Preview

2011 US Open Cup Sporting KC bracket preview: Chicago Fire Premier at Madison 56ers

June 20, 2011 by Gerald Barnhart

SECOND ROUND

Chicago Fire Premier at Madison 56ers
Breese Stevens Field – Madison, Wis. – 8 p.m.
Broadcast: None | Preview: Wisconsin State Journal

THIRD ROUND

Chicago Fire Premier / Madison 56ers at Sporting Kansas City
June 28, 8:30 p.m. ET LIVESTRONG Sporting Park; Kansas City, Kan.

Madison 56ers

The Madison 56ers side that has been a member of the NPSL since 2005 is part of the larger club which was founded in 1956. The club has claimed four USASA Region II titles and the NPSL team has finished first in its division three times (2006, 07, 10) with its best postseason performance resulting in a trip to the final in 2006.

Path to Open Cup: Automatic entrant – was the only club to enter.

First Round: Madison 56ers (NPSL) 4:0 AAC Eagles (USASA)
The 56ers were in First Round stalemate with Chicago’s AAC Eagles before running off four goals in 14 minutes in the second half. Tenzin Rampa opened the scoring in the 67th before Jed Hohlbein scored two back-to-back. Adam Lysak finished it off in the 81st. Recap [+]

League form: Madison traveled in league play Saturday to face Milwaukee Bavarians, falling 2-1 on a late strike after defender Aaron Nichols had equalized. The team is 3-2-2 in the NPSL Midwest Division.

Open Cup History: The club is making its return to the tournament for the first time since debuting in the Open Cup with four straight appearances from 1988-91. The club was knocked out in the Region II semifinals by eventual champion St Louis Busch Seniors. The following year they knocked out by St Louis Michelob in the Regional Round. The club was again ousted in the regional semifinals, this time by AAC Eagles. They made it past the regional semis in 1991 with a 1-0 win over St Louis Scott Gallagher and narrowly missed the Open Cup semifinals with a 7-6 penalty kick loss to RWB Adria after a 4-4 draw.
PRO ERA RECORD: 1-0-0 overall

Chicago Fire Premier

Founded in 2001, the team was the second PDL club (Boulder Rapids Reserve) directly affiliated with an MLS team. It has been one of the most successful clubs in the league, finishing first in the division seven times and finished below second last year (fourth) for the first time in 10 seasons, missing the playoffs for the first time. The Fire hold the best record in the PDL over their time in the league. The club has reached the league final on two occasions (2003, 2009).

Path to Open Cup: Of the nine PDL entrants, the club was one of two that finished the qualifying campaign with a loss. The team’s 3-0 start clinched the berth as the other clubs in the division knocked one another out. The club opened with a pair of 2-0 victories, winning the opener in Akron on goals from Chris Estridge and Josey Portillo and taking the second at home against Cincinnati with Estridge finding the net again. A 90th minute strike from Estridge in the third match against River City clinched the berth as David Meves posted his third shutout for the 1-0 win. The late winner denied the charging Michigan Bucks a chance to snare the spot, settling with a 2-0 win over the Fire in the finale.

First Round: Chicago Fire Premier (PDL) 1:0 Iowa Menace (USASA)
It looked as though the two PDL rivals, although the Menace qualified through the USASA, were going to see overtime in the First Round Tuesday as they went into the final stages of regulation in a scoreless deadlock until Chris Estridge struck in the 87th for the dramatic road win. Recap [+]

League form: The Fire Premier returned immediately to league action, falling 2-1 Thursday to River City Rovers on the road. Trailing on two first half goals, Hunter Gorskie tallied in the 63rd, but they could not find an equalizer. Chicago rebounded in their second league match Saturday in Cincinnati for a 3-0 victory on goals from Josey Portillo, Paulo Vaz and Harrison Petts. The club is 5-2-1 in the PDL Great Lakes Division.

