US Open Cup Round of 16: New York Red Bulls Host New York Cosmos

After beating New York City FC in dramatic fashion in the US Open Cup fourth round, the New York Cosmos will travel to the New York Red Bulls for a Round of 16 matchup.  Their game with NYCFC was electric.  After finding themselves down 2-0 in the second half, the Cosmos ended up tying the score in the 90th minute to bring the game to extra time.  Even though it went to penalty kicks, extra time was very entertaining.

During the first extra time period, the Cosmos hit the post, then conceded a PK, in which NYCFC slammed the crossbar.  The Cosmos would go onto win the shootout 4-3.

The Cosmos are no strangers to RBNY.  In last year's edition of USOC, the Cosmos beat the Red Bulls 3-0 on the turf at Hofstra University in front of a crowd of 9,364.  The Red Bulls look to get revenge against a team that claims "New York is Green" after beating both New York MLS sides the last two years in Open Cup play.

The Red Bulls seem to be taking this year's edition a bit more seriously than last year's.  The fact that RBNY started nine of their normal XI against the Atlanta Silverbacks was a statement of intent. Now throw in the fact that RBNY has applied to host not just recently-concluded Fourth Round, but also the Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matches: it seems RBNY really want the Cup.

We know that someone is excited to play the Red Bulls.  Prior to the Round of 16 draw, Once A Metro tweeted out a poll - drawing a response from a familiar face, Ruben Bover, who is apparently keen to have a chance to show his former team what it's missing:

@Once_A_Metro a

— ruben bover (@ruben_bover) June 18, 2015

The Red Bulls and Cosmos are only half of the four teams designated to the East Region for the Round of 16.  The other matchup will be the Philadelphia Union hosting D.C. United.  The Round of 16 is scheduled for June 30th and July 1st. The winners of the two East region matchups will face off in the Quarterfinals between July 21st and 22nd.