The New York Red Bulls got a goal at the death to force extra time, but fell in penalties to FC Cincinnati.
Dante Vanzeir scored in the 92nd minute to send the match into 30 extra minutes. Both sides battled but couldn't find a winner and needed penalties to separate the sides. Cincinnati converted all five penalties, while Vanzeir's was saved for New York.
FCC advance 5-3 on PKs to the Round of 16.
"When you lose in penalties, it's not a great feeling," Head Coach Troy Lesesne said. "Obviously, we did so much to invest in that match to come away and progress to the next round. But not one single player or any staff member should hang their head after that performance. It's a great performance against a very good team. Even though they're missing players, they still have a lot of quality on the field. And again, I think you saw some incredible moments from us to get the second goal during the 120 minutes, obviously didn't come. If we keep getting in those positions, I feel really good about the direction we're going in."
Yuya Kubo opened the match’s scoring after sending in a shot from 20 yards out to give FC Cincinnati the lead.
Vanzeir leveled the match in the second minute of stoppage time to send the match to extra time. The goal by Vanzeir was his first in U.S. Open Cup play and his second across all competitions for New York this season.
The Red Bulls had 35 shots, eight on goal, with 15 blocked.
"We want to win these games," Sean Nealis said. "We want to kind of avenge ourselves from last year in the Open Cup and the end result is not what we wanted. But as you alluded to, performance on the holes was good. They're the top team in the East right now and we should get confidence in that regard. But yeah, it's not the result we wanted in the end."
Ryan Meara made his 17th U.S. Open Cup appearance, the most for a player in franchise history.
Matt Nocita made his first team debut after being subbed on in stoppage time at the end of the second half, while Luquinhas made his return from injury after missing the past nine matches across all competitions.
"I can feel the confidence from guys going forward and the attacking third, especially," Nealis said. "They have more creativity. We were dangerous in the first half, dangerous in the second half and definitely in extra time as well. Going forward, we'll get better, while learning and growing as a team."
New York heads on a two-match road stand, beginning with a battle against Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday, May 27 at Lumen Field. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET with coverage on New York Red Bulls Radio in English via Tune In, the New York Red Bulls app, and NewYorkRedBulls.com.
"The momentum we've carried over the last five matches, you can feel it building," Lesesne said. "The identity is becoming clearer and clearer about what we're trying to do moving forward."
