The Seattle Sounders are hosting USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. Here is everything you need to know:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. (TICKETS).
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be streamed on the B/R App and the B/R Football YouTube Channel.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
2023 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 6-2-1 (19 points, 2nd MLS Western Conference), Loyal: 4-1-2 (14 points, 2nd USL Championship Western Conference)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first): Seattle: WLWWW, San Diego: WDWDL
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Sounders: Bye, Loyal: Defeated Albion San Diego 2-0 in Second Round
PREVIOUS MEETING: This is the first-ever meeting between the two clubs, with the Loyal’s inaugural season coming in 2020.
QUEST FOR FIVE: The Sounders begin their journey for their fifth U.S. Open Cup title and their first since 2014. Seattle is tied for the most USOC titles among MLS teams with the Chicago Fire and Sporting Kansas City, and only the now-defunct clubs Maccabee Los Angeles and Bethlehem Steel have more in the competition’s 110-year history.
BACK TO STARFIRE: As is tradition for the Sounders, they will play their early-round Open Cup matches at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, an intimate stadium that harks back to the club’s pre-MLS days.
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OPPORTUNITIES AWAIT: Sandwiched between two MLS matches on either weekend, Wednesday’s match figures to be a wonderful opportunity for some of the Sounders’ heralded young players to make their mark. The likes of Academy products Dylan Teves, Ethan Dobbelaere, Reed Baker-Whiting and Sota Kitahara could potentially play a part in proceedings, along with a mixture of more senior teammates.
DONOVAN’S DEVELOPMENT: Former Major League Soccer and United States national team legend Landon Donovan helped co-found the Loyal in his native southern California. Donovan coached San Diego for its first three seasons before stepping into an executive role in the front office this past offseason and passing the managerial torch to his former assistant Nate Miller.
MLS CONNECTIONS: The Loyal feature several former MLS players in Elliot Collier, Collin Martin, University of Washington product Blake Bodily and former U.S. international Joe Corona.
PLAYER TO WATCH — Evan Conway: The big, 6-foot-1 forward scored nine goals in his debut season with San Diego last year and leads the team in goals early in 2023 with three through seven matches. The 25-year-old played college soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before spending one season at USL League Two’s Ventura County Fusion and two seasons in USL League One with Union Omaha.
