Three MLS teams advance in Open Cup
The US Open Cup quarterfinals started on Tuesday, with Indy Eleven beating Atlanta United 2-1 in Kennesaw, GA. Augustine Williams put Indy Eleven up in the 31st, and an own-goal doubled the lead in the 83rd. Atlanta United’s Nick Firmino scored two minutes into stoppage time.
“I think we’re getting in decent positions and I feel like we’ve been saying that all year, but scoring the goals, we’re not doing it as often as we want to and as we should,” Firmino said. “We feel like it’s so hard for us to score but teams get easier goals than us and we’re always chasing the game so that’s something to work on.”
Seattle won 2-1 at Sacramento Republic, taking the lead from a Josh Atencio goal in the 16th. Jordan Morris made it 2-0 Sounders in the 31st. Sacramento’s Juan Sebastian Herrera scored in the 49th minute.
On Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City advanced 2-1 at home over FC Dallas in extra time. After a weather delay early in the second-half, Sporting KC’s William Agada scored in the 77th. Petar Musa equalized for Dallas in the 87th to send the game to extra time. Sporting’s Daniel Valencia scored in the 111th minute. Sporting KC hosts Indy Eleven on August 27.
“We came back out, got re-warmed up and all that,” Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said. “I told them, ‘Everything now is all about mentality. That’s all it is. It’s all about mentality.’ I have to applaud (them). We controlled that remaining 40 minutes. We were good. Other than the goal we gave up, we were all over them. And then I thought we were really smart in in the overtimes as well. We were good. It was a well deserved win for the guys, for sure.”
LAFC beat New Mexico United 3-1 at home to claim the last spot in the semifinals. Timothy Tillman put LAFC up in the 6th and David Martinez doubled the lead in the 37th. New Mexico’s Greg Hurst pulled a goal back in he 57th. Mateusz Bogusz finished off the LAFC goals in the 77th minute. LAFC plays at Seattle on August 27.
“I just think that the Open Cup is very important for us this year,” Tillman said. “We are trying to get to the final, we are trying to win it but we should just focus on the next game. We’ll have an important game on Saturday, but yeah of course, we are super happy to advance to the next round.”
In the Canadian Championship semifinals, Forge took a 2-1 lead over Toronto at home. Beni Badibanga put Forge up in the 11th and Kwasi Poku doubled the lead in the 14th. Toronto’s Prince Owusu scored in the 88th minute. The series concludes at Toronto on August 27.
Vancouver took a 1-0 lead at Pacific in Langford, British Columbia. Ryan Gauld scored for the Whitecaps in the 58th minute.
In Europa Conference first-leg qualifying, Aron Johannsson was on the bench for Valur’s 2-2 home draw with Vllazina on Thursday. Gudmonder Tryggvason put Valur up in the 12th with Vllaznia pulling a goal back in the 22nd. Vllaznia saw red in the 82nd and went ahead in the 84th. Lukas Heimisson equalized for Valur nine minutes into stoppage time.
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
