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That was harder and more stressful than we thought but that’s midweek cup games for you. It looked early like the Union might have an easy win with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Olivier Mbaizo’s right foot and Ale Bedoya’s head in the 6th minute but Indy Eleven is well versed in the art of the cupset and they took it all the way to penalties when the most experienced shootout keeper in the park sent the Union through to the next round. Bring on the ‘Hounds in the Round of 16.

In the email today:

1. 🏆 Surviving A Scare

Andrew Rick had to wait longer than usual to get to penalties, but the 19-year-old goalkeeper who won his second shootout of the year in MLS Next Pro on Saturday in Chattanooga, came up with a big stop in the shootout to decide the U.S. Open Cup match against Indy Eleven on Wednesday night in Chester.

Rick dove to his left to deny former Union draft pick Aodhan Quinn in the third round. All five Union shooters - from Indy Vassilev to Jovan Lukic - converted their kicks and that lone save proved to be the difference.

The result sets up the first ever Keystone Derby between the Union and Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Subaru Park in two weeks time (either May 20 or 21). The Riverhounds visited Subaru Park in July 2020 but that was for a USL Championship game against Philadelphia Union II.

Wednesday's contest appeared early on like it might be an easier exercise for the hosts, playing a home U.S. Open Cup game for the first time since the 2018 semifinal win over Chicago Fire. Olivier Mbaizo whipped in a cross from the right touch line that found the head of Alejandro Bedoya for the opener in the 6th minute and with the early lead continued to threaten to open the game up evern further.

But getting to halftime proved to be the momentum boost the 2024 U.S. Open Cup semifinalists needed. Just two minutes after the break Elvis Amoh found an equalizer with a classy finish past Rick to level the score at 1-1. It was a vibrant turn around for a team that struggled to find a path forward in the first half and looked more likely to concede again than score.

The equalizer proved to be a wake-up call and ushered in multiple substitutions from head coach Bradley Carnell to see the game out. While the winner never came, the chances were frequent and the shots plentiful. The Union ended up registering 33 shots, 11 on target and if not for a valiant display from Indy goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook and physical play from Union Academy grad and former Bethlehem Steel defender Ben Ofeimu the score might've been a lopsided one.

In the end, Rick added to his already long resume - dating back to his early days in the academy - of penalty shootout heroics, the Union kept alive their unbeaten streak against non-MLS teams in Open Cup play and filled their calendar with a ninth game for the month of May.

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2. 🐐 Social Post of the Day: Cup Squad

3. 💧 Water Cooler: Open Cup Prediction Results

What would a Union Open Cup be without a local backup goalkeeper stepping up in penalties to ‘survive and advance’?

4. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Quentin Hall has thoughts and reactions - positive and negatives - on last name’s game.

• Doopy Brothers podcast host Luke McClung has designed another poster to commemorate tonight’s game against Indy Eleven. A larger print is available for on-demand purchase online. An 8.5×14 poster print is also available for $6.99 (U.S. postage included).

• West Chester United has taken the APSL Delaware River Conference by storm, winning the regular season title in their first season in the league avenging their only loss with a 9-0 win over Oaklyn United on Tuesday.

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