All Division I, II and III professional clubs participated in the tournament proper for the first time ever. The Division I field includes all 16 U.S.-based MLS teams, which is double the representation from the past five years.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 98 consecutive years dating back to 1914. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor longtime soccer pioneer and Crew Founder Lamar Hunt.
The fourth round is scheduled for June 5, the quarterfinals are set for June 26, the semifinals for July 10, and the final for August 7 or 8.
The Crew is celebrating the 10th anniversary of it 2002 U.S. Open Cup championship this year. The Black & Gold won that title at Crew Stadium, with a 1-0 victory over the newly minted MLS Cup-champion LA Galaxy on the strength of a Freddy Garcia goal in the 30th minute. It also advanced to the final in both 1998 and 2010, when it fell to Seattle, 2-1, before a then-record crowd at Qwest Field.
