Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – Fourth Round
Energy FC @ FC Dallas
Wednesday, June 12 – 7:00 p.m. CDT
Westcott Field – Dallas, Texas

Official Watch Party

Live Stream – ESPN+

@EnergyFC on Twitter

Week 14 Recap

Energy FC (6th, 5-4-6, 21 points) got through another brutal week of fixtures to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches in all competitions. Last Wednesday, the Greens, in one of their best performances of the season, drew 1-1 with Western Conference leaders New Mexico United in Albuquerque. They then went and got the same result at Fresno FC on Saturday. Deshorn Brown and Omar Gordon combined spectacularly on both goals to move their USL Championship season totals to eight goals for Brown and six assists for Gordon.

Cody Laurendi, who has been in incredible form as of late, came up with big saves in both matches to help secure the points. He also extended his league lead in saves to 49.

What makes the results even more impressive is that the roster is a little thin right now. With national team call-ups and injuries, Steve Cooke’s bench was limited to just three players in Fresno.

To say this stretch of the season has been busy would be an understatement. This will be the third straight week OKC will play two matches. It will also be the eighth match in the last 29 days. Still, the team is in fine form, having only lost once in the last 11 outings.

Week 15 Preview Part 1

That unbeaten run is going to be put to the test in Dallas, as OKC will face Major League Soccer competition in the Open Cup for the fourth time in club history. FC Dallas, currently fifth in MLS’s Western Conference, most recently played to a 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes. Francis Atuahene, who spent the first part of the 2018 season on loan with Energy FC, scored the tying goal on his MLS debut.

The clubs have met twice in Open Cup competition, with FC Dallas winning on both occasions. The Greens fell 4-1 in 2015 at Texas Christian University’s Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium. In 2016, the match had to be decided by penalties when the sides played to a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes at Westcott Field.

Energy FC have never advanced past the Fourth Round but came close in their last appearance in 2017, falling 3-2 to the Colorado Rapids.

In addition to their Open Cup history and former affiliation, there are several ties between Energy FC and FC Dallas. Atiba Harris was part of the Dallas squad that won the Cup in 2016. Je-Vaughn Watson spent three years with the club and was on the losing side of that 2016 final when he played for the New England Revolution. Amer Sasivarevic was picked by FCD in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. Dallas has also sent several players to OKC on loan – most recently, Atuahene, Jordan Cano and Ema Twumasi in 2018.

Despite FC Dallas being the favorites to advance, Coach Cooke and his squad are confident they can pull off the upset.

"Our job is to make certain we approach the game the right way – make sure we're positive, make sure we're energetic and look to win the game. It's really important that we don't go into this game just looking to make up the numbers – we go into it looking to win."

New signing Jon Brown will not be available for selection Wednesday night. The midfielder is cup-tied after featuring for Hartford Athletic in the Open Cup earlier in the season.

Wednesday’s match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. from Westcott Field on the campus of Southern Methodist University. It can be streamed live on ESPN+, tickets are still available at fcdallas.com/tickets or you can swing by the official Energy FC watch party at Guyutes.