Open Cup History: Perhaps taking after its four-time champion parent club in MLS, the team has had some success in its three previous appearances. In its 2004 debut, the PDL side opened with a 5-1 win over USASA side SAC Wisla before knocking off third division professional side New Hampshire Phantoms by the same, surprising, 5-1 scoreline. They would be eliminated in the Third Round, 1-0, by the second division Rochester Rhinos. A year later, the club downed city rival AAC Eagles of the USASA 4-1 before falling, 2-1, to the second division Minnesota Thunder. In 2009, they downed Bavarian SC (USASA) 3-1 before being eliminated once again by the Thunder, this time 4-0.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 5-3-0 overall | 4-0-0 vs. Amateur Teams

Sporting Kansas City vs New England Revolution - 2011 MLS qualifying — Sporting Kansas City did a lot of celebrating during their 5-0 win over the New England Revolution. Photo: Taylor Allan | Sporting KC

Sporting KC

How They Qualified: Back-up netminder Eric Kronberg and CJ Sapong were the stars in qualifying for Kansas City, which was seeded third and started in the second round of the eastern bracket in MLS qualifying. Sapong netted an overtime game-winner in the 92nd minute of a 1-0 decision against the Dynamo in Houston April 6 in their opening game. Kronberg earned the first of two shutouts, registering the second in the bracket finale May 25 against the New England Revolution, who brought a squad of nearly all reserves. Chance Myers scored the first two goals in the 5-0 win with Sapong adding two more to secure the berth.

This Month in MLS: In a busy month for the club, Kansas City travels to Philadelphia Wednesday to face the Union in its fifth match of the month June 22 and plays once more at home against the Vancouver Whitecaps June 25 before playing in the Third Round. The opened June with a scoreless draw in Toronto and repeated the result June 9 against the Chicago Fire in the debut of LiveStrong Sporting Park. Eric Kronberg recorded the shutout in the first and relieved starter Jimmy Nielsen in the 67th minute of the second following a red card.
Last Five: W-W-D-D-D | Season Record: 3-6-4 (1-0-1 Home), 9th (last) in Eastern Conference, 18th (last) overall

FIRST ROUND

AAC Eagles (USASA-IL) 0:4 Madison 56ers (NPSL)
Breese Stevens Field – Madison, Wis. – 8 p.m.
Full Recap [+]

Chicago Fire Premier (PDL) 1:0 Iowa Menace (USASA-IA)
Valley Stadium – West Des Moines, Iowa – 8:30 p.m.
Full Recap [+]

ELIMINATED TEAMS

AAC Eagles

Originally known as the PAAC Eagles (Polish American Athletic Club), the Chicago side was founded in 1940. The club currently plays in the Metropolitan Soccer League, where they have won 11 Major Division championships. | Meet the USASA Feature [+]

Path to Open Cup: In a unique six-team format for Region II in which the winner of the opening round by the greatest goal differential earned the first US Open Cup berth, AAC Eagles came up short with its 7-2 victory against FC Indiana as the Iowa Menace were 7-1 winners against a Kansas City Athletics squad that started and played with only 10 men. The Eagles opened with the first five goals, three from Jakub Piotrowski, who would later add a fourth. In the all-Chicago showdown between the other two First Round winners, the Eagles rallied against their city rivals for a 4-1 win against RWB Adria. RWB opened the scoring in the seventh minute with Piotr Kolasinski equalizing seven minutes later. Mark Golik made it 2-1 in the 38th and Kolasinski added two more in the second half to advance to the Open Cup.

June News Updates: Fell 5-0 in league play June 5 to Schwaben, who jumped ahead into second by one point and leaving AAC six points back with three to play.

AAC Eagles celebrate their 1990 US Open Cup championship. Photo: Renee Bechtoldt | AAC Eagles

Open Cup History: The USASA side is among the current clubs that has one of the oldest records in the Open Cup, making its debut in 1948 and reaching the tournament in six decades. The team reached the western quarterfinals in its debut with a trip to the western final the following year, falling 4-3 on aggregate to Morgan SC, who defeated the eastern winner Philadelphia Nationals 4-3 on aggregate in the championship. In 1950, the club was knocked out 5-0 on aggregate by St Louis side Simpkins-Ford in the opening quarterfinal round. The team returned to the tournament in 1989, advancing to the semifinals, and won the Open Cup championship in 1990, downing Brooklyn Italians 2-1. They opened the tournament that year with a 1-0 win over the Madison 56ers in the Region II semifinals. The team fell in the opening rounds of the 1994 and 1995 tournaments before a six-year absence. The team advanced to the tournament in 2002, 2005 and 2008, but failed to advance from the opening round.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 0-4-0 overall | 0-1-0 vs. Amateur Teams (0-0-0 vs. NPSL)

