2007 US Open Cup Third Round results - LA & Houston are out

What a night for US Open Cup matches. All four had their moments of excitement and all could have ended up just about any way. Going in, all four MLS teams were favored, even though a number of them were playing mostly from reserves, but in the end only two will move forward.

The biggest shock of the night came out of Richmond where the USL second division Kickers stamped out the LA Galaxy's hopes of returning to a third consecutive US Open Cup final. A lone goal by David Bulow in the 31st is all the Kickers needed to send Landon Donovan and crew home with nothing.

But LA will not be licking their wounds alone as the MLS Champions also fell to a lower division side. Houston had many of their reserve players on the pitch meaning the game was pretty even. Still, if it wasn't for some fantastic goalkeeping by both sides, this one could have been a real net burner. But in the end, it came down to a penalty kick that Steven Armstrong nailed (edit) that Zach Wells stopped, however, Steven Armstrong picked up the rebound and nailed it in for the Charleston Battery in the 106th minute. The Battery will now see if they can do the Texas two-step as they will face FC Dallas in round four.

New England jumped out to a two-goal lead in Rochester, only to see the Rhinos come screaming back to tie it up. However, the celebration did not last long as the Revs scored the go ahead goal in the 90th and their fourth goal in the 93rd off a penalty kick.

Finally, the Colorado Rapids had very little troubles dispatching the California Victory as they won 3-1.

Of the five third round matches played so far, four have seen pretty even battles. The round continues tomorrow when DC United travels to Pennsylvania to take on the Harrisburg City Islanders. With home field advantage looking to be more important then division level, it might be a hard night for DC.

Here is the Third Round schedule/results:
Game Number, Date, Teams, Venue, Time
25 July 11, D.C. United (MLS) at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2),Hempfield High School Stadium; Greensburg, Pa. 7:30 p.m. ET
26 July 10, N.E. Revolution (MLS) 4-2 Rochester Rhinos (USL-1)
27 July 10, Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 0-1 Richmond Kickers (USL-2)
28 July 15, Chicago Fire (MLS) at Carolina RailHawks (USL-1), SAS Soccer Park; Cary, N.C. 5 p.m. ET
29 July 9, Atlanta Silverbacks (USL-1) 1-1 FC Dallas (MLS) FC Dallas wins on pks 4-3
30 July 10, Houston Dynamo (MLS) 0-1 Charleston Battery (USL-1)
31 July 10, California Victory (USL-1) 1-3 Colorado Rapids (MLS)
32 July 18, Chivas USA (MLS) at Seattle Sounders (USL-1), Qwest Field; Seattle, Wash. 7 p.m. PT