HARRISON, N.J. (June 15, 2017) – The New York Red Bulls will host the Philadelphia Union in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday, June 28. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Round of 16 matchups were determined in a draw by U.S. Soccer on Thursday morning. The Red Bulls advanced to the Round of 16 by defeating rival New York City FC, 1-0 on Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena.
The Red Bulls have reached the Round of 16 in three consecutive seasons. New York has been eliminated by the Union in the last two Open Cup seasons. The Red Bulls are 1-2-0 all-time against Philly in the Open Cup.
“To get to the later stages of the Open Cup you have to beat the teams in your region, that are often rivalry matches,” said Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch. “We’ll be ready for that. Hosting is always a benefit.”
The Red Bulls, who face the Union this Sunday for a nationally televised MLS matchup (5 p.m., ESPN, ESPN Deportes) dropped a 3-0 result in Philly less than a month ago.
New England will host D.C. in the other matchup of the Eastern Region, with the winner hosting the winner of the Red Bulls – Philadelphia in the quarterfinals.
Following this Sunday’s league match against the Union, the Red Bulls will face NYCFC again in MLS play on June 24 at Red Bull Arena before seeing Philly again in the Open Cup.
“It makes for a very emotionally-charged month, which I think may be what we need,” continued Marsch. “Hopefully that can actually help build confidence in our group, and build fight and energy, and help us now really to be the team that we want to be. We’ll use it as a positive, and make sure we’re up for the challenge.”
