Kenji Treschuk pounced on a poor clearance and scored the game’s only goal with 92 seconds left in the second period of extra time as the Seattle Sounders avoided an upset with a 1-0 win over the Arizona Sahuaros. The game was played in front of a stadium record crowd of 3,559 fans on a blazing hot night at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz.
The USL First Division team, which will play in Major League Soccer next year, outshot the USASA team 17-12, but needed seven saves from goalkeeper Chris Eylander against the scrappy Sahuaros to advance to the Second Round of the US Open Cup. There they will meet another USASA Region IV amateur side, Hollywood United, who upset Seattle’s biggest rival, the Portland Timbers, in the opening round.
Arizona, a member of the National Premier Soccer League, had several chances to break the scoreless tie. Chad Brown had a free kick from just outside the box go over the crossbar early in the second half, then had a long shot just miss wide of the goal in the 57th minute. His replacement, Kris Sumter, missed just wide on a breakaway late in extra time.