Two teams streaking in the league will take a break from Major League Soccer play to contest a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup semifinal Tuesday in Frisco, Texas.
FC Dallas and the Philadelphia Union are seeking not only a spot in the Final but also the right to host the one-off championship match.
“It’s huge,” FC Dallas defender Zach Loyd told reporters after a 3-1 win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. “I’ve been here five years and I haven’t won a trophy so there is a lot on the line Tuesday night. Especially, with it being the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, it means a bit more to this club than others. We’re really looking forward to it and we cannot wait to get out there Tuesday night.”
The host club, owned by the family of the late Lamar Hunt, rolled into the Semifinals after dispatching regional rivals the San Antonio Scorpions and the Houston Dynamo. Texas’ other MLS side pushed FC Dallas to the brink with rookie Tesho Akindele scoring an extra time winner, but there were no such heroics needed in the Quarterfinals. Blas Perez bagged a hat trick in a 5-2 thumping of the Carolina RailHawks, earning himself TheCup.us Player of the Round honor.
The Union overcame a bit more adversity to reach the final four. Both Harrisburg and the New York Cosmos pushed the MLS outfit to extra time. New arrival Andrew Wenger scored twice in extra time of the Fourth Round game, while Sebastian Le Toux was the hero of the clash with the Cosmos – a match that also saw three players and a pair of
Cosmos coaches sent off in the final moments. The behavior was better but the weather was worse with kickoff of the Union’s quarterfinal match being delayed by a dust storm. Once it settled, goals from Conor Casey and Le Toux saw the team advance with a 2-0 win against the New England Revolution. Le Toux’s 14th tournament goal put him alone at the top of the Modern Professional Era (1995-present) goalscoring chart
It was after a 2-0 league win against an injury-hit Revolution team on a losing streak that Oscar Pareja declared that his team sent a message that it could contend as one of MLS’ best teams.
It was a message met with skepticism by the majority of those who heard it, but FC Dallas has done its best to back up the coach’s bold statement. They enter Tuesday’s game with an 11-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, and have been boosted with the return of several injured elements have los Toros feeling good.
But their opponents have an unbeaten streak of their own with Saturday’s 2-1 win against the Montreal Impact making it five contests without a loss for interim manager Jim Curtin’s team. Le Toux scored both the team’s goals to extend the streak.
In addition to the good run of form, the team also was able to bring back Carlos Valdes after loan spells in South America. The center back is a welcome addition for the club which has lacked consistency on the back line.
“It’s good to be back,” Valdes said this weekend. “I’m very excited for the rest of the season and everything that’s coming our way with the Open Cup and the rest of the league games. Our fans are great and it made me very, very happy.”
Supporters of both clubs will be excited as well with the prospect of a title becoming more real. The Union, which began play in 2010, have yet to win a piece of major silverware while MLS original FC Dallas looks to add to the 1997 Open Cup in its trophy case.
#USOC2014 News and Notes
* The referee assignments were announced for this game and 2014 FIFA World Cup official Mark Geiger will be the man in the middle
* For those unable to attend the game in person, there will be a live video stream available through the FC Dallas website.
* This will mark the first time in the 101-year history of the tournament that a Pennsylvania-based club team will face a Texas-based team in the Semifinals.
* FC Dallas ranks third among MLS teams in Semifinals appearances with eight. Only the Chicago Fire (10), DC United (9) have more. Dallas is 3-4-0 in their previous semifinal matches with wins coming in 1997, 2005 and 2007.
* If the Union win, the Philadelphia area hasn’t hosted a championship game since 1994 when the United German Hungarians (Oakford, Penn., just north of Philadelphia) were the host, but didn’t reach the Final. The last time a Philadephia area team hosted and took part in the Final was when the Ukrainian Nationals won the 2nd leg and lifted the trophy at Cambria Stadium in 1966.
