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Well, it's here. MLS clubs are finally jumping into the fray surrounding and leading toward the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as the third round of the oldest running soccer tournament in North America kicks off tonight. D.C. United will be hopping a bus south to face the affiliated USL Pro Richmond Kickers, who could be featuring two on-loan United players.
Alright, United, let's not embarrass ourselves here.
Time: 7 pm EDT
Venue: City Stadium, Richmond, Va.
Live Streaming: There's unfortunately no proper TV coverage, but in this day and age of Netflix-produced Arrested Development, the Kickers will be providing live online coverage - as they do with all their USL Pro matches - at USLnation.com. Click here to watch the game live. (And if you miss the game, check that link after the game for archived video.)
Projected D.C. Lineup: With this being the only accolade of any value left to play for, look for Ben Olsen to run out something close to a full-strength side: Bill Hamid; Chris Korb, Ethan White, Conor Shanosky, Daniel Woolard; Kyle Porter, Perry Kitchen, Nick DeLeon, Taylor Kemp; Dwayne De Rosario, Carlos Ruiz. For more, check out ChestRockwell's post on this very potential lineup.
Projected Richmond Lineup: Check out our Richmond correspondent (and all-around good guy) Benuski's scouting report on the Kickers to see their possible lineup options.
Prediction: United have to win this one, right? Right? Hopefully a lower-league match-up tonight - combined with a soft league schedule over the next couple months - is just what los Capitalinos need to get off the schneid for good and all. I'll let my head follow my heart on that one and tap United to run out 3-1 winners.
What Are You Drinking?: I'll be keeping it very District classy tonight - Green Hat gin martini, with a twist.
Our own Benuski will be on-site (sans martini) to give us updates throughout the night, but with the live streaming, there's no reason not to have ourselves a raucous gamethread. As always, this is your place for pre-game, in-game and post-game discussion of all things United vs. Kickers.