MLS US Open Cup qualifying - LA vs. the Crew

Qualifying for the greatest cup competition in the US continues tonight as the Galaxy travel to Columbus. I have no idea how this will end up, but one team will finally get their first win of the year. The good news for the Crew is they stand a great chance of being that team as LA has not won a road US Open Cup match since they beat San Jose on August 25, 2005. That stat sounds really powerful until you realize they have only played one US Open Cup road match since that day (last year's final in Chicago).

It will be interesting to see just how committed the Galaxy are to finally getting a win. In 2005, LA used the Open Cup to start a late season rally that took them to the MLS Cup. In 2006, they used the Cup much in the same way, but still failed to make the playoffs. With 2007 off with a bit of a stumble, could they use this game to improve their stride?

For the Crew, they have been playing smart but not in a powerful way. Perhaps a win or go home match is exactly what they need to flip the page and finally start winning some of their games.

If you want to view this game, your only choice is to get to Crew Stadium as no televised version of the game is available. There will be an audio feed for those who have subscribed to MLS's match day audio feeds ($4.95).