Kenny Cooper

2012 U.S. Open Cup Third Round: New York Red Bulls silence Charleston Battery, 3-0

May 30, 2012 by J.T. Alwin

John Wilson fights for position against Jan Gunnar Solli and Kenny Cooper. Photo: Charleston Battery

The New York Red Bulls, who are notorious for throwing their second team into the Open Cup and losing early, decided to take a different approach into their game against the Charleston Battery. This approach would serve them well, as for once they avoided being upset by a lower division side, winning 3-0 and advancing to the fourth round.

It was a welcome offensive outburst for the Red Bulls who scored three goals in an Open Cup game for the first time in a decade

The Battery challenged early, however New York keeper Ryan Meara met the early challenges, and Red Bull quickly started pressing themselves. Mehdi Ballouchy helped the team strike paydirt first, as he found forward Kenny Cooper in the box. Cooper then unleashed a ground shot into the corner with his left foot. The teams spent most of the half’s remainder going up and down the field, yet unable to capitalize. This changed at 41 minutes in, and it was once again the visitors able to break through. Ballouchy once again started the play, as his corner found Dax McCarty in the corner of the penalty area. McCarty then led on for Heath Pearce, who sent it past Charleston keeper Brock Duckworth to double the lead by halftime.

Sallieu Bundu tried to rally Charleston multiple times to get them back in it, yet Meara proved to be up to the task every time. Connor Lade finally put the game away for the Red Bulls with 20 minutes left, as Solli got him the ball, and Lade launched a top-corner shot from 27 yards out.

New York had initially planned on hosting New England, as the Revolution had built up a 3-0 lead with ten minutes left in extra time. However, the Harrisburg City Islanders of USL Pro would not be denied, tied the game, and emerged victorious in a penalty shootout. This means Harrisburg will host NY in Hersheypark Stadium (Hershey, PA) at 7:30 PM Eastern Time next Tuesday.

New York Red Bulls 3:0 Charleston Battery
Blackbaud Stadium – Charleston, SC

SCORING
NY- Kenny Cooper (Mehdi Ballouchy) 14’
NY- Heath Pearce (Dax McCarty) 41’
NY- Connor Lade (Jan Gunnar Solli) 70’

LINEUPS:
NY- Ryan Meara (GK); Brandon Barklage (Jonathan Borrajo 77’), Markus Holgersson, Wilman Conde, Heath Pearce, Jan Gunnar Solli (Victor Palsson 74’), Dax McCarty (Ryan Maduro 88’), Mehdi Ballouchy, Connor Lade, Jhonny Arteaga, Kenny Cooper
Charleston- Brock Duckworth (GK); John Wilson, Colin Falvey, Taylor Mueller (Dane Kelly 67’), Kyle Hoffer, Amadou Sanyang, Tony Donatelli (Ryan Richter 71’), Jose Cuevas, Nicki Paterson (Zach Prince 81’), Navion Boyd, Sallieu Bundu

BOOKINGS
CHS- Amadou Sanyang 65′ (caution)

STATS:
Shots: NY- 13; CHS- 11
Saves: NY- 5; CHS- 5
Fouls: NY- 10; CHS- 12
Corners: NY- 3; CHS- 4
Offsides: NY- 0; CHS- 2

Notable upsets in the Quarterfinals of the US Open Cup

September 1, 2009 by Josh Hakala

MORE: Things you should know about the Quarterfinals (Modern Era)

There have only been nine upsets in the Quarterfinal round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup since 1995, therefore all of them are, in fact, “notable.”

There have been one amateur team (albeit before MLS was launched) and two third division clubs to win a Quarterfinal games in the Modern Era (1995-present), and the rest are second division pro teams (A-League, USL First Division) knocking off Major League Soccer clubs.

