McCarthy's Musings: Open Cup Scheduling Lays Groundwork For Upsets

By Kyle McCarthy

If there is a formula to revive the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, it may have been revealed once again on Tuesday night.

Make MLS teams travel in the third round.

To be fair, this concept was introduced when the tournament was revamped back in 2007 to streamline the fixtures. Six lower-league teams hosted third-round games in 2007, while just four entertained MLS teams in 2008. Not surprisingly, the results corresponded with whether the lower-league side hosted or not. Over the past two seasons, exactly zero lower-league sides advanced past the third round when they visited a MLS opponent.

U.S. Soccer – as part of a bid process used to determine the location of each game – reverted back to the 2007 approach for the 2009 competition. Six lower-league teams were given the rights to host with D.C. United and New England – the two previous winners of the competition – also handed a home match.

The ensuing chaos presented by Tuesday night's results showed that U.S. Soccer made the right call. Six cup ties were played on Tuesday night, four of which were hosted by lower-league sides. Lower-league clubs giant-killed in three of the four matches with only Kansas City emerging victorious, on penalty kicks in Minnesota. Harrisburg even broke the lower-league's third-round road hoodoo by ousting a depleted New England side in extra time. With Austin hosting Houston and Portland reviving its rivalry with Seattle at PGE Park on Wednesday night, there is the possibility that as many as six lower-league teams will advance from this stage.

Tempting in the lower-league markets and fans may prove critical to the tournament's future. Fostering top-flight interest remains difficult because the casual MLS fan struggles to comprehend why non-MLS competitions matter. Some MLS clubs might even argue that this particular tournament does not, considering the rather rigorous demands of a potential midweek fixture in one of the busier periods on the MLS schedule and the comparatively meager benefits of success. As I pointed out on Monday, MLS squads don't need an extra game at this time of year and the CONCACAF Champions League berth that goes to the winner hasn't proven much of an enticement for most MLS sides, either.

The best route to making people pay attention to this venerable and intriguing tournament prior to the final includes the traditional cup shock. Stories are best told by the surprising upset rather than the expected result. If the U.S. Open Cup wants to thrive instead of merely exist, it is those stories – and the non-MLS cities they captivate – that will hasten its revival rather than the reliance on the slim hope that MLS markets and fans will suddenly declare their wholesale interest.

In the later rounds, the tournament likely needs the bigger teams to add heft to the competition and create interest in the final outcome. For now, the relative minnows are doing it all by themselves by upsetting convention.

Around the League

- The full results from Tuesday's wild third-round slate: Rochester defeats Columbus on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw after extra time in Rochester, N.Y.; Wilmington shocks Chicago 1-0 in Wilmington, N.C.; Harrisburg knocks off New England 2-1 in extra time in New Britain, Conn.; D.C. United leaves it late before knocking off Ocean City 2-0 at Maryland SoccerPlex in suburban D.C.; Charleston ousts Chivas USA 3-1 at Blackbaud Stadium; and Kansas City beats Minnesota on penalties in Blaine, Minn. after a 3-3 draw.

- As mentioned above, the final two third round fixtures take place tonight. Houston travels to Austin to take on the Aztex at Nelson Field (8:30p.m.), while Seattle faces Portland (10:00p.m.) at PGE Park. For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, the Sounders FC-Timbers match can be seen on FSN Northwest.

- Finding dates to play these midweek games is particularly difficult because USL and MLS operate on two different scheduling principles. USL clubs often play two games in a weekend to make road trips economical, meaning the weekend can often start with a match on Thursday or Friday. That contradicts the MLS approach, which places an emphasis on Saturday fixtures. The end of the week scheduling crunch means Tuesday, instead of the usual midweek fixture home on Wednesday, ends up as the preferred choice.

- With that scheduling caveat in mind, U.S. Soccer and MLS need to figure out a way to avoid MLS teams playing on less than two days' rest. SuperLiga combatants Kansas City and New England both played on Tuesday night after playing on Sunday. For top-level professionals, that's just not an acceptable time frame of recovery, particularly when the match caps off a stretch of four matches in ten days. As a contrast, Houston and Seattle both played MLS matches on Sunday and had their U.S. Open Cup matches pushed off until Wednesday. The scheduling inequity could result from the geographic proximity enjoyed by the Wednesday foes as opposed to the Tuesday opponents.

- On the MLS calendar, today is a significant day. Contracts are now guaranteed through the rest of the season, barring any exceptions made prior to the deadline.

- Given the deadline, two Eastern Conference teams made moves on Monday. New York dumped Jon Conway and signed Bouna Coundoul to replace him. In a less drastic move, D.C. United ditched reserve defender Anthony Peters. Other teams had prepared themselves appropriately by making moves last week.

- Colorado finally announced the signing of French defender Julien Baudet on Tuesday. Baudet, 30, had been linked with the Rapids for months and, according to a report from Colorado Soccer Now, even had his nameplate installed in the Colorado locker room. Baudet last played for English club Crewe Alexandra.

- New England and Kansas City made a minor deal on Tuesday that could have a major impact for the Revolution. The Revolution sent its natural third-round pick in the 2010 draft to the Wizards in exchange for the rights to use one of K.C.'s international player slots through Jan. 1, 2011. New England is expected to use its recently acquired slot on Lithuanian forward Edgaras Jankauskas, who has signed a contract with the team but awaits his P1 work visa and his international transfer certificate.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/kylejmccarthy

For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.