USOpenCup.com will be providing fans with live updates of all 16 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup first round, and the final Major League Soccer play-in game. We invite you to email your questions/comments using the site’s email form, and we will try to answer your questions throughout the night.

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Welcome to our first ever live blog of the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. We’ve got some great matchups in store for tonight...and we’ll have updates for EVERY game right here. All you have to do is to hit REFRESH every so often, and we’ll have new info.

Stay tuned for the last two installments of our "Meet the USASA" feature. Hollywood United will be ready before they kick off tonight -- we actually just spoke with them, and they sound like a pretty confident bunch. Anthony Lapaglia ("Without A Trace") flew the team up to Portland on his private jet -- can’t think of another USASA team who traveled that nicely in Open Cup history.
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7:05pm - Our first three games are kicking off... Clearwater Galactics (USASA) at Charlotte Eagles (USL-2) ...Yakima Reds (PDL) at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) ....Brooklyn Knights (PDL) at Carolina RailHawks (USL-1)
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7:08pm - Waiting for the Charlotte Eagles broadcast to begin....nothing so far.
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7:11pm - Minnesota Thunder broadcast is up and running (vs. St. Louis Lions)
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7:13pm - Charlotte Eagles broadcast (vs. Clearwater Galactics) is up and running
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7:16pm - Minnesota Thunder’s Ricardo Sanchez puts a free kick off the crossbar (0-0 approx. 15th minute)
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7:21pm - Dustin Swinehart misses a solid chance for Charlotte in the 4th minute (0-0 - 5th min.)
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7:25pm - Our contact at the Harrisburg game is running late, as soon as he arrives at the stadium we’ll have that game updated. ALSO...for those of you looking for broadcast links -- in the top right corner of the page, click on the link for the first round under "UPCOMING MATCHES"
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7:27pm - El Pibe would be proud (don’t know what I’m talking about?) -- Clearwater on the attack, forcing a big save from Charlotte GK Terry Boss in the 10th minute (Clearwater 0:0 Charlotte - 10th)

7:29pm - Charleston Battery vs. ASC New Stars (Who are the New Stars?) is nearly underway. The broadcast on USLLive.com is underway.

7:35pm - 5 more games underway... Brooklyn at Carolina / Cleveland City Stars at Michigan Bucks / RWB Adria at Rochester (USL Live broadcast is not free....but the radio broadcast is -- see "upcoming matches") / Boston Olympiakos at Western Mass / ASC New Stars at Charleston

7:43pm - Harrisburg is already up 3-0! I’m being told that the very first goal was scored in the first minute. David Schofield scored the first....Yakima had an own goal (....then the third was by Brett Wiesner and then as I’m typing this update...Almir Barbosa scored to make it 4-0 as the halftime whistle sounds!

Bucks are already up 1-0 in the 4th minute with Ty Shipalane scoring on a misplay by the CLEV. defense. 

7:49pm - Melvin Tarley, who knows a thing or two about scoring goals in the Open Cup, just scored for Minnesota. Thunder 1:0 St. Louis Lions - 44th minute.

Charlotte’s Dustin Swinehart assists on a Robert Sjjemba goal to make it 1-0 over the Clearwater Galactics. - 34th minute.

7:53 - Charleston just scored to make it 1-0 over the New Stars. Now in the 23rd minute.

Question from Tim in Chicago: Is it true that the MLS play-in games cannot be played at a teams home field?  I was told by a Fire ticket rep that the games must be played at a neutral site.

Answer: Not true. Not sure what the ticket rep was talking about. Crew hosted RSL, LA hosted COL at the HDC and RSL also hosted San Jose. Actually...now that I look at the bracket - every team has played at their normal venue except for the last two games (CHI/CLB & KC/COLO)

8:00 - Cleveland ties it up thanks to former Chicago Fire player Floyd Franks in the 23rd minute. Assisted by Sallieu Bundu. Uzoigwe nearly scores for the Bucks just a minute later, but the volley was blocked. CLEVELAND 1:1 MICHIGAN.

Charleston scores again...Darren Spicer scores his 2nd of the match to make it 2-0. CHARLESTON 2:0 ASC NEW STARS.

8:04 - Boston Olympiakos are holding their own against Western Mass (0:0 in the 31st).

Carolina is scoreless with Brooklyn in the 15th minute - RailHawks are controlling the majority of play thus far.