Atlanta Ruckus (A-League) 1:2 Richmond Kickers (USISL Premier)
July 12, 1995
University of Richmond Stadium – Richmond, Virginia

The Richmond Kickers, the lone amateur team remaining in the tournament upset the A-League’s Atlanta Ruckus 2-1 to reach the semifinals. The Kickers took a 1-0 lead into halftime on a 13th minute goal by Rob Ukrop, but US international John Doyle answered for the Ruckus in the 52nd minute. The game-winning goal would be scored by Richmond’s Scott Snyder in the 62nd minute with Ben Crawley picking up his second assist of the game. Side note: While the Kickers were an amateur team, they featured a strong roster for future professional players including Richie Williams, Mike Clark, Brian Bates, Todd Yeagley, Brian Kamler and goalkeeper Jeff Causey.

Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS) 3 : 4 (ASDET) Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League)
September 7, 1996
Frontier Field – Rochester, NY

In front of more than 12,000 fans at Frontier Field, the Rochester Raging Rhinos knocked off Major League Soccer’s best team, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, in sudden death overtime. It’s known as one of the most exciting Open Cup games in the Modern Era. Henry Gutierrez and Doug Miller put the Rhinos up 2-0 at the half, but it was Roy Lassiter who began one of the most thrilling 10 minutes in modern Open Cup history. Lassiter’s goal in the 80th minute brought the Mutiny to within one goal, but two minutes later, Miller would score his second to make it 3-1.

The home crowd thought the game was over, but Tampa Bay would score two goals in two minutes (Carlos Valderamma PK in the 85th and Evans Wise in the 86th on an assist from Lassiter) to send the game into overtime. 23 minutes of sudden death overtime saw the Rochester crowd whipped into a frenzy when substitute, and Rochester native, Chris Kennell scored the game-winner in the 113th minute. The first-year franchise would advance to the Open Cup Final that year, falling to DC United in the championship game.

San Francisco Bay Seals (D3 Pro League) 2 : 1 San Jose Clash (MLS)
August 20, 1997
Spartan Stadium – San Jose, CA

Ronald Cerritos converted an early first half penalty kick to put the San Jose Clash up 1-0, but the Bay Seals, the darlings of the 1997 tournament, got a pair of late goals from Shani Simpson (77th minute) and Shane Watkins (86th minute) to put them in the Semifinals. San Francisco was the first third division club to reach the Semifinals during the Modern Era. It was an achievement that wasn’t matched until 2011.

Dallas Burn (MLS) 1 : 2 (ASDET) Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League)
August 11, 1999
Frontier Field – Rochester, NY

After a 71st minute goal by Mauro Biello put Rochester in front 1-0, the Rhinos were five minutes away from pulling off the upset in regulation when Jason Kreis tied the game up thanks to an assist by Paul Broome. After 20 minutes of extra time, Michael Kirmse scored the golden goal (assisted by Darren Tilley) to send the Rhinos to the Semifinals, on their way to winning the tournament.

Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) 3 : 1 Kansas City Wizards (MLS)
August 24, 2005
Julian Field – Parkville, Missouri

In the midst of a disappointing run of league form, the Minnesota Thunder continued their run in the US Open Cup with a road win over the Kansas City Wizards. It was the third MLS team Minnesota had eliminated in a row (Real Salt Lake, Colorado Rapids). Johnny Menyongar scored two goals and was a part of the third when his shot was re-directed by the Wizards’ Shavar Thomas and past goalkeeper Will Hesmer.

Colorado Rapids (MLS) 0 : 5 Seattle Sounders (USL-1)
August 7, 2007
Qwest Field – Seattle, Washington

Chris Eylander - Seattle Sounders vs Kansas City Wizards — Chris Eylander stops a penalty kick against the Kansas City Wizards during the 2008 US Open Cup. Photo: George Holland

Seattle completely dominated the Colorado Rapids in the worst loss ever suffered by a MLS team in the Open Cup. After two goals by Sounder defenders midway through the first half, Colorado’s Ugo Ihemelu put the ball into his own net to make it 3-0 Seattle at the half. The game was all but over, but when Colorado defender Facundo Erpen was sent off in the 49th minute, the Sounders poured it on in the second half to return to the Semifinals for the first time since 1995.

