Kitsap Pumas

SECOND ROUND

Real Colorado Foxes at Kitsap Pumas
Bremerton Memorial Stadium – Bremerton, Wash. – 10 p.m.
Broadcast: Audio (KMAS)

THIRD ROUND

Real Colorado Foxes / Kitsap Pumas at Seattle Sounders
June 29, 10 p.m. ET  Starfire Sports Stadium; Tukwila, Wash.

Real Colorado Foxes

Founded in 2008, the PDL team was created by the Real Colorado youth soccer club, which already operated a W-League team. The Foxes were successful, reaching the postseason in its debut 2009 PDL campaign. The nickname is a tribute to the Colorado Foxes that won back-to-back titles (1992-93) as they reached three straight finals (1994) in the A-League. The Foxes were coached in the late 80’s and early 90’s by Lorne Donaldson, the President of Real Colorado and GM/Assistant Coach of the PDL team.

Path to Open Cup: In the end, the Foxes needed a little help despite finishing with four victories in their campaign as the Des Moines Menace, the only club they didn’t play, kept pace with a 3-0 start themselves. Thankfully, Kansas City shocked their long-time rivals 2-1, sending Real Colorado through. The Foxes opened at home with a pair of wins against the same Brass side. They posted a 4-1 win with Kyle Christensen putting in a pair for the first win. Joey Madison set up the first two and had the game-winner in the second game as the club held off a late rally for a 3-2 victory. On the road, Taylor Kemp rallied the Foxes to a 3-1 win in Springfield with a goal and an assist while Julian Donaldson was the hero in the finale with both strikes in a 2-1 win at St Louis.

First Round: Real Colorado Foxes (PDL) 5:0 DV8 Defenders (USASA)
The Colorado club had a fairly easy go of it in their tournament debut in the First Round Tuesday with three goals from Taylor Kemp, Isaiah Schafer and Kyle Christensen before the break for a commanding advantage. Sterling Copeland and Craig Thompson made it five different goal scorers on the night. Recap [+]

League form: The Foxes were idle this week in league play and are 7-0-1 in the PDL Heartland Division.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament. PRO ERA RECORD: 1-0-0 overall

Kitsap Pumas

Founded in 2009 by a former co-owner of the USL Seattle Sounders, the Pumas have been a dominant force playing as a professional side in the PDL, reaching the postseason in its first two years.

Path to Open Cup: For the third consecutive year it was a neck-and-neck race with Portland. This year’s berth came down to a complete deadlock on all tiebreakers, however, with the two sides having played to a scoreless draw in their lone meeting. Instead of using a lottery, the two clubs and league office agreed to use an unprecedented ‘fifth match’ to serve as the tiebreaker as they were scheduled to meet in the regular season the Friday after qualifying concluded. Kitsap opened with a 3-0 victory at home versus Crossfire with Warlen Silva providing a goal and assist. A week later they played to the stalemate against the Timbers. On the final qualifying weekend the Pumas won 6-1 at Tacoma with Matt Friesen scoring twice, They finished with Friesen scoring in a 1-0 win at North Sound, leaving them vulnerable to Portland’s result, however, the Timbers only managed a 2-0 win later that night, creating the table deadlock.  In the tiebreaker match Kitsap jumped to a two-goal lead via Robbie Christner and Nik Besagno only to see Portland fight back in a thriller. A Brent Richards goal cut the deficit, but Christner added a second in the 66th to restore the lead before Brian Burke was sent off, allowing the hosts to make a late charge in hopes of penalties only to come up short, 3-2.

First Round: Kitsap Pumas (PDL) 0:0 (6:5 in PKs) El Paso Patriots (PDL)
The Pumas battled with host El Paso in the hot Texas summer to a scoreless stalemate over 120 minutes in the First Round Tuesday. Penalties to break the tie also went into extra time as the match needed nine rounds to decide a winner with Kitsap coming out on top 6-5. Recap [+]

League form: The Pumas returned to league action Friday with a 4-1 win over visiting Abbotsford. Brian Burke tallied to give the lead to Kitsap, who saw goalkeeping star Zach Lubin from Tuesday sent off in the 72nd. Abbotsford then leveled before the Pumas tallied two unanswered from Nick Besagno and Matt Friesen shorthanded. The team is 8-0-1 in the PDL Northwest Division.

Open Cup History: The Pumas have yet to miss the tournament in three years of play, making them the first PDL team to qualify in each of their first three years. Only two other teams have accomplished that They’ve been haunted by the senior Portland Timbers club who have knocked them out twice as a member of the second division. They were blanked 3-0 in the first round of the 2009 tournament and downed 4-1 last year in the second round with Nik Besagno scoring the team’s lone goal. They opened with a 4-2 overtime win against the Bay Area Ambassadors (USASA/NPSL).
PRO ERA RECORDS: 2-2-0 overall | 1-0-0 vs. Amateur Teams (0-0-0 vs. PDL)

Seattle Sounders

How They Qualified: Automatic entrant from top six MLS finish in 2010.

This Month in MLS: The Sounders played their third match of the month Saturday in Toronto, edging the hosts on a 90th free kick from Fredy Montero after playing nearly the entire second half down a man after Jhon Kennedy Hurtado’s send-off. They are now returning home for two more league matches June 23 versus New York and June 26 against New England before playing in the Third Round. Seattle opened the month with a scoreless draw in Chicago June 4 with Keller in goal and played a 2-2 stalemate at home against Northwest rival Vancouver Whitecaps June 11. Seattle saw the Whitecaps steal the draw after the Sounders had rallied to take the lead on goals from Mauro Rosales and Osvaldo Alonso in a wild finish.
Last Five: W-D-D-W-L | Season Record: 6-4-7 (3-2-3 Home), Third in Western Conference, Third Overall.

