Orlando City News Release -- www.orlandocitysoccer.com
Friday, June 21, 2013
ORLANDO, Fla. — U.S. Soccer announced on Thursday that Orlando City SC will host a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal match on Wednesday, August 7, against the winner of the New England Revolution/DC United quarterfinal match if the club advances past Wednesday’s quarterfinal in Bridgeview, Ill., against the Chicago Fire. The game would kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fifth Third Bank Field at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
The Orlando City/VSI Tampa Bay USL PRO match originally scheduled on August 7 will be moved to another date. Stay tuned for an announcement about the rescheduling in the upcoming weeks.
Orlando first has to take on the Chicago Fire, with that game kicking off at 8:30 p.m. ET at Toyota Park on June 26. Chicago currently holds a 4-7-3 record in MLS regular season play. The club is led by midfielder Mike Magee, who was acquired from the LA Galaxy on May 25. Magee has been in MLS since 2003, scoring 44 goals in his career.
The Lions advanced past their MLS affiliate Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in the fourth round of the Open Cup, with an early score by forward Long Tan giving Orlando the lead and win. The win marked the club’s first-ever win against Sporting KC and advancement to the quarterfinals. Orlando previously topped MLS’ Colorado Rapids 3-1 at the Citrus Bowl in the third round of the knockout tournament.
The four Sporting loanees who did not play against Sporting, including Dom Dwyer, Christian Duke, Yann Songo’o and Jon Kempin, will be eligible for the June 26 match against Chicago barring a call-up from Kansas City.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and is open to United States Soccer Federation (USSF) affiliated teams. This year marks the centennial edition of the tournament. This year’s field consisted of 68 teams, the largest field in US Open Cup history.