The 3rd round update for 2019 of my ever popular* league ELO rankings. *not at all true Some basic info, for those who want it: 1. These rankings use all USOC games since 1996 to determine the relative strengths of the leagues. The names used below just represent the current names of leagues at that level. In reality the leagues have changed around a lot, and accounting for that is difficult. D2/D3 before 2011 are their own beast. What is now USLC (which was D3 in 2011 and is now D2) and NASL (which is now defunct and joined the Cup in 2012 at the D2 level) started fresh. NASL has now died, what was PDL is now USL2, there's a brand new USL1 this year. It's a mess, I've tried my best, and I'll never be happy with it. 2. There are bound to be mistakes back in the history, but the beauty of ELO rankings is that they are self-correcting over time, so the "actual strengths" probably aren't too far off from this right now, even with errors in older competitions. 3. The actual results used are as follows: a. Game finishes in regulation with a result: goals scored b. Game finishes after extra time with a result: goals scored c. Game goes to penalty kicks: goals scored before the penalty kicks. The game is "recorded" as a tie. 4. A home team has its rating raised by 100, and the change in ratings for each of the teams is calculated based on the result of the game, and the relative difference between the two ratings. This means that currently, we would expect an NASL team hosting an MLS team to be slightly in favor of the MLS team, but not significantly so. 5. The average change in score for any individual game is about 7. This means that one league goes up by 7, and the other down by 7. 6. There is no way to account for the fact that many MLS teams play 'B' or 'C' sides in the first few rounds they participate. I can only base it on the teams fielded. 7. Dead leagues: D2 (pre-2011) - 1642, D3 (pre-2011) - 1560, NASL - 1582. These are only important in that ELO rankings are 0-sum, and those numbers can account for why the average of leagues today isn't 1500. RoundMLSUSLCUSL1USL2NPSLUSASA/etc 2018 Final173615531500134512991283 2019 R1173615531499134512841299 2019 R2173615681500133312831295 2019 R3173615561494133313041294 A nice upset by the NPSL's Orange County FC marks the majority of the change in this round. They are the only non-USLC team to advance onwards to the 4th round. This means that the NPSL is unlikely to finish much lower in rating than they are now, because they'll be a big underdog, even if they're playing at home. Given that the ratings right now are barely changed since the start of the tournament this year, I wouldn't expect much in the way of change once MLS teams come in either. The gap between MLS and USLC has been relatively stable the last few years, typically hanging out at just under 200 points, which is where it is now. You have to go back to the end of 2012 for the gap to be under 150 pts, and it only ended a year over 200 points once in that time. It's just really hard to pull much more than 200 points away from your nearest competitor without higher ratings above you, because you're expected to win, even when on the road.
2019 US Open Cup Third Round results: Tuesday, May 28 OKC Energy FC (USL-C) 4-3 Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL-C) Wednesday, May 29 North Carolina FC (USL-C) 1-0 Florida Soccer Soldiers (FL) Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C) 1-0 Indy Eleven (USL-C) Louisville City FC (USL-C) 1-0 Birmingham Legion FC (USL-C) Memphis 901 FC (USL-C) 4-0 Hartford Athletic (USL-C) Saint Louis FC (USL-C) 3-1 Forward Madison FC (USL-1) Nashville SC (USL-C) 1-1 (pks 0-3) Charleston Battery (USL-C) Austin Bold FC (USL-C) 4-2 San Antonio FC (USL-C) Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USL-C) 1-2 (aet) New Mexico United (USL-C) Las Vegas Lights FC (USL-C) 3-5 Orange County FC (NPSL) Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C) 1-0 (aet) Fresno FC (USL-C) The 4th Round pairings will be announced on May 30.
