Preview: Sporting KC continues Open Cup title defense at Houston Dynamo on Wednesday

Sporting Kansas City continues its defense of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, facing rivals Houston Dynamo in the Round of 16 at BBVA Compass Stadium. The game is set to kick off at 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on SportingKC.com.

Unbeaten in four games during the month of June, Sporting Kansas City reached the Round of 16 with a 2-1 extra time win at Minnesota United FC on June 15. Benny Feilhaber and Christian Ramirez traded second-half penalty kicks before Diego Rubio came off the bench to score the winner in the 109th minute. Manager Peter Vermes’ men have scored multiple goals in both MLS matches since then — a 2-0 home win over FC Dallas and a 2-2 stalemate at Montreal Impact on Saturday.

Feilhaber enters Wednesday’s contest with an assist in each of Sporting Kansas City’s last three matches, and his six career assists in the U.S. Open Cup are three more than any other player in Sporting KC history. Forward Dom Dwyer was the star on Saturday in Montreal, scoring twice to bring his team-leading total to eight goals in 2016. The 25-year-old Englishman bagged five goals during Sporting KC’s run to the 2015 Open Cup championship and is one goal shy of becoming the club’s lone leader atop the Open Cup scoring chart.

Center back Matt Besler and winger Graham Zusi have rejoined Sporting Kansas City after spending the last month with the United States Men’s National Team at Copa America Centenario. The duo last played for the club on May 21 and will be in contention feature Wednesday night as Sporting Kansas City continues its quest for a second straight U.S. Open Cup title and a fourth in team history.

The Houston Dynamo currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with 14 points from 16 games, but have just one loss in eight matches at BBVA Compass Stadium this season in all competitions. Wade Barrett’s side cruised in their U.S. Open Cup fourth round tie on June 15, burying San Antonio FC 4-0 behind goals from Mauro Manotas, Alex, Raul Rodriguez and Leonel Miranda.

While remaining tough to beat at home, the Dynamo have just two points from nine regular season road games in 2016. Their most recent setback came at the Portland Timbers on Sunday, extending Houston’s league winless run to five games. Andrew Wenger and Will Bruin gave the visitors a 2-0 halftime lead, but Portland replied with three unanswered goals in the second half to leave the Dynamo rooted at the bottom of the West.

Wednesday’s encounter is a rematch of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal which Sporting Kansas City won 3-1 at Children’s Mercy Park. Houston won the first regular season meeting of 2016, receiving goals form Giles Barnes and Andrew Wenger in a 2-0 result at BBVA Compass Stadium in May 7. The rivals have squared off 21 times in all competitions since 2011, including five playoff games and two Open Cup meetings.

In addition to watching a live stream on SportingKC.com, supporters can follow Wednesday’s match via Twitter at @SKCGameday and on Sporting KC Uphoria, the club’s official mobile app.