CHICAGO (August 5, 2002) The 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has reached its "Final Eight" as three of the four Quarterfinal games will take place this Wednesday, August 7. In the marquee match-up, last years Open Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) will travel to take on the defending MLS champion San Jose Earthquakes in a match that will be broadcast live on Fox Sports World (FSW) and Fox Sports World Espaρol (FSWE) from Spartan Stadium on Wednesday (August 7) at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET).
The Galaxy-Earthquakes match-up marks the third consecutive year that the two MLS rivals will be meeting in the Open Cup Quarterfinals. L.A. has twice eliminated San Jose from the Open Cup, winning 10-9 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in 2001 and downing the 'Quakes 2-0 in 2000. San Jose got a measure of revenge for those two defeats, though, by beating L.A. in overtime to claim the 2001 MLS Cup.
In other Quarterfinal matches set for August 7, the NY/NJ MetroStars (MLS) will host the Columbus Crew (MLS) at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, N.Y., at 9:15 p.m. ET, while the Colorado Rapids (MLS) travel to meet the Dallas Burn (MLS) at the Cotton Bowl at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Rounding out the Quarterfinals will be the MLS Kansas City Wizards visiting the last remaining A-League squad, the Milwaukee Rampage, at the Rampage Sports Complex in Franklin, Wis., on Saturday, August 24, at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Rampage-Wizards match was originally slated for August 7, but was rescheduled for August 24 in order to accommodate the Wizards, who are currently in the 2002 Football Confederation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup Semifinals, set for August 7 and 28.
FSW and FSWE will also broadcast both Open Cup Semifinal matches, set for September 3 and 10, and the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on October 26 or 27.
QUARTERFINALS PREVIEW
2002 U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals Match-ups (Overall Record Since 1996):
Dallas Burn (10-5-1) vs. Colorado Rapids (5-5-0)
Columbus Crew (10-3-1) vs. NY/NJ MetroStars (7-5-1)
Los Angeles Galaxy (9-2-1) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (6-2-3)
Milwaukee Rampage (3-1-1) vs. Kansas City Wizards (2-4-1)
ALBRIGHT, MCBRIDE, WASHINGTON TRAIL ALL-TIME LEADER MORENO IN OPEN CUP SCORING LIST: After their tallies during the 2002 Open Cup Third Round, forwards Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy-MLS), Brian McBride (Columbus Crew-MLS) and Dante Washington (Columbus Crew-MLS) all have scored seven career goals in tournament history placing them in a crowded seven-way tie for second (along with Abdul Thompson Conteh, Johnny Menyongar, Welton and Josh Wolff) on the Open Cup all-time goalscorers list (since 1996). All seven trail current leader Jamie Moreno of D.C. United (MLS) with 10 career goals.
DID YOU KNOW? ABOUT THE U.S. OPEN CUP...
The 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Brackets are available at ussoccer.com at
bracket.PDF
August 7 & 24, 2002
@ Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on August 7, at 7:30 p.m. CT
One of three intra-league match-ups
First-ever meeting between the two squads in Open Cup competition
Burn The 1997 U.S. Open Cup Champions, are the only MLS club to appear in every tournament since 1996
Earned a spot in the 2002 Quarterfinals with a 2-1 sudden-death overtime victory over the host Atlanta Silverbacks (A-League) in the Third Round
Reached the Quarterfinals on six occasions (1996-2000, 2002)
Rapids Making their sixth tournament appearance (1996-97, 1999, 2000-02) ... Snapped a three-game losing streak in Open Cup competition after posting a 1-0 overtime win over the host Charleston Battery (A-League) in Third Round action
Best performance was in 1999, advancing to the championship final but falling 2-0 to the Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League) in Columbus, Ohio.
@ Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, N.Y., on August 7, at 9:15 p.m. ET
The third meeting between the two teams in tournament play
Crew holds a 1-0-1 edge in the Open Cup as the squad topped the MetroStars in their first meeting 1-0 in the Semifinals on Aug. 4, 1998
Two years later, both squads met again in the 2000 Quarterfinals, but it was the MetroStars prevailing 7-6 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation and two sudden-death overtime periods
Crew Advanced to the 2002 Quarterfinals after blanking the visiting Richmond Kickers (A-League) 3-0 in Third Round play ... Making their fifth appearance in the Open Cup
Best finish for the Crew in tournament history was second place in 1998, losing to the Chicago Fire (MLS) in the championship final
MetroStars Knocked off the host Hampton Roads Mariners (A-League) 1-0 in Third Round action for a spot in the 2002 Quarterfinals
Making their fifth consecutive tournament appearance
Reached the semifinals on three occasions (1997-98, 2000).
@ Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on August 7, at 7 p.m. PT
A marquee Quarterfinal encounter that pits the defending Open Cup champions Los Angeles Galaxy traveling to take on the San Jose Earthquakes
These two squads have met twice in tournament play and the Galaxy have eliminated the Earthquakes on both occasions in the Quarterfinals
Galaxy downed the Earthquakes 2-0 in the 2000 Quarterfinals and then won 10-9 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the 2001 Quarters
Galaxy Won the Open Cup last year
Making their fourth consecutive appearance (1999-2002)
Coming off a convincing 4-0 road victory over the Minnesota Thunder (A-League) in the Third Round
Earthquakes Have five Open Cup appearances (1997-98, 2000-02) to their credit
Earned a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against the host Seattle Sounder (A-League) in Third Round action
Have advanced to the Quaterfinals in the last five tournaments.
@ Rampage Sports Complex in Franklin, Wis., on August 24, at 7:30 p.m. CT
First-ever meeting between these two Midwest teams in the Open Cup
Rampage are putting a four-game unbeaten streak on the line in tournament play and have also not given up a goal in the last 430 minutes
Rampage Have made three appearances in the Open Cup (1998, 2001-02)
Advanced to the 2002 tournament by topping the Cincinnati Riverhawks (A-League) by a 5-4 aggregate score in a two-game qualifying series
Opened the competition in the Second Round and easily topped the visiting New York Freedoms (D3) 4-0
Rampage continued their winning streak posting a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire (MLS) in Third Round play.
Wizards Have made five previous appearances (1996-98, 2000-01) in the Open Cup, but amazingly only have two total victories in tournament play
Coming off a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 overtime road win over the Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League) in the Third Round.
2002 OPEN CUP POINT LEADERS (as of July 18)
Player (Team)
GP
G
A
PTS
Y/R
Johnny Menyongar (Minnesota)
2
4
1
9
1/0
Thomas Boltnar (Des Moines)
2
3
0
6
0/0
Jerome Lee Yaw (Greenville)
2
3
0
6
0/0
Ronnie Ekelund (San Jose)
1
2
1
5
0/0
Chris Albright (Los Angeles)
1
2
0
4
0/0
Andrew Gregor (Seattle)
2
1
2
4
2/0
Josh Henderson (Richmond)
2
2
0
4
0/0
Tony Kuhn (Memphis)
2
2
0
4
1/0
Antonio Martinez (Dallas)
1
2
0
4
1/0
John Barry Nusum (Atlanta)
2
2
0
4
0/0
Dante Washington (Columbus)
1
2
0
4
0/0
Sterling Wescott (Utah)
2
2
0
4
0/0
Kirk Wilson (Rochester)
2
2
0
4
1/0
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