FC Cincinnati's Round of 16 contest in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will be a rematch from the 2022 MLS Cup playoffs.
After FC Cincinnati defeated New York City FC Wednesday to progress in the tournament, U.S. Soccer officials on Thursday revealed the matchups for the upcoming rounds.
As a member of the four-team Northeast group which also included New York Red Bulls, archrival Columbus Crew, and USL Championship (second division) side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, FC Cincinnati was drawn to play at Red Bull Arena against the Red Bulls.
More:FC Cincinnati's US Open Cup run continues with 1-0 win vs. NYCFC | Replay
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In the corresponding match, Pittsburgh will host Columbus. The winners of the two matches in the Northeast pod will then meet in the quarterfinal round.
FC Cincinnati's trip to Red Bull Arena will be its first visit to the venue since FCC's come-from-behind MLS Cup playoff win against the Red Bulls on Oct. 15.
The game will also be a rematch of the dramatic 2017 Open Cup semifinal in which now-former New York manager Jesse Marsch's Red Bulls rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win, 3-2, in extra time.
FC Cincinnati is 3-5-3 in the all-time, all-competition series with the Red Bulls, and the two clubs are still to meet twice in MLS regular season play this season.
Match specifics: Date, time and ticketing
FCC's Round of 16 match will take place May 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Specific broadcast information will be announced at a later time.
Should FC Cincinnati advance past the Red Bulls, the club would then host at TQL Stadium an Open Cup quarterfinal matchup against the winner of the Pittsburgh versus Columbus The Pittsburgh vs. Columbus Round of 16 matchup will take place on Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. in Pittsburgh.
What this means for FCC's schedule
Add another match to FC Cincinnati's already-busy schedule. The May 23 date for FC Cincinnati's Open Cup game at Red Bull Arena falls between the biggest home match of 2023 and the second-longest road trip of the year.
Cincinnati hosts Columbus on Saturday, May 20. On Saturday, May 27, it plays in suburban Denver against Colorado Rapids. The Red Bulls game makes it three games in a week for Cincinnati. It's also now six matches in May alone for FCC, and seven matches in 28 days spanning into June.
Starting Wednesday at TQL Stadium against CF Montreal, FC Cincinnati begins a stretch of six consecutive matches played on short rest, or less than a full week of preparation.
'RBNY' struggling in 2023
The Red Bulls are enduring a hellish start to 2023 despite finding itself in the Open Cup's Round of 16.
The club is the last of 15 Eastern Conference clubs in the standings on a 1-4-6 record (nine points in the standings). It's RBNY's worst output through 11 matches since 2009, which was the last season the club missed the MLS Cup playoffs.
Comparatively, FC Cincinnati is 7-1-3 and tied for the MLS lead on points (24).
The Red Bulls this week announced the ouster of now-former manager head coach Gerhard Struber, who was overseeing his third season with the Red Bulls.
Troy Lesesne is currently managing the Red Bulls and appears to have an inside track to holding onto that job long-term.
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