• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • US Open Cup Central
  • US Open Cup Qualifying
  • US Open Cup History

Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

  • 2023 Schedule/Results
  • 2024 Qualifying Schedule
  • 2023 Stats
  • Support TheCup.us
  • Awards
  • Contact Us

2014 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: Blas Perez’s hat trick sends FC Dallas to Semifinals, earns TheCup.us Player of the Round (video)

July 18, 2014 by Adam Uthe

Blas Perez scored the third hat trick in FC Dallas' US Open Cup history in a 5-2 win over the Carolina RailHawks. Photo: FC Dallas
Blas Perez scored the third hat trick in FC Dallas’ US Open Cup history in a 5-2 win over the Carolina RailHawks. Photo: FC Dallas

For the second time in the last three rounds, a Major League Soccer player has turned a hat trick into TheCup.us Player Of The Round honors.

Several weeks ago it was Deshorn Brown of the Colorado Rapids securing the honor in Round 4. This time, in the Quarterfinals, it was FC Dallas striker Blas Perez, who found the back of the net thrice to help his team come away from Cary, North Carolina with a 5-2 win over the NASL’s Carolina Railhawks.

The award is voted on by TheCup.us staff and a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters.

In the voting, Perez pulled away from the field with Sebastien Le Toux’s record-breaking goal being the biggest threat. Blas’ teammate Fabian Castillo and Seattle Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso also received votes.

#USOC2014 LINKS

Support TheCup.us: Buy #USOC2014 gear

2014 Player of the Round winners

2014 US Open Cup results

Things you should know about the Quarterfinals

2014 US Open Cup bracket

2014 US Open Cup goalscoring leaders

2015 US Open Cup qualifying news

The First Cup series (1913/14)

Twitter | Facebook | Flickr | Reddit

The final score didn’t necessarily reflect the game itself. Carolina actually drew first blood in the ninth minute. Perez’s first goal came in the 23rd minute, courtesy of rookie teammate Tesho Akindele, to level things up at one goal apiece. Perez’s second goal was also Dallas’s second. His 34th minute strike put the Hoops up 2-1. Carolina would equalize only to see Dallas net another and take a 3-2 lead into halftime. Perez’s final tally, which came during second half stoppage time, wasn’t the game-winner but it did seal the deal.

Perez became the first Panamanian player in the Modern Professional Era (1995-present) and the third FC Dallas player to score three goals in a single game, joining Dallas fan favorites Bobby Rhine (1999) and Kenny Cooper (2006). The first question Perez received after the game was how it felt to score the hat trick, but he was quick to talk about the team’s win.

“Happy, first of all, for the win because it’s what the team wanted, what the team was looking for.”

Perez had been experiencing a bit of drought coming into the game and was asked if he felt his hard work, despite not scoring, had finally been validated.

“When you work hard, the goals are going to come. The most important thing is if I don’t score, I put in the work.”

Perez has been somewhat underappreciated by MLS in general ever since he arrived in 2012, but it’s easy to see why the 33-year-old veteran is held in such high regard among the fans in Dallas. This was his first hat trick for FC Dallas in any competition.

Dallas, who clinched their eighth US Open Cup semifinal berth, will travel to Philadelphia to face the Union on August 12.

2014 TheCup.us Player of the Round winners
Round 1: Vlad Baciu (RWB Adria – USASA)
Round 2: Luke Winter (Chattanooga FC – NPSL)
Round 3: Earl Edwards Jr. (PSA Elite – USASA)
Round 4: Deshorn Brown (Colorado Rapids – MLS)
Round 5: Scott Goodwin (Carolina RailHawks – NASL)
Quarterfinals: Blas Perez (FC Dallas – MLS)

HIGHLIGHTS: FC DALLAS AT CAROLINA RAILHAWKS

MATCH REPLAY: FC DALLAS AT CAROLINA RAILHAWKS

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2014 Player of the Round, 2014 Quarterfinals, 2014 US Open Cup, FC Dallas, Feature, Player of the Round

Primary Sidebar

Featured Video

Follow Us on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

U.S. Open Cup History

Clint Dempsey of the Seattle Sounders FC is shown a red card during a 2015 US Open Cup match against the Portland Timbers.

A history of violence against referees in US Open Cup

Unfortunately, in the long history of the US Open Cup, this was not the first time that there have been more then a few incidents where games were halted due to referee abuse.

  • How St. Petersburg Kickers became Florida’s first US Open Cup champion
  • San Francisco Bay Seals, the ‘amateur’ pro team that reached 1997 US Open Cup Semifinals
  • Vasco De Gama’s journey from Connecticut to 1978 US Open Cup Final as Pele’s opening act at Giants Stadium
  • 1938-1939 National Challenge Cup: The first time the US Open Cup was invite-only
  • American soccer’s greatest modern underdog story: Rochester Raging Rhinos win 1999 US Open Cup

Analytics powered by

Copyright © 2023 • Built by Jacob Martella Web Development