Third round results analysis: Home teams went 8-3 on advancement. That's 34-18 for the tournament. Advancement by affiliation: NPSL 1-0 USL-C 9-8 USL-1 0-1 Local Qualifiers 0-1 Note: USL-C mostly played each other. They went 2-1 against lower divisions teams in this round, 18-4 for the tournament. Cumulative for the tournament so far: USL-C 28-14 USL-1 5-6 Local Qualifiers 6-8 USL-2 6-10 NSPL 6-13
2019 US Open Cup Fourth Round Home team first, dates and time TBA All games are on ESPN+ New York Red Bulls (MLS) v. New England Revolution (MLS) NYCFC (MLS) v. North Carolina FC (USL-C) D.C. United (MLS) v. Philadelphia Union (MLS) Columbus Crew SC (MLS) v. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C) Memphis 901 FC (USL-C) v. Orlando City SC (MLS) Charleston Battery (USL-C) v. Atlanta United (MLS) Saint Louis FC (USL-C) v. Chicago Fire (MLS) FC Cincinnati (MLS) v. Louisville City FC (USL-C) Colorado Rapids (MLS) v. New Mexico United (USL-C) Minnesota United FC (MLS) v. Sporting Kansas City (MLS) Houston Dynamo (MLS) v. Austin Bold FC (USL-C) FC Dallas (MLS) v. OKC Energy FC (USL-C) Real Salt Lake (MLS) v. Los Angeles FC (MLS) LA Galaxy (MLS) v. Orange County FC (NPSL) San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) v. Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C) Seattle Sounders (MLS) v. Portland Timbers (MLS) Remember that after this round the final 16 teams will be re-drawn into new groups and the final bracket will be created.
2019 US Open Cup Fourth Round Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Tuesday, June 11 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) v. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C) 7:00 pm New York Red Bulls (MLS) v. New England Revolution (MLS) 7:30 pm Charleston Battery (USL-C) v. Atlanta United (MLS) 7:30 pm Minnesota United FC (MLS) v. Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 8:00 pm Houston Dynamo (MLS) v. Austin Bold FC (USL-C) 8:00 pm Saint Louis FC (USL-C) v. Chicago Fire (MLS) 8:30 pm Real Salt Lake (MLS) v. Los Angeles FC (MLS) 9:00 pm San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) v. Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C) 10:30 pm Wednesday, June 12 NY City FC (MLS) v. North Carolina FC (USL-C) 7:00 pm D.C. United (MLS) v. Philadelphia Union (MLS) 7:00 pm FC Cincinnati (MLS) v. Louisville City FC (USL-C) 7:30 pm FC Dallas (MLS) v. OKC Energy FC (USL-C) 8:00 pm Memphis 901 FC (USL-C) v. Orlando City SC (MLS) 8:30 pm Colorado Rapids (MLS) v. New Mexico United (USL-C) 9:00 pm LA Galaxy (MLS) v. Orange County FC (NPSL) 10:30 pm Seattle Sounders (MLS) v. Portland Timbers (MLS) 10:30 pm Round of 16 games will be June 18-23.
If history is any guide, MLS teams ought to advance in 8 of those 11 matchups with lower-division clubs. Being at home is historically very important in the USOC and Memphis, St. Louis and Charleston are the lower division teams hosting, so start there if you are looking for cupsets.
I hope it's true, My family has tickets for Memphis vs Orlando next Wednesday so we're really looking forward to the "cupset"
Updated: 2019 US Open Cup Fourth Round Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Tuesday, June 11 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) v. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C) 7:00 pm New York Red Bulls (MLS) v. New England Revolution (MLS) 7:30 pm Charleston Battery (USL-C) v. Atlanta United (MLS) 7:30 pm Houston Dynamo (MLS) v. Austin Bold FC (USL-C) 8:00 pm Saint Louis FC (USL-C) v. Chicago Fire (MLS) 8:30 pm Real Salt Lake (MLS) v. Los Angeles FC (MLS) 10:00 pm San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) v. Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C) 10:30 pm Wednesday, June 12 NY City FC (MLS) v. North Carolina FC (USL-C) 7:00 pm D.C. United (MLS) v. Philadelphia Union (MLS) 7:00 pm FC Cincinnati (MLS) v. Louisville City FC (USL-C) 7:30 pm Minnesota United FC (MLS) v. Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 8:00 pm FC Dallas (MLS) v. OKC Energy FC (USL-C) 8:00 pm Memphis 901 FC (USL-C) v. Orlando City SC (MLS) 8:30 pm Colorado Rapids (MLS) v. New Mexico United (USL-C) 9:00 pm LA Galaxy (MLS) v. Orange County FC (NPSL) 10:30 pm Seattle Sounders (MLS) v. Portland Timbers (MLS) 10:30 pm Round of 16 games will be June 18-23.
