The Seattle Sounders host the USL Championship’s Louisville City in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday. The Sounders will be attempting to become the first MLS team to win five Open Cup titles, which would also tie them for the most in the 110-year history of the tournament. The last time the Sounders won was in 2014.

The Sounders have never lost to a lower-division team at home in the tournament, having most recently beaten the USL Championship’s San Diego Loyal last season. The Sounders needed a 120+1' penalty from Fredy Montero to survive the Loyal.

Somewhat complicating this affair is that the Sounders are playing their fourth match in 12 days and are in the middle of a run in which they’ll play seven times in three weeks.

Notes

Snyder Brunell, Osaze De Rosario, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Antino Lopez and Georgi Minoungou were all signed to short-term loans from Tacoma Defiance and will be eligible for selection.
Louisville City players Ray Serrano (Tacoma Defiance), Jake Morris (Sounders Academy), Wilson Harris (Sounders Academy) and Danny Faundez (S2) all have ties to the Sounders organization.
This will be the first time these teams have met in a competitive match, but they did face one another in the 2023 preseason.
Louisville are coached by former MLS player Danny Cruz and feature two players who faced the Sounders when they were with San Diego Loyal last season (Kyle Adams and Adrien Perez).
The winner of this match will host the winner of Phoenix Rising-North Carolina Courage in the Round of 16.
The Sounders’ all-time record in Open Cup games at Starfire Stadium is 24-1-2, dating to 2005.