Charleston Battery (USL-1) 3 : 1 FC Dallas (MLS)
July 8, 2008
Pizza Hut Park – Frisco, Texas

After a weather delay, the Charleston Battery eliminated FC Dallas 3-1 in front of the Dallas faithful. Former Dallas player Lazo Alavanja opened the scoring, followed by Ian Fuller and Randi Patterson. Kenny Cooper added a score in second half stoppage time but it was too little, too late. The Battery got their revenge after being knocked out of the tournament by Dallas the last two years in a row.

Kansas City Wizards (MLS) 0:0 (5:6 PKs) Seattle Sounders (USL-1)
July 8, 2008
Qwest Field – Seattle, Washington

Feature-Kickers-Bulow-061411-SuzKitsteiner — David Bulow of the Richmond Kickers tied the Modern Era record for most US Open Cup goals in a career with 13. Photo: Richmond Kickers / Suz Kitsteiner

After playing 120 minutes of scoreless soccer, Kansas City’s Eric Kronberg and Seattle Chris Eylander found themselves facing a penalty kick shootout. Both goalkeepers had played well in regulation and extra time, but Eylander had been busier, stopping 12 shots to Kronberg’s four. Eylander would get the best of Kronberg in the shootout, 6-5, saving attempts by Jimmy Conrad and Tyson Wahl to send the Sounders to the final four.

Richmond Kickers (USL Pro) 2:0 Sporting Kansas City (MLS)
July 12, 2011
LiveStrong Sporting Park – Kansas City, Kansas

The Richmond Kickers continued their Cinderella run through the 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 2-0 upset of Sporting Kansas City at LiveStrong Sporting Park. After a lengthy lightning delay sent the players into the locker rooms in the 66th minute, once they emerged, Shaka Bangura scored less than 30 seconds after play re-started to give the Kickers the lead. David Bulow would add a history-making penalty kick in the 83rd minute to seal the deal. Bulow’s goal gave him a tournament-high six tallies and put him on top of the Modern Era’s goalscoring chart with 13 in his career. He was tied with Jaime Moreno and Johnny Menyongar. With the win, Richmond became only the second Third Division team to reach the Semifinals. The only other team to do it was the San Francisco Bay Seals in 1997.

2008 Quarterfinals: Third time’s the charm for Battery against FC Dallas

July 8, 2008 by

In 2006 and 2007, FC Dallas crushed the hopes of the Charleston Battery in the US Open Cup Quarterfinals. This year, it was the Battery’s turn to exact revenge, winning 3-1 in Frisco after waiting out a weather delay.

FC Dallas came out with a relatively strong lineup as they played most of their regulars for the match. They looked the stronger of the two teams out of the gate, controlling play early.

However, in the 28th minute, it was the Battery who struck first. Former Dallas player Lazo Alavanja blocked a clearance by the Dallas defense near the top of the 18 and put it past keeper Dario Sala to give Charleston the 1-0 lead.

In the 39th minute, lightning struck. One hour and ten minutes later, play finally resumed after 9:00 local time. FC Dallas came flying out of the gate once again, with Arturo Alvarez hitting a shot off the post almost immediately out of the dressing room. But once again, it was Charleston who came through. On the counter attack resulting from the play, Ian Fuller received a pass at the edge of the box from Stephen Armstrong, beat his man, and placed the ball inside the near post, giving the Battery the 2-0 advantage.

To be absolutely sure that the Battery would move on, Randi Patterson took the ball all the way from the midfield stripe in the 90th minute and put away Dallas for good. FC Dallas would finally find a way to scrape together a goal and avoid the shutout in stoppage time when Dax McCarty served up a ball inside the box to Kenny Cooper, who made a lunging header into the back of the net, to make the final score 3-1 in favor of Charleston.

The Battery now move on to host USL-1 foe Seattle Sounders in the Semifinals, assuring that a non-MLS team will make the US Open Cup final for the first time since the Rochester Raging Rhinos won it all in 1999.