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Sounders one of five MLS teams to advance to U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals

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Five MLS teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night, but no club made as big of a statement as the Seattle Sounders.

The Sounders put an end to Cal FC’s Cinderella run in the tournament, scoring five second-half goals en route to a 5-0 win. Osvaldo Alonso got things going by converting a penalty kick for the first of his two goals on the night, while Freddy Montero added a brace of his own. Andy Rose scored the other goal for Seattle.

Cal FC held up well in the first half, pressing the Sounders and keeping them from scoring a goal. But a handball called five minutes after halftime opened the floodgates, and Seattle kept its dream of winning a fourth consecutive U.S. Open Cup alive while ending Cal FC’s moment in the spotlight.

Here’s a closer look at all of Tuesday’s fourth round results:

PHILADELPHIA UNION 2, D.C. UNITED 1 (AET)

Philadelphia Union rookie Antoine Hoppenot came to the rescue, scoring a goal in the first half of extra time to give his club a 2-1 win against D.C. United. Philadelphia had taken the lead in the 46th minute through a strike from Brian Carroll, but their celebration was shortlived as Josh Wolff scored seconds later for United. Hoppenot then won the game in extra time after getting on the end of a Freddy Adu pass.

HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS 3, NEW YORK RED BULLS 1 (