Oklahoma City Energy

The Columbus Crew began their 2016 US Open Cup run with a meeting from the NASL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies. Playing in Columbus but away from home at nearby Jesse Owens Stadium, Crew SC thrived after a two-hour weather delay in the first half, topping the Rowdies 4-0, despite only having 16 healthy players to create a lineup from.

The Crew, who won the tournament in 2002, picked up the win despite playing with mostly substitutes in an unfamiliar venue and fighting the elements. They will look to continue their run in the Round of 16 as Columbus attempts to win multiple games in a tournament for the first time since their runner-up finish in 2010.

After 25 minutes of listless play from both sides, high winds, lightning, and eventual sheets of rain caused the referee to suspend play. It couldn’t have come at a better time for Columbus, as they hadn’t registered a shot on goal yet. Tampa Bay had three shots to their credit, although none were particularly dangerous.

After play resumed, it was all Crew SC. Justin Meram began the scoring with a goal in the 41st minute. Though it goes down as unassisted due to a defender getting a foot on the ball, the pass was from Emil Larsen. The Rowdies thought Larsen was offside and stopped running as the defenders raised their hands and looked towards the assistant referee. The flag stayed down, leaving Larsen able to pass the ball easily to a centered Meram who slotted it past the diving keeper, Matt Pickens.

“The rain lowered the temperature, it was one of those slow starts,” Meram said, “once we got back out there we took it to them and they couldn’t recover.”

The Crew took it to the Rowdies in the second half. Cristian Martinez, 19, scored his second goal in as many games in the 48th minute with a backheel assist for Ethan Finlay, and secondary assist by Waylon Francis. Finlay then picked up a goal of his own just four minutes later on a penalty kick after Rodrigo Saravia was fouled in the box. Columbus struck for their final goal of the night in the 65th minute as Marshall Hollingsworth scored his first-ever goal for the club.

Columbus advances to the Round of 16 for the fourth year in a row.

“We looked at video and saw some things we thought we could take advantage of,” Columbus head coach Gregg Berhalter said, “It was clear… and luckily we took advantage of that.”

FULL MATCH REPLAY

It’s one thing for a player to be loaned out by one team and then made ineligible for any competitive matches against the team loaning him. It’s quite another for said player to be recalled altogether, start, and record two assists against his “former” team.

Coy Craft had been on loan with OKC Energy, FC Dallas’ USL affiliate, but was called back to Dallas for the purpose of starting out wide on the left against the team he had been playing for so far this season. The move paid off big time for Dallas as Craft provided not one, but two assists to midfielder Carlos Lizarazo to help propel the home side to a 2-2 draw, which led to a successful penalty kick shootout.

But Craft didn’t even end up being the former OKC Energy player with the greatest impact for FC Dallas on the night. Dallas also recalled Colin Bonner from OKC for this particular match and the target forward came off the bench in the 65th minute, replacing Max Urruti, and scored sixth and final penalty kick to help the Hoops advance to the Round of 16.

With a temperature in the mid-90s at kickoff, the game got off to a sluggish start in every sense of the word. Neither team managed to get a touch in the opponents’ box for the first ten minutes. Even the crowd at SMU’s campus took its sweet time filling the stands in the 1,500 seat facility. Finally FC Dallas got things started in the 11th minute when Max Urruti managed to get a shot off inside the 18, but it was right at OKC keeper Carl Cochran. The home side got a couple corners in quick succession moments later and produced several shots from Mauro Diaz inside the box, none of which ended up on goal.

Then the Energy opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Daniel Gonzales slipped into the box and put a shot on frame that was parried by Dallas keeper Jesse Gonzalez. Unfortunately for him, his stop ended up at the feet of OKC forward Jordan Rideout, who slotted home near post. But the hosts quickly woke up after Juan Esteban Ortiz’s 33rd minute yellow card and in the 37th minute Coy Craft got the ball to Carlos Lizarazo inside the box. Lizarazo proceeded to turn and fire past Cochran to level the score. Not satisfied with just one connection for a goal, Craft found Lizarazo again, this time at the edge of the box in the 43rd minute, and Lizarazo turned and fired for his second of the evening to make it 2-1 Dallas.

