Three former champions and a newcomer will make up the semifinals of the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. DC United (1996 champions), Chicago Fire (3-time champion), Los Angeles Galaxy (2-time champion) and the Houston Dynamo all picked up wins to advance to the final four.

The night began with an east coast rivalry between two clubs starving for Open Cup success. The New York Red Bulls have never won the tournament, and the last time DC United won it a decade ago, current Red Bulls manager Bruce Arena was the one that helped lift the Cup.

United defeated their rivals to the north 3-1 in front of over 8,000 fans on Wednesday night. Josh Gros struck first in the 37th minute, only to have Amado Guevara equalize less than five minutes later. After the halftime break, Jamil Walker, who has only started once thus far in the regular season, scored his second and third goals of the tournament to punch United’s ticket to the semifinals.

DC knew that they would have to travel for their semifinal matchup on September 6, it was just a matter of where. The Chicago Fire and New England Revolution met last weekend in league play and found themselves in a midweek rematch. Unfortunately for the Revolution, it was a very similar story. After scoring the loan goal in Sunday’s league match, Andy Herron scored two goals to lead the Fire to a 2-1 victory. 12 minutes in, Herron put the home side up 1-0, only to have Taylor Twellman equalize 15 minutes later. After the break, rookie Calen Carr was looking for his second Open Cup goal when he was pulled down by Revs goalkeeper Doug Warren. Herron stepped to the penalty spot and converted to give the Fire a 2-1 lead, which they would cling to for the remainder of the match.

In the first of two Western matchups, the Houston Dynamo earned their first Open Cup win with a 3-0 decision over their in-state rivals, FC Dallas. The win not only knocked out the Hoops, but it spoiled the debut of one of their high profile post-World Cup signing, goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. Hislop, a Trinidad & Tobago international who made a name for himself this summer with a heroic shutout of Sweden, got off to a poor start as he allowed his first goal 13 minutes into the match on a header by Eddie Robinson.

Hislop would end his night having not made a single save, and giving up two more goals in the second half. The first coming from Alejandro Moreno in the 57th minute and the second by Chris Wondolowski who added an insurance goal four minutes later. Any hopes of an improbable comeback were crippled when Dallas’ Marcelo Saragoza was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 74th minute.

Houston had to wait just a little bit longer to find out who their semifinal opponent would be as the Los Angeles Galaxy needed extra time to defeat the Colorado Rapids 3-1 at home. Clint Mathis, who began his MLS career with the Galaxy back in 1998, scored a goal in the 3rd minute to give the visitors an early advantage. Quavas Kirk, one of the bright young stars for Los Angeles, answered with an equalizer just before halftime. Both teams would cancel each other out in the second half, forcing a 30-minute overtime period. Landon Donovan, who came on as a substitute in the 37th minute, scored two goals in extra time to eliminate the Colorado Rapids who were trying to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1999.