Game Thread: Philadelphia Union vs Richmond Kickers, U.S. Open Cup 4th Round

The Open Cup is back for the fourth round with MLS teams now in the fray and since the Philadelphia Union never seem to travel for their first game in the tournament, they’ll be hosting Richmond Kickers at 7 p.m.

The Kickers have had mixed results in three previous trips to Pennsylvania this season — the first two were lopsided wins to the Bethlehem Steel FC, the last was a 1-1 draw with Reading United the Kickers advanced through on penalties.

The Union will be the fifth Pennsylvania team the Kickers have faced this season, having just lost in league play to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at home after beating Penn FC in the third round of the competition at home.

Check out the starting lineups, how to watch and share your score predictions and thoughts on the game in the comments.

Starting Lineups

Jim said to expect a different lineup and here it is. Unsurprisingly, John McCarthy makes his first start of the season in goal, Keegan Rosenberry returns after a night off in the Atlanta game and only Mark McKenzie, Haris Medunjanin and Marcus Epps are holdovers from the starting XI in Atlanta. Auston Trusty gets a night off after playing every minute so far in MLS so McKenzie slides over to the left and pairs with the guy who he’s been keeping on the bench, Jack Elliott. Steel FC winger Michee Ngalina was added for this game so we should see him subbing on for Accam or Epps in the second half to make his first team debut.

One familiar name locally in the Kickers starting XI is midfielder Oscar Umar, who played college soccer at Villanova, served as an assistant coach at Cabrini University and played in the NPSL with West Chester United last summer. He was sent off in the second round match against Reading United for contact to the face.

How to Watch

The game will be streamed live on the Philadelphia Union website beginning at 7 p.m.