U.S. Open Cup: Reeling Strikers carry NASL banner

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Jul 19, 2016

Five former champions are still alive in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which moves into the quarterfinals. Seven MLS clubs are joined by the NASL's Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, who play the Chicago Fire, winner of four Open Cup titles.

U.S. Open Cup Championships:
4 Chicago Fire
4 Seattle Sounders
2 LA Galaxy
1 FC Dallas
1 New England Revolution
0 Philadelphia Union
0 Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
0 Houston Dynamo

Ft. Lauderdale had never beaten an MLS team going back to its days as Miami FC, before beating D.C. United in a shootout and Orlando City with a dramatic 2-1 win in overtime.

The Strikers, suffering from cash-flow issues, have not won a game since the Orlando City game, losing their last three game and going winless in its first four matches of the NASL’s fall season. They had gone 4-0-1 to get back in the NASL spring race before finishing 4-3-3, three points off the lead.

They feature 11 former MLS players, including Victor Pineda, the Fire's first Homegrown player, and Brazilian Maicon Santos, who spent the 2013 season with the Fire, the last of five MLS clubs for which he played.

Ft. Lauderdale is the third NASL team to advance to the quarterfinals since the league's launch in 2011. The Carolina RailHawks made it in 2013 and 2014 and the Atlanta Silverbacks did it in 2014.

U.S. Open Cup Schedule:
Quarterfinals
July 20 in Boston
New England Revolution vs. Philadelphia Union
June 20 in Bridgeview, Ill.
Chicago Fire vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers
July 20 in Houston
Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas
July 20 in Carson, Calif.
LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders
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Semifinals: August 10
Final: September 21

U.S. Open Cup Results:
First Round: May 11
Second Round: May 18
Third Round: June 1
Fourth Round: June 14-15
Fifth Round: June 30