The second half continued at a much more entertaining pace as the teams traded intermittent chances throughout. Lizarazo almost had a third as he got a free look in the box, but missed wide. Jose Cuevas had an excellent curling effort that just barely missed moments later in the 70th minute. Dallas would end up regretting not capitalizing on their chances through the game as OKC hung in until the 89th minute when Energy midfielder Michael Thomas got on the end of a corner kick to level things up and force extra time.

Neither team looked particularly interested in playing extra soccer. The two sides exchanged a few half chances in the first 15 minutes of extra time without ever really presenting a threat. Then things picked up at the end of the first 15 minutes when OKC defender Michael Harris earned a yellow card off a corner kick clearance for undercutting Dallas defender Zach Loyd, who fell awkwardly on his head and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher with a suspected concussion. Dallas would end up having to play a man down the rest of the way, having exhausted all three of their substitutions.

Despite the disadvantage, the home team ended up being the more dangerous side for the final 15, earning several corners and free kicks, but they failing to capitalize on any of them and so the game went to penalty kicks.

Each team converted their first three and then each proceeded to see their fourth effort saved before going back to alternating goals until OKC defender Cyprian Hedrick did his best Roberto Baggio impression and skied his attempt high. Bonner proceeded to step up to the spot and converted his chance to give Dallas the win 6-5 on PKs.

Dallas awaits Thursday’s Round of 16 draw to know who they will play next.

Scoring Summary:

OKC – Jordan Rideout 26
DAL: Carlos Lizarazo (Coy Craft) 37
DAL: Carlos Lizarazo (Coy Craft) 43
OKC – Michael Thomas (Kyle Hyland) 89

Penalty shootout:

OKC: Danny Konig (goal), Jose Cuevas (goal), Michael Thomas (goal), Wojciech Wojcok (saved), Peter Toth (goal), Coady Andrews (goal), Cyprain Hedrick (miss).

DAL: Carlos Lizarazo (goal), Kellyn Acosta (goal), Mauro Diaz (goal), Matt Hedges (saved), Atiba Harris (goal), Juan Esteban Ortiz (goal), Colin Bonner (goal).

FC Dallas – Jesse Gonzalez, Agustin Jara, Zach Loyd, Matt Hedges, Aaron Guillen, Victor Ulloa (Kellyn Acosta 68), Juan Esteban Ortiz, Coy Craft (Atiba Harris 84), Carlos Lizarazo, Mauro Diaz, Maxi Urruti (Colin Bonner 65).

Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Herman, Walker Zimmerman, Fabian Castillo, Timo Pitter.

OKC Energy FC – Carl Cochran, Michael Harris, Coady Andrews, Cyprian Hedrick, Kalen Ryden (Wojciech Wojcik 74), Kyle Hyland, Michael Thomas, Daniel Gonzalez, Frimpong Evans (Peter Toth 79), Jose Cuevas, Jordan Rideout (Danni Konig 74).

Substitutes Not Used: Jacob Lissek, Michael Byskov, Luis Martinez, Tim Janssen.

Misconduct Summary:

DAL: Juan Esteban Ortiz (caution) 34
OKC: Danni Konig (caution) 87
OKC: Michael Harris (caution) 105
OKC: Coady Andrews (caution) 119

Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.
AR1 (bench): Tony Obas; AR2 (opposite): John Dearmond; 4th: Travis Haight
Weather: Clear, 95

Konig (OKC) – GOal (1-0 OKC)

Lizarazo (DAL) – Goal (1-1)

Cuevas (OKC) – Goal (2-1 OKC)

Acosta (DAL) – Goal (2-2)

Thomas (OKC) – Goal (3-2 OKC)

Diaz (DAL) – Goal (3-3)

Wojcok (OKC) – SAved (3-3)

Hedges (DAL) – Saved (3-3)

Toth (OKC) – Goal (4-3 OKC)

HArris (DAL) – Goal (4-4)

Andrews (OKC) – Goal (5-4 OKC)

Ortiz (DAL) – Goal (5-5)

Hedrick (OKC) – MISS (5-5)

Bonner (DAL) – Goal (FCD wins 6-5