The Seattle Sounders, at one point scheduled to play their first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match on the road, instead will host the Atlanta Silverbacks in a third-round match 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila.
The Sounders are trying to win the cup for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. It has been contested for 99 years.
Members of the North American Soccer League, the second tier of American soccer, the Silverbacks defeated the Georgia Revolution (NPSL), 1-0, Tuesday in Conyers, GA., to qualify to play the Sounders, who negotiated to have the site changed.
Tacoma native and University of Washington graduate Raphael Cox scored the winner for Atlanta in the second-round match.
In 2011, Seattle became the first club in 42 years and fourth overall to win the cup three consecutive years. Sounders FC defeated D.C. United in the 2009 final, the Columbus Crew in the 2010 final, and the Chicago Fire in the 2011 final before a Cup-record crowd of 35,615 at CenturyLink Field.
This year’s competition includes 64 teams, including 16 Major League Soccer clubs. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world.
Quarterfinals are set for June 26, semifinals for July 10, and the final for Aug. 7 or 8.
