Goals from Ryan Pore and Ivan Trujillo propelled the 10-man Kansas City Wizards into extra time and then a penalty kick shootout, and 5-3 victory there sent the Wizards into the U.S. Open Cup tournament proper after battling to a 2-2 draw with the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday evening at Shawnee Mission District Stadium.
Pore gave the Wizards a lead before Herculez Gomez tied it before halftime. Jacob Peterson then put the Rapids ahead early in the second half before Trujillo scored four minutes before the end of regulation time.
Kurt Morsink beat Rapids goalkeeper Preston Burpo with the final kick of the shootout as the Wizards converted all five of their penalties to advance. The win in the U.S. Open Cup play-in match now gives the Wizards the chance to battle for a second cup this season in addition to MLS Cup.
Third-year goalkeeper Eric Kronberg started between the posts for the Wizards, his second consecutive start after shutting out CSD Municipal of Guatamala last Saturday in the inaugural New Mexico Cup. Other noteworthy changes to the K.C. starting XI included Jonathan Leathers at right back and Ryan Pore at left midfield.
The Wizards took the lead in the 20th minute. Finding Pore on the left wing, open space beckoned and the 24-year-old converted forward raced toward Burpo and slotted the ball smoothly under his left side and into the far corner of the net.
Another well-weighted through ball helped even the score 16 minutes later. Rapids midfielder Ciaran O'Brien played Herculez Gomez through on the right edge of the Wizards box where Gomez redirected the ball between closing center back Tyson Wahl and an onrushing Kronberg. As Gomez was bundled over by Wahl, the ball bounded slowly into the far left corner. Gomez, who had been the most active Rapids player on the night, stayed on the pitch for a few minutes afterward but soon recovered.
Kansas City's attack pushed the Rapids into their own end in the opening minutes of the second half where the Wizards gained a corner and often swarmed near Burpo's net. Yet it was Colorado who was opportune in the 58th minute. Nearly on the receiving end of a K.C. defensive error a minute earlier, substitute Peterson nodded home a Mehdi Ballouchy cross over a defending Pore.
Now in need of two goals for the win, Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo inserted a third forward in Eloy Colombano for Wahl and midfielder Kurt Morsink for midfielder Kerry Zavagnin in the 66th minute.
Colorado countered with the speed of frontrunner Omar Cummings, who in the 77th minute outran center back Jimmy Conrad and nearly gave K.C. the death knell with a well-angled shot to the far post that just went wide.
Three frontrunners proved better than one though in the 86th minute as Trujillo leveled the match after coming on five minutes earlier. Claudio Lopez outmaneuvered two Rapids on the left wing to serve into the box. The cross was deflected down for the 25-year-old Colombian, who made no mistake from eight yards. The goal was Trujillo's third in two games, having tallied both for the Wizards in their friendly over the weekend.
The twists and turns continued in the 90th minute as Davy Arnaud earned his second yellow card, leaving the Wizards with 10 men as regular time expired and a half-hour of overtime awaited.
The Rapids were the most dangerous in the first extra session as both Colin Clark and Brian Grazier let go from distance to challenge Wizards goalkeeper Kronberg. Clark's arrow found Kronberg while Grazier's sailed tantalizingly wide of the far post.
The second 15-minute session saw the Rapids hold much of the ball but the Wizards the better chances on the counter. Lopez led the charge for Kansas City with a shot in the 115th minute. Three minutes later it was Clark playing the same role for Colorado as he drew a free kick 25 yards out with a speedy run down the right flank, resulting in a near miss.
In the shootout, the Wizards' Jack Jewsbury and the Rapids' Rafael Gomes took their leadoff opportunities followed by Lopez and Ballouchy, then Trujillo and Grazier, respectively. Conrad scored the fourth for the Wizards, then Facundo Erpen hit the crossbar, giving Morsink the chance to win it for the Wizards. He did, and he sent the crowd home happy and the Wizards elatedly into the round-of-16 in the U.S. Open Cup.
Robert Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
U.S. Open Cup Qualifier
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Shawnee Mission North District Stadium - Overland Park, Kansas
Scoring Summary
KC - Ryan Pore (unassisted) 20
COL - Herculez Gomez (Ciaran O'Brien) 36
COL - Jacob Peterson (Mehdi Ballouchy) 57
KC - Ivan Trujillo (unassisted) 86
Penalty Kick Summary
KC - Jewsbury (goal)
COL- Gomes (goal)
KC-Lopez (goal)
COL-Ballouchy (goal)
KC - Trujillo (goal)
COL-Grazier (goal)
KC-Conrad (goal)
COL-Erpen- (crossbar)
KC-Morsink (goal)
Colorado Rapids Line-Up: Preston Burpo, Kosuke Kimura, Facundo Erpen, Stephen Keel, Jordan Harvey, Ciaran O'Brien (Brian Grazier 54), Mehdi Ballouchy, Terry Cooke (Rafael Gomes 78), Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. (Colin Clark 63), Herculez Gomez (Jacob Peterson 46), Omar Cummings
Substitutes not used: Mike Graczyk, Tim Ward, Cesar Zambrano
Kansas City Wizards Line-Up: Eric Kronberg, Jonathan Leathers, Jimmy Conrad, Tyson Wahl (Eloy Colombano 65), Michael Harrington, Davy Arnaud (ejection 91+), Jack Jewsbury, Kerry Zavagnin (Kurt Morsink 65), Ryan Pore (Ivan Trujillo 82), Scott Sealy (Chance Myers 76), Claudio Lopez
Substitutes not used: Kevin Hartman, Aaron Hohlbein, Kevin Souter
Misconduct
KC - Davy Arnaud(caution; reckless foul) 24
COL- Stephen Keel (caution) 81
KC - Davy Arnaud (ejection; second caution) 91+
