Minnesota and Austin dig deep to reach U.S. Open Cup semi-finals 🇺🇸 | OneFootball

The U.S. Open Cup continued on Tuesday with two thrilling quarter-final matches across the United States. Here is what went down.

Austin make San Jose pay after penalties

Scorers: Arango 12', Kikanović 99'; Vázquez 65' (P), Uzuni 115' (P)

Austin FC reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Cup after beating San Jose Earthquakes on penalties following a thrilling 2-2 draw.

One-way traffic right from the first whistle, it didn't take long for the hosts to settle into the game and grab an early lead. All the visitors could do was watch.

Cristian Arango was the provider for San Jose after crashing the box and blasting home a pass from Ousseni Bouda into the top right corner.

Yet despite the lead early on, Austin managed to stifle any additional threats from the 'Quakes, keeping things 1-0 by half-time.

Capitalizing on a mistake with about 25 minutes to go was what drew the match level for the visitors. Brandon Vázquez was the man responsible for scoring the penalty.

Unfortunately for Austin, their goalscorer was forced off through injury with extra time looming.

San Jose also experienced a tough loss when substitute Cristian Espinoza was injured following a deep cut to his knee.

Then, in extra time, Benji Kikanović stepped up and thought he scored the winner after a wild sequence with his first goal of the year.

However, another mistake from San Jose allowed Myrto Uzuni to equalize again for Austin with another penalty.

The match then went to a shootout, where two misses from San Jose helped Austin reach the next round.

Minnesota rally past 10-man Chicago

Scorers: Gutiérrez 26' (P), Yeboah 95', 120' (P); Lod 47'. Red: Gonzalez 25'

Minnesota United secured a spot in the next round of knockout competition after a 3-1 win over Chicago Fire in extra time.

The match was tame throughout the initial 25 minutes of play, with neither side truly on the attack. However, that all changed with a series of theatrical events which occurred within seconds of each other.

Chicago Fire first went down to 10 men when Omar Gonzalez used his elbow to hit Julian Gressel in the face. The celebrations of having a man advantage were short-lived for Minnesota, however.

Seconds later, more fireworks ensued. Despite just 10 men on the pitch, a challenge from Wil Trapp on Philip Zinckernagel led to a penalty. A confident Brian Gutiérrez subsequently stepped up and scored the opener.

Coming out into the second half, Minnesota finally managed to capitalize on that man advantage. The Loons swung possession in their favour (61%) and registered 26 shots to Chicago's 11.

That surge in attack led to the equalizer. The Fire's back line was caught flatfooted as Minnesota cut through the defence with ease. Robin Lod eventually tapped home at the back post.

The tie pushed the match into extra-time, where the man advantage, in addition to tired legs, presumably played a role in deciding the winner.

Kelvin Yeboah ultimately snuck behind Jack Elliot to blast home for 2-1. Unlucky for the Fire, they were defending with just nine men at the time of the goal.

He later went one better on the stroke of full-time with a penalty of his own for 3-1.

Coming up on Wednesday, Philadelphia face New York Red Bulls and Nashville host D.C. United.

Feature image credit: © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images