The U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round Draw was announced Thursday morning and the Richmond Kickers learned they would be heading to Philadelphia to face the Philadelphia Union on either June 5 or June 6. This is Richmond’s first appearance in the fourth round since 2015. The Kickers last won a U.S. Open Cup fourth round match in 2011 when Richmond knocked off two MLS teams en route to a semifinals appearance. Richmond was the crown jewel of the 1995 U.S. Open Cup when the Kickers won the entire tournament.
This is the first ever meeting between Philadelphia and Richmond. Philadelphia was knocked out in the Round of 16 last year by the New York Red Bulls in penalties. The Union were runners up in the 2014 and 2015 edition of the U.S. Open Cup. Philadelphia currently sits in seventh place in the MLS Eastern Conference standings with a record of 4-5-2.
Richmond advanced to the fourth round after defeating Penn FC 3-2 on Wednesday night. Luiz Fernando opened the scoring with two goals in the first half to give the Kickers a 2-0 lead. Penn FC responded with two goals of their own from Jorge Rivera, eventually equalizing in the 60th minute. The Kickers fought back after the disappointment and had their breakthrough in the 83rd minute. Austin Yearwood connected with Heviel Cordovés right in front of the net and the Cuban native scored with his swinging left foot to advance Richmond to the fourth round.
