SAN ANTONIO - FC Dallas begins their quest for the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight in south Texas against San Antonio FC. As always with the Fourth Round match in Open Cup play, the lineup for Oscar Pareja tonight is a mix of experience and youth.
First Team Debuts
Homegrown Jordan Cano and Ema Twumasi will don an FC Dallas jersey tonight for the first time in official competition. Cano, 22, was signed to a Homegrown contract on January 11, while Twumasi, 21, was a first-round SuperDraft pick for FCD nine days later on January 19. Both have spent time on loan with USL-affiliate OKC Energy FC this season, Cano seeing 355 minutes across four starts and Twumasi seeing time in six matches with seven shots.
Tonight could also see the season debuts of Homegrowns Jesus Ferreira and Brandon Servania, who have both seen USL action with Tulsa Roughnecks FC in recent weeks, as well as the possible pro debut of recent Homegrown signing Chris Richards.
Depth on Display
Just two starters from Saturday's win over LAFC remain in the starting lineup against San Antonio: Matt Hedges and Reggie Cannon. Seven other members of the Starting XI have seen varied minutes in MLS play this season: Tesho Akindele, Cristian Colman, Maynor Figueroa, Jacori Hayes, Jimmy Maurer, Paxton Pomykal and Victor Ulloa.
Pomykal makes his return to action after knee surgery in early April and saw one MLS match in mid-March, playing 22 minutes vs. Seattle. Akindele has appeared four times of the bench this season, but has not seen time in MLS play since April 21. Figueroa returns to action after a pair of starts over the last two weeks, both at center back and left back. Colman has made four starts and four appearances in MLS, while Maurer Hayes and Ulloa have made 10, eight and six starts, respectively.
