1. Colorado Rapids played their first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match against Kansas City Wiz at Arrowhead Stadium on September 15, 1996, winning 3-2.
2. Chris Henderson scored twice in that game, including the Rapids' first-ever goal in the competition.
3. Among the Rapids players in that first-ever Open Cup match was Steve Trittschuh - now head coach of Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
4. The best they have managed in the competition was reaching the final of the 1999 edition, where they lost out to Rochester Raging Rhinos of the A-League (a forerunner to USL) 2-0.
5. Among the goalscorers for Rochester in the 1999 final was Yari Allnutt, who was part of the USA's squad for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. The Olympics squad also included Chris Henderson, Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, Brad Friedel, Claudio Reyna, Dante Washington, Joe Max-Moore, Mike Burns and Ian Feuer, the goalkeeper he would beat in the U.S. Open Cup final seven years later.
6. Wolde Harris came on as an 81st minute sub (for Tim Martin) in the 1999 Open Cup final. He is assistant coach at the Switchbacks and - like Trittschuh - also played for the Rapids in the 1997 MLS Cup final (replacing Paul Bravo after just 27 minutes).
7. In 1998, the U.S. Open Cup qualifier at Miami Fusion, which the Rapids lost 3-2, also doubled - for the first and only time - as a MLS regular season game.
8. Their record all-time is:
P W L F A
32 14 18 38 55
* Does not include Miami Fusion match, above.
9. Three of the 32 ties have gone to extra-time, with the Rapids losing two and winning one. The last tie to go beyond the 90 minutes was in 2006, when the Rapids fell 3-1 to Los Angeles Galaxy.
10. Only twice in the previous 32 U.S. Cup encounters has the tie gone to a penalty shoot-out. The Rapids have a 1-1 record, with the last shoot-out being in 2009, and victory over the Galaxy.
11. Over the course of 19 seasons and 32 ties, the Rapids have faced 18 different teams.
12. They have met Kansas City (Wiz, Wizards, Sporting) on the most occasions (5).
13. In all, they have tackled the following teams in the nation's premier cup competition:
- 5 - Kansas City
- 3 - LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders (once as a USL team, once as an A-League team and once as a MLS team)
- 2 - Charleston Battery, Chicago Fire, Dallas Burn (never played them as FC Dallas), Orlando City (both times as a USL club), Real Salt Lake, Rochester Raging Rhinos
- 1 - Atlanta Silverbacks, California Victory, Chicago Stingers, Minnesota Thunder, New York Red Bulls, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Richmond Kickers, Tampa Bay FC, Tampa Bay Mutiny
14. The Rapids' biggest crowd for a U.S. Open Cup match was 20,376, for a 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders at Mile High Stadium in July, 1999.
15. Dick's Sporting Goods Park staged its first-ever U.S. Open Cup match on July 10, 2007, when the Colorado Rapids triumphed 3-1 over California Victory. The Rapids lineup that day included Nick LaBrocca, Kyle Beckerman, Kosuke Kimura, Omar Cummings, Jordan Harvey and Hercules Gomez.
16. Only seven of the Rapids' 32 U.S. Open Cup ties have been at home. Twenty-three have been at the venue of the opposition, with two at a neutral ground (the semifinal and final in 1999).
17. Last year's run in the competition brought them a number of firsts. The 5-2 victory over Orlando City in round four was the first time the Rapids had scored more than three goals in a U.S. Open Cup match. It was also the first home tie since 2007, having played 10 in a row on the road. The 2-1 loss to Atlanta Silverbacks in the fifth round was the first time the Rapids had lost at home in the competition.
18. The Rapids have fallen at the first hurdle on just seven occasions; most recently following a 3-1 loss at Orlando City in 2013.
19. This competition has dealt the Rapids a few surprise results, notably a 5-0 defeat at Seattle Sounders (then a USL team) in 2007. Pablo Mastroeni, Conor Casey, Hercules Gomez, Dan Gargan, Colin Clark and Mehdi Ballouchy all played that day.
20. Tuesday's match against the Switchbacks (TICKETS) will be the first time the Rapids have ever played against another Colorado team in a competitive fixture.
