FCD, Revolution set for U.S. Open Cup Final

FC DALLAS SEEKS 10th ANNIVERSARY PRIZE, NEW ENGLAND IN SEARCH OF FIRST SILVERWARE IN TEAM HISTORY
: FC Dallas and the New England Revolution meet in a non-MLS regular season match for the first time in history, and you couldn't ask for a better occasion. Dallas reaches the final ten years after capturing their first - and only - championship title, having defeated defending champion D.C. United in penalties on Oct. 29, 1997, in Indianapolis. Meantime, the Revolution are hoping that five is their lucky number, the New England outfit having participated in four championship matches (Open Cup: 2001; MLS Cup: 2003, 2005, 2006) without claiming a trophy. Pizza Hut Park has been particularly cruel to the Revs, the three-year old facility the site of their back-to-back MLS Cup defeats in 2005 and 2006.

FOX SOCCER CHANNEL TO TELEVISE FINAL: The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final returns to Fox Soccer Channel live at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 3. Max Bretos (play-by-play) and Chris Sullivan (color) will be joined by reporter Brad Feldman to call the game live from Pizza Hut Park. Fox Soccer Channel acquired exclusive rights to broadcast the Open Cup final through 2010 as part of a five-year deal announced in July.

$180,000 IN PRIZE MONEY TO BE HANDED OUT: A total of five of the 42 teams will divide $180,000 in prize money for their performances. The champion will win $100,000, with the runner up earning $50,000. Another $30,000 has already been claimed by lower division teams. The Seattle Sounders claimed the Division II (USL First Division) prize of $10,000, beating two MLS teams - Chivas USA and the Colorado Rapids - before getting knocked out in the semifinals. The Richmond Kickers claimed the Division III (USL Second Division) prize of $10,000, advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament and edging out the Harrisburg City Islanders for the money based on a tiebreaker. The El Paso Patriots (USASA) earned $10,000 for the best finish from the amateur level after advancing to the second round, beating out the Milwaukee Bavarians (USASA) and the Ocean City Barons (PDL) for the prize because they had better results against higher level competition.

2007 U.S. OPEN CUP LEADING SCORERS: Seattle Sounders forward Sebastien Le Toux leads all scorers in the 2007 edition of the U.S. Open Cup with five goals, including a pair against Chivas USA in the 3-1 third round victory. Both Warren Ukah (Atlanta Silverbacks) and Connally Edozien (Carolina RailHawks) have four each to their credit. New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman leads all active goalscorers with three tallies.

QUICK HITS

• A total of 61 different teams have won the U.S. Open Cup. The Kansas City Wizards were the most recent team to be engraved on the Dewar Cup for the first time, when they knocked off the Chicago Fire in 2004.
• Seven MLS teams have won the tournament since 1996 - Chicago (3), Columbus, Dallas, D.C., Kansas City, Los Angeles (2), and New York.
• Since MLS teams began competing in the Open Cup in 1996, the team to host the final has won eight of the last 11 trophies. In 2003, the Chicago Fire became the only road team to win a Final. Two finals, 1997 and 1999, were played at neutral sites.
• Three MLS teams have won the "double" - winning the MLS and U.S. Open Cups in the same year. The Galaxy were the last team to achieve that distinction back in 2005, joining the 1996 D.C. United and the 1998 Chicago Fire.
• The U.S. Open Cup Final has gone into overtime four times since 1996. In 1998 the Fire won on a 99th minute goal from Frank Klopas, and in 2001 Danny Califf scored a 92nd minute winner for the Galaxy. The Fire lost in overtime to the Wizards in 2004. In 1997, the Dallas Burn beat D.C. United 5-3 in a penalty kick shootout.
• Defense is said to win championships, and that certainly may be the case in the U.S. Open Cup final as four of the last five title bouts were 1-0 affairs.
• Home field advantage carried teams through most of this year's Open Cup, with the hosts advancing in 30 of 38 games. However, since the quarterfinals, the home teams are only batting slightly above .500, with four wins and two losses on home soil.
• There were 19 shutouts in 38 matches played during 2007. Not a single match went scoreless.
• Only two matches were decided with penalty kicks, with an additional six matches settled in extra time.
• With their 10-0 win against Azzuri in the first round, the Atlanta Silverbacks set the record for the most goals scored by one team in the professional area (1995-2007).
• Alex Prus has earned the honor of refereeing the Open Cup final. George Gansner and Kermit Quisenberry will run the lines while Terry Vaughn, the center official for the 2006 championship match, will hand the fourth official duties.