Open Cup History: Sounders FC set out to become a force in the Open Cup during their 2009 inaugural year, and did just that, becoming the first expansion team since Chicago Fire in 1998 to take the Cup, winning 2-1 against DC United. They then turned around and made more history in 2010, as they became the first team since the New York Pancyprian Freedoms in 1982 and 1983 to win back-to-back Open Cups, taking the Columbus Crew 2-1 in the Final. Seattle has earned both titles, only playing non-MLS opposition twice (defeating the Portland Timbers in the Third Round both years), marking the first time the team has played a non-first or second division side. A matchup against the Kitsap Pumas would have additional intrigue, as the Pumas are the continuation of the USL Seattle Sounders, and both teams share deep bloodlines.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 7-0-1 (1-0 in PKs) overall | 2-0-0 vs. Non-MLS Teams (0-0-0 vs. PDL)

Note: A USL team also called the Seattle Sounders made 12 Open Cup appearances from 1995-2008 and made history with back-to-back trips to the Semifinals in 2007 and 2008. The USL franchise’s history is officially not recognized by the MLS franchise.

FIRST ROUND

DV8 Defenders (USASA-No. CA) 0:5 Real Colorado Foxes (PDL)
Shea Stadium – Highlands Ranch, Colo. – 9 p.m.
Recap [+]

Kitsap Pumas (PDL) 0:0 (6:5 in PKs) Chivas El Paso Patriots (PDL)
Patriots Stadium – El Paso, Texas – 10 p.m.
Recap [+]

ELIMINATED TEAMS

DV8 Defenders

Founded in 1997, the San Francisco Bay area club plays in the local Peninsula Soccer League, where the team has won several championships, including a perfect 2006-07 campaign in the PSL. || Meet the USASA Feature [+]

Path to Open Cup: The Defenders opened the Region IV tournament with a 9-0 victory over the CV Eagles and the following morning they blanked SF Italian SC 2-0. Needing a draw against Metro FC, who could also win the group, the Defenders drew level with seconds remaining on a controversial penalty call, earning a 2-2 draw and the US Open Cup berth. In the Region IV Final, DV8 took the early lead but saw Doxa Italia level with 15 minutes left as the two would go to a penalty shootout in which Doxa Italia took the title 4-1.

June News Updates: Played a friendly versus San Jose Earthquakes June 8, falling 2-0 but had two penalty kick saves to keep it close… The Defenders have been primarily idle in June after finishing fourth in the Peninsula Soccer League’s Majors Division that ended in April. The club’s other team, DV8 Elite, finished second in the same league.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament.

Chivas El Paso Patriots

One of the oldest clubs in USL, the Patriots were founded in 1989 and have played at all levels of USL. It left the professional second division flight to enter the PDL and immediately found success, finishing first in the division in the first two years and reaching the league final in 2005. The club, however, has missed the playoffs four of the last five seasons. The club took on its Chivas branding following a formal affiliation agreement with the Guadalajara club signed prior to the 2010 season.

Path to Open Cup: The Patriots swept through qualifying and were one of the first teams to clinch a berth. The club opened at RGV with a 2-1 win, coming from behind on goals from Victor Olivarez and Ariel Chavez. The following night in Laredo, Rodrigo Morin scored a critical strike in the 80th minute for a 1-0 win. El Paso’s victory 3-1 win over New Orleans in the next match, in which Morin provided a goal and assist, sealed the berth courtesy of their head-to-head tiebreaker result versus Laredo. For good measure though, Morin capped the sweep with the lone goal in the 1-0 finale against Baton Rouge as Jorge Muniz posted a second clean sheet.

June News Updates: The Patriots returned home for a 1-0 win June 11 against West Texas on a fourth minute Omar Tena goal, holding on after a 41st minute Enrique Cervantes send-off with a shutout from Jorge Muniz… The Patriots suffered their second loss on the trip, falling 6-2 to RGV Grandes June 4 with Rodrigo Morin, who was also sent off at the end of the match, and Jorge Arjona scoring… Handed their second loss of the campaign June 3 at Laredo, falling 3-0 in first match they have been shutout in through seven games despite playing with man advantage for 60 minutes.

Open Cup History: The Patriots were among the first professional teams to enter the tournament to kick off the Pro Era in 1995. The club upset second division Colorado Foxes, 2-0, and Seattle Sounders, 1-0, en route to the championship game. The Patriots were the last non-MLS club to host the Open Cup Final (excluding neutral sites), but were unable to hoist the trophy, falling in penalties 4-2 after playing to a 1-1 draw against the PDL Richmond Kickers. The Foxes avenged their upset the following year by knocking El Paso out, 5-1, in the second round. The club became the victim of an upset themselves while playing in the second division, falling 5-2 in 2003 to the PDL Fresno Fuego in the third round. As a PDL team themselves though, the Patriots upset second division Miami FC via penalties after a 2-2 first round draw in 2007. El Paso topped USASA entrant Arizona Suahauros, 2-1, to open the 2009 tournament, but were knocked out, 2-0, by the second division Austin Aztex (now Orlando City SC).
PRO ERA RECORDS: 8-7-2 (1-1 in PKs) overall | 4-1 vs. Amateur Teams (1-1 vs. PDL)