Sporting Third Round US Open Cup Potential Draw Reveiled

US Soccer today announced the potential draw for the 3rd round of this year's US Open Cup.  The third round is when all 16 US based MLS teams enter the competition.  The defending US Open Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City learned who their potential opponents could be today.  Sporting KC's draw will see them playing at Sporting Park in the 3rd round this year and will be playing a regional team after winning a coin flip with the Chicago Fire.  Sporting could play one of three teams as the first round match takes place tonight.  The match tonight sees the Des Moines Menace of the PDL taking on the Madison 56ers of the NPSL in Des Moines.  The winner of that match will travel to Minnesota next Tuesday to take on Minnesota United in the 2nd round.  The winner of that second round match up will travel to KC to play in Sporting Park on Tuesday the 28th

Of the potential opponents, KC has previously played one of those teams, the Menace.  Kansas City played the Menace in the Open Cup in 2 straight years in 2005 and 2006.  KC won both of those two games, winning 6-1 in 05 and 2-1 in 06.  Minnesota United, Kansas City has never officially played, but they have played the Minnesota Thunder, the previous team in Minnesota, losing in 2005 3-1 and winning on penalty kicks in 2009 after drawing 3-3 over 120 minutes. 

The game will come two days after Sporting takes on Houston at Sporting Park.  Last year Kansas City played Orlando City in the 3rd round after only two days rest.  In that game, only 3 players who started the previous league game started against Orlando (Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, and Seth Sinovic).  Three starters entered that game as subs, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, and CJ Sapong.