FWIW, the pairings for the 2008 US Open Cup third round (when MLS teams enter) were released today. DCU will be hosting their first game on July 1 at the Maryland Soccerplex at 7:30pm. The opponent will be either the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-2) or the Rochester Rhinos (USL-1). Keep in mind that the winner of the US Open cup gets a CCL berth next year.
Too bad all of the matches are scheduled for the 1st -otherwise I would have proposed a road trip to root against the RedBulls as they either play Harrisburg City in PA or Crystal Palace Baltimore in their first round.
It would be funny if the matchup for DCU had been versus Real Maryland at the Soccerplex (then again, it could still be in a later round....) -- who would be the home team?
Well, what TIME are the games? You might still be able to pull it off. I imagine they are all at night, but you never know.
hopefully this is the only match up there (whats gg on at RFK that day that goff said was being used?) as we should be hosting all home games as we had a better record than anyone last year (assuming they still base it off that)
1. I don't think they based hosting remotely on record. I believe teams submit bids to host and the USSF picks the site. 2. While we might see RFK used for games against other MLS teams, we'll probably continue to see the Soccerplex if it is USL opponents. Playing at RFK against a lower division opponent is a really bad money loser. These games don't generally bring in enough people to warrant a huge venue.
Would that be a different story if/when United move into a new stadium, however? I ask this because on the same day as this match (1 July - Canada Day!) Toronto FC will host the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship, and will play that game at BMO Field (as opposed to Lamport Stadium, where TFC Academy is one of the home teams).
ok Goff said if we move on to the quarters on the 8th or 9th if we were to host, it would be at the soccerplex again ahhhhhhhh whats up wih RFK having something to do? but on the brightside, hopefully the 1st match will be moved to the 2nd due to landycakes and becksberry match, so we can all go up to UMBC and go shit on the metroturds!
It should be noted that the DCU F.O. is trying to get the match moved to the next day, Wednesday July 2, because we play LA at home on the previous Sunday. The team wants more than 48 hours between matches. To me, that's a sign that they're likely to take this game more seriously than they've taken USOC matches in the past. Goff also notes that if we advance, and we host the next round, that round would also be at the SoccerPlex. EDIT: Paulie needs to get out of my head.
hmm - wonder if the DC FO will have any control over the July 16th matchdate. As it would occur less than 24hrs after we play Atlante in Superliga.
It will most likely be different at a new SSS. I'd expect all these types of games to be played at such a stadium. The big differences being (1) that RFK is fairly large, so a few thousand seem even more empty there than they would in a SSS and (2) more importantly, RFK is expensive to rent and DCU would never have enough ticket sales from these USOC games to make the financials work. Owning/running a SSS is a difference story. As for TFC playing the Canadian USL teams, that's a completely different issue. Those are the only other professional soccer teams in Canada, so of course there is more interest in Toronto. And those cities already have rivalries in other sports, so these soccer games just tie into that. How much interest would there be if TFC were playing Rochester? I'd gather much less than playing Vancouver despite the proximity, simply because the Rhinos are in the US.
its the 8th or 9th....i ment round of 16, not the 16th.....my bad btw look at who we could face if we actually win.....CHICAGO! ahhhh if we play them, sure hope we host them! and sideshow, im sure that would be at RFK if we were to host IF RFK is available, which doent look like it, we have had USOC matches at RFK in the past. Chicago-united, would easily draw 10k-14k if not more
But a TFC game against Rochester would not count for CONCACAF Champions' League qualifying, whereas United's game against the Rhinos does (the USOC winner gets one of the USA's 4 CCL slots, yes?) - so while there is an absolute difference between the scale of the NCC compared to USOC, there is still a relative question worth asking - especially if it turns out that the only route that United end up having into the 2009-10 CCL is to try and win the US Open Cup. And as far as the RFK rent goes, what about a potential place in the USOC final, again with a CCL place on the line (if it came to that) - would it be worth turning to RFK as a venue then?
Just saying, but no one has said what exactly the qualifying criteria is for next year's CCL. Just saying... Good luck in the USOC
The first United game I ever saw was the U.S. Open Cup match between our guys and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at the Plex in 2003. While attending USOC games at the Soccerplex may be awkward for some because of the location, it's a tremendous facility to watch a professional game because the seating (capacity 4,000 or so) puts everybody right on top of the field. Expect the game to be close to being sold out. The bad news, of course, is that, ahum, adult beverages are not sold at the Plex or permitted to be consumed on Soccerplex grounds. I'll be there!
Luckily, this year the reserves will probably be all we need. Rochester is very poor this year and Pittsburgh just flat out sucks. And I'm not just saying that because I'm from Cleveland. They still have not won a match nine games into the season.