U.S. Open Cup Round of 16: Wednesday Preview | OneFootball

The bulk of the U.S Open Cup Round of 16 is tonight, with 6 matches following last night’s pair of MLS clashes. We saw 3 USL clubs pull off the cupset over MLS teams last round and now they’ll all go on the road aiming to keep their magic alive. Last year, this was the stage where the last USL club got eliminated. Will Louisville City, Colorado Springs Switchbacks, or One Knoxville flip the script this time around?

All matches will be streaming on Paramount+

Red Bull New York (MLS) vs. New York City FC (MLS)

Kickoff: 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT NOTE: This match will be broadcast on CBS Sports NetworkSports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, New Jersey

The night gets started with the tie of the round as NYCFC makes the short trip to New Jersey for the Hudson River Derby. Both sides comfortably beat USL opposition in the last round but come into this fixture off the back of 3 game winless runs. 

The key players to watch will be strikers Julian Hall (Red Bulls) and Nicolás Fernández (FC), who have both been on fire to start the season with 8 goals apiece. 2 of Hall’s goals came in the last round against Pittsburgh Riverhounds and will likely start this match with DP striker Eric Choupo-Moting recovering from illness. Fernández came off the bench for a heavily-rotated NYCFC last round but expect the Pigeons to rely on their talisman in this derby.

Interestingly, this matchup has happened 3 times before in the Open Cup and all of them ended with RBNY clean sheet victories at home. Will this one follow that trend? Don’t count on it. Red Bull have conceded 25 goals in league play to start the season, tied for the 2nd-most in MLS. Additionally, both teams played at 4-4 draws last Wednesday. Look for this to be an exciting high-scoring affair that will likely go past regular time.

Prediction: NYCFC win 3-2 in extra time.

Columbus Crew (MLS) vs. One Knoxville SC (USL-1)

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Columbus, Ohio

The last remaining USL League One team, One Knoxville will hope to pull off another miraculous cupset as they visit a Columbus Crew side who have already beaten one of their leaguemates Richmond Kickers. Columbus started the season slow but that Open Cup win helped turn their form around and they’ve now won their last 2 MLS matches. One Knox on the other hand have only lost 1 of their 11 matches so far this season.

If this match goes to penalties, I back One Knoxville who have already won 3 matches on pens this season including last round’s cupset of DC United. Sadly, I don’t anticipate the underdogs giving the Crew that much trouble. Columbus has really turned a corner as of late and although they’ll heavily rotate for this game, their B team are more than good enough to sleepwalk into the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Columbus Crew comfortably win 3-1.

New England Revolution (MLS) vs. Orlando City SC (MLS)

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTCentreville Bank Stadium, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Despite a nervy win on penalties over rivals Rhode Island FC in the Round of 32, the Revs are really enjoying their football under former USA Olympic coach Marko Mitrović. Before Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, New England had won 4 MLS games in a row and currently sit 4th in the Eastern Conference. Orlando’s season has been the complete opposite, with a disastrous start leading to longtime manager Oscar Pareja leaving the club. The results haven’t been much better under Martín Perelman and they’re coming off the back of a 3-2 loss to DC United in a game where they led 2-1 with 10 minutes to go.

Orlando is lucky to even be here, narrowly beating USL League One side FC Naples 1-0 last round in a match where they got outshot and outpossessed. One of the only bright spots has been the emergence of homegrown striker Justin Ellis, who recorded an assist in his first MLS start a week ago against Charlotte and scored in the aforementioned loss to DC. The biggest question for the Revs is who will play in goal. Matt Turner has been the best keeper in MLS but 21 year old Donovan Parisian was the hero last round against Rhode Island, making 3 saves in the penalty shootout. I think they’ll reward the youngster with the start but I don’t think it’ll make a difference either way, New England is far-and-away the better team.

Prediction: New England Revolution win 3-1.

Chicago Fire FC (MLS) vs. St. Louis CITY SC (MLS)

Kickoff: 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PTSeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, Illinois

Chicago and St. Louis both beat USL Championship clubs in the Round of 32 but come into this match with contrasting runs of form. The Fire have won 5 of their last 6 and sit 3rd in the East, while St. Louis only have 1 MLS win this season and are languishing in 14th in the West. Gregg Berhalter faces a tough decision for his starting striker as Hugo Cuypers has been the main threat for Chicago, having scored in every game he’s played in this season. However, it was 2025 MLS Next Pro Golden Boot winner Jason Shookalook who was the hero last round against Detroit City, scoring a brace to help the Fire win 2-1.

For St. Louis, they’ll need star man Marcel Hartel to have a great performance if they want to advance. Hartel scored last round against FC Tulsa and is coming off a goal and an assist against San Jose Earthquakes over the weekend.

The first ever match between these two sides was also a U.S. Open Cup game at SeatGeek Stadium in 2023, with the hosts emerging victorious 2-1. Chicago will be hoping this fixture goes the same way and considering how good they’ve been of late, I anticipate it will. The Fire have conceded the 2nd fewest goals in MLS this season and that defensive solidity should continue with a clean sheet in this match.

Prediction: Chicago Fire win 2-0.

Houston Dynamo FC (MLS) vs. Louisville City FC (USL-C)

Kickoff: 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PTShell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas

Louisville City face another Texas-based MLS team after pulling off the “cupset” against Austin FC last round, although Louisville were arguably the favorites in that game. This fixture won’t be as easy, as they’ll travel to Houston to challenge a Dynamo team whose only home losses this season were to LAFC and Seattle Sounders, 2 of the best teams in the country. Louisville have been excellent to start the season, only losing once and currently sitting top of the USL Championship.

The main question for Houston is where the goals will come from. Star left winger Guilherme got off to a fast start this season with 5 goals and 4 assists but hasn’t provided a goal contribution in his last 3 MLS matches, and as a result Dynamo only scored twice across those games. The answer could come by way of Nick Markanich, who scored a goal and had an assist last round against El Paso Locomotive. Markanich also has a history with Louisville City from his time with Charleston Battery, most notably drawing a penalty in the 2023 USL Championship Eastern Conference Final on the way to a 2-1 win.

This is the Round of 16 fixture with the best chance of a cupset, but Louisville will have to be at their best to make it happen. The USL outfit only had 29% possession in their win over Austin, so look for Dynamo to control the ball and for LouCity to hit them on the counter. This match could very well go to penalties but I’m picking Louisville to get it done in extra time.

Prediction: Louisville City pull off the cupset 2-1 in extra time!

Colorado Rapids (MLS) vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USL-C)

Kickoff: 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PTDick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado

The first match of the day is a derby and so is the final one! 2024 USL champs Colorado Springs Switchbacks take on their in-state rival Colorado Rapids for the first time in 10 years and will hope to pull off another cupset after embarrassing Sporting Kansas City 3-0 last round. Rapids narrowly beat USL League One side Union Omaha 1-0 in the Round of 32 and haven’t won since, although their fixture list has been difficult. Their recent struggles have been largely to blame on USMNT goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who was particularly bad against Inter Miami. Luckily for the Rapids, backup Nicholas Hansen will likely start as he did against Omaha.

The Switchbacks have been good of late, winning 3 games in a row and going 5 games unbeaten including that statement victory over Sporting KC. They’ll look to get their first ever win over the Rapids, with the only previous meetings in 2015 and 2016 both going the way of the MLS side. Khori Bennett will be their go-to guy, scoring off the bench in the win over SKC and finding the back of the net 6 times in 6 USL Championship games this season. This should be a hotly contested affair that could go either way.

Prediction: Colorado Rapids break Switchback hearts, winning on penalties after a 2-2 draw through 120 minutes.