For the fourth straight year, Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo will meet in the U.S. Open Cup. The quarterfinal match-up between the longtime postseason rivals is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on July 18 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas.
2018: SKC at HOU (Quarterfinal)
2017: SKC 2, HOU 0 (Rd of 16)
2016: HOU 3, SKC 1 (Rd of 16)
2015: SKC 3, HOU 1 (Quarterfinal)
The Dynamo defeated Minnesota United FC 1-0 on Monday, setting up a series of three summer showdowns with Sporting KC in a span of six weeks.
June 23: SKCvHOU at Children's Mercy Park (MLS)
July 18: HOUvSKC at BBVA Compass Stadium (USOC)
Aug. 4: HOUvSKC at BBVA Compass Stadium (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City, the reigning U.S. Open Cup champions, dispatched FC Dallas with a 3-2 victory on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park behind two goals from Daniel Salloi and a 89th-minute game-winning volley from Yohan Croizet (watch). Sporting KC, in pursuit of a fifth U.S. Open Cup title, opened the competition with a 2-0 win at Real Salt Lake, while Houston cruised to a 5-0 victory versus amateur side NTX Rayados in the fourth round.
Houston, making the club's sixth appearance in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, is now afforded a third straight home match in this year's tournament. The Dynamo are led by 22-year-old Alberth Elis with eight goals and five assists in 14 appearances this season.
The 2018 U.S. OpenCup began May 6 with 97 teams from all levels of American soccer. The 105th edition of the storied tournament features a single-tiered bracket with eight rounds of single-elimination play until a champion is crowned in September.
U.S. Open Cup schedule (subject to change)
Quarterfinals: July 18
Semifinals: Aug. 7 or 8
Final: Sept. 26
The winner of the 2018 U.S. OpenCup will receive $300,000 in prize money, up from $250,000 last year. The tournament runner-up will receive $100,000 (up from $60,000) and the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will earn $25,000 (up from $15,000). The 2018 champion will also receive a berth in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League, a tournament Sporting KC has already qualified for as last year's champion.
The U.S. OpenCup, named in honor of the late soccer pioneer and former Kansas City Wizards owner Lamar Hunt since 1999, is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third-longest-running open soccer tournament. An OpenCup champion has been crowned every year dating back to 1914.
