US Open Cup returns
The 2023 US Open Cup continues with quarterfinal games across Tuesday (June 6) and Wednesday (June 7) evenings, featuring six Major League Soccer teams competing alongside lower-division opposition. Tonight, FC Cincinnati host Pittsburgh and Chicago host Houston. Here’s how to watch and stream.
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It’s time to talk about FC Cincinnati. We’ve been talking about them plenty of course, but it’s time to talk about them even more. They have more points than anyone ever through 16 games, an absurd mark for a team that just stopped winning Wooden Spoons for the first time ever last year. Even still, the hype feels… oddly muted?
Part of that is because they aren’t Mike Tyson. They aren’t a heavyweight knocking folks out in under a minute. They’re a flyweight with outstanding technique winning each fight by split-decision. The one-goal wins make the dominance feel a little less real. They aren’t blowing opponents out, they aren’t putting up incredible underlying numbers and they technically aren’t even as fun as last year’s high-scoring, defense-lacking team.
But they’re winning. More than any other team ever has at this point. In a league where the underlying numbers and overlying numbers and every other metric mean less than every other league when it comes to projecting future results, sometimes you have to concede a team’s record tell us exactly who they are. We’re nearly halfway through the season and Cincy are a team that can win the Supporters’ Shield and maybe even set a points record.
They may get better too. They’ll have an open DP spot this upcoming window and they’re still waiting on Brandon Vazquez to regain his 2022 form. Vazquez only having four goals so far is probably part of the reason we haven’t fawned over them as much. After last year’s team finished second in the East in goal scoring, this year’s group isn’t quite stoking terror in opposing back lines the same way. They’re fourth in the East in goals scored right now. Still good. Not great. With the potential to revert back to great at any moment.
Maybe that makes everything they’ve done so far even more impressive. Because even without Brenner and even with a toned-down version of Vazquez, they’ve given themselves an early lead in the Shield race and are the favorites for the US Open Cup. Yeah, that’s right. We’re talking about a double here. It’s been a long, long time since 2021.
Cincy host Pittsburgh tonight. All due respect to the Riverhounds, but it would be one of the great Cupsets of all-time if they handed the Garys their first home loss of the year. If Cincinnati take care of business, they’ll need just two more wins to claim the Open Cup and a CCL spot. Those two wins will have to come against either Inter Miami, Birmingham Legion, the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Houston or Chicago. That’s teams 19, 21, 26, 27 and 29 in the current Supporters’ Shield standings plus a USL side. They will not be running a gauntlet.
So, there you have it. It’s June 6, 2023 and FC Cincinnati are the odds-on favorites for not one, but two major trophies. Somehow, it still feels like the best is yet to come.
Philadelphia Union's Carranza named Player of the Matchday: For the second time in three matchdays, Philadelphia Union forward Julián Carranza has earned Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire honors. The Argentine’s latest nod follows his Matchday 17 brace in a 3-0 win against CF Montréal at Subaru Park, giving him six goals in his last six games.
- Jonathan Sigal picked out the MLS Abroad XI, the best performers among MLS alumni playing outside of the league.
- Jonathan also went ahead and looked at which U-20 World Cup players are likeliest to move up.
- Take a look at the best young-player performers in Matchdays 16 and 17.
- Check out the Team of the Matchday presented by Audi for Matchday 17.
- Voting for AT&T 5G Goal of the Matchday is now open.
Good luck out there. Maybe one day Zlatan will acknowledge you too.