2019 US Open Cup Fourth Round Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Wednesday results: Tuesday, June 11 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) 1-0 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C) New York Red Bulls (MLS) 2-3 New England Revolution (MLS) Charleston Battery (USL-C) v. Atlanta United (MLS) PPD Houston Dynamo (MLS) 3-2 Austin Bold FC (USL-C) Saint Louis FC (USL-C) 2-1 Chicago Fire (MLS) Real Salt Lake (MLS) 0-3 Los Angeles FC (MLS) San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 4-3 Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C) Wednesday, June 12 NY City FC (MLS) 4-0 North Carolina FC (USL-C) D.C. United (MLS) 2-1 (aet) Philadelphia Union (MLS) FC Cincinnati (MLS) 2-1 Louisville City FC (USL-C) Minnesota United FC (MLS) 4-1 Sporting Kansas City FC Dallas (MLS) 4-0 OKC Energy FC (USL-C) Memphis 901 FC (USL-C) 1-3 Orlando City SC (MLS) Colorado Rapids (MLS) 2-2 (pks 2-4) New Mexico United (USL-C) LA Galaxy (MLS) 3-0 Orange County FC (NPSL) Seattle Sounders (MLS) 1-2 Portland Timbers (MLS) Thursday, June 13 Atlanta United (MLS) v. Charleston Battery (USL-C) 7:00 pm Round of 16 draw is June 13, games will be June 18-23.
So they are at 8/10 now with Charleston pending. Got St. Louis right. Absolutely should have called New Mexico, that was my bad.
The 4th round update for 2019 of my ever popular* league ELO rankings. *not at all true Some basic info, for those who want it: 1. These rankings use all USOC games since 1996 to determine the relative strengths of the leagues. The names used below just represent the current names of leagues at that level. In reality the leagues have changed around a lot, and accounting for that is difficult. D2/D3 before 2011 are their own beast. What is now USLC (which was D3 in 2011 and is now D2) and NASL (which is now defunct and joined the Cup in 2012 at the D2 level) started fresh. NASL has now died, what was PDL is now USL2, there's a brand new USL1 this year. It's a mess, I've tried my best, and I'll never be happy with it. 2. There are bound to be mistakes back in the history, but the beauty of ELO rankings is that they are self-correcting over time, so the "actual strengths" probably aren't too far off from this right now, even with errors in older competitions. 3. The actual results used are as follows: a. Game finishes in regulation with a result: goals scored b. Game finishes after extra time with a result: goals scored c. Game goes to penalty kicks: goals scored before the penalty kicks. The game is "recorded" as a tie. 4. A home team has its rating raised by 100, and the change in ratings for each of the teams is calculated based on the result of the game, and the relative difference between the two ratings. This means that currently, we would expect an NASL team hosting an MLS team to be slightly in favor of the MLS team, but not significantly so. 5. The average change in score for any individual game is about 7. This means that one league goes up by 7, and the other down by 7. 6. There is no way to account for the fact that many MLS teams play 'B' or 'C' sides in the first few rounds they participate. I can only base it on the teams fielded. 7. Dead leagues: D2 (pre-2011) - 1642, D3 (pre-2011) - 1560, NASL - 1582. These are only important in that ELO rankings are 0-sum, and those numbers can account for why the average of leagues today isn't 1500. RoundMLSUSLCUSL1USL2NPSLUSASA/etc 2018 Final173615531500134512991283 2019 R1173615531499134512841299 2019 R2173615681500133312831295 2019 R3173615561494133313041294 2019 R4175315401494133313021294 Only 2 lower division teams (both USLC) remain in the tournament, and the last NPSL team lost out this round as well. MLS pulled slightly away from the others, but as mentioned before, it is hard to make any gains when you've already got the kind of gap between leagues in ratings we have here. An example which exemplifies this. Dallas winning 4-0 over OKC caused MLS's rating to raise by 4.76, and USLC's to drop by that much. St. Louis's 2-1 win over Chicago caused USLC's rating to raise by 9.40, and MLS's to drop by that much. So MLS has to win big, or win a ton of matches, to get what USLC can get with a "mundane" 2-1 home win.
