Former University of Evansville soccer players Cory Elenio and Marc Burch played for their MLS teams Tuesday in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. The Open Cup is soccer's equivalent to golf's U.S. Open, or England's version of the FA Cup, pitting the best professional teams against potential qualifers.

Burch played the full 90 minutes on defense in D.C. United's 2-0 win over the PDL Ocean City Barons at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Christian Gomez converted a penalty kick in the 74th minute and Ange N'Silu added a goal late into stoppage time to secure the victory. D.C. United moves on to the quarterfinal round against Harrisburg, which upset New England. Elenio played the first 85 minutes up front for the Crew, but the host Rochester Rhinos knocked off Columbus 5-3 in a shootout following a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes. The Crew played the final 35 minutes of regulation and overtime a man down after Alex Grendi picked up his second yellow card.

Burch was an all-Missouri Valley Conference midfielder for the Purple Aces in 2002 and 2003. Elenio was all-MVC and all-region at forward in both 2006 and 2007.



Click here for the Crew game story


Click here for the D.C. United game story