On Tuesday night the Rave Green host FC Dallas in the semifinal round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. First kick is 7 p.m. PT at a sold-out Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Wash. The match will be streamed live online at SoundersFC.com with Arlo White calling the play.
Seattle Sounders Communications Release
A victory over Dallas would add the exclamation point to a dazzling series of displays in August, but more importantly it would bring the Open Cup final back to CenturyLink Field for the second year in a row and give Sounders FC an opportunity to make some more history.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will meet either the Chicago Fire or USL-Pro Richmond Kickers for the championship on October 4. Chicago hosts Richmond at 5:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
U.S. Soccer announced last week that if Seattle advances, it would host the championship game of America’s most historic tournament. The two-time defending Open Cup champions are vying to become only the second club in 98 years to claim three consecutive titles.
With a flair for making history in their brief existence, Sounders FC made some of their own last week. They became only the second MLS team to win on Mexican soil, beating 2010 CONCACAF Champions League winner CF Monterrey, 1-0. Then came a recording-breaking offensive explosion at home in a 6-2 triumph over Eastern Conference leader Columbus Crew.
Seattle (13-5-9, 48 points) has reached its point total for all of 2010 with seven MLS regular season matches remaining by taking points in 13 of the last 14 starts (9-1-4). Across all competitions, the Rave Green are unbeaten in seven, winning six, including four straight, to close within three points the L.A. Galaxy in the Supporters’ Shield race.
While perhaps road weary, FC Dallas remains in form. The Hoops are 8-2-3 in their last 13 matches in all endeavors, with one of those losses coming at home to Seattle, 1-0, on August 20. That was their only home date in the last six. Dallas played twice in three days last week, not to mention an abandoned Champions League game. It defeated Toronto FC, 1-0, in the CCL and rallied in the final minutes to overcome Sporting Kansa City, 3-2. The Hoops’ 46 points are third overall in MLS.
Seattle leads the series 2-1-3, thanks to that win on Frisco. FC Dallas twice met the USL Sounders in the Open Cup semifinal, winning in both 1996 (3-2) and 2007 (2-1). Tuesday’s semifinal will also be broadcast in Spanish on La Gran D 99.3 FM.
A bye over the Labor Day weekend will leave Sounders FC idle until resuming MLS action at home against Real Salt Lake on September 10. Kickoff is 1 p.m. PT and KING 5 will televise it live.
Open Cup Notes
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 97 consecutive years dating back to 1914. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor longtime soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
If any U.S. Open Cup game is tied at the end of regulation, a 30-minute extra time period (consisting of two 15-minute halves) shall be played in its entirety. If the score is still tied at the end of the 30-minute extra time period, the game shall be decided by a penalty kick tiebreaker. Teams are limited to five foreign players on the 18-player match roster and only one assist is counted in the official records.
Dallas and the Cup
FC Dallas is bidding for its fourth berth in an Open Cup final. In 1997, then known as the Dallas Burn, they defeated D.C. United on penalties to take their first title. In 2005 FC Dallas fell to L.A., 1-0, in the final and in 2007 New England lifted the cup with a 3-2 victory in Frisco. They return to the tournament this year for the first time since they were ousted by the Charleston Battery in the 2008 quarterfinals. The Hoops reached this year’s semifinals with wins over Orlando City, 3-2, and Real Salt Lake, 2-0. Jackson leads the club with two goals in this year’s tournament and Ricardo Villar, Milton Rodriguez and Jair Benitez have all added tallies.
Dallas has played 37 Cup fixtures all-time and holds a record of 25-12 (15-6 at home, 10-6 away). They are 10-2 in games that went extra time and have won all four contests that were decided by penalties.
About FC Dallas
FC Dallas is third overall in the MLS full table with 46 points from 27 games. Their last loss came on August 20 to Seattle. They recently earned a late come-from-behind victory at Sporting Kansas City after defeating Toronto FC in a postponed Champions League match on August 25.
U.S. international Brek Shea is third in the Golden Boot race with 10 goals. Shea not only scores often, but he makes them count. Five of his ten goals have been game-winners (best in MLS) and three of those five winners have been scored in the second half. Brazilian forward Maicon Santos recently joined Dallas in a midseason trade with Toronto FC. Santos had tallied six goals with the Reds and has recorded two goals and an assist with Dallas. Andrew Jacobson is having a breakout year with one goal and five assists. The third-year midfielder hadn’t recorded an MLS point in 42 appearances during his first two MLS seasons. Brazilian midfielder Jackson has added three goals and two assists while Honduran midfielder Marvin Chavez has five goals with four assists. Defender George John returns to the side after a deal with Blackburn fell through and will be available for selection on Tuesday. Keeper Kevin Hartman was voted MLS Player of the Month for July.
Dallas Connections
Sigi Schmid coached goalkeeper Kevin Hartman at UCLA. They were together again with the L.A. Galaxy, winning the 2001 U.S Open Cup and the 2002 MLS Cup. James Riley and Daniel Hernandez played together at New England from 2005-2007. Dallas defender George John is from Shoreline, Washington, and played for the University of Washington. Dallas forward Maykel Galindo played for the Sounders (USL) from 2005-06. Tyson Wahl (2002-05) played with Dallas midfielder Andrew Jacobson (2003-06) at Cal. Servando Carrasco (2007-10) was also a Golden Bear alongside Dallas’ Andrew Wiedeman (2007-09).
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