U.S. Open Cup: Philadelphia Union's History In The Tournament

A preview of the Philadelphia Union's Open Cup action against Rochester Rhinos and a look at the Union's history in the Cup.

The Philadelphia Union go into Tuesday night's match on the back of a run of form that's seen them win three of their last five matches and will hope to continue that form again USL side Rochester Rhinos who sit atop the Eastern Conference as the only undefeated side in USL.

The match up should be filled with familiar factors for the Union as former Rochester goalkeeper John McCarthy is set to start for the Union with Brian Sylvestre cup tied, having played for the Carolina RailHawks against the Charlotte Independence earlier in the competition. Furthermore, the USL affiliate of the New England Revolution have more than a few MLS connections in the form of former Colorado Rapids center back Grant Van De Casteele, former Houston Dynamo winger Alex Dixon and Timi Mulgrew and Tyler Rudy who are on loan from the New England Revolution.

Duo Andre Blake and Michael Lahoud remain injured, although Blake is set to be named to the bench with Sylvestre cup-tied. Striking trio Conor Casey, Antoine Hoppenot, and Fernando Aristeguieta remain questionable having sat out the Union's defeat to NYCFC. Steven Vitoria also remains questionable.

Rochester will be without joint top scorer Steevan Dos Santos, also known as Duba. He is suspended following a red card against Harrisburg City Islanders.

The Union will well aware of Rochester's tough to break down defense but should also be weary of Rochester joint top scorer Christian Volesky who has 4 goals in USL this season as well as midfielders Kenardo Forbes   and Alex Dixon who have 3 goals apiece.

As for Philadelphia, in the absence of top scorer Fernando Aristeguieta, striker CJ Sapong will be the danger man as well as midfield duo Christian Maidana (who leads the team with 4 assists) and all time US Open Cup top scorer Sebastian Le Toux who's got 2 goals and 3 assists in the league this season.

Rochester has done well despite the departure of the 2014 USL Goalkeeper of the Year, McCarthy. His replacement, Brandon Miller, currently sits at the top of the league goalkeeper standing with an impressive .353 goals against average. The upper New York State based side is the only non-MLS team to lift the Cup since the founding of MLS with their victory against the Colorado Rapids in 1999, having also lost the Final against DC United in 1996.

Although Rochester appear to be in good form, Union fans can take comfort in the fact that the team is undefeated against lower division opposition in the Open Cup including one previous Open Cup meeting between the two teams, a 3rd round 3-0 victory against Rochester in 2012 at PPL Park.

Despite the Union's struggles in MLS, it's safe to say the Chester based team has had a reasonable degree of success in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup throughout their short history.

In their five years in the competition, the Union has made the final once, the semifinal once, and was knocked out in the fourth round once as well as the third round/playoff round on two occasions.

The Union has however made a fair amount of progress throughout their five years in the competition.

Philadelphia fell at the first hurdle in their initial and subsequent forays into the Open Cup with a defeat in the 3rd round to rivals New York Red Bulls in 2010 as well as a penalty shoot our loss to DC United in 2011.

The Eastern Conference side made significant progress in 2012, beating Rochester Rhinos and DC United in the third and fourth rounds, followed by a thriller of a win against the Harrisburg City Islanders in the Quarter Finals but would lose at home to eventual winners Sporting Kansas City in the semifinals.

However, in 2013 Philadelphia took a step back. Despite reaching the semi-finals the previous year, the Union failed to build on the success of 2012, beating PDL side Ocean City Nor'easters in the 3rd round but losing to DC United in the 4th round.

The Union would achieve their best ever finish in the competition last year, as they stormed to the final with extra time victories against the Harrisburg City Islanders and the New York Cosmos, defeating the New England Revolution at home in the Quarter Finals before traveling to Frisco, Texas to beat FC Dallas on penalties in a nail biting affair. They were given the privilege of hosting the Final that year but fell to the Seattle Sounders in heart breaking fashion as the game ended in an extra time victory for Seattle.

Overall the Union has a record of 8-5-0 in the Open Cup including one penalty shootout loss and one win. 6 of their 13 matches have gone to extra time or more. Striker/midfielder Sebastian Le Toux holds the record for most goals scored in the competition with 14 although a portion of the 14 came with former teams Seattle Sounders and New York Red Bulls.

The Union will be wary as history states a good run for them in the competition has led to a poor run of form in the league having lost 10 of 15 matches in 2012 following their semifinal exit as well as having won just one of their last six games in the league following the USOC Final in 2014, but they'll be hoping to snap that streak in 2015.

Should the Union one up themselves this year it would be their first major trophy.

If Tuesday night's affair is anything like the 2012 encounter we're bound to see goals to entertain fans of all kinds.