Union 2-1 Cosmos: Union Advance to Quarterfinals of U.S. Open Cup

At the least the weather was beautiful. In an ugly game marred by 5 yellow cards and 5 ejections, the Union outclassed the New York Cosmos and erased their dream of the CONCACAF Champions League with a 2-1 extra time win. Sebastian Le Toux's brace took care of the scoring and the Union backlline, with the exception of one mistake, sent back numberous advances by the Cosmos.

The first half was particularly difficult for both sides as only 3 shots were registered between them and none on target. The play improved in the second half and things opened up for both sides. The Cosmos got on the board first in the 56th minute. A feed from Daniel Szetela gave Alessandro Noselli the open space to chip the ball over an oncoming Andre Blake.

But the lead lasted less than a minute for the Cosmos. The Union took the tap and marched right down the pitch. Ray Gaddis broke open the play when a collision between he and a defender resulted in the ball bouncing back to Gaddis' feet. With new space he found Andrew Wenger down the right side of the box. And Wenger fed a perfect pass to Le Toux who tapped in the goal.

Fast forward to a corner kick in the 113th minute. Recent substitute Jimmy Ockford pulled down Maurice Edu in the box and a penalty kick was immediately called. The foul was deserved but that did not stop the Cosmos from arguing. Le Toux delivered a blistering shot and the Union were on top for the first time in the match.

Then it got really ugly. As the Union attempted to kill time in their own corner a series of fights broke out resulting in three red cards. The Union's Michael Lahoud, who had only come on in the 116th minute, did his best Corben Bone impression and was ejected after playing just 2 minutes. Two Cosmos players were ejected for their role in the scuffle. Earlier in the match two Cosmos coaches were ejected for arguing resulting in the five total ejections in the match.

The Union are now 6-4 all time in U.S. Open Cup play. The quarterfinal run is their second longest run, following a semifinal appearance in 2012. The Union will face the winner of the Rochester Rhinos-New England Revolution tangle, which will be played tonight. The quarterfinal will be played at PPL Park on July 8th.