Iowa Menace

A second team of the Des Moines Menace soccer club that plays in the PDL, the side will be made up largely of the PDL team in the Open Cup. The PDL side has long been one of the best in the league on and off the field, leading in attendance and reaching the league semifinals on four occasions with a championship in 2005. Last year was, surprisingly, the third time in four years it failed to make the playoffs.

Path to Open Cup: In a unique six-team format for Region II in which the winner of the opening round by the greatest goal differential earned the first US Open Cup berth, the Menace were fortunate that host Kansas City Athletics only had 10 players for its match. The Menace dominated with a 7-1 victory that gave them the Open Cup berth by one goal as AAC Eagles won their match 7-2. Surprisingly, the hosts got the opening tally in the 31st minute, but it was all Menace after that with Bryan Perez scoring twice as the Menace took a 3-1 lead to the break. John Sosa and Jarrett Hamilton each scored twice in the second half.

June News Updates (PDL): The Menace completed their four-game Canadian trip with a second straight loss to Thunder Bay, falling 3-0 June 11… On the third game of its Canadian trek June 10, the Menace fell 2-0 in Thunder Bay… Nabbed a second win in as many nights June 8 in Winnipeg, downing WSA 4-3 in a back-and-forth match in which four difference players scored… Posted a 2-0 shutout at Winnipeg June 7 on goals from Matt Lagrassa and Bryan Perez as Phil Boerger recorded the clean sheet… Opened the month with a 5-2 win at Kansas City June 1 with Deshorn Brown tallying two goals and assist.

Open Cup History: This is the first time the USASA version of the Des Moines Menace has qualified for the US Open Cup

However, since the club is basically the PDL team, here is their history:

Despite being one of the top clubs in the PDL, the team did not make the first of its five previous appearances until 2002. It marked the run of four trips in five years for the Menace, who returned to the Open Cup last year, falling in the first round, 1-0, to second division AC St Louis. The club’s debut was a symbol of the future as they downed third division New Jersey Stallions 3-1 before falling 3-2 in overtime to the second division Rochester Rhinos in the second round. A surprise exit, 2-1 in overtime, came at the hands of Bavarian SC (USASA) in the opening round of 2003. Two years later, the Menace were back on the upset track, however. They opened with a penalty kick decision over third division Pittsburgh Riverhounds in a 1-1 draw before eliminating a pair of second division clubs. They topped the Charleston Battery, 3-2, in the second round and the Atlanta Silverbacks on the road in a stunning 5-1 scoreline in the Third Round before being knocked out by MLS side Kansas City, 6-1. After eliminating two USASA sides (Croatian Eagles, Dallas Mustang Legends), the team collected another second division upset in 2006, edging the Minnesota Thunder 1-0 before being knocked out again by Kansas City, this time 2-1 in the Third Round.
PRO ERA RECORDS: 6-5-1 (1-0 in PKs) overall | 2-1-0 vs. Amateur Teams (0-0-0 vs. PDL)

2011 US Open Cup Los Angeles Galaxy bracket preview: Los Angeles Blues at Ventura County Fusion

June 20, 2011 by Gerald Barnhart

SECOND ROUND

Los Angeles Blues at Ventura County Fusion
Ventura College – Ventura, Calif. – 10:05 p.m.
Broadcast: USLLive.com

THIRD ROUND

Los Angeles Blues / Ventura County Fusion at Los Angeles Galaxy
June 28, 10:30 p.m. ET Titan Stadium (CSUF); Fullerton, Calif.

Los Angeles Blues

Founded in 2010 by the ownership of the successful Pali Blues W-League team, the side is in its debut season in USL Pro.

