D.C. United vs. North Carolina FC
What: U.S. Open Cup, fourth round
Where: Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
Live stream: dcunited.com, ussoccer.com
Outlook: The fourth round marks the entry point for MLS teams to the 104-year-old tournament, which involves squads from several tiers of American soccer. For most MLS sides, it means confronting a lower-division team hungry for an upset. Last year, United received a major scare from Christos FC, an amateur team from Baltimore sponsored by a discount liquor store, before pulling away in the second half for a 4-1 win at Maryland SoccerPlex. In the round of 16, D.C. lost at New England, 2-1.
This year’s first test is against an opponent from the United Soccer League, which is one step below MLS. North Carolina FC, based in the Raleigh suburb of Cary, advanced by defeating Lansdowne Bhoys FC (N.Y.) and Ocean City Nor’easters (N.J.). NCFC is 12th in the USL’s 16-team Eastern Conference with a 3-5-2 record. On Saturday, it lost at home to Bethlehem Steel FC, 2-1.
The roster features two former D.C. players: midfielders Austin da Luz (14 MLS appearances and five starts in 2011) and Ty Shipalane. Other ex-MLS players include goalkeeper Alex Tambakis, defender Michael Harrington and midfielder Kyle Bekker. Mexican forward Daniel Rios has five league goals, and Dutch forward Marios Lomis has four goals in his past five matches across all competitions. The club is 21-10 in Open Cup history, with six home victories against MLS foes.
United has had more than a week to prepare for this game after receiving a bye over the weekend. With two MLS road matches approaching — D.C. will visit MLS Cup runner-up Seattle on Saturday and MLS Cup champion Toronto next Wednesday — Coach Ben Olsen is likely to blend regulars and reserves against NCFC.
“We can’t take them lightly,” Olsen said. “This isn’t an amateur or semipro team. We’ll put the best team we’ve got out there, with the understanding we’ve got to travel cross-country a few days later.”
United (2-5-3 in MLS) is coming off a productive West Coast trip, winning at San Jose and drawing at Los Angeles FC. Injuries to regulars continue to have an impact on Olsen’s decisions: Defender Nick DeLeon (knee) is out for a week or two; midfielder Ulises Segura is recovering from a knee sprain; and defender Taylor Kemp (groin) and midfielder Russell Canouse (knee) have yet to play this year.
The winner of this match will advance to the round of 16 and enter a four-team cluster dictated by geography. Most fourth-round matches are Wednesday. The other Tuesday games are Richmond (USL) at Philadelphia (MLS), and New England (MLS) at Louisville City FC (USL).
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