As if MLS Heineken Rivalry Week wasn't fun enough, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup's Round of 16 offers several bonus rivalry games this week, with elimination on the line in all eight games, four to be played on Tuesday and four set for Wednesday. MLS teams make up 14 of the 16 remaining teams seeking quarterfinal berths.
Here are some of the storylines for this week's games:
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: The biggest grudge matches come on Wednesday, with the New York Red Bulls trying to complete a sweep of New York-based rivals when they host the New York Cosmos at Red Bull Arena (7:30 pm ET). The Cosmos, coached by ex-MetroStar Giovanni Savarese and featuring former Red Bulls Carlos Mendes, Hunter Freeman and Jimmy Maurer, eliminated the Red Bulls from last year's tournament by an emphatic 3-0 score and knocked out New York City FC on penalty kicks two weeks ago.
- MORE: US Open Cup headlines
TIDE TURNING? Later Wednesday night, the San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy meet for the second time in five days, this time at Avaya Stadium, in a special edition of the California Clasico (10:30 pm ET). The Galaxy have advanced in all four of the team's previous Open Cup meetings, including an epic 10-9 shootout in 2001.
NO BROTHERLY LOVE HERE:
This week's schedule also includes another East Coast rivalry game between the Philadelphia Union and D.C. United (Tuesday, 7 pm ET), two teams with their own Open Cup history, including a couple of ill-tempered overtime games and a Dwayne De Rosario hat trick with D.C. winning two of the three. In this year's games, the two have traded one-goal wins.
PLAYOFF PREVIEWS? Some of the top Western Conference teams, meanwhile, also square off, as Sporting Kansas City host FC Dallas (Wednesday, 8:30 pm ET) and Real Salt Lake host the Portland Timbers (Wednesday, 10 pm ET) in a rematch of their memorable semifinal in 2013.
Other games include Mike Jeffries, coach of the expansion Charlotte Independence, returning to face the Chicago Fire, with whom he won the Open Cup as an expansion team in 1998 (Tuesday, 8:30 pm ET), Orlando City hosting the Columbus Crew SC (Tuesday, 7:30 pm ET), and the Houston Dynamo hosting the Colorado Rapids (Tuesday, 9 pm ET).
All games are expected to be streamed via U.S. Soccer's YouTube.com channel.
Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 16
Tuesday, 7 pm ET - Philadelphia Union vs. D.C. United
Tuesday, 7:30 pm ET - Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew SC
Tuesday, 8:30 pm ET - Chicago Fire vs. Charlotte Independence
Tuesday, 9 pm ET - Houston Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids
Wednesday, 7:30 pm ET - New York Red Bulls vs. New York Cosmos
Wednesday, 8:30 pm ET - Sporting Kansas City vs. FC Dallas
Wednesday, 10 pm ET - Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers
Wednesday, 10:30 pm ET - San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy
