Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 16: Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. FC Dallas Preview

The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 16 plays out this week and west Florida will play host to one of the most interesting match ups of them all: The second division Tampa Bay Rowdies will host first division side FC Dallas at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg.

Both clubs have had up and down fortunes of late, including in this competition already. Tune in on the Open Cup’s official website or come out if you’re in the area for a fantastic game!

How Did The Rowdies Arrive Here?

Home team Tampa Bay will play their first ever game in the Round of 16 when they kick off against Dallas. Having started the 2024 edition in the Round of 32, a win there would have put them farther into the Open Cup than they’ve ever been. Despite the obvious narrative forming around the match, the Rowdies didn’t make it easy on themselves. Coming off a strong month of league play in the USL Championship, they played a regular rival in Birmingham Legion, also of the second division. 

The first 80 minutes of the fixture couldn’t have gone better for the Rowdies. Playing at home, they were able to stretch the field as they would always prefer. This led to numerous chances, of which the side put four away. After Damian Rivera opened the scoring, Cal Jennings tucked three home to secure his hat trick and what seemed like a comfortable win on the way to the next round. Birmingham had other plans. 

Enzo Martinez scored his second ever goal in Legion colors against the Rowdies in the 82nd minute. Second half substitute Kobe Hernandez-Foster got on the score sheet seven minutes later. Going into stoppage time, home fans didn’t seem worried. Tyler Pasher would give them reason to worry, scoring a third goal for Birmingham before he won a penalty in the 90th minute plus five. He converted from the spot and forced the game into extra time. 

Somehow, despite the calamity and the complete change in momentum for the final 15 minutes of play, Tampa Bay was able to steel themselves for the extra time period. Manuel Arteaga decided he’d had enough and got on the end of a cross with a beautiful hybrid scissor and bicycle kick. Just for good measure, he followed that up with a second goal to give the Rowdies another multiple-goal lead. This one they would not give up. 

How Did FC Dallas Advance?

Because of the bracket, whoever won this game would host the winner between FC Dallas and Memphis 901 FC. With Major League Soccer side Dallas hosting, the odds were certainly in their favor coming up against another USL Championship club in Memphis. That doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing for the team from Texas, especially considering their record of just two wins in league play beforehand. 

While Dallas was able to create more chances from their much larger share of possession, the visitors kept themselves in the game. The Memphis goalkeeper, Tyler Deric, should remember the opposition from his own time in MLS as a long-time shot-stopper for Houston Dynamo. He led from the back at times, with his motivation infectious after every blocked shot. It would not be enough, though. 

In the second half, Dallas’ manager Nico Estevez made an inspired substitution when he brought on first-year forward Logan Farrington. The rookie out of Oregon State University got on the end of a free kick from usual talisman Jesus Ferreira. Following a collapsed move to the Russian Premier League this offseason, he hasn’t been as reliable as he has in prior years. However, he was able to catch the Memphis defense sleeping that night and Farrington would not be denied from so close a range. 

Now Tampa Bay will host Dallas for a spot in the quarter finals. Each team will have motivation beyond that as the number of clubs gets smaller and the possibility of silverware gets more real. Interestingly, it was the aforementioned Houston Dynamo who knocked the Rowdies out of the Open Cup down in Al Lang in 2023. The hometown team will want to create and take their chances to inflict a Cupset, while the Texans will be looking to avoid that dreaded outcome.