Atlanta United is officially as far into the U.S. Open Cup as its ever been in its history after a Round of 16 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew in godforsaken MAPFRE Stadium.
Some might say Frank de Boer showed some ambition in wanting to win the tournament by fielding mostly his best possible XI for the match. Other, more cynical folks, might say that this was merely a tuneup game for MLS play, which starts again next Wednesday, and, like the Five Stripes, won’t stop (for a while anyway). The match produced sloppy play in sloppy conditions, but the Five Stripes did just enough to see them through to the quarterfinal, where they will play USL’s St.