Watch Philadelphia-Harrisburg Open Cup match at 7 pm

Here's the live stream of tonight's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game between the Philadelphia Union and Harrisburg City Islanders:

It's no World Cup, but plenty of reasons to watch Philadelphia Union vs. Harrisburg City Islanders tonight

Philadelphia reached the Open Cup semifinals at PPL Park
back in 2012, beating Harrisburg 5-2 along the way.

Calling an American soccer game the day after the US national team’s dramatic 2-1 win over Ghana is intimidating. It’s not like any mid-season club game can top that type of drama, emotion, or significance.

Nevertheless, I’m really looking forward to calling the Philadelphia Union game against the Harrisburg City Islanders tonight in U.S. Open Cup play (7:00 pm ET, Philadelphia Union YouTube channel). Here are a few of the storylines that make this one worth watching:

1. Motivation: The Open Cup often pits amped-up lower-division teams whose players have a point to prove against MLS teams for whom the game is more of a scheduling nuisance than a date to be circled. (Case in point: the New York Cosmos crushing the New York Red Bulls 3-0 on Saturday). But in this case, both teams will be highly motivated. It will be the first game for Philadelphia under interim manager Jim Curtin, which means players will be trying to prove that they deserve to either stay in the lineup or get a chance to break into it. Curtin has also stated that the Union will prioritize the Open Cup more than some other MLS teams. On the Harrisburg side, this is the biggest game on the schedule so far, and their players will bring maximum effort from the opening whistle. 
2. Connections: With an affiliation agreement in place, these teams work together 364 days per year, but on Tuesday, they will be looking for any advantage they can get. Philadelphia will not allow four players currently on loan to Harrisburg to play against the Union, depriving Harrisburg of three starters (target forward Pedro Ribeiro, wing Jimmy McLaughlin, and center back Richie Marquez). Harrisburg will rely on its knowledge of the Union, thanks in part to wing Morgan Langley and center midfielder Yann Ekra, who have both had brief stints with Philadelphia. Union defender Sheanon Williams began his pro career with Harrisburg in 2010 
3. Up against it: Harrisburg is seriously depleted. This is the City Islanders’ sixth of seven games in 21 days from May 31-June 20, and after seeing both Neil Shaffer and Clesio Bauque subbed out due to injury on Saturday against Pittsburgh, they have only 13 field players available for the 10 starting spots. Nevertheless, Harrisburg is 5-4 all-time in Open Cup games against MLS teams, so head coach Bill Becher and captain Jason Pelletier will be able to instill some belief in the players who are available. 
4. A new era: Curtin is a 34-year-old Villanova alumnus who highlighted his local roots when he was introduced as Philadelphia's interim manager last week. The passionate Union fans want to see a team that reflects their own intensity, and I have a feeling Curtin will be a good motivator. That still leaves questions such as, what formation will Curtin choose, which young players will get looks, and where will some of the more established players line up? The Jim Curtin Era begins tonight, and I’ll be there to get a first glimpse.

	Philadelphia	Harrisburg
Record	3-7-6	3-6-3
Place	8th/10 MLS East	11th/14 USL PRO
Scoring	22-27 = -5	14-20 = -6
Leading scorer	Sebastien Le Toux 4 Conor Casey 4	Morgan Langley 4 Clesio Bauque 3
Open Cup history	4-2, 3-1 home	14-7, 5-4 vs. MLS
Head-to-head	Open Cup: PHI leads 1-0 (2012) Friendly: PHI leads 2-1 (2011, 12, 13)

Talking in the Rain: Calling 2014's USL PRO vs. MLS Reserve League opener

One week after hosting a pregame show for the New York Red Bulls first team, I got to call play-by-play for the Red Bulls Reserves on Sunday, as they played the Dayton Dutch Lions in a crossover game that counted in the standings both for Dayton in USL PRO (the third division of American soccer) and in the MLS Reserve League (now in its final season as teams integrate with USL PRO, either via affiliation or by fielding their own minor-league team).

This particular reserve game took place at 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena, kicking off one hour after the Red Bulls' regular game against Chivas USA. By the time it kicked off, in the rain, there were not a whole lot of people in the building, and I was working the game solo. So it presented some challenges.

But I had researched Dayton as thoroughly as possible, talking to a Columbus Crew coach who gave insight on the seven players his club had loaned to Dayton and to the head coaches of both Dayton and the Red Bulls Reserves before the game. So I knew the players and personnel and had a great time calling the game:

Looking back, I'm frustrated at myself for losing focus on the plays in the second half that led to New York's goals (particularly the set pieces) and will be alert to that moving forward. But it's always good to be in a play-by-play setting, and hopefully there is more to come!

Dayton Dutch Lions (0-1) vs. New York Red Bulls Reserves (1-1)
March 30, 2014 -- Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ
USL PRO / MLS Reserve League

Scoring Summary:
NY -- Michael Bustamante 1 (Connor Lade 1, Eric Stevenson 1) 51
NY -- Eric Stevenson 1 (Marius Obekop 2, Arun Basuljevic 1) 61
NY -- Matt Miazga 1 (Eric Stevenson 2) 66

Dayton Dutch Lions -- Matt Williams, Taylor Bowlin (Ross Friedman 70), Brock Granger, Kevan George, Shane Smith, Shintaro Harada, Sebastien Thurière (Fifi Baiden 64), Eddie Hertsenberg (Aaron Schoenfeld 53), Cameron Vickers (Joe Broekhuizen 70), Ryan Finley (Matt Walker 64), Eli Garner.
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Stuver, Eric Kissinger.

New York Red Bulls Reserves -- Ryan Meara, Chris Duvall, Matt Miazga, Kevin Politz (Brandon Tetro 76), Ambroise Oyongo, Connor Lade, Eric Stevenson, Michael Bustamante, Arun Basuljevic (Malcolm Dixon 86), Chris Lema, Marius Obekop.
Substitutes Not Used: Santiago Castaño.

Misconduct Summary:
DAY -- Shintaro Harada (caution) 47
DAY -- Fifi Baiden (caution) 74
DAY -- Aaron Schoenfeld (caution) 88

Referee: Robert Sibiga
Referee's Assistants: T.J. Zablocki; Zeno Cho
Fourth Official: Ashraf Kamel

Weather: Rain-and-46 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial

Disney preview: Orlando City

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.

The tournament starts on Friday, but half of the teams will kick off on Saturday. This is the third edition of the tournament, but only the second with a host club. Orlando City, from the United Soccer Leagues’ PRO League, debuted last year and split its two games against MLS teams. Orlando City then won the inaugural USL PRO title on penalty kicks, and they’re ready for more MLS competition this year.