Philadelphia Union to host New York Red Bulls in Quarterfinal of US Open Cup in July

After their triumphant 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the Round of 16 of the US Open Cup, a draw determined when, where, and who the Philadelphia Union would be facing in the quarterfinals. Philly was drawn as a host of the quarterfinal round and will take on “rivals” New York Red Bulls at Subaru Park on either Tuesday, July 8th, or Wednesday, July 9th!

Union drawn in the East region of the USOC Bracket

The Union is one of four “East” teams left in the tournament. They are grouped with the New York Red Bulls, DC United, and Nashville SC. Chicago Fire is still alive in the US Open Cup as well, but for the sake of balance, they were determined to move to the west side of the bracket; a two-team draw between them and Nashville SC was conducted to make that change. Here’s a look at the East region of the bracket.

Philadelphia Union
New York Red Bulls
Nashville SC
DC United

Philadelphia Union will play host to the New York Red Bulls, while Nashville SC will hope to give DC United the opposite of a warm welcome. These will be entertaining matchups! Philly and Nashville are in the top four of the East in MLS play, while Red Bulls and DC will look at a Cup run to jumpstart their lagging league form! These four teams will also have their eyes on the West to see who a potential Final matchup could be against.

The West’s final four is also set

The West’s best four are ready to fight for a cup on the other side of the bracket. Minnesota, San Jose, and Austin are the three traditional Western Conference teams, with Chicago being added to that side of the bracket in the two-team draw. Here’s the field for the west.

Minnesota United
Chicago Fire
San Jose Earthquakes
Austin FC

Minnesota United will host Chicago Fire, while San Jose welcomes Austin FC. Of the four teams in this region, only Minnesota is in top form about halfway through the MLS season; San Jose, Austin, and Chicago are all hanging around the final playoff spots in their respective conferences. Could Minnesota be a favorite to make and host a final, or will there be a shocking run by any of the three others in search of silverware in 2025?

Union, MLS — Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union

Hosting priority figured out for the Semifinals and Final

Along with the quarterfinal draw, there was a separate draw to determine hosting scenarios for the semifinals and the final. Here are the results of the semifinal hosting priority draw.

East:

New York Red Bulls
Nashville SC
DC United
Philadelphia Union

West:

Minnesota United
Austin FC
San Jose Earthquakes
Chicago Fire

As part of the draw, we now know who can host in later rounds. The final draw was to determine whether the winner of the East or West would host the final, and the West was chosen. Should they advance, the Union will be on the road for the last stages of the tournament, as they drew fourth to host the East semifinal, and the West was chosen to host the final.

We will see if the Union can invoke some of their previous cup runs. Not just their most recent ones, the Leagues Cup and the MLS Cup runs of the past few years were historical, but this club has been so close to tasting Open Cup glory, three times runners-up. We’ll see how Carnell manages this Cup run with a team that is also pushing to be the best in MLS!