D.C. United and the Philadelphia Union renew their colorful history in the U.S. Open Cup tonight, with Audi Field hosting its first-ever game in America’s knockout competition. It has been a few years, but when the Union first came to exist, U.S. Soccer’s cup draw seemed to pair these sides every time, and the matches were usually combative and tense, with red cards and extra time a regular feature.
With the Gold Cup break in place, both teams are expected to field the strongest teams they can, though absences for that tournament and other reasons mean that we’re still going to see some fairly odd teams from Ben Olsen and Jim Curtin.