ORLANDO, Fla. (July 16, 2018) - Orlando City SC will continue its 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run in the Quarterfinals when it visits the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, July 18. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Talen Energy Stadium.
The match will be streamed at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/LIVE.
“[Philadelphia] have players that are very capable of hurting you. Whether they high press or whether they drop, they’re doing a combination of both really. So it will be interesting to see, do they come high-press or do they sit,” Lions head coach James O’Connor said. “It would be incredible. There’s a desperation from all of us to go as far as we possibly can in the competition. I think anytime we get an opportunity like that you want to really try and grab it.”
Wednesday’s match will mark City’s second appearance in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals in the MLS era. A win over Philadelphia would advance the Lions to the U.S. Open Cup Semifinals for the first time in Club history. The champion earns a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.
City won its Round of 16 match in a penalty shootout against D.C. United on June 20. D.C. struck first with a goal from Luciano Acosta in the ninth minute, but Justin Meram equalized seven minutes later. The Lions went on to win the penalty shootout 4-2, with goalkeeper Earl Edwards, Jr. making one save in the shootout.
Sacha Kljestan has assisted on each of City’s four goals in its 2018 Open Cup run. All four goals have come from four different players with Stéfano Pinho, Dillon Powers, PC and Meram each finding the back of the net for the Lions.
Philadelphia won its Round of 16 match 2-1 over the New York Red Bulls. Haris Medunjanin scored for the Union in the 52nd minute and Cory Burke added another in the 61st. The Union defeated United Soccer League (USL) side Richmond Kickers 5-0 in the fourth round.
This will be the Lions’ second visit to Talen Energy Stadium in 2018. City won the first meeting over the Union 2-0 on April 13 in league play. Dom Dwyer scored in the 38th minute, with Chris Mueller following, scoring his second of his three goals in as many games, to secure the road win for the Lions.
The winner of Wednesday’s match will move on to the semifinals to face the winner between the Chicago Fire and USL side Louisville City FC, O’Connor’s former club.
Following Wednesday’s match, City will head directly to Columbus to face Crew SC in MLS play on July 21. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at MAPFRE Stadium.
