ST. PETERSBURG, FL — FC Dallas is heading to Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, to play the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16.
The U.S. Open Cup is the country’s oldest ongoing national soccer tournament, open to any U.S. Soccer affiliated team, professional or amateur team—that’s how you’re able to see a Major League Soccer team in Dallas play the Rowdies, of the USL Championship.
This year, only eight MLS teams entered the Open Cup, and just six remain: FC Dallas, Atlanta United, San Jose Earthquakes, Sporting Kansas City, LAFC and Seattle Sounders FC.
The Rowdies are here after a 6-4 extra time win over Birmingham Legion FC. FC Dallas punched its ticket to the Round of 16, a first in Head Coach Nico Estévez’s Dallas coaching career, thanks to a 1-0 win over Memphis 901 FC.
Dallas is 2-2-0 in Open Cup play under Estévez; FC Dallas has made its way back to the Round of 16 after losing in the Round of 32 in 2021, to Sporting Kansas City, and to Nashville SC last season.
It will be the Rowdies’ first time in the Round of 16 since 2013. Who stands in their way of a first-ever trip to the Quarterfinals?
Dallas, one of the most successful MLS teams in Open Cup history, having won the tournament twice, in 1997 and 2016, and finishing as runners-up in both 2005 and 2007.
In hosting FC Dallas, the Rowdies will play an MLS team in the Open Cup for the fourth time in club history. Their most recent MLS-USL matchup in the Open Cup was last season, when the Rowdies lost 1-0, at home, to the eventual 2023 Open Cup champions, Houston Dynamo FC.
For this matchup, the Rowdies will be without Manuel Arteaga, their leading goal scorer who has scored 8 goals through 10 matches in league play, and a major reason they are through to the Round of 16, scoring twice in extra time to lift the Rowdies over Birmingham in the Round of 32. He will not see action against Dallas because of a red card suspension from his most recent match.
Kick off, for the first competitive meeting between the two sides, is at 7:30 Central Time.