2019 US Open Cup Fourth Round Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Thursday result: Tuesday, June 11 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) 1-0 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C) New York Red Bulls (MLS) 2-3 New England Revolution (MLS) Charleston Battery (USL-C) v. Atlanta United (MLS) PPD Houston Dynamo (MLS) 3-2 Austin Bold FC (USL-C) Saint Louis FC (USL-C) 2-1 Chicago Fire (MLS) Real Salt Lake (MLS) 0-3 Los Angeles FC (MLS) San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 4-3 Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C) Wednesday, June 12 NY City FC (MLS) 4-0 North Carolina FC (USL-C) D.C. United (MLS) 2-1 (aet) Philadelphia Union (MLS) FC Cincinnati (MLS) 2-1 Louisville City FC (USL-C) Minnesota United FC (MLS) 4-1 Sporting Kansas City (MLS) FC Dallas (MLS) 4-0 OKC Energy FC (USL-C) Memphis 901 FC (USL-C) 1-3 Orlando City SC (MLS) Colorado Rapids (MLS) 2-2 (pks 2-4) New Mexico United (USL-C) LA Galaxy (MLS) 3-0 Orange County FC (NPSL) Seattle Sounders (MLS) 1-2 Portland Timbers (MLS) Thursday, June 13 Atlanta United (MLS) 3-1 (aet) Charleston Battery (USL-C) Round of 16 games will be June 18-23.
Fourth round results analysis: Home teams went 11-5 on advancement. That's 45-23 for the tournament. NOTE: I'm counting the Atlanta win as a home game. Advancement by affiliation: MLS 14-7 USL-C 2-8 NPSL 0-1 Note: Several MLS teams played each other. MLS went 9-2 against lower division opponents. Cumulative for the tournament so far: MLS 14-7 USL-C 30-22 USL-1 5-6 Local Qualifiers 6-8 USL-2 6-10 NSPL 6-14
2019 US Open Cup Round of 16 Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Tuesday, June 18 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) v. Atlanta United FC (MLS) 7:00 pm Houston Dynamo (MLS) vs. Minnesota United FC (MLS) 7:00 pm Wednesday, June 19 DC United (MLS) v. New York City FC (MLS) 7:00 pm Orlando City SC (MLS) v. New England Revolution (MLS) 7:30 pm FC Dallas (MLS) v. New Mexico United (USL-C) 8:00 pm Saint Louis FC (USL-C) v. FC Cincinnati (MLS) 8:30 pm Portland Timbers (MLS) vs. LA Galaxy (MLS) 11:00 pm Thursday, June 20 Los Angeles FC (MLS) v. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 10:30 pm Quarterfinals are July 9-10.
2019 US Open Cup Round of 16 Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Tuesday, June 18 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) 2-3 Atlanta United FC (MLS) Houston Dynamo (MLS) 2-3 Minnesota United FC (MLS) Wednesday, June 19 DC United (MLS) v. New York City FC (MLS) 7:00 pm Orlando City SC (MLS) v. New England Revolution (MLS) 7:30 pm FC Dallas (MLS) v. New Mexico United (USL-C) 8:00 pm Saint Louis FC (USL-C) v. FC Cincinnati (MLS) 8:30 pm Portland Timbers (MLS) vs. LA Galaxy (MLS) 11:00 pm Thursday, June 20 Los Angeles FC (MLS) v. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 10:30 pm Quarterfinals are July 9-10.
The last game of the round doesn't matter because it's MLS on MLS action, so let's do this. The round of 16 (or 5th round for those sane of mind) update for 2019 of my ever popular* league ELO rankings. *not at all true Some basic info, for those who want it: 1. These rankings use all USOC games since 1996 to determine the relative strengths of the leagues. The names used below just represent the current names of leagues at that level. In reality the leagues have changed around a lot, and accounting for that is difficult. D2/D3 before 2011 are their own beast. What is now USLC (which was D3 in 2011 and is now D2) and NASL (which is now defunct and joined the Cup in 2012 at the D2 level) started fresh. NASL has now died, what was PDL is now USL2, there's a brand new USL1 this year. It's a mess, I've tried my best, and I'll never be happy with it. 2. There are bound to be mistakes back in the history, but the beauty of ELO rankings is that they are self-correcting over time, so the "actual strengths" probably aren't too far off from this right now, even with errors in older competitions. 