US Open Cup semifinalists, Dallas wins in MLS and LAFC draws with Atlanta

The soccer news starts with the US Open Cup, with the semifinals now set. On Tuesday, FC Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh 3-1 at home. Brandon Vazquez put Cincinnati up in the 56th, Alvaro Barreal doubled the lead in the 71st, and Santiago Arias made it 3-0 two minutes into stoppage time. Pittsburgh’s Tola Showunmi scored four minutes into stoppage time.

“First off, credit to Pittsburgh, one on their run and two on the performance tonight, which clearly made it difficult on us,” FC Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “You know, they’re well coached and they’ve got a good squad. Certainly an impressive run for them. We move on, I think that was the most important factor in the game is playing in the semis.”

Houston won 4-1 at Chicago, taking the lead from a 12th minute Amine Bassi goal. With Houston up 2-0 when Ibrahim Aliyu scored in the 31st, Chicago’s Arnaud Souquet pulled a goal back in the 40th. Aliyu scored again for the Dynamo in the 59th and Nelson Quinones finished off the goals in the 74th minute.

We are trying to create a culture of winning,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said. “That includes tournaments and making sure we go about them in the right way and I thought the guys’ mentality was great.”

On Wednesday, Inter Miami won 1-0 at Birmingham from a Nicolas Stefanelli goal in the 56th minute. Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender made four saves to record the shutout.

“This win is very important, not just for us as a team, but for the whole organization,” Inter Miami interim coach Javier Morales said. “We made history today. It’s the first time that the team makes semifinals.”

Real Salt Lake beat the LA Galaxy 3-2 at home, taking the lead from a 19th minute Damir Kreilach goal. Kreilach converted a penalty six minutes into stoppage time and Jefferson Savarino made it 3-0 RSL in the 51st. The Galaxy’s Gaston Brugman converted a penalty in the 82nd and Douglas Costa scored in the 84th minute.

Moving to MLS, FC Dallas shutout St Louis 2-0 at home in a game that started in the 50th minute after a weather postponement on May 6 with the score 0-0. Jesus Ferreira put Dallas up in the 80th and Marco Farfan doubled the lead in the 89th minute. Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes made three saves to keep the clean sheet.

“It is a game that requires a lot of intensity and high pressing,” Paes said. “It was the perfect scenario for them as they can get the full intensity and that is exactly what they did. We had to slow them down and take our chances and tonight we were very efficient at it.”

LAFC and Atlanta finished 0-0 at BMO Stadium in Wednesday’s other MLS game. LAFC failed to convert a 70th minute penalty, finishing with nine shots on goal to none for Atlanta.

In the Canadian Championship final, Vancouver beat Montreal 2-1 at home to take the trophy and the spot in the Champions Cup. Brian White scored for the Whitecaps in the 57th and Ryan Gauld converted a 65th minute penalty. Montreal’s Sunusi Ibrahim scored in the 83rd minute.

Concacaf announced that the Champions League will become the Champions Cup in 2024. The new Concacaf club ecosystem will deliver more of those big rivalry matchups that we know footballers want to play in and that fans want to see,” Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said in the press release. Clubs across the region will have to be at their very best to compete to win the Concacaf Champions Cup and to earn the right to represent the region in the revamped and expanded FIFA Club World Cup which begins in 2025.

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