Only 3,074 fans braved the muggy June weather, questionable officiating and largely uninspired play at RFK Stadium for D.C. United’s U.S. Open Cup qualifier against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday. But after 116 minutes, a 17-year-old kid from Honduras gave them a moment to hang on to, a dose of drama and class that defined the match.

REAL SALT LAKE 1:2 DC UNITED After Extra Time RFK Stadium – Washington D.C. Scoring Summary DCU: Luciano Emilio (PK) – 74th RSL: Ryan Johnson (PK) – 81st DCU: Andy Najar (Unassisted) – 107th Recaps MLSSoccer.com | ESPN LA World Soccer Reader | SL Tribune Quotes: DC United 2010 US Open Cup Bracket 2010 US Open Cup First Round Draw

With the game tied 1-1 and the second extra time period starting, United used its final sub to add Andy Najar, a crafty young winger who scored his first MLS goal four days earlier. He promptly collected the ball on the right flank, cut into the penalty area and used a clever touch to split Salt Lake’s Tony Beltran and Will Johnson before sliding a shot under the charging Kyle Reynish.

Goal. He had been on the field for less than two minutes, but his impact was made. Just like that.

“I’m really happy to score the goal,” Najar said. “Luckily, I got the opportunity and was able to take advantage of it.”
United fielded a largely second choice lineup for its third fixture in eight days, with right back Jordan Graye and central midfielder Stephen King as the only starters from Saturday’s 3-2 league win over Chivas USA to again crack the first 11. This meant a seat on the bench for Najar during regulation while a pair of dubious penalty kick calls led to a tally for each side. When coach Curt Onalfo called the rookie’s number late, however, Najar was more than ready.

“We wanted to make sure we would save our last sub until the last possible moment,” Onalfo said. “Certainly, at the end, Andy stepped up and showed us some brilliance that he really has.”

The hype surrounding Najar has been tangible since he first traveled with United for preseason training in February. Although his presence was widely dismissed as an exercise in experience, the Choluteca native’s flashy play and uncanny confidence earned him a first-team contract and an opening day start.

“I thought he was a very special player, very talented,” recalled forward Santino Quaranta, who himself entered the league as a 16-year-old. “The best thing about him is he has an amazing head on his shoulders.”

Najar’s first few performances were quiet affairs as he adjusted to the rhythm and physicality of the professional game while also being slowed by injuries. In recording his first professional goal and assist during a 4-2 Open Cup qualifier triumph against FC Dallas on April 28, Najar gave the Black-and-Red supporters a taste of what he could do. During Saturday’s victory, Najar’s well-taken header against Chivas USA opened the scoring, and his energy gave the Goats’ backline fits all match.

If there were any doubters about his status as one of the most exciting young players in MLS today, his game-changing 15-minute cameo against Real Salt Lake should silence them.

When Najar set his eyes on goal, he didn’t think twice about individually taking on Beltran and Johnson, two key cogs from a team that won the MLS Cup in November. And why should he have? After all, a few months ago he thought he would be spending early June winding down junior year and looking forward to summer vacation.
“He’s dynamic. He doesn’t really think a lot – he just does it,” Quaranta said. “It’s great to have him on the team. He’s gritty, he’s a great kid and I really enjoy having him here.”

Added defender Devon McTavish: “It doesn’t matter what minute you put him in, he’s going to be dangerous.”
Scarecely attended and only televised via a live stream on United’s website, the match didn’t garner the audience it – and Najar – ultimately deserved. But word of mouth will spread about the wunderkind roaming the pitch at 2400 East Capitol St. When it does, MLS fans will understand what they’ve been missing.
Simply put, it’s time to believe the hype.

Video highlights, courtesy of Behind The Badge.

They had to take the longest road to get there, but the New York Red Bulls have reached the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after defeating the Colorado Rapids 3-0 at Red Bull Arena. John Wolyniec scored a pair of goals for the second straight Open Cup play-in game, and Conor Chinn added a third as the Red Bulls eliminated the Rapids. For Colorado, it marks the third year in a row that they have fallen short in Open Cup qualifying.

The luck of three coin flips gave the Red Bulls three straight home games for Open Cup qualifying, and they took advantage, defeating the Philadelphia Union, 2-1, back on April 27, the New England Revolution, 3-0, on May 12 and the Rapids on May 26. Wolyniec scored two of the three goals in the win over the Revolution. New York, who missed out on the tournament last year, have now qualified for the US Open Cup proper and will begin play in the Round of 16 on June 29.

With 90-degree temperatures at kick off, and with a largely reserve lineup for both teams, the Red Bulls took control in the opening 10 minutes. Sinisa Ubiparipovic dribbled down the middle of the field and just as he approached the penalty area he played the ball off to the right wing to Irving Garcia, who passed the ball on the ground back to the middle. Wolyniec was right there on the doorstep to slide it into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Just before halftime, Wolyniec struck again. Tony Tchani dribbled down the right wing and sent the ball to Wolyniec in the middle of the field who turned and fired a shot that beat Rapids goalkeeper Ian Joyce.

The Red Bulls would break the game open in the second half thanks to Ubiparipovic. In the 56th minute, he played a through ball into the heart of the Colorado backline toward Chinn. Rapids defender Drew Moor attempted to clear the ball but he misplayed it and it got behind him, falling to the feet of Chinn, who struck it past Joyce to make it 3-0.

The Rapids offense was unable to get on the scoreboard, but their best chance came in the 78th minute. Mehdi Ballouchy hit a hard, bending free kick from the left wing to the far post, and beat New York’s Greg Sutton, but it smacked off the cross bar.

Highlights (Red Bulls Reader)

Post-game interviews (Red Bulls Reader)

Scoring Summary:
NY: John Wolyniec 3 (Irving Garcia 1, Sinisa Ubiparipovic 2) 11’
NY: John Wolyniec 4 (Tony Tchani 1) 43’
NY: Conor Chinn 3 (unassisted) 56’

Disciplinary Summary:
COL: Jeff Larentowicz (caution) 12’
COL: Wells Thompson (caution) 54’
NY: Seth Stammler (caution) 77’
COL: Danny Earls (red card, ejection) 86’

New York Red Bulls – Greg Sutton (GK), Roy Miller (Danleigh Borman 46’), Luke Sassano, Carlos Mendes (Mike Petke 46’), Chris Albright, Jeremy Hall, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Tony Tchani, Irving Garcia (Seth Stammler 68’), John Wolyniec (Dane Richards 68’), Conor Chinn

Substitutes not used: Bouna Coundoul, Tim Ream, Juan Pablo Angel

Colorado Rapids – Ian Joyce, Marvell Wynne, Julien Baudet (Michael Holody 53’), Drew Moor, Danny Earls (Ejected 86’), Ross LaBauex, Jeff Larentowicz (Mehdi Ballouchy 46’), Claudio Lopez, Wells Thompson (Omar Cummings 70’), Colin Clark, Quincy Amarikwa (Andre Akpan 46’)

Substitutes not used: Chris Sharpe, Scott Palguta

Referee: Niko Bratsis
Referee’s Assistants: Claudio Badea, Albert Calise
4^th Referee: Lee Suckle
Attendance: 2,637

The New York Red Bulls have moved within a game of a berth in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution. On a cold night at Red Bull Arena, John Wolyniec scored two goals and Sinisa Ubiparipovic added another as New York advanced to the final game of Major League Soccer’s qualifying tournament.

With the win, the Red Bulls will host the Colorado Rapids in a “Win & You’re In” match on May 26 at Red Bull Arena. Kick off is scheduled for 8 p.m. In the other half of the bracket, DC United will host Real Salt Lake on June 2 to fill the 8th and final MLS entry.

The New England Revolution, already missing several key players due to injury, traveled to Harrison, NJ with only 14 players, and one of them was a goalkeeper. New York fielded a relatively strong starting 11, and it took 35 minutes for them to finally break through the Revs defense. Brian Nielsen slotted a through ball in behind the New England backline to the feet of last round’s hero Conor Chinn, who dribbled in one-on-one with goalkeeper Bob Shuttleworth, who was making his professional debut. Chinn fired a shot which was stopped by Shuttleworth, but the rebound fell to Wolyniec who had his shot blocked, only to have the ball end up at his feet again, and on the second attempt, he put it into the back of the net.

Tony Tchani (23) of the New York Red Bulls battles for the ball against Joseph Niouky (23) of the New England Revolution. | Photo: RBNY/Getty Images

In the 62nd minute, the Red Bulls would add another off a set piece and, once again, it was Nielsen setting the table. The Danish youth international took a free kick just outside the penalty area, but rather than striking it on goal, he laid off a short pass to Ubiparipovic, who blasted a low shot past Shuttleworth to make it 2-0.

Nielsen contributed to the third goal just two minutes later when his shot from the top of the box was spilled by the goalkeeper. Once again, Wolyniec was there to clean up the mess for his second goal of the match.

The New York defense, led by Greg Sutton in goal, held New England without a goal for the remainder of the match. The loss means the Revolution will not participate in the Open Cup for the first time since 2002, snapping a string of seven consecutive appearances.

The Red Bulls have taken part in Open Cup qualifying three of the last four years (2007, 2009, 2010) and have advanced to the final game of qualifying every time. However, in their two previous attempts, they’ve fallen short of making the tournament, losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 in 2007 and getting eliminated by DC United last year, 5-3.

Scoring Summary
NY – John Wolyniec (unassisted) 36
NY – Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Nielsen) 62
NY – John Wolyniec (unassisted) 64

Lineups

New England: Bob Shuttleworth, Marko Perovic, Zak Boggs, Seth Sinovic (Khano Smith), Chris Tierney, Nico Colaluca, Pat Phelan, Joseph Niouky, Kenny Mansally, Kheli Dube, Zack Schilawski

New York: Greg Sutton, Chris Albright (Irving Garcia), Carlos Mendes, Andrew Boyens, Danleigh Borman, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Jeremy Hall, Tony Tchani (Luke Sassano), Brian Nielsen, John Wolyniec (Juan Agudelo), Conor Chinn

Post-game interviews (NewYorkRedBulls.com)

The

Once again, 40 teams will take aim at being the team to lift the Dewar Challenge Trophy and claim the $100,000 winner’s prize in the final Oct. 5.

However, there will be 17 amateur sides in the first round, one more than has been the case the past few years. The extra spot is available because the USL Second Division includes only six teams this season, rather than seven.

The USL Premier Development League and the US Adult Soccer Association each will continue to have eight berths each, which leaves the total number of teams at 39, one short of the necessary 40. To bring the number to a nice even number, an additional amateur play-in game was added between two California clubs, the Sonoma County Sol and PSA Los Gatos Storm.

The Storm contacted TheCup.us on April 8 asking about how to join the tournament. After passing along the necessary information, most of which was found in the “How to join the US Open Cup” article (found HERE), after some obstacles, they eventually got in touch with the right people and filled out the required paperwork.

The PSA Los Gatos Storm are the first US Club Soccer team to enter US Open Cup qualifying

The Storm became the first team from US Club Soccer to ever enter in Open Cup qualifying, which is surprising because they are directly affiliated with the US Soccer Federation (a minimum requirement for participating in the tournament). Even though they are a part of the USSF, there is not a procedure in place for them to qualify. Since the USASA and US Club Soccer are essentially competitors, it doesn’t make sense for them to join the Region IV tournament, and since there are no other clubs of their kind to compete against, how else would they get in?

“This situation kind of fell into place for us, and it’s great that it all worked out,” said Neil Buethe, the director of communications for US Soccer. “Hopefully this will encourage more US Club Soccer teams to compete in the future.” Buethe also said that if more US Club teams express interest in competing, then the format for qualifying and the tournament in general would likely have to be re-evaluated and tweaked.

The Open Cup committee decided to reward last year’s NPSL champions (Sonoma County) with a one-game qualifying process against the one team that was in qualifying limbo.

The Sol have qualified for the Open Cup three times in the last five years through USASA Region IV, advancing to the second round of the Open Cup in 2006 and again last year. The Storm plan to join the PDL next year, are playing in the NorCal Premier League this season and their roster includes former NPSL players and two former Major League Soccer players (Stephen Wondolowski, Nick Hatzke).

Thirty-two teams will kick off the tournament June 15 with first-round matches, with all nine US teams in the USSF Division-2 Pro League joining the six USL-2 sides and the 17 amateur teams.

The eight Major League Soccer teams, including defending champion Seattle Sounders FC, again will enter the fray in the third round June 29. An MLS side has won the Open Cup all but one year since the league started in 1996 – the lone exception was the Rochester Raging Rhinos, who won in 1999.

A $50,000 prize will be awarded to the tournament runner-up, while the teams that advance the furthest from each level (USSF D-2, USL-2 and amateur) will receive $10,000 apiece.

Schedule
May 31: Qualifying deadline
June 15: First round – 32 lower-division teams (USSF D-2, USL-2, amateur)
June 22: Second round – 16 first-round winners
June 29: Third round – Eight second-round winners plus eight MLS teams
July 6 or 7: Quarterfinals – Third-round winners
Aug. 31 or Sept. 1: Semifinals – Quarterfinal winners
Oct. 5: Final – Semifinal winners

Contributing to their lack of recent success in Open Cup qualifying may be ‘location, location, location.’ While United haven’t played an Open Cup game or a qualifier away from home since 2007, RSL have never won an Open Cup-related match away from home (0-2 in the tournament, 0-3 in qualifying).

United have taken part in MLS’ Open Cup qualifying competition the last two years, despite reaching the Cup final the year before each time. The teams that take part in qualifying are based on their regular season finish from the prior season. United finished in 10th place in 2008 and again in 2009.

The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. and TheCup.us will be hosting a live blog during the match.

2010 MLS Qualifying schedule

Win & You’re In: Real Salt Lake at DC United – June 2, 7:30 p.m. – RFK Stadium (Washington D.C.)
New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls – May 12, 8 p.m. – Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)

Win & You’re In: Colorado Rapids at New England/New York winner – Date TBA

	FC Dallas 2:4 DC United RFK Stadium – Washington D.C. Recaps: DCU | FCD Post-game quotes: DCU
	WIN & YOU’RE IN DC United hosts Real Salt Lake Date TBA

For the second year in a row, DC United has eliminated FC Dallas from Lamar Hunt US Open Cup qualifying at RFK Stadium. In this year’s edition, United got a pair of goals from Adam Cristman to lead the way to a 4-2 victory in front of a scarce home crowd that chose midweek soccer over the Washington Capitals’ seventh game of their opening round playoff series.

With the win, DC will host Real Salt Lake with a spot in the US Open Cup on the line. The date of that “Win & You’re In” game is still yet to be determined.

It didn’t take long for the home team to get on the board when off-season acquisition Adam Cristman made it 1-0 in the 4th minute. 17-year-old Andy Nahar, making his first start for the club, played a ball over to Cristman who sent a well-placed ball over Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman for not only the game’s first goal, but the club’s first goal at home this year.

Andy Najar celebrates his first professional goal in the 51st minute. Photo: Tony Quinn | D.C. United

DC would add a second just before the halftime break when Cristian Castillo, another player making his first start for United, put a long-distance free kick into the back of the net. From nearly 40 yards away, Castillo floated a ball into the box intended for teammate Brandon Barklage, however, when he leaped to head the ball on goal he either missed, or just chose not to hit the ball. Either way, it was enough to freeze Hartman in goal and get the ball past him in the 39th minute.

United manager Curt Onalfo was sent off before the intermission for apparently arguing with the fourth official, so he wasn’t able to witness the onslaught of goals that came in the second half. Four goals were scored in less than 10 minutes, begininning with Andy Najar’s first professional goal in the 51st minute. This time it was Cristman playing the role of provider, sending a cross to the front of the goal from the right wing. The ball would find Najar at the far post who volleyed it home to make it 3-0.

The game seemed out of reach for less than a minute as Dallas stormed right back down the field and pulled one back with Bruno Guarda firing a shot from just outside the penalty area and past a diving Troy Perkins.

Five minutes later, Atiba Harris drew contact in the box and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Dax McCarty would cut the lead to one with the spot kick, but Cristman returned to squash any momentum the visitors may have had. Two minutes after McCarty’s PK, Clyde Simms delivered a ball into the box and Cristman, who won an Open Cup title with New England in 2007, put a head on it for his second goal of the game.

Curt Onalfo post-game interview (DCUnited.com)

Adam Cristman post-game interview (DCUnited.com)

Jordan Graye post-game interview (DCUnited.com)

—————————————————

Scoring Summary:
DCU — Adam Cristman (Andy Najar) 4th
DCU — Christian Castillo (unassisted) 39th
DCU — Andy Najar (Adam Cristman) 51st
DAL — Bruno Guarda (unassisted) 52nd
DAL — Dax McCarty (penalty kick) 57th
DCU — Adam Cristman (Clyde Simms) 59th

FC Dallas — Kevin Hartman, Ugo Ihemelu (George John 46), Anthony Wallace, Edson Edward, Zach Loyd, Eric Alexander (Dax McCarty 46), Bruno Guarda, Brek Shea, Atiba Harris (Heath Pearce 65), Eric Avila (Andrew Wiedeman 76), Jason Yeisley. Substitutes Not Used: Jeff Cunningham, David Ferreira, Dario Sala.

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Brek Shea 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Dax McCarty 2); FOULS: 13 (Eric Avila 3); OFFSIDES: 3 (3 tied with 1); CORNER KICKS: 1 (Heath Pearce 1); SAVES: 1 (Kevin Hartman 1)

D.C. United — Troy Perkins, Jordan Graye, Devon McTavish, Carey Talley, Rodney Wallace, Andy Najar, Kurt Morsink (Clyde Simms 56), Brandon Barklage (Santino Quaranta 63), Christian Castillo (Jaime Moreno 75), Adam Cristman (Tiyi Shipalene 86), Thabiso Khumalo. Substitutes Not Used: Lyle Adams, Barry Rice, Bill Hamid.

TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Adam Cristman 3, Andy Najar 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Adam Cristman 2, Andy Najar 2); FOULS: 15 (6 tied with 2); OFFSIDES: 3 (Adam Cristman 2); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Christian Castillo 3); SAVES: 5 (Troy Perkins 5)

Misconduct Summary:
DC — Kurt Morsink (caution; Reckless Tackle) 21
DC — Rodney Wallace (caution; Reckless Foul) 28
DAL — Anthony Wallace (caution; Reckless Foul) 67
DAL — Edson Edward (caution; Reckless Foul) 72

Referee: Chris Penso
Referee’s Assistants: -Adam Wienckowski; Corey Parker
4th Official: Bryan Roslund
Attendance: 2,804
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-57-degrees

On Saturday, April 24, the New York Red Bulls and the Philadelphia Union kicked off what many expect to be one of the best regional rivalries in Major League Soccer. Their league match, played at Red Bull Arena, finished with the Red Bulls winning 2-1. Three days later, they would meet again in a US Open Cup qualifying match at Red Bull Arena and New York would emerge victorious by the same score to move on to the next round.

Conor Chinn scored his first two professional goals for New York to lead the way, but the story of the match was the goal and, more importantly, the injury to Sebastien Le Toux. The Frenchman, who is one of the Professional Era’s leading goalscorers, made the score 2-1 in the 68th minute, but was stretchered off the field in the 82nd minute.

New York will host the New England Revolution on May 12 at Red Bull Arena in the next round of qualifying. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. The winner of that match will play the Colorado Rapids in a “Win & You’re In” match at a date to be determined.

Conor Chinn, who scored two goals for New York, battles for the ball with Philadelphia Union's Shea Salinas. Photo: Scott Marsh | ASN

Chinn, who was a third-round draft pick out of the University of San Francisco, opened the scoring in the 16th minute. It started when Brian Nielson crossed a ball from the left wing which was cleared back up the center of the pitch to Seth Stammler who fired a low driving shot toward goal. The ball was stopped by Union goalkeeper Chris Seitz, but he was unable to control the ball and it got behind him and Chinn tapped it home uncontested to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

He would add a second before the halftime break when Sinisa Ubiparipovic sent Luke Sassano free down the right wing, who crossed the ball to the front of the goal where Chinn crashed the net, and re-directed the ball into the net before colliding with Seitz.

Le Toux, Philadelphia’s leading scorer, would come on as a second half sub in an effort to tie the game. He would get the job half-done after Christian Arrieta controlled the ball and crossed to Le Toux who got a touch on the ball and sent it past Greg Sutton to make it 2-1.

14 minutes later, Le Toux would go down with an MCL strain, leaving Philadelphia shorthanded for the remainder of the match because they used their fourth and final substitution already.

Scoring Summary:
NY – Conor Chinn (Unassisted) 16th
NY – Conor Chinn (Luke Sassano) 41st
PHI – Sebastien Le Toux (Cristian Arrieta) 68th

Philadelphia Union — Chris Seitz; Shea Salinas, Michael Orozco, Danny Califf (C), Toni Stahl (Cristian Arrieta 45); Roger Torres (Alejandro Moreno 45), Andrew Jacobson, Amobi Okugo, Nick Zimmerman (Stefani Miglioranzi 45); Danny Mwanga, Jack McInerney (Sebastien Le Toux) 64

New York Red Bulls –- Greg Sutton; Luke Sassano, Carlos Mendes (Chris Albright 45), Andrew Boyens, Danleigh Borman; Siniso Ubiparipovic (Irving Garcia 83), Seth Stammler (C), Tony Tchani, Brian Nielsen (Austin da Luz 58); Juan Agudelo, Conor Chinn

In an exciting back-and-forth night at Buck Shaw Stadium, Real Salt Lake advanced to the next round of US Open Cup qualifying, winning a penalty kick shootout with the San Jose Earthquakes. The defending MLS Cup champions blew a two-goal lead, fell behind 3-2 in overtime, but managed to equalize in the 117th minute and survive the shootout, 5-3.

It was their first-ever road win in Open Cup play (qualifying or tournament games) for RSL, and they will move on to face the winner of the FC Dallas, D.C. United match on April 28 (7:30 p.m. at RFK Stadium). The game will be held either at Dallas or D.C., at a date to be determined, and whoever wins that match will qualify for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Salt Lake, who, on the same field, defeated San Jose 3-0 just a few weeks ago, took advantage of an early defensive mistake by Quakes. In the 7th minute, Robbie Findley stole an errant pass by Chris Leitch at the back and raced in one-on-one with goalkeeper Jon Busch. Findley beat Busch, who was making his Earthquakes debut after joining the club following his release by the Chicago Fire shortly before the start of the 2010 season.

RSL would add another after halftime when Nelson Gonzalez connected on a 25-yard free kick in the 60th minute. Gonzalez beat Busch for his first goal for the club.

Eight minutes later, Leitch made up for his first half mistake by dribbling into the penalty area, finding space and firing a shot past RSL goalkeeper Kyle Reynish.

The visitors appeared to have their first road win in hand, but Arturo Alvarez of San Jose tied up the game in the 88th minute on a pass from Ramiro Corrales.

In overtime, the Earthquakes would take the lead in the 103rd minute thanks to a goal by Justin Morrow, the rookie out of Notre Dame. With three straight goals, the home team appeared to have all the momentum, but Salt Lake would snatch it away in the final minutes when Nat Borchers headed home a cross from Robbie Russell to send the game into penalty kicks.

In the shootout, Will Johnson buried his attempt to lead off the tiebreaker, but Alvarez went from hero to goat as he missed his spot kick wide right. Both teams would convert all of their kicks for the remainder, giving RSL the 5-3 victory. Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Findley, Robbie Russell and Andy Williams all scored for RSL.

For the Quakes, it is their third Open Cup qualifying loss in a row. They have not won a qualifying game in three tries since returning to MLS in 2008.

Misconduct
RSL — Will Johnson (caution), 8th minute; Kyle Beckerman (caution), 88th minute
SJ — Steve Beitashour (caution), 51st minute; Bobby Burling (caution), 108th minute

Lineups
Real Salt Lake: Reynish; Beltran, Borchers, McKenzie, Wingert (Russell 31); Johnson, Warner (Beckerman 69), Alexandre, Gonzalez (Williams 61); Findley, Saborio (Espindola 80)

San Jose: Busch; Leitch, Burling, McDonald, Corrales, Robles (Alvarez 61), Sanchez, Wondolowski (Eduardo 61, Jasseh 74), Morrow; Glen (Beitashour 13), Gjertsen

Attendance: 2,718

In 74 career Major League Soccer matches, Wells Thompson has scored two goals.

But on Tuesday night, the midfielder continued his successful scoring record in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches, scoring twice to lead the Colorado Rapids to a 2-1 comeback victory over the Kansas City Wizards in an MLS play-in game at Stanley H. Durwood Stadium on the campus of the University of Kansas City-Missouri.

Thompson, who scored the game-winning goal in the 2007 Open Cup final for the New England Revolution, found the back of the net in the 24th and 80th minutes to offset Teal Bunbury’s first professional goal in the 4th minute for Kansas City.

1,226 fans turned out to see the Wizards take on the Rapids in US Open Cup qualifying at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Photo: Gary Rohman

“I don’t know, I seem to score goals in the Open Cup, but not in the league,” said Thompson, whose team lost to the Wizards 1-0 three days earlier. “It’s great to contribute whenever I can contribute.”

Colorado will play for its first berth in the tournament since 2007 against either the New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union or New England. Philadelphia plays at New York in a preliminary match April 27, with the winner playing host to the Revolution on May 12 for the right to meet the Rapids for a third-round berth in the Open Cup.

Bunbury gave Kansas City a fortuitous early lead. The rookie beat three Colorado defenders on the left side and bent in a cross intended for Josh Wolff, but the ball hit the post and went in past Rapids goalkeeper Stewart Ceus.

Thompson leveled the score 20 minutes later on a corner kick by Jamie Smith. He took a touch and blasted a shot past Eric Kronberg at the near post to make it 1-1.

Argentine attacker Claudio Lopez made his debut for the Rapids, coming on for Andre Akpan in the 79th, and immediately paid dividends against his former team. He found Mehdi Ballouchy, who in turn sent Thompson into the box, and the midfielder finished past Kronberg to the lower right corner to put Colorado ahead.

“I think it’s one of the most spirited and hard-working performances I’ve seen in a long time from the Colorado Rapids,” said Colorado coach Gary Smith, whose team returns to MLS action Sunday with a home match against Toronto FC.

Ceus tipped a header by Kansas City defender Jimmy Conrad over the crossbar in second-half stoppage time to preserve the victory.

Indian forward Sunil Chhetri made his first-team debut for the Wizards, playing the first half and picking up a yellow card. Chhetri becomes the first Indian player to play for a Major League Soccer team and only the third to ply his trade outside of his home country.

Scoring
KC – Teal Bunbury 1 (unassisted) 4
COL – Wells Thompson 1 (Jamie Smith 1) 24
COL – Wells Thompson 2 (Claudio Lopez) 81

Discipline
KC – Sunil Chhetri (caution, reckless tackle) 20
COL – Wells Thompson (caution, tactical foul) 32
KC – Jimmy Conrad (caution, reckless tackle) 60

Colorado Rapids – Steward Ceus, Kosuke Kimura (Drew Moor 46), Michael Holody, Scott Palguta, Danny Earls (Marvell Wynne 85), Mehdi Ballouchy, Ross LaBauex, Wells Thompson, Jamie Smith (Jeff Larentowicz 66), Quincy Amarikwa, Andre Akpan (Claudio López 79). Substitutes not used: Matt Pickens, Omar Cummings.

Kansas City Wizards – Eric Kronberg, Jonathan Leathers, Jimmy Conrad, Pablo Escobar, Korede Aiyegbusi (Michael Harrington 46), Chance Myers, Graham Zusi (Stephane Auvray 66), Craig Rocastle, Sunil Chhetri (Kei Kamara 46), Teal Bunbury, Josh Wolff (Birahim Diop 88). Alex Horwath, Davy Arnaud, Aaron Hohlbein.

Links
Sunil Chhetri makes Kansas City debut (KCWizards.com)
Thompson’s brace leads Rapids past K.C. (KCWizards.com)
Rapids defeat Kansas City 2-1 in Open Cup Qualifier (ColoradoRapids.com)
Thompson scores twice in Rapids’ 2-1 win over K.C. in U.S. Cup opener (Denver Post)
Wizards fall to Rapids in U.S. Open Cup (KansasCity.com)
VIDEO: Sunil Chhetri makes his Wizards debut

2010 MLS Open Cup qualifying bracket (From MLSsoccer.com video)

Times and dates have been announced for the first five matches of Major League Soccer’s qualifying tournament. At the end of the competition, two teams will join six other MLS teams that automatically qualified (based on the 2009 regular season standings) in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

The Philadelphia Union will get their first taste of a knockout competition when they travel to Red Bull Arena to face New York on Tuesday, April 27.  The match is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. and the winner will move on to host the New England Revolution, the 2007 Open Cup champions, on May 12.

Whoever emerges from the New England vs. New York/Philadelphia matchup will face the winner of the Colorado Rapids and the Kansas City Wizards. The Wizards will welcome the Rapids to Stanley H. Durwood Stadium on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City on April 13 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Steve Goff of the Washington Post reported that DC United will host FC Dallas at RFK Stadium in their play-in match on April 28 and DC later confirmed it. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose Earthquakes tie, with a place in the Open Cup on the line.

San Jose will host RSL at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on April 14. It will be the second meeting for the clubs at Buck Shaw in three weeks. On March 27, the defending MLS Cup champs beat the Quakes 3-0 on the opening day of the season.

MLS QUALIFYING SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern)

Game A: Philadelphia Union at New York Red Bulls, Tuesday, April 27, 8 p.m. at Red Bull Arena (Harrison, N.J.)
Game B: New England Revolution at Philadelphia or New York on Wednesday, May 12
Game C: Real Salt Lake at San Jose Earthquakes, Wednesday, April 14, 10 p.m. at Buck Shaw Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.)
Game D: Colorado Rapids at Kansas City Wizards, Tuesday, April 13, 8:30 p.m. at Stanley H. Durwood Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)
Game E: FC Dallas at DC United, Wednesday, April 28, 7:30 p.m. at RFK Stadium (Washington D.C.)
Game F: Game B winner vs. Game D winner (winner qualifies), home team TBD
Game G: Game C winner vs. Game E winner (winner qualifies), home team TBD

Note: All MLS qualifying must be completed by May 31