3. The actual results used are as follows: a. Game finishes in regulation with a result: goals scored b. Game finishes after extra time with a result: goals scored c. Game goes to penalty kicks: goals scored before the penalty kicks. The game is "recorded" as a tie. 4. A home team has its rating raised by 100, and the change in ratings for each of the teams is calculated based on the result of the game, and the relative difference between the two ratings. This means that currently, we would expect an NASL team hosting an MLS team to be slightly in favor of the MLS team, but not significantly so. 5. The average change in score for any individual game is about 7. This means that one league goes up by 7, and the other down by 7. 6. There is no way to account for the fact that many MLS teams play 'B' or 'C' sides in the first few rounds they participate. I can only base it on the teams fielded. 7. Dead leagues: D2 (pre-2011) - 1642, D3 (pre-2011) - 1560, NASL - 1582. These are only important in that ELO rankings are 0-sum, and those numbers can account for why the average of leagues today isn't 1500. RoundMLSUSLCUSL1USL2NPSLUSASA/etc 2018 Final173615531500134512991283 2019 R1173615531499134512841299 2019 R2173615681500133312831295 2019 R3173615561494133313041294 2019 R4175315401494133313021294 2019 R5173015621494133313021294 Remember what I said last time about MLS having little to gain by winning? Yeah, that doesn't mean they have little to lose in these games, as evidenced by the fact that MLS dropped 23 ratings points, and USLC gained that much, by both USLC teams winning (one on the road, one home). Interestingly, though, the "points change" for the 1-0 win at home by St. Louis was less than the "points change" for all of the 1-goal away wins by MLS teams against MLS opposition, and all of those were less than the "points change" by the Timbers 4-0 win at home. The 2-1 road win by New Mexico takes the round for the largest swing by a single game, though. Well, barring a big road win by San Jose, or a massive home blowout by LAFC, that is.
2019 US Open Cup Round of 16 Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Wednesday results: Tuesday, June 18 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) 2-3 Atlanta United FC (MLS) Houston Dynamo (MLS) 2-3 Minnesota United FC (MLS) Wednesday, June 19 DC United (MLS) 1-2 New York City FC (MLS) Orlando City SC (MLS) 2-1 (aet) New England Revolution (MLS) FC Dallas (MLS) 1-2 New Mexico United (USL-C) Saint Louis FC (USL-C) 1-0 FC Cincinnati (MLS) Portland Timbers (MLS) 4-0. LA Galaxy (MLS) Thursday, June 20 Los Angeles FC (MLS) v. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 10:30 pm Quarterfinals are July 9-10.
Portland will travel to the winner of the LAFC/San Jose game. All of the pairings: Orlando City v. NYCFC Atlanta v. St. Louis Minnesota v. New Mexico LAFC/San Jose v. Portland
2019 US Open Cup Round of 16 Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Thursday result: Tuesday, June 18 Columbus Crew SC (MLS) 2-3 Atlanta United FC (MLS) Houston Dynamo (MLS) 2-3 Minnesota United FC (MLS) Wednesday, June 19 DC United (MLS) 1-2 New York City FC (MLS) Orlando City SC (MLS) 2-1 (aet) New England Revolution (MLS) FC Dallas (MLS) 1-2 New Mexico United (USL-C) Saint Louis FC (USL-C) 1-0 FC Cincinnati (MLS) Portland Timbers (MLS) 4-0. LA Galaxy (MLS) Thursday, June 20 Los Angeles FC (MLS) 3-1 San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) Quarterfinals are July 9-10.
Round of 16 results analysis: Home teams went 4-4 on advancement. That's 49-27 for the tournament. Advancement by affiliation: USL-C 2-0 MLS 6-8 Note: Several MLS teams played each other. MLS went 0-2 against lower division opponents. Cumulative for the tournament so far: USL-C 32-22 MLS 20-15 USL-1 5-6 Local Qualifiers 6-8 USL-2 6-10 NSPL 6-14
2019 US Open Cup Quarterfinals Home team first, times are ET All games are on ESPN+ Wednesday, July 10 Orlando City SC (MLS) v. New York City FC (MLS) 7:30 pm Atlanta United FC (MLS) v. Saint Louis FC (USL-C) 7:30 pm Minnesota United FC (MLS) v. New Mexico United (USL-C) 8:00 pm Los Angeles FC (MLS) vs. Portland Timbers (MLS) 10:30 pm Semifinals are August 7.
The USOC quarterfinals are tonight and the semifinal pairing scenarios have been announced. The hosting will be drawn on Thursday, July 11. https://www.ussoccer.com/home/stori...p-semifinal-schedule-possibilities-determined There are lot of possibilities that will make more sense tomorrow. The semifinals will be July 23, August 6 or August 7.