• US Open Cup Round of 32: Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Wednesday, May 7 at 7:10 pm ET
• Venue: Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
• Forecast: Clear and pleasant, 71F/21C
• Watch: Paramount+ or CBS Sports Network
• CBS Broadcast Team: Joe Malfa and Kacey White (English)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Rodrigo Albuquerque (referee), Jacob Little and Christian Little (assistant referees), Kyle Johnston (fourth official)
Note: VAR isn't used in the US Open Cup until the Quarterfinals.
New York City FC today returns to Lamar Hunt US Open Cup action for the first time since May 10, 2023, traveling to the banks of the Monongahela River for a first-ever meeting with USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
The Hounds made it here to the Round of 32 by notching a 1-0 away win over Columbus Crew 2 of Division III MLS Next Pro 1-0 on April 15 in the Open Cup's Third Round. They've lost three straight USL matches (two in the league, one in the Jagermeister Cup) since that win, while New York City enters the Cup riding a modest two-match winning streak in MLS.
The Open Cup is always an adventure for a New York City team that has historically tended to rotate out numerous regular starters when entering the competition.
Michael Battista
New York City US Open Cup Record
Because this is the first meeting between the two clubs, there is no head-to-head record. Instead, we can take a look at New York City's US Open Cup results over the years.
The overall record to date isn't great, to be honest. New York City have just four wins in the 11 games played since 2015. Last year, NYCFC II won four games in five matches as they advanced farther than any other Division III team in the tournament, but those results can't be applied to the First Team.
New York City FC | US Open Cup All-Time Results
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 15 | -2 |
But NYCFC did string together a couple of wins twice in their history. The first pair of wins came in 2019, when then-head coach Domé Torrent took the tournament seriously. First, New York City defeated North Carolina FC for their first-ever Open Cup win (in a game that featured the First Team debut for a young Keaton Parks, no less), then they overcame DC United at Audi Field. But then they wilted when facing Orlando in the tropical heat of a Florida summer, and lost in penalty kicks.
Three years later New York City again won two games, advancing to the Quarterfinals only to fall to New York Red Bulls 3-0 in a game that might be best remembered for Maxi Moralez and Thiago Andrade receiving red cards.
New York City Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Maxi Moralez is suspended due to that aforementioned red card he received in the 2022 Open Cup loss to the Red Bulls. Jacob Arroyave (leg) and Malachi Jones (leg) have been New York City's long-term absences, while fullbacks Kevin O'Toole and Mitja Ilenič were both out injured for Sunday's MLS game.
• Hard to know how much Pascal Jansen will rotate. New York City's Head Coach remained tight-lipped about his lineup plans for Pittsburgh while being asked frequently about them since the FC Cincinnati match ended, though it's a safe bet some number of New York City regulars will be missing from the Starting XI at Highmark Stadium.
• NYCFC II's run to the 2024 Open Cup's Round of 16 included three matches against higher-division USL Championship teams (two wins, one loss), and a number of current 2025 NYCFC squad members featured in those games: Tomás Romero started in goal for all three, as did right-back Drew Baiera and attacking midfielder Máximo Carrizo, while Jonny Shore played two of the three. Could we see all three return to action in the Cup against The Hounds?
• New York City FC will be looking for a second-ever win while playing away from home in the US Open Cup for the eighth time. This will also be NYCFC's fifth match against a lower-division opponent in the Cup, with the team having been knocked out twice by the New York Cosmos while defeating USL's North Carolina FC and MLS Next Pro's Rochester New York FC.
• For everything you'll want to know about Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC before kickoff, read Matthew Mangam's latest Oppo Research with with CJ Coreschi of Pittsburgh City Paper and TheCup.US.
Matthew Mangam
