Cards on the Table: The US Open Cup Round of 16 begins today

Open Cup Digest #16

The 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup rolls on, even without the Boys in Blue.

The Round of 16 is here, and the lineup is almost exclusively Major League Soccer teams. Only one lower division side survived the last round — that would be the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, whose cupset win over New York City FC makes them the only underdog to advance.

Geography is becoming a factor in the matchups, and now teams have to start thinking critically. 

The choice of rotating rosters was easy last round for MLS teams facing lower division teams. It might have led to scares for some, like the Portland Timbers needing late heroics to avoid a catastrophic loss to Tacoma Defiance, aka the reserve team to rival Seattle Sounders. But now, facing other MLS teams in the middle of the season, it becomes a choice: Do you put your cards on the table and go for the cup? Or hold and hope to see it out?

The winners this week will advance to the Quarterfinals, which will be played in the heat of summer on July 8 and 9. Following the results this week, US Soccer will hold another draw to determine what the matchups will be in those Quarterfinal games, dividing the survivors into two geographic groups of four, with the bracket separated into East vs West.

The tournament can be watched on the CBS family of networks, with all eight Round of 16 games streamed live on Paramount+. Three of the games will also be shown on other CBS outlets: One on CBS Sports Golazo Network, and two on CBS Sports Network (including the NY Red Bulls vs FC Dallas game on Wednesday). Additionally, CBS Sports Golazo Network will offer up “The Golazo Show” on Wednesday, May 2, a whip-around program that will feature every goal from every match.

Read on as we take you through each match of local interest in this week’s Round of 16, before making some iron-clad Open Cup predictions.

The only locals left in the Open Cup are the Red Bulls, and it's not coming at a great time for the club.

The New York Red Bulls were in the MLS Cup Final last year, but it's been a mediocre 2025. Since I last wrote about the Red Bulls in Open Cup Digest #15, the team cruised past the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC of the USL Championship, 4-1. That game saw a heavily-rotated roster roll to the win behind a brace from young forward Mohammed Sofo.

After that game, the team beat the LA Galaxy 7-0 in a grudge rematch of the 2024 MLS Cup Final, with braces from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Emil Forsberg. It was a bit of revenge against the team that denied RBNY its first title, and it looked like it kickstarted an offense that usually doesn’t score more than one goal per game, if that.

However, it has not worked out well for head coach Sandro Schwarz and his group since then. The team lost to Nashville SC, 2-1, midweek, and are coming off a 2-0 loss to New York City FC in the Hudson River Derby last Saturday.

Right now, the group looks tired and unorganized. The defense can play well, especially Sean Nealis and Noah Eile. Daniel Edelman and Dennis Gjengaar are both starting to build up far more in the midfield. But the issue remains that the team's creation is limited, and the squad needs another playmaker alongside Forsberg.

Then there’s the problem of finding a consistent scorer in the final third. Yes, Choupo-Moting has seven goals this season, which puts him towards the top of the league. But two of them were penalty kicks, and two of them came against the worst team in MLS.

FC Dallas isn’t looking that hot either.

Currently 11th in the 15-team Western Conference, Dallas hasn’t won a league game since April 27. Last weekend, Dallas lost to the Houston Dynamo, 2-0, in the long-running Texas Derby — it was Houston’s first win at Toyota Stadium since the 2011 season.

Going into the season, most people expected Dallas to be middling or outright bad. While LA Galaxy’s historic championship slump has taken up the nonexistent headlines, the oldest MLS team from the Lone Star State has lived up to its expectations.

First-time MLS head coach Eric Quill, whose New Mexico United side knocked out NYCFC II last year in the Open Cup, took over a team that was gutted in the offseason. Forward Jesús Ferreira, winger Paul Arriola, winger Alan Velasco, and defender Nkosi Tafari all left after last year. Yes, the team brought in Luciano Acosta. But as of now, he only has three goals, tied for the most on the team with Anderson Julio and Peter Musa.

True, Dallas did beat Inter Miami in a stunning fashion last month. But overall, the team just has four league wins this year. To reach this stage of the Open Cup, they knocked out Division III side AV Alta FC of USL League One. The biggest moment of that 3-1 win was Alta’s hail-mary goal by Osvaldo Lay.

Prediction: The Red Bulls looked terrible in Queens and are in the midst of a May slog of games. Dallas isn’t in a great spot either, with a bad record. In a midweek game, with what we can expect to see as rotated rosters, it can go either way. But with home field advantage, it feels safer to take RBNY, 1-0.

Oh boy, it's New York City’s new favorite lower division team!

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds from the USL Championship were the only lower-division team to advance past the Round of 32. A header by Beto Ydrach late in stoppage time sent the crowd at Highmark Stadium into a frenzy as the Hounds beat NYCFC, 1-0.

