For the second year in a row, DC United 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. With the win, DC will host Real Salt Lake in a “Win & You’re In” match at a date to be determined.
Clyde Simms
2008 US Open Cup Final: DC United brings the Open Cup back to the nation’s capital
DC United captured their second US Open Cup championship with a 2-1 win over the Charleston Battery of the USL First Division. Luciano Emilio scored in the fifth minute when the ball was cleared just outside the box, and while striking the ball he slips onto the turf, but somehow finds a way to put it in the upper 90 to give DC United the lead.
Emilio injured himself on the play, hurting his groin, and he had to be subsequently subbed out of the match. Charleston answered five minutes later after Chris Williams found Ian Fuller deep in United territory, who fired a shot past DC goalkeeper Louis Crayton to level the match at 1-1.
Two year Open Cup ban for Cuauhtemoc Blanco
Cuauhtemoc Blanco has been banned from competing in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for at least two years. The United States Soccer Federation completed a review of the incidents of the Chicago Fire’s 2-1 Quarterfinal loss to DC United on July 8 and decided on the length of the suspension, which could be extended depending on the number of Open Cup games the Fire are involved in over the next two seasons.