the first ever against an MLS team in Open Cup play for Real, and just their second ever in the tournament -- RSL now takes on the Colorado Rapids in the next qualifying round for the right to move into the tournament proper.
After scoring the eventual game-winner, Williams tore off his shirt and twirled it above his head in celebration and was shown a yellow card, but it hardly mattered in the end. The last time RSL went into extra time in an Open Cup game, against the Virginia Beach Mariners of the USL First Division, Williams scored the game winner in a 2-1 overtime win.
Early in the match, Real's Jeff Cunningham was given a yellow card for kicking the ball out of the hands of Wizards goalie Kevin Hartman as Hartman got set for a drop kick at the top of the area. Kansas City kept possession in Real's defensive third for several minutes at the beginning, but Real had a nice look at the goal in the fifth minute when Carey Talley played the ball over Nick Garcia to Chris Klein, who took a shot from the right to the far post. Hartman, however, was ready for the shot and dove to his right for the save.
But Real made good on its next look at the goal. Willis Forko played the ball over the top to Freddy Adu, who pulled it down in the penalty box and drove for the goal. Hartman came off his line and dove for the ball at Adu's feet, sending Adu into a cartwheel. The foul gave Real a penalty kick, and Cunningham buried the spot kick into the upper right hand corner for a 1-0 lead.
It was Cunningham's seventh career goal in Open Cup play, and his second Open Cup goal with RSL.
Real's Danny Torres made the penalty kick stick with an impressive defensive play in the 24th minute. Wizards striker Eddie Johnson juked past RSL goalkeeper Chris Seitz and raced towards an empty goal, but Torres recovered, and at the top of the penalty area, picked Johnson's pocket and cleared the ball away.
Throughout the first half, Salt Lake played a more organized game. Real were able to hold possession, despite the wet FieldTurf that tended to accelerate even the softest struck ball. The Wizards had a good chance just before the halftime whistle when Will John shot after a long, high cross from the right side of the box, but the ball flew high and the teams went to the break with RSL leading.
Kansas City had a pair of looks at the goal early on in the second half. In the 47th minute, Scott Sealy took a shot from just outside the box on the left, but could only find the crossbar. Then, in the 48th minute, Yura Movsisyan was ruled onside as he received the ball on a run down the left, then crossed the ball through the area. But no Wizards were there to knock it in.
Salt Lake got a similar look in the 56th minute when Adu got the ball on the right side of the area and held off a defender before crossing it through the goal box. Hartman dove for it and missed, but no RSL players were there for a one-touch finish.
The Wizards engineered a couple of shots in the ensuing minutes. Both Kurt Morsink and Ryan Raybould fired from the top left of the box, but both shots went wide of the far post. In the 66th minute, Real's Carey Talley shot a laser from 30 yards away that forced Hartman to dive and push the ball wide; Kansas City's Carlos Marinelli also had a bullet, this one in the 68th minute, but Real's Seitz went high for the save.
Real's structured play began to collapse in the final 20 minutes as Kansas City made a series of substitutions. Sealy, Davy Arnaud, Sasha Victorine and Marinelli all came into the game between the start of the second half and the 76th minute, and they made a difference as the Wizards' possession improved.
The moves made a difference as Kansas City evened the score in the 88th minute. Off a cross from the right, Will John had a point-blank header that Seitz deflected away, but the rebound fell right to Victorine, who hit the net from inside the goal area to send the game into extra time.
As the first half of overtime progressed, Kansas City appeared to have control of the game. Without Mehdi Ballouchy in the game, Real struggled to keep possession and to put pressure on the Wizards' defense. But Real did have a fine effort in the 102nd minute when Williams took a long shot that bounced off the crossbar.
It was the third consecutive year that Real Salt Lake's first match in Open Cup play went into extra time. In 2005, the Minnesota Thunder scored in the 88th minute to force extra time before winning 6-4. Then last year, RSL went into extra time against the Virginia Beach Mariners before winning 2-1.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
