Seattle Sounders travel to face San Jose in the US Open Cup round of 16

The San Jose Earthquakes will host the Seattle Sounders in the next round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the round of 16. US Soccer broadcast their draft Thursday for the eight upcoming games. The Sounders visit Avaya Stadium on June 28 for a 7:30 PM start.

Though Seattle weren’t selected to host this round, they were drafted into the match whose winner will host the quarterfinal against Sacramento Republic FC or LA Galaxy. The USL’s Republic FC just thoroughly beat Real Salt Lake to advance to face LA, so the other side of the bracket will be an interesting game to watch.

Just as in their recent match against the Portland Timbers, Seattle go into this San Jose match with Open Cup history with their opponent. Their last two Open Cup meetings were fiery and noteworthy.

First, there was the so-called Battle of Kezar in 2012, a reportedly intense match that was barely watchable through unofficial streams, and featured allegations that Eddie Johnson assaulted an Earthquakes player, which did not happen. Then, in 2014, there was the wild and messy 1-1 draw at Starfire. Marcus Hahnemann saved JJ Koval’s kick in the ensuing shootout (helping the Sounders advance), and promptly stripped off his shirt and accepted a beer from the fans, chugging it right there on the field.

While the recent Portland USOC match proved to be much tamer than past contests, this is still the Open Cup, and anything could happen. The Sounders will surely be prepared for an intense evening when they travel to take on the ‘Quakes later this month.

Specific dates and times for the upcoming US Open Cup round of 16 will be released later today at US Soccer’s website.