he would dole out seven cards over the course of the match -- and one of those went to Simo Valakari, who was ejected in the 55th minute when he had his name taken a second time.
As a team the Hoops had 20 fouls called during the game, six of those by way of the Finnish international's bone-crunching tackles.
"I knew when the first one came it wasn't going to be easy," said FCD head coach Colin Clarke. "It was never going to be a three- or four-goal cakewalk; we knew we were going to have to earn it and survive a few moments.
"But I thought the boys were magnificent, unbelievable tonight."
Nuñez has come on in recent games, earning a starting spot recently, and his cross that led to the game's lone goal added to his good run of play.
"Ramon has been one of our better players the last month since he's got in the team," said Clarke. "And he's earned that right."
The win puts the Hoops in their first final since 1997, when the then-Dallas Burn won the U.S. Open Cup. In addition, the fan-created Brimstone Cup stays in Big D for another year.
"Its just great for the fans," said FC Dallas interim GM John Alper. "I know the rivalry between us and Chicago is pretty strong - you can tell by our fans outside the locker rooms tonight how happy they are.
"In fact I'm going to give them the Cup. I think they want to drink out of it."
Possibly the most important accomplishment of the night was the first-ever win at Pizza Hut Park for FC Dallas.
"It's great for that group over there (The Inferno) because I know the Brimstone Cup means a lot to them," Clarke said. "We keep it here against the old enemy, so to speak, and it gets us into our cup final.
"First time we've been in one of those for a long time, so a lot of positives," Clarke added. "Now we've got to be sure we build on it."
Scott Joiner is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