Just to confirm what Andrew Bell said on the Charleston broadcast (Battery are dominating) -- Carlos Valderamma is NOT playing for Clearwater...his bother Ronald is.

8:09 - Jeff Bloes scores for Harrisburg (assist by Weisner). Bloes is apparently a new signing, local guy, and he scored in his first few minutes with the club. 5-0 for Harrisburg. The route is on....poor Yakima. Travel from one side of the country to the other...just to get waxed. What a shame. 

8:13 - Ronnie Pascale scores (assist by David Bulow) to put the Kickers up 1-0 vs. Fredericksburg. (I’m not going to take credit but it happen as soon as I called for an update)

Carolina and Brooklyn are scoreless in the 35th...couple hard fouls in that one. Brooklyn, without three of their best players, holding their own

Miami FC is scoreless with Bradenton in the all-florida battle. (10th minute)

Darren Spicer scores his THIRD for Charleston -- a rare natural hat trick for the Battery. 3-0 Charleston over ASC New Stars.

Edwin Diaz scores from FIFTY YARDS!! (just inside midfield) for the Galactics. Clearwater leads 2-1.

8:23 - GOAL for Richmond by Stanley Nyazamba in the 20th minute (unassisted) 2-0 Richmond...and as I’m writing this...a PK by David Bulow makes it 3-0 after Nyazamba was taken down in the box in the 24th minute.

At halftime - Western Mass has taken a 1-0 lead over Boston Olympiakos. Neil Krause (I’m told, unconfirmed) scored for the Pioneers in the 32nd minute.

Bradenton has taken a 1-0 lead over Miami FC (another quick exit for the Blues, perhaps?). Zak Boggs scores for the PDL side.

8:32 - Halftime in Carolina...RailHawks can’t break the Brooklyn Knights’ backline

Crew are down 1-0 to the Fire after a goal by Stephen King. There’s a matchtracker for this game.

8:34 - Miami FC equalizes thanks to Sean Cameron. 1-1 in the 25th minute.

8:36 - LIGHTNING in Maryland. New York Pancyprian Freedoms and the Real Maryland Monarchs are in a lightning delay. If they dont’ play by 9:30, then the game is postponed.

8:38 - Yakima breaks the shutout in Harrisburg. Jose Garcia (unconfirmed) scores for the Reds in a very one-sided game. 86th minute ... HAR 5 YAK 1

8:43 - Austin & Atlanta are underway... 35th minute, Bradenton/Miami still 1-1....Lightning delays for Real Maryland/NY Pancyprian Freedoms & Charlotte/Clearwater.....Bucks/Cleveland back underway in the 2nd half....Lots of action in Minnesota, as they lead 3-1 in the 81st minute.

8:48 - 3-0 for Richmond at halftime...

8:53 - RWB Adria (and their ringers) are hanging with the Rochester Rhinos. It’s 59th minute and still 0-0. Rhinos are outshooting them 6-1.

8:58 - The suffering is over in Harrisburg... City Islanders move on to Round 2 with a 5-1 win over the Yakima Reds.....Minnesota takes care of business against the PDL’s St. Louis Lions, winning 4-1. Had a hard time getting the goalscorers, but we’ll try to track that down....Halftime in Peoria, Fire lead 1-0 over the Crew. Stephen King with the lone goal.

9:06 - Just spoke with George with the NYP Freedoms, and he said that if they can’t start the game by 9:30 p.m. (Lightning delay) - then the game will be played on Friday, same venue. 

Tiger Fitzpatrick converts a penalty kick for the Rochester Rhinos in the 72nd minute to give them a 1-0 lead over RWB Adria.

9:16 - Thabiso "Boyzzz" Khumalo (His mama called him Thabiso, I’mma call him Thabiso) scores for Pittsburgh, along with Scott Gibson to make it 2-0 over AAC Eagles.

Western Mass scored another at home to lead 2-0 over Boston Olympiakos in the 88th minute. Time running out in that one...

Can’t imagine there’s much time left in the Charleston/New Stars game...still 3-0.

9:22 - RWB ADRIA EQUALIZE in the 86th minute vs. Rochester. Awadallah Morad scores for the underdogs. 1-1.

Crazy stuff in Miami -- Miami had just tied it up 2-2, but just as I was getting the update, the Blues took the lead, 3-2, thanks to a goal by Alex Alfonso in the 69th minute.

