Sporting KC to Visit Houston Dynamo in U.S. Open Cup Round of 32

April 27, 2023 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Sporting Kansas City News Release

After a 3-0 win over Tulsa Athletic in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round on Tuesday, Sporting Kansas City will continue the club’s run in the competition on the road at the Houston Dynamo in the Round of 32 with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 10 at Shell Energy Stadium.

U.S. Soccer conducted the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 draw today, determining the 16 matchups and hosts for the next round of the 108th edition of the competition.

Sporting KC progressed to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 with a 3-0 victory against Tulsa Athletic on Tuesday at Children’s Mercy Park. Daniel Salloi scored his 50th goal for the club in all competitions – including a team-record eight goals in the U.S. Open Cup – while Alan Pulido and Marinos Tzionis each struck for goals in the second half. In addition, John Pulskamp saved a first-half penalty kick to improve to 4-0-1 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup with three shutouts and a 0.53 goals against average.

The Houston Dynamo advanced to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 with a 1-0 victory at the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday. The 2018 U.S. Open Cup champions, Houston is currently sixth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference with a 4-3-1 record in the regular season boosted by a perfect 4-0-0 home record at Shell Energy Stadium.

Houston is led by head coach Ben Olsen along with assistant coach Aurelien Collin, who won the U.S. Open Cup and MLS Cup as a player during a memorable four-year stint with Sporting KC from 2011-2014. Club captain Hector Herrera has represented Mexico at three FIFA World Cups and Dynamo newcomer Amine Bassi has scored five goals in six MLS starts this season.

While Houston and Sporting have won three of the past six U.S. Open Cup titles, the teams will meet in the U.S. Open Cup for a sixth time in the past seven editions of the tournament. During the Sporting era of the club (2011-present), Sporting will now have faced Houston 11 times in elimination matches with four meetings in the MLS Cup Playoffs (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2017) and seven match-ups in the U.S. Open Cup (2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023).

Open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, the 2023 U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 features 24 clubs from Major League Soccer and eight teams from the second division USL Championship. A champion will be crowned in September after eight rounds of single-elimination play…