The Houston Dynamo's run in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup continues Wednesday evening against defending champions Sporting Kansas City at BBVA Compass Stadium (5:45 p.m. CT).
The Dynamo and Kansas City met in the quarterfinals of last year's competition, with SKC advancing with a 3-1 victory at home against a 10-man Dynamo. Midfielder Luis Garrido was sent off just half an hour into the match, but Houston still got the opening goal from Will Bruin in the 59th minute. Kansas City bounced back with a goal from Benny Feilhaber 12 minutes later, however, and added two more goals in the final five minutes to secure their place in the semifinals. Kansas City went on to claim the 2015 U.S. Open Cup, defeating Real Salt Lake 3-1 in the semifinals and the Philadelphia Union on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the final.
Sporting Kansas City advanced past Minnesota United FC in the U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round with a 2-1 win after extra time. The teams traded penalty kicks in regulation, but extra time substitute Diego Rubio's strike in the 109th minute put SKC past their NASL competition. Kansas City is coming off of a 2-2 draw in Montreal against the Impact, with Dom Dwyer scoring twice as the teams went back and forth. Dwyer leads the team in goals with eight, while Benny Feilhaber and Saad Abdul-Salaam are tied for the team lead with four assists apiece.
The Dynamo and Sporting have already met once in 2016, a 2-0 win for the Dynamo in Houston on May 7 in MLS play. Houston carries a 9-2-0 record all-time at home in the U.S. Open Cup. The winner of Wednesday's matchup will host the winner of FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids in the semifinal round.