Bucks are throwing the kitchen sink at Cleveland to try to tie the game up...4 minutes of stoppage time, do they have a late equalizer in store?

It’s all over in Ludlow....Western Mass defends their home turf against Boston Olympiakos with a 2-0 win.

9:32 - Updates Galore: Charlotte/Galactics are still in a lightning delay...Harrisburg killed Yakima first goal came in the opening minutes and was all over after that....Minnesota beat St. Louis 4-1, no trouble for the home team...Michigan Bucks, playing at their new indoor soccer stadium, fall 2-1 to the Cleveland City Stars of the USL Second Division....RWB Adria equalizes in the 86th minute, and sends the game into extra time with a 1-1 scoreline at Rochester....Western Mass eliminates their fellow Mass-based club, Boston Olympiakos 2-0...Charleston Battery, thanks to a natural hat trick (first half) by Darren Spicer, defeat ASC New Stars 3-0 at Blackbaud Stadium....Kupono Low scores on a free kick to put the RailHawks up 1-0 over the Brooklyn Knights in the 85th, and Carolina would hold on for the win....Richmond gets three goals in the first half to open up a 3-0 lead over Fredericksburg, and they are holding strong midway through the second half....New York and Real Maryland are still in a lightning delay and we’re passed 9:30, so this game may be played on Friday -- waiting for confirmation of that....Miami just went down to 10 men in the 68th minute (I had the time wrong earlier, it was the 58th minute on the goal), leading 3-2 over Bradenton. Cristiano Dias was sent off for a hard foul....Pittsburgh scored a pair of first half goals to lead AAC Eagles on the road....Austin’s Jamie Watson scored just before halftime (assist - Kevin Klaus) to lead the Atlanta Silverbacks 1-0....that game is at halftime...and the Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew are tied 2-2 in the 71st minute.

9:43 - By the way, David Bulow was the one who scored that goal for Richmond ...not (GOALKEEPER) Ronnie Pascale (not sure why that didn’t occur to me when I typed it...but since we’re keeping track of so many games, I guess I can allow for one mistake. I meant to point that out earlier, but forgot about it...thanks to Mike from Richmond for the reminder :)

9:47 - Rochester scored an extra time goal (Diallo) in the 96th minute to make it 2-1 over RWB Adria. Charlotte and Clearwater are back underway after a lightning delay. New York and Real Maryland have been postponed. They couldn’t start the game in time (by 9:30) and will play the game on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. at the same venue.

9:54 - The clock continues to tick in Peoria, still 2-2 (CLB/CHI....can anyone really imagine an Open Cup without the Chicago Fire?? I apologize in advance if that was a jinx). Charlotte and Clearwater are back underway and Dustin Swinehart scores to make it 3-2 (67th minute)

9:57 - Miami FC’s Alex Alfonso scores a late goal to clinch it for the Blues. (One minute of stoppage time left). Blues are up 4-2...on their way to the 2nd round.

10:03 - Rochester and RWB are coming down the home stretch....2nd extra time period, Rhinos up 2-1. Rochester is outshooting them 17-5 (according to the broadcast).

Charlotte’s Jorge Hererra puts the Eagles up 4-2 over the Galactics in the 71st minute. Two goals in five minutes for the home side.

10:05 - ANOTHER goal by Charlotte...this one in the 75th minute. So, to save you a trip to the scoreboard, or up this blog it’s Swinehart in the 67th, Hererra in the 71st and Robert Ssejjemba (his 2nd) in the 75th. 5-2 Eagles.

10:09 - The Rhinos hold on for a 2-1 extra time win over RWB Adria. The West Coast games about to start. Fire/Crew are in extra time with the final MLS Open Cup spot on the line.

10:13 - Haven’t heard back from the Kickers/Gunners in a while, but the last I heard, it seemed to be all-Richmond. I’m assuming that since I haven’t heard...the game probably finished 3-0.

10:16 - Ok, I have a confirmed final... RICHMOND 3 FC FRED 0 - By the way...that first goal was scored by ELIOT PASCHALIS on an assist from David Bulow. There’s Ronnie Pascale (the goalkeeper) and Paschalis (the midfielder)....and I was told that they nearly had a THIRD player with "Pasc" at the beginning of their name, but he didn’t end up making the squad. (Fun fact for you)

Portland is off and running out West vs. Hollywood United (I’ll have that story posted momentarily -- so you’ll have some reading material while you wait for updates). Outshooting HU 4-0, but nothing on goal.

