NSC Minnesota Stars Have Chance to Play LA Galaxy At Home in US Open Cup Play
US Soccer announced on Wednesday the possible scenarios for the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Tournament.
Minnesota plays AC St. Louis at home next Tuesday, June 22. Should Minnesota win that game, US Soccer has scheduled the LA Galaxy of MLS to play the Stars on Tuesday, June 29th at the National Sports Center.
If AC St. Louis defeats Minnesota, they will have to travel to Los Angeles to play the Galaxy away the Home Depot Center.
Playing the LA Galaxy at home will be extra incentive for the Stars to get a favorable result against AC St. Louis. The Galaxy currently sit 1st in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer and hold the league’s best record at 10-2-1. The Galaxy under coach Bruce Arena have scored a league high 22 goals, tied with Real Salt Lake, and have allowed only 4 goals in 13 games. Nine of the team’s 22 goals have been scored by Edson Buddle. It’s highly unlikely that Buddle or Landon Donovon would make the trip even if the US don’t advance out of the 1st round of the World Cup.
Minnesota will be going into the AC St. Louis game with a streak of four games in 6 days. With Tuesday’s US Open Cup match it will be 5 games in 8 days. Should the Stars win Tuesday’s game, they would not have to play again until Saturday, June 26, away at Crystal Palace Baltimore.
The Galaxy last played on June 9th (1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake) and will not play again until Saturday, June 26 when they travel to BMO field to play Toronto FC. Major League Soccer took a World Cup break this year which will mean the Galaxy will have fresh legs no matter who they face, Minnesota or St. Louis.
2010 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP THIRD ROUND POSSIBLE MATCHES
| No. | Date | Match | Time | Venue |
| 25 | June 29 | Long Island Rough Riders (PDL) at New York Red Bulls (MLS) | 8 p.m. ET | Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J. |
| -or- | New York Red Bulls (MLS) at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) | 7 p.m. ET | Skyline Sports Complex; Harrisburg, Pa. | |
| 26 | June 29 | Richmond Kickers (USL-2)/Real Maryland FC Monarchs (USL-2) winner at D.C. United (MLS) | 7:30 p.m. ET | George Mason Stadium; Fairfax, Va. |
| 27 | June 29 | Carolina RailHawks (D2)/Charleston Battery (USL-2) winner at Chicago Fire (MLS) | 7:30 p.m. CT | Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill. |
| 28 | June 29 | Rochester Rhinos (D2)/Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-2) winner at Columbus Crew (MLS) | 7:30 p.m. ET | Columbus Crew Stadium; Columbus, Ohio |
| 29 | June 29 | Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) at NSC Minnesota Stars (D2) | 7 p.m. CT | National Sports Center; Blaine, Minn. |
| -or- | AC St. Louis (D2) at Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) | 7:30 p.m. PT | The Home Depot Center; Carson, Calif. | |
| 30 | June 29 | FC Tampa Bay Rowdies (D2)/Miami FC (D2) winner at Houston Dynamo (MLS) | 7:30 p.m. CT | Carl Lewis Track Stadium; Houston, Texas |
| 31 | June 29 | Austin Aztex (D2)/Arizona Sahuaros (USASA) winner at Chivas USA (MLS) | 7:30 p.m. PT | California State-Fullerton; Fullerton, Calif. |
| 32 | June 29 | Seattle Sounders (MLS) at Kitsap Pumas (PDL) | 7 p.m. PT | Bremerton Memorial Stadium; Bremerton, Wash. |
| -or- June 30 |
Seattle Sounders (MLS) at Portland Timbers (D2) | 7 p.m. PT | PGE Park; Portland, Ore. |
Comments are closed.
Hey BQ, question for you.
How do they determine who is at home in each pairing? It seems rather arbitrary, is it done completely by lot? In which case NSC has been fortunate to draw the home ball for potentially 3 matches in a row?
Getting to play the Galaxy in the USOC would be sort of a double-edged sword. Sure, we get to play an MLS team that’s top of their division, but the game wouldn’t have the same draw with Becks, Donovan, and Buddle out of the country for the World Cup. Of course, that means the Stars would get to play a Galaxy team that’s been gutted of its two best players (Becks would be in the top 3, but he’s still injured, so he’d miss the game anyway). Who knows–if they can get past ACSTL they might have a shot of toppling an MLS team for the first time in years.
Sorry it took so long to get back to your comment Justin. Not sure about the pairings. It’s a good question. Usually it’s done by region so not sure why we get LA so early.
I do know that the home or away is determined by a number of factors. Availability of stadiums and the understanding from US Soccer that the game will draw better if it includes an MLS team and is played at a smaller teams stadium. Often times a D2 team playing an MLS team at an MLS home town will be played at a college stadium because of low attendance and its cheaper than leasing their own stadium or having to open it up.
It’s also done on a bid process. If the MLS team wants the game its usually tough to outbid them. US Soccer gives each travel team money for the airfare and hotel and food stipend. US Soccer gets a cut of the gate after a certain amount of money is made. If a team can promise a higher cut, a lower ceiling on when they start making a profit or to pay for hotel etc…. they have a better chance of getting the bid. But the USOC committee still makes decisions that may override some of that.