CARSON, CA - The Los Angeles Galaxy advanced to the finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, providing the club a chance to make history and be the first team to win back-to-back U.S. Open Cup Championships since 1983. The Galaxy travels to Toyota Park in Chicago to play the Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 5:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel.
"It is great to finally see a Galaxy team emerge that our fans can be proud of," Galaxy President and General Manager Alexi Lalas said. "It has certainly been a difficult year, yet we find ourselves in familiar territory. We look forward to defending our title in Chicago, and continuing our resurgence in MLS."
This is the fourth time in the last six seasons that the Galaxy has reached the U.S. Open Cup final. Los Angeles won the title in 2001 and 2005 and is looking to be the first team to repeat as champions since the New York Pancyprian Freedoms in 1982-1983.
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. Dating back to 1914, it is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world.
Alan Gordon, Landon Donovan and Santino Quaranta all scored for the Galaxy in the 3-1 win over Houston in the semifinals on Sept. 6 at The Home Depot Center to advance to the finals. L.A. downed Colorado 3-1 in overtime on Aug. 23 in the quarterfinals of the tournament behind two goals from Donovan and one by Quavas Kirk. The Galaxy started off the Open Cup with a 2-0 win over USASA team Roma FC in the fourth round of the tournament on Aug. 1 behind goals from Gordon and Kirk.
The Galaxy own an impressive 21-5 record in the Open Cup since 1999, the first year the club appeared in the tournament. In the Open Cup, Los Angeles has out-scored opponents 63-26 and has played the Fire three times, all in the semifinals. Chicago defeated L.A. 3-2 in 2003 while the Galaxy beat the Fire 1-0 in 2001. Chicago also eliminated Los Angeles 2-1 in the 2000 semifinals.
For more information, please call the Galaxy toll-free at 1-877-3GALAXY or visit www.lagalaxy.com.
