The Rochester Rhinos may be the only USL team left in the tournament, but they have been here before. The Rhinos will make their third appearance in the Semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after a 2-1 victory over the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Second Division. For the Rhinos, it will be their first appearance in the final four since 1999, the year they won the Open Cup.

They will travel to Boyds, MD on July 21 to face D.C. United, the club that beat them in the 1996 Open Cup Final. United got past a USL Second Division club of their own, knocking off the Harrisburg City Islanders 2-1. 

In the other Semifinal, the Houston Dynamo will make their way to the Starfire Soccer Complex in Tukwila, WA on July 21 where they will face the Seattle Sounders. The Dynamo exorcized some demons on Tuesday night, eliminating the Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium, something they have been unable to do in the 2007 and 2008 tournaments. The difference in Seattle’s 1-0 win over Kansas City was an 89th minute penalty kick that Sebastien Le Toux converted for the game’s only goal.

USOpenCup.com takes a look at each of the four Quarterfinal matches in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, with our "Tale of the Tape" feature for each game.

Also join us for a live blog as we follow all of Tuesday’s games. You can sign up for an email reminder in the box to the right. All four games are being broadcast in some form; click here for a full schedule.

Will the Houston Dynamo be able to finally win a cup game in Charleston? Can the Harrisburg City Islanders repeat the deeds of 2007 and knock off D.C. United? Can the Rochester Rhinos fend off the resurgent Wilmington Hammerheads to earn their first semifinal match since 1999? Will the Seattle Sounders continue their city’s recent Open Cup legacy by eliminating the Kansas City Wizards?

Find out on Tuesday as our live blog coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

All Times Eastern

U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals Matches

Wilmington Hammerheads (USL-2) at Rochester Rhinos (USL-1)
Marina Auto Stadium - Rochester, NY | 7 p.m.
Broadcast: USLLive.com, 107.3 FM

Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) at D.C. United (MLS)
Maryland Soccerplex - Boyds, MD | 7:30 p.m.
DCU Broadcast: English & Spanish radio
HCI Broadcast: WMSS-FM radio

Houston Dynamo (MLS) at Charleston Battery (USL-1)
Blackbaud Stadium - Charleston, SC | 7:30 p.m.
Charleston Video Broadcast: USLLive.com
Houston Radio Broadcast: 790 AM KBME

Kansas City Wizards (MLS) at Seattle Sounders F.C. (MLS)
Starfire Sports Complex - Tukwila, WA | 10 p.m.
Broadcast: SoundersFC.com Audio

2009 U.S. Open Cup Bracket

More information about the Quarterfinals

U.S. Soccer has determined the possible pairings for the quarterfinals of the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The matches will be played on July 7 and feature the winners of the tournament’s third round matches, to be played on June 30 and July 1 across the United States.

There have only been six "upsets" in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open Cup since 1995, therefore all four of them are, in fact, "notable." You could argue there has been seven, but we didn’t think the Seattle Sounders (USL-1) eliminating the Kansas City Wizards (MLS) on penalty kicks was much of an upset in 2008.  

Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS) 3 : 4 (asdet) Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League)
September 7, 1996
Frontier Field - Rochester, NY

In front of more than 12,000 fans at Frontier Field, the Rochester Raging Rhinos knocked off Major League Soccer’s best team, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, in sudden death overtime.

The 2008 U.S. Open Cup marked the first time that a pair of USL-1 teams advanced out of the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

In 2007, when the Seattle Sounders (USL-1) defeated the Colorado Rapids (MLS) 5-0, it was the worst loss suffered by an MLS team in the U.S. Open Cup.