CHESTER, Pa. – At the very end of regulation in Tuesday’s US Open Cup championship game, Vincent Nogueira stole the ball to start a counterattack and laid it off for Cristian Maidana, who played a perfect chip back to him in the penalty box.
Noguira chested the ball down and shot toward an open net … and, for a split second, it looked like the Philadelphia Union would win the franchise’s first championship with a goal worthy of the highlight reel.
But, as has been proven time and again, the difference between winning and losing can be a matter of inches. And after Nogueira’s potential game-winner pinged off the post much to the dismay of the Philly fans who shook PPL Park all night, the Union allowed two goals in extra time to suffer a heartbreaking 3-1 defeat to the Seattle Sounders on their own field.
“They finished their chances and we didn’t,” Union defender Sheanon Williams said simply. “We were a couple of inches away from getting one in regulation and we didn’t score.”
Nogueira’s miss was the most memorable, but second-half sub Pedro Ribeiro also had a golden opportunity to break the 1-1 deadlock late in regulation. After Ray Gaddis had a shot deflected, Ribeiro jumped on the loose ball and hit one toward an empty net. But Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei was able to regain his composure and smother the softly-taken shot.
“At first, I thought it was going to hit it a little harder,” Ribeiro said. “I saw the keeper coming through, so I was trying to hit the ball into the corner but it ended up going a little more to the middle than I wanted to. And he made a good save. I could have hit the ball a little harder but I was scared of shooting it too hard and it going over.”
After surviving the Union’s end-of-regulation onslaught, the Sounders, perhaps predictably, burned the home team with their two most dynamic players as Clint Dempsey and Obafami Martins both scored in the extra session.
But despite the crushing loss, Union interim manager Jim Curtin was still proud of how his team jumped ahead on a Maurice Edu first-half goal and nearly pulled off a title-game win over the league’s top team.
“I’ve never been proud of anything in my life that ended in a loss before,” Curtin said. “This is the first time. … I thought we had them on the ropes a little bit.
“We had the two chances at the end to win it but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