Path to Open Cup: Automatic entrant from USL Pro.

First Round: LA Blues (USL Pro) 3:1 Hollywood United (NPSL)
Despite playing a man down since Leo Griffin was sent off in the 19th minute, LA’s Mehrshad Momeni scored once in each half to give the Blues a two-goal lead in the First Round. Hollywood would answer but after both sides saw a red card late each Gerardo Bravo sealed it for the Blues. Recap [+]

League form: LA had the week off from USL Pro league play since last Tuesday and are 5-2-2 in the USL Pro National Division.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament.

Local History: Since teams from Los Angeles began participating in the Open Cup in 1954, LA-area clubs have reached 24 Open Cup Finals, winning 10 of those games.

Ventura County Fusion

Founded in 2007, the club has been a dominant force the past two seasons in the PDL, winning the league championship in 2009 and finishing first in the division last year. The club has been similarly successful off the field as one of the league leaders in attendance.

Path to Open Cup: The Fusion burst the bubble of Fresno, who also finished with a perfect record a week earlier than Ventura County, who surpassed them on goal differential for the Open Cup berth with the extremely rare absolutely perfect finish with maxed out goal differential and goals scored tallies. The dominance started with a 6-1 win against the LA Legends with Daniel Barrera setting up the first three before notching one of his own. The second match was a 4-0 shutout at home against the Blues 23s in which David Walker had a goal and two assists. In the second home match they topped Orange County 7-2 with Mark Magee scoring twice. They rounded it out with another 4-0 win, blanking host Southern California with another double from Magee that put the Fusion past Fresno in the tiebreaker.

First Round: Ventura County Fusion (PDL) 3:1 Doxa Italia (USASA)
On a foggy night the Fusion got off to a slow start, allowing a goal on a fluke play just five minutes in. They reversed the course however with goals from Andy Rose (penalty) and Mark Magee before halftime and ensured the win with a third from Reed Williams in the second half. Recap [+]

League form: The Fusion returned to PDL action quickly with a 1-0 win Thursday versus visiting Ogden on second half Daniel Barrera goal. The team is 6-0-4 in the PDL Southwest Division.

Open Cup History: The club is returning for its second appearance after a surprise First Round elimination a year ago via penalties after playing to a 1-1 draw against the USASA’s Arizona Sahuaros.
PRO ERA RECORD: 0-0-1 (0-1 in PKs) overall | 0-0-1 (0-1 in PKs) vs. 3rd Division

Los Angeles Galaxy

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

This Month in MLS: The Galaxy played their third match of the month in Colorado Saturday, posting a 3-1 victory with Juninho doubling the advantage after an own goal and Chad Barrett securing the victory late. They now travel to San Jose June 25 before playing in the Third Round. They opened the month with the first of two draws, finishing in a scoreless stalemate against DC United June 3 with Josh Saunders in goal. On June 11 they hosted Toronto in a 2-2 draw with two go-ahead goals from Chris Birchall and Juan Pablo Angel.
Last Five: W-D-D-W-W | Season Record: 9-2-7 (4-0-4 Home), First in Western Conference, First Overall.

Open Cup History: The Galaxy have had a considerable amount of success in the Open Cup, winning two championships in 2001 and 2005, as well as finishing as runners-up in 2002 and 2006. Since falling short to the Chicago Fire in the 2006 Final, the Galaxy were upset by the Richmond Kickers (3rd Division) and then failed to qualify the next two years. In 2010, they returned to the tournament where they beat AC St. Louis of the NASL (2nd Division) before losing to eventual champion Seattle Sounders FC in the quarterfinals.
PRO ERA RECORD: 21-8-1 (1-0 in PKs) overall | 11-2-0 vs. Non-MLS teams

First Round

Hollywood United (NPSL) 1:3 Los Angeles Blues (USL PRO)
Riverside Community College – Riverside, Calif. – 8 p.m.
Recap [+]

Doxa Italia (USASA-So. CA) 1:3 Ventura County Fusion (PDL)
Ventura College – Ventura, Calif. – 10:05 p.m.
Recap [+]

ELIMINATED TEAMS

Hollywood United

The NPSL side is the feature team of the Hollywood United Football Club that is famous for numerous celebrities and former internationals playing on its teams over the years as well as participating in the club’s many charity events. They had merged with Doxa Italia in 2008 (retaining the name Hollywood United) and after falling just short of the Open Cup that year they entered again in 2009, but the owners of United left to focus on the launching of Hollywood United as a PDL franchise (The remaining players continued under the name Doxa Italia). Hollywood played two years in the PDL Southwest Division, where it reached the playoffs in both campaigns before leaving the league shortly before the start of the 2011 season to join the NPSL.

