U.S. Open Cup superlatives: Best deja vu moment, best fans & more from the quarterfinals

And then there were four. 

After this week’s U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, only one lower-league team – the USL Championship’s Indy Eleven – remains, and they’ll have to best MLS competitors to take home the hardware. Indy wasn’t alone in making a statement win this week. The Seattle Sounders, LAFC, and Sporting Kansas City all looked sharp and brought strong lineups to the table.

From statistical milestones and tactical decisions to rain delays and traveling support, what made this round of the Open Cup special? Let’s hand out some superlatives for the quarterfinals.

Best Deja Vu Moment

Four minutes into Sacramento’s quarterfinal Cup-set over LA Galaxy in 2022, winger Douglas Martinez seared into the right channel, dragged the defense his way, and played a teammate in to score a go-ahead goal.

Fast forward to 2024 with Martinez a member of the Indy Eleven, and history repeated itself as visitors topped Atlanta United.

This goal had distinctly Indy characteristics. Martinez was played in by a ball-carrying defender, a hallmark of this Eleven side. It came on the counter for a team that’s rarely interested in dominating possession. Sean McAuley couldn’t have pictured it more perfectly in his dreams.

For Martinez, the assist cemented his status as one of the cup’s most consistent and reliable weapons. The 27-year-old is already on his fifth USL team, but he brings his “A” game whenever the stakes are at their highest.

Most Bittersweet Send-off

Caleb Wiley played about a dozen home matches for Atlanta United 2 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw before earning a jump to MLS as a teenager. During that stretch in the lower leagues, he played Indy three times at home and never lost; he even assisted in a 6-2 drubbing of the Eleven back in 2021.

Now, Wiley is off to join the U.S. Olympic team in Paris with a reported $11m move to Chelsea (and an ensuing loan to Strasbourg) on the cards.