The winner of the match will host the New England Revolution in the next play-in round, which scheduled to be played by the end of April. Should the Union defeat both United away and the Revolution at home, Peter Nowak's side will travel to play the winner of Houston-Kansas City for the right to qualify for the 40-team tournament.
The Union played their first USOC match on April 27, 2010 in a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls as a play-in game at the Red Bull Arena in New York. Sebastien Le Toux scored the Union's lone goal in the 68th minute before receiving a strong tackle that left him off the pitch for several weeks with an MCL strain.
D.C. United has won the tournament on two occasions, once in 1996 and again in 2008. The Black and Red has twice won the U.S. Open Cup, in 1996 and again in 2008. Last year, D.C. made it to the Open Cup semifinals before falling 2-1 to the Columbus Crew at RFK Stadium
(Copyright 2011 Philadelphia Union. Reprinted by permission)
