FRISCO - Coming off two games in four days last week in MLS play, FC Dallas now turns its attention to its 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign. Dallas will face off against San Antonio FC on Wednesday in the fourth round of the tournament.
There's A First Time For Everything
This will be the first official meeting between FC Dallas and San Antonio FC. The two sides played a friendly preseason match in each of the last two years, most recently on March 19 where San Antonio defeated the Dallas reserves, 2-0. Although the two teams have already played, this game will go down in the history books as the first game, which will make it that much more intense.
Second Time's The Charm?
This will be the second time San Antonio FC has reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. The last time SAFC reached the fourth round, it was defeated 4-0 by the Houston Dynamo in 2016.
How They Got Here
San Antonio FC's U.S. Open Cup campaign began in the second round where it defeated the Midland/Odessa Sockers 4-0. Four different players got on the scoresheet for San Antonio including three of the four goals being scored in the second half. In the third round, San Antonio faced the Colorado Springs Switchbacks where the two sides played to a 1-1 draw. The game was decided in penalty kicks where San Antonio prevailed 5-3 to advance to the fourth round.
Scouting San Antonio FC
San Antonio (4-3-5) come into this matchup winning or drawing six of its last seven games. It currently stands in ninth place in the Western Conference of the USL on 12 points. The club currently has eight different goal-scorers so far this season and are led by Owayne Omar Gordon, who currently has three goals on the season. Defense has been one of San Antonio's strong points as well. The team has conceded just 1.1 goals per game this season while maintaining three clean sheets through 12 games.
FC Dallas' History in the Fourth Round of the U.S. Open Cup
Dallas comes into this matchup having won its last eight U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round matches (6-0-2) dating back to August 6, 2003. FCD is 33-17-6 in U.S. Open Cup play since 1996, and seven players on its current roster have scored in the tournament including Matt Hedges (4), Maxi Urruti (3), Mauro Diaz (3), Victor Ulloa (2), Michael Barrios (2) and Ryan Hollingshead (1).
