USA

Seattle Fells Timbers in Open Cup; DC Wins

Portland, Oregon. With fans embracing the potential rivalry, Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders beat the lower league Portland Timbers 2-1 on Wednesday in the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

It was the first official meeting between the near neighbors since Seattle joined MLS this season.

The game was a sellout, with Sounders fans traveling south en masse and trading chants with Portland’s supporters, who displayed a sign reading “A league below, a class above.”

The US Open Cup is a knockout competition open to all amateur and professional teams affiliated with US Soccer. The tournament dates to 1914.

Seattle’s win puts it into the quarterfinals, where it will meet the MLS’s Kansas City Wizards, which overcame the USL1’s Minnesota Thunder in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw.

Seattle silenced the home crowd when Roger Levesque scored just 49 seconds into the game. Stephen King’s goal in the 27th minute made it 2-0.

Portland’s Mandjou Keita pulled a goal back, beating veteran Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller inside the far post in the 43rd minute.

The MLS’s Houston Dynamo also progressed to the quarterfinals, winning 2-0 away at the USL1’s Austin Aztex. Houston will next face the USL1’s Charleston Battery, which beat the MLS’s Chivas 3-1.

DC United was the other top-flight team to reach the last eight, with a 2-0 win over the Ocean City Barons, which plays in the fourth tier of US football. DC’s quarterfinal opponent will be the Harrisburg City Islanders. The Islanders of USL2 won 2-1 away at the MLS’s New England Revolution.

Another USL2 team to make the quarterfinals was the Wilmington Hammerheads, which had a 1-0 home win against the MLS’s Chicago Fire. Wilmington’s opponent will be the USL1’s Rochester Rhinos, which won a penalty shootout against the MLS’s Columbus Crew after a 1-1 draw.

Associated Press