FC DALLAS

• FC Dallas is 22-10 all time in U.S. Open Cup play and 11-2 at home.
• Aside from their cup-winning run in 1997, the only other appearance for Dallas in the Open Cup final came in 2005 when they fell 1-0 to the host Los Angeles Galaxy on Sept. 28 at The Home Depot Center.
• FC Dallas return five players from the lineup that played that night: Arturo Alvarez, Clarence Goodson, Bobby Rhine, Abe Thompson and Dave Wagenfuhr.
• All three of The Hoops matches in the Open Cup have gone to extra time, the boys from Frisco needing penalty kicks to get past the Atlanta Silverbacks in the Fourth Round and the additional period to best the Charleston Battery in the quarterfinal and the Seattle Sounders in the final four.
• Carlos Ruiz leads Dallas scorers in the 2007 tournament with two goals, tallying in both games in which he has played. Overall, El Pescadito has collected nine goals in 13 Open Cup appearances.
• Injured midfielder Marcelo Saragosa is the only player on the team who holds an Open Cup medal, having collected the badge against his current club in the 2005 edition of the tournament.
• When Bobby Rhine took the field against Charleston on Aug. 7 in the quarterfinals, he became the all-time franchise leader in U.S. Open Cup appearances with 18, surpassing Jason Kreis.
• Abe Thompson's penalty kick finish in the 119th minute of the semifinal against Seattle proved the difference, the Sounders getting a goal back in the last minute of play before falling 2-1. All three of the match's goals came in extra time.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

• New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph is suspended for the U.S. Open Cup final due to a red card issued in the Revs' semifinal match vs. the Carolina RailHawks.
• The Revolution hold an 8-6-2 lifetime record in the U.S. Open Cup. Only one of those victories came on the road, their overall record away from Foxborough a disappointing 1-4-1. That lone victory came earlier this year when they downed the host Rochester Raging Rhinos,4-2, on July 10, 2007 at PAETEC Park.
• Taylor Twellman leads the Revs with career goals (14) against Dallas, his highest total against any MLS team.
• Steve Ralston and Matt Reis are the only two New England players who have played all 300 minutes of the Revs action in the 2007 Open Cup.
• Twellman leads Revs scorers in the Open Cup this year with three goals, while Ralston has recorded two goals and an assist. Remarkably, of the four championship finals reached by New
• England in both the Open Cup and MLS Cups, all of the matches have gone to extra time. Three of the four games were decided by one goal, and last year's cliffhanger finished 0-0 in regulation and overtime before heading to penalties to decide the matter.
• Since 2002 under head coach Steve Nicol, the Revs are 11-3-0 against Dallas.
• New England are 10-4-1 in games played in Dallas, and 2-1-0 against Dallas in Pizza Hut Park.
• The Revs are certainly hoping channel surfing matters. In 2007, they are an unbeaten 3-0-1 when their matches are shown on Fox Soccer Channel. All three of those victories came on the road.

DALLAS, NEW ENGLAND PLAYERS OPEN CUP SCORING IN 2007: Representatives from FC Dallas and the Revolution have accounted for 13 of the 118 total goals scored in the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and an additional 10 assists. In total, 14 different players recorded a point.

FC Dallas

New England Revolution
Name GoalsAssists Points
Taylor Twellman3 0 6
Steve Ralston 2 1 5
Pat Noonan 1 2 4
And Dorman 1 0 2
Jeff Larentowicz 1 0 2
Shalrie Joseph 0 1 1
James Riley 0 1 1
Adam Cristman 0 1 1

U.S. NATIONAL TEAM TIES IN OPEN CUP FINAL: Many of the players on the Dallas and New England rosters have ties to one of the U.S. Men's National Teams. The Revolution trio of Michael Parkhurst, Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman were part of the USA's Gold Cup winning side this summer. Twellman went on to Venezuela as part of the 2007 Copa America roster, along with Dallas defender Drew Moor. Pat Noonan has 13 caps with the full team, while Matt Reis has two appearances and one shutout at the international level. Numerous players on each team have U.S. Youth National Team ties. Adam Cristman and Arturo Alvarez traveled to Japan in February as part of a two-game tour with the Under-23 MNT. Amaechi Igwe and Dax McCarty were part of the U-20 team that reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada.