The victory party for the 97th US Open cup will go through the Emerald City, with the defending US Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders trying to make history with a chance to win a trophy in front of their home fans for the first time.
The Seattle Sounders, undefeated in Open Cup play on the FieldTurf of the Starfire Sports Complex in suburban Tukwila, advanced to the final with a 3-1 win over Chivas USA Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,547 fans. Seattle won the bid to host the game at Qwest Field if they reached the final, and will face the Columbus Crew on Oct. 5 for the chance to add a second trophy to their case.
By reaching the final, they become the first expansion team in the Professional Era (1995-present) to play in the final in their first two seasons as a franchise. If they are able to defeat the Crew, they will become the first club to repeat as champions since the New York Pancyprian Freedoms won the 1982 and 1983 Open Cups.
Seattle won the U.S. Open Cup in its inaugural season, 2009, at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. last September, defeating host D.C. United. Next month, it’s former Crew-turned Sounders coach Sigi Schmid facing Robert Warzycha, his former assistant in Ohio-turned Crew head coach, in a match for the hardware.
Nate Jaqua scored the game’s first and last goals, the clincher coming in stoppage time of the second half, and Fredy Montero added another for the Sounders, who found plenty of holes in Chivas’ defense all night.
Jaqua’s brace gives him seven career US Open Cup goals and five in this year’s tournament, tying him for the lead in the latter category with Paulo Araujo Jr. of Miami FC (USSF Division 2). His first goal came off a run down the left side by Steve Zakuani, who didn’t quit when he reached the touch line and centered to Jaqua for the put-away.
Montero gave Seattle a 2-0 lead in the 59th minute, with Zakuani providing the assist again. Chivas USA rallied to make it 2-1 nine minutes later, with Jesus Padilla driving home a flick from Justin Braun, and it appeared the finish was going to be a thriller.
The Sounders took the air out of the ball and did a good job stalling and keeping possession, as goalkeeper Kasey Keller was barely threatened. They found an opening in the final minute with Chivas pushed forward for an equalizer, and Jaqua made them pay once again.
Scoring:
SEA – Nate Jaqua (Steve Zakuani) – 10th minute
SEA – Fredy Montero (Steve Zakuani) – 59th minute
CHV – Jesus Padilla (Justin Braun) – 66th minute
SEA – Nate Jaqua (Roger Levesque) – 90th+ minute
Misconduct Summary:
CHV – Paulo Nagamura (Yellow) – 51st minute
SEA – Osvaldo Alonso (Yellow) – 79th minute
Lineups:
SEA: Kasey Keller, James Riley, Tyrone Marshall, Taylor Graham, Leo Gonzalez, Alvaro Fernandez (Roger Levesque 83rd), Osvaldo Alonso, Nathan Sturgis (Mike Seamon 66th), Steve Zakuani (Jeff Parke 90+), Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua.
Subs not used: Terry Boss, David Estrada, Michael Fucito, Zach Scott
CHV: Zach Thornton, Michael Umana, Mariano Trujillo, Ante Jazic, Dario Delgado, Marcelo Saragosa, Paulo Nagamura, Rodolfo Espinoza, Jonathan Bornstein (Michael Lahoud 45th), Justin Braun, Giancarlo Maldonado (Sal Zizzo). Subs: Kevin Guppy, Carlos Borja, Yamith Cuesta, Michael Lahoud, Jesus Padilla, Ben Zemanski, Sal Zizzo.
Stats:
Shots – Chivas USA 10:19 Seattle
Shots on goal – Chivas USA 6:9 Seattle
Saves – Chivas USA 6:5 Seattle
Fouls – Chivas 13:9 Seattle
Corner Kicks – Chivas USA 7:10 Seattle
Offsides – Chivas USA 3:1 Seattle
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee’s Assistants: Colin Arblaster, Mike Kampmeinert.
4th Official: Josh Wilkens
Weather: Party Cloudy, 67 degrees
Attendance: 4,547
North American Soccer Reporters Links:
Zakuani a force in Sounders’ Open Cup victory (Andrew Winner, MLSSoccer.com)
Commentary: Goats doomed by lack of swagger (Jeffrey King, MLSSoccer.com)
Seattle player quotes | Chivas USA player quotes | Sigi Schmid & Adrien Hanauer quotes (Joshua Mayers, Seattle Times)
The victory party for the 97th U.S. Open cup will go through the Emerald City, and the host team will also be the home team.
The Seattle Sounders, undefeated in Open Cup play on the FieldTurf of the Starfire Sports Complex in suburban Tukwila, advanced to the final with a 3-1 win over Chivas USA Wednesday night in front of 4,547 fans. Seattle won the bid to host the game at Qwest Field if they reached the final, and will face the Columbus Crew on Oct. 5 for the chance to add a second trophy to their case.
Seattle won the U.S. Open Cup in its inaugural season, 2009, at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. last September, defeating host D.C. United. Next month, it’s former Crew-turned Sounders coach Sigi Schmid facing Robert Warzycha, his former assistant in Ohio-turned Crew head coach, in a match for the hardware.
Nate Jaqua scored the game’s first and last goals, the clincher coming in extra time of the second half, and Fredy Montero added another for the Sounders, who found plenty of holes in Chivas’ defense all night.
Jaqua’s brace gave him seven career U.S. Open Cup goals and five in this year’s tournament, tying him for the lead in the latter category. His first goal came off a run down the left side by Steve Zakuani, who didn’t quit when he reached the touch line and centered to Jaqua for the put-away.
Montero gave Seattle a 2-0 lead in the 59th minute, with Zakuani providing the assist again. Chivas USA rallied to make it 2-1 nine minutes later, with Jesus Padilla driving home a flick from Justin Braun, and it appeared the finish was going to be a thriller.
The Sounders took the air out of the ball and did a good job stalling and keeping possession, as goalkeeper Kasey Keller was barely threatened. They found an opening in the final minute with Chivas pushed forward for an equalizer, and Jaqua made them pay once again.
FULL MATCH VIDEO (FIRST HALF) – SoundersFC.com
FULL MATCH VIDEO (SECOND HALF) – SoundersFC.com