Austin is still holding on vs. Atlanta in the 71st minute, leading 1-0.

Charlotte finished off Clearwater 5-2...seemed like a totally different ballgame after about an hour long lightning delay.

10:24 - WOW, what a turn of events in Austin. The Aztex PDL side were up 1-0, and then a penalty kick was called against them. Atlanta’s David Hayes stepped up to take the PK and Miguel Gallardo SAVED IT! You’d think there would be a major momentum swing toward the Aztex, but 3 minutes later, Atlanta equalizes on a goal from Mac Kandji in the 81st minute.

Pittsburgh adds two more goals in "garbage time" to defeat AAC Eagles 4-0.

10:33 - Fire and Crew are still playing...107th minute...still 2-2.

Portland/Hollywood ...Cameron Dunn, a yellow card in the 24th minute for Hollywood, a big save by United goalkeeper Javier Barragan...but in the 32nd minute Chris Brown had a breakthrough for the Timbers to make it 1-0 Portland.

10:40 - Finally had a chance to look back at the scoreboard and digest everything -- not a single upset thus far. However...the Austin Aztex are working on the first one. They are tied 1-1 with the Atlanta Silverbacks entering the first extra time period.

Andy Herron, the 2006 Player of the Tournament, just converted a penalty kick in the 116th minute to put the Fire up 3-2. Not sure how it went down (I’m matchtracking rather than watching the video broadcast), but there’s not much time left for the Crew.

10:46 - Chicago wins thanks to a pair of goals by Andy Herron. Final Score: CHI 3 CLB 2 - game winner in the 116th minute.

Matt Taylor has equalized for Hollywood United with a penalty kick JUST before halftime. Tim Karalexis (PORT) committed a foul in the box. The score is 1-1 approaching the half. (Fun fact: Taylor played for Portland last year in the second half of the season)

Arizona and Seattle are scoreless in the 19th minute.

10:54 - Halftime stats of HU/PORT: .... SHOTS: 12-4 PORT  SOG: 4-3 PORT  FOULS: 8-3 PORT  CORNERS: 5-2 HU

In the 99th minute, Atlanta went down to 10 men when a straight red card was issued to Chris Mahaffey in the 99th minute. TWO minutes later, Austin took advantage thanks to a goal by Willy Guadarrama on his first touch of the match after coming on as a sub. 2-1 AUSTIN

11:03 - Apparently the straight red had something to do with "stepping on the goalkeeper" - just thought I would pass that along. Still 10 minutes to go in that one.

11:09 - The second half is underway in Portland...and as the players emerged from the locker rooms, the rain emerged from the clouds.

11:11 - GOAL BY HOLLYWOOD UNITED...waved off for offiside.

GOAL BY ATLANTA....ok, this one counted. 2-2 in Austin. David Hayes moved in 1 v. 1 on the goalkeeper, pushed the ball past him, and was taken down...PK! Hayes gets a second penalty kick opportunity (after having an earlier one saved), and this time he makes it. 113th minute.

CRAZINESS IN THE ROSE CITY
11:14 - GOAL BY PORTLAND...Arsene Oka from Neil Dombrowski (A Dombrowski in the Open Cup, shocking) and then less than two minutes later, LJ Reinhaldt took down a Timbers player in the box and Portland was awarded a penalty kick! Takayuki Suzuki took the penalty kick, and it was SAVED by Javier Barragan, the rebound came back to Oka, who hit it wide right.

THEN! ANOTHER PK called, Kiki Lara (POR) is the guilty party ...and Matt Taylor scores a second goal to tie it up at 2-2.

Crystal Palace Baltimore scores just before halftime to lead the Los Angeles Legends 1-0 at the break.

11:24 - PKs in Austin... and Patrick Healy is the reported goalscorer for Crystal Palace.

11:27 - According to my trusty reporter in Phoenix....Seattle is dominating the run of play (vs. Arizona Sahuaros). It’s halftime, and it’s still scoreless.

PKs in Austin:

PK summary	1	2	3	4	5	TOTAL
AUSTIN	1	X	1	1	1	4
ATLANTA	1	1	1	1	1	5