FRISCO, Texas (Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2007) - FC Dallas advanced to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Championship game with a 2-1 overtime win over the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday evening at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington. FCD captain Carlos Ruiz broke the scoreless tie a minute into overtime, and Abe Thompson clinched it with a penalty kick in the 119th minute. FC Dallas will now meet the New England Revolution in the Open Cup championship game on Wed, Oct. 3 at Pizza Hut Park (7 p.m. CT live on Fox Soccer Channel). New England defeated the Carolina Railhawks 2-1 in the other semifinal early in the day.
This is the third time Dallas has advanced the U.S. Soccer Federation's National Championship match, and the first time to host the event. Previously, Dallas defeated D.C. United 5-3 on penalty kicks after a scoreless game to win the 1997 U.S. Open Cup; and then fell 1-0 to the LA Galaxy in the 2005 Open Cup final at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The 1997 final was played at a neutral site - Indianapolis, Indiana.
FC Dallas season ticket holders and FCD Hoops Nation members will have a presale opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2007 Open Cup Championship Game from Sept. 5-7. Tickets will be available to the general public through Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. CT on Sat., Sept. 8. Ticket prices are $20 (Sideline West), $15 (Sideline East), and $9 (Endline). Groups of 20 or more purchasing tickets in Sideline East or Sideline West will receive a $3 discount. Group discounts are not available for Endline seats. Parking at Pizza Hut Park for this match will be free.
On Tuesday, FC Dallas once again needed added extra time to win an Open Cup game this year. In an exciting game where both teams had numerous dangerous opportunities, it was FC Dallas that carried the momentum in the later stages and were rewarded with a goal less than a minute into overtime. Arturo Alvarez took a ball down the right side toward goal, reaching the endline. As a defender stepped out to cut him off, Alvarez sent a pass to the top of the six yard box for the oncoming Carlos Ruiz, whose one-time shot found its way past Sounders keeper Chris Eylander for the 1-0 lead.
Then, as Seattle pushed forward, Dallas quickly countered in the last minutes of the match. Alvarez started the play out of the back, advancing a long ball Abe Thompson at midfield. Thompson carried the ball towards Seattle's goal, eventually pushing it to the right for Dax McCarty, who entered the area and was fouled by the Sounders' Noah Merl. Thompson converted the penalty kick, which turned out to be the game-winning goal since Leighton O'Brien found the back of the net for the home side in injury time to make the final score 2-1.
Today was the third time this year, and seventh time over its past 10 Open Cup matches, that FCD needed more than 90 minutes to advance to the next stage of the tournament. On July 9, FCD defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the tournament's 4th Round. Then, on August 7, Dallas used an Arturo Alvarez goal five minutes into overtime to defeat the Charleston Battery 2-1 in the Quarterfinals. Since 2005, FC Dallas has played in 10 Open Cup matches, of which seven went at least into overtime. Of those seven, three were won on penalty kicks. Dallas has come out on top in all seven of those games.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation's National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world having crowned a champion for 93 consecutive years dating back to 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer and late FC Dallas owner Lamar Hunt.
FC Dallas will return to regular season play on Sat. Sept. 8 when Toronto FC comes to Pizza Hut Park (7:30 pm CT). The first 5,000 kids will receive a free soccer ball, presented by Texans Credit Union. With a record of 11-8-3 (36 points), FC Dallas is tied for second in the Western Conference with Chivas USA, three points behind Houston Dynamo.
Scoring Summary:
DAL - Carlos Ruiz (Arturo Alvarez) 91
DAL - Abe Thompson (penalty kick) 119
SEA - Leighton O'Brien (Andre Schmid) 120+
FC Dallas: Dario Sala, David Wagenfuhr, Alex Yi (Aaron Pitchkolan 56), Clarence Goodson (Adrian Serioux 46), Drew Moor, Denilson (Dax McCarty 94), Juan Toja, Pablo Ricchetti, Arturo Alvarez, Carlos Ruiz (Bobby Rhine 109), Abe Thompson.
Subs not used: Ray Burse (GK), Chris Gbandi, Anthony Wallace.
Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander, Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson (Craig Tomlinson 106), Taylor Graham, Zach Scott, Kenji Treschuk (Greg Howed 100), Leighton O'Brien, Josh Gardner (Noah Merl 78), Hugo Alcaraz, Sebastian LeToux, Roger Levesque (Andre Schmid 100).
Subs not used: Ben Dragavon (GK), Jake Besagno, Santa Maria Rivera.
Disciplinary Summary:
DAL - Pablo Ricchetti (Caution) 88
DAL - Carlos Ruiz (Caution) 113
SEA - Noah Merl (Ejection)
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
Assistant Referees: Will Niccolls, Mike Rottersman
Fourth Official: Cory Dean
Attendance: 10,385