Path to Open Cup: With the division utilizing each team’s first seven games to determine the Open Cup berth, Hollywood finished with a perfect record, but it was not smooth going. After opening with a 1-0 win at Santa Ana, the club fell 3-1 to the San Diego Flash in its next outing. The team went on to win its next five games to finish with a 6-1 record on May 8 before it was revealed May 11 the league was penalizing the Flash for use of an illegal player in two matches, including the victory over Hollywood. The penalty would be forfeitures of both games, which would be appealed and finally upheld May 19, giving Hollywood a perfect record and the Open Cup berth.

June News Updates: Won 4-1 at home June 11 against Sonoma County after being idle since a 2-1 win against Real San Jose May 28.

Open Cup History: The club is making its return for the first time since making headlines in its 2008 debut via the USASA. They upset the second division Portland Timbers on the road 3-2 before being blanked 6-0 by the USL First Division’s Seattle Sounders the following round.
PRO ERA RECORD: 1-1-0 overall | 0-0-0 vs. 3rd Division

Local History: From the late 1950s and 1960s, teams from Hollywood were a fixture in the Southern California Open Cup qualifying rounds. Such clubs as the Hollywood Bears, Hollywood SC, and Lovers United (so named, as one newspaper reported, because the all of the members of the team were “soccer lovers”) participated in the Open Cup at one time or another. In 1961, Hollywood SC reached the Los Angeles final, which at the time was two games away from the Open Cup Final, but lost 3-0 to the eventual Open Cup runner-up United Scots.

Doxa Italia

Founded in 1997, the club has been a powerhouse in the Pacific League (five championships) and Coast Soccer League (four championships) as well as performing well in the California South state cup tournament with four titles. When the club was struggling financially, they merged with Hollywood United in 2007 and competed under that name from 2007-2009. Prior to the beginning of the 2009 USASA Region IV tournament, Hollywood owners pulled the plug on the team to focus their efforts of starting a PDL expansion team. The players continued on in 2009 under the name Doxa Italia and have remained that way since then. Meet the USASA Feature [+]

Open Cup Path: The club opened the Region IV tournament with a 1-1 draw against Rosal FC on Day One. It became apparent that it was going to be a race for goal differential the next morning with Doxa Italia netting a 6-0 win against Metro SC while Rosal were 8-1 winners against CV Eagles. Doxa Italia showed no mercy against the Eagles in the finale, posting an amazing 18-0 scoreline in comparison to Rosal’s 7-1 victory, earning the Open Cup berth on the goal differential tiebreaker. The club had missed out on the Open Cup on the goal difference tiebreaker the last two years, so they didn’t want to take any chances. The side was finally stymied once more by the other group winner, DV8 Defenders, in the Region IV Final in a 1-1 draw, but claimed the title in penalties, 4-1.

June News Updates: Blanked Santa Ana Winds 4-0 June 11 with goal and assist each from Ryan Taylor and Bryan Byrne in season finale, finishing second in the league for the season… Shutout Morelos 8-0 June 5 in its next to last game with a Gabe Valencia hat-trick and Ilia Nazarov brace.

Open Cup History: First appearance in the tournament after narrowly falling short the last two years. They missed out in 2009 by 2 goals in a goal difference tiebreaker (Sonoma County Sol) and again in 2010, they lost out on another tiebreaker to advance to the Region IV semifinals.

2011 US Open Cup Seattle Sounders bracket preview: Real Colorado Foxes at Kitsap Pumas

June 20, 2011 by Gerald Barnhart

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)