As the farthest advancing Division II squad, the Riverhounds are also walking away with $50,000 in prize money from USSF.

NYCFC bows out of US Open Cup after Pittsburgh scores stoppage-time winner

A sputtering offense and defensive lapses sunk New York City FC, making them the only MLS side to lose to a lower-division team this round.

Hudson River BlueMatthew Mangam

Since that game, the Pittsburgh side has reverted to its mediocre form this season. First, there was a scoreless draw against Louisville City FC on the road three days after pulling off the cupset, with keeper Eric Dick making four saves. Then last Saturday, the Hounds dropped a result to a stumbling Colorado Rapids Switchbacks, getting blanked again 1-0.

The team has scored just one goal in all competitions since April 26 — and it happened to be the goal that beat NYCFC. The offense continues to struggle, and the team is sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference because of it. Daniel Griffin is still the only player who has scored more than once, and he has just two goals.

The good news is Dick now has four clean sheets in goal this season, including two in his last three games.

The home team in this matchup is having no trouble scoring goals this season. The Philadelphia Union are, as of now, top of the table not just in the Eastern Conference, but in the Supporters’ Shield standings. Tai Baribo’s eleven goals in the regular season have him first in the Golden Boot race. Head coach Bradley Carnell, in his first season in the city of Brotherly Love, has swept aside many of the Union’s doubters. 

Goalkeeper Andrew Rick is currently having the most important month of his career so far. The 19-year-old stepped up for the injured Andre Blake, his confidence on display between the sticks. In league play, he allowed two goals to the Columbus Crew and LA Galaxy, but then went on to blank Atlanta United this past weekend.

Last round, the Union were pushed to the brink by USL Championship side Indy Eleven. A 1-1 draw forced penalty kicks, where Rick made a clutch save in the third round to help his team avoid the upset, 5-4.

There are other things to like in this squad, such as Nate Harriel adjusting to a new role at center back, or Cavan Sullivan getting more First Team time. Overall, the Union has both youth and veteran players clicking at the right time.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Philadelphia Union and Pittsburgh Riverhounds: Two cities tied with sports rivalries will finally see it play out on a soccer pitch in what Philadelphia Soccer Now is calling “Keystone Derby”.

U.S. Open Cup Rewind: The Pittsburgh-Area Coal Miners of Harmarville who Claimed two Titles

With the USL Championship’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds celebrating their 26th birthday with a Cupset of MLS’ NYCFC, and a run to our 2025 Round of 16, we take a look back at one of Western Pennsylvania’s true OG clubs in two-time Open Cup champions (1952 and 1956) the Harmarville Hurricanes.

U.S. Soccer

Prediction: Subaru Park has been a fortress for the Philadelphia Union, who have only lost one game there this year. Head coach Bradley Carnell rotated heavily last round and nearly paid the price. The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are struggling this season, but have the high of the cupset rolling with them. I don’t think it will be enough. Take the Union, 2-0.

Pancyprians edge Lansdowne in Amateur Cup Semifinal

Following up from last round’s Open Cup Digest, the National Amateur Cup rolled along this past weekend. The 101st edition of the tournament is quietly taking place across the country as well. Why does this matter? Because the national champion will automatically qualify for the 2026 US Open Cup.

I've been helping to cover the tournament over on TheCup.us for the last few years, and I’m prepared to bring you up to date on where locals stand.

Last Sunday, the New York Pancyprian Freedoms beat Lansdowne Yonkers FC, 3-2, in a regional semifinal match that took place at St Michael’s Park in Queens. The fiery affair between two of the best teams in the American Premier Soccer League’s Metropolitan Conference had red cards shown to each team.

Official Highlights | Pancyprian Freedoms 3–2 Lansdowne Yonkers

The Pancyprian-Freedoms, the three-time Open Cup champions who knocked off FC Cincinnati 2 in this year’s tournament, are also defending national champions in the amateur cup.

Goals from former St John’s University defender Jared Juleau and Marist University product Kyle Galloway gave Lansdowne Yonkers a two-goal lead at the half. In the 54th minute, Pancyprian’s forward James Thristino cut the lead in half and tried to get the ball from the hands of Yonkers keeper Daniel DiMarco, who palmed the forward in the face to get a straight red card.

The Freedoms scored two more goals in the half, even as more red cards were shown to both teams. Gonzalo Gil and Thristino both scored in the half to secure the chaotic win.

The Freedoms advance to the regional final, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 14, at the Ukrainian American Sport Center in Horsham, PA. They will face Maryland side Christos FC, a major powerhouse in amateur soccer for the northeast. The organization plays in both the APSL and USL League Two.

Christos made waves in 2017, when the amateurs sponsored by a liquor store took the lead against D.C. United in the Open Cup. They went on to lose that game, but the goal and moment live on to this day.

ESPN FC | The Fascinating Story Behind Christos FC