Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Dynamo begin Open Cup on road Wednesday against in-state foe Austin

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 1, 2009) -- The Houston Dynamo begin their campaign in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight with a road game against the Austin Aztex at Nelson Field in Austin.

The third-round game can be heard live in the Houston area on 790 The Sports Animal and can be seen on the internet at USLLive.com. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The winner of this game will travel to take on the Charleston Battery on Tuesday, July 7, at 6:30 p.m. CT.

The Dynamo and Aztex met in a pre-season friendly at Nelson Field and tied 2-2, but this will be the first competitive meeting between the teams. The Aztex, from the United Soccer Leagues First Division, the tier directly below Major League Soccer, advanced to the third round with 2-0 wins over PDL teams Mississippi Brilla (2-0) and El Paso Patriots (2-0). The Dynamo qualified directly as one of the top six teams in Major League Soccer last season.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest soccer competition in the United States. It is a single-elimination tournament open to any team in the country, often pitting regional rivals against each other.

The Dynamo reached the U.S. Open Cup semifinals in their first season in 2006 but have been eliminated on the road to USL1 opposition in each of the last two years, falling to the Charleston Battery in overtime (2007) and on penalty kicks (2008). Both of those games came just two days before scheduled league contests.

After Wednesday’s game, the Dynamo will continue their road trip with a Saturday night contest against the Kansas City Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, kicking off at 8 p.m. Houston’s next home game is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, against the New England Revolution.

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