BEFORE THE WHISTLE | Quarterfinal Berths On The Line

The Cosmos host the New England Revolution while the Strikers make the short trip to face Orlando City in a Florida Derby.

Here are some of the key storylines to watch for:

The Fifth Round: Before they embark on their first game of the NASL Fall Season (vs. Ottawa Fury FC on Saturday), the Cosmos will play in the fifth round of the U.S. Open Cup for the third straight year. This year the Cosmos defeated New York City FC, 1-0, on June 15 to advance. It was the second straight year the Cosmos defeated New York City FC; and has beaten a New York-area MLS club in each of the last three years (3-0 vs. the Red Bulls in 2014, shootout against NYC FC in 2015). New England, which is in eighth place in the Eastern Conference of MLS, is coming off a 2-0 loss at D.C. United last weekend and plays at Montreal on Saturday. The Revolution defeated the Carolina RailHawks, 1-0, to advance in the Cup.

Florida Derby: The game between the Strikers and Orlando City at Camping World Stadium will be the first meeting, preseason or Open Cup, between the two Florida sides.

Restrepo A Rock In Goal: Fort Lauderdale’s goalkeeper has authored wins in two straight Open Cup games, both of which the Strikers went on to win in penalty-kick shootouts. And if holding Richmond to one goal and then blanking D.C. United (after facing 10 shots) through 120 minutes of open play isn’t enough, Restrepo then stopped PKs (three against Richmond; one against United), emerging as the hero.

Do You Know Gio?: Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese, though a native of Venezuela, is usually associated with the game in the New York metropolitan area. He starred in college at Long Island University and helped the Long Island Rough Riders win a championship alongside Tony Meola before joining the MetroStars in 1996, the inaugural season of MLS - scoring 41 goals in 85 league games. It only may be a footnote on his résumé, but Savarese also turned out for the New England Revolution after being traded in 1999, scoring 10 goals in 27 games.

Track Records In The Open Cup: The Cosmos have advanced to the fifth round, but no further, every year since the club’s reboot in 2013, although didn’t compete in the Cup in the club’s first year back on the field. Fort Lauderdale is making its first trip to the fifth round and defeated an MLS club for the first time in ousting D.C. New England won the Cup in 2007, lost in the semifinals in 2008, and has not progressed past the quarterfinals since (losing to USL’s Charlotte in the fourth round last year). Orlando City advanced to the quarterfinals last year, its first in MLS, before losing to Chicago in the quarterfinals.

Home Cooking: The teams hosting games Wednesday night – the Cosmos and Orlando City – are each unbeaten at home in all competitions this year. Orlando City is 3W-6D-0L, all in league play, while New York is 5-0-0 at Shuart Stadium and 1-0 at Belson Stadium, which came in an Open Cup win against Jersey Express. The Cosmos again will call the St. John’s University soccer stadium home for a Cup game. Should New York advance to the quarterfinals, it would have the right to host the winner of the Philadelphia Union/New York Red Bulls contest on July 20.

Changing Places: Strikers forward Giuseppe Gentile played for Orlando City in 2014, the club’s final season in the USL. Fort Lauderdale’s Haitian international midfielder Jean-Marc Alexandre also spent time in Orlando, first on loan from San Jose in 2012, then played 12 games for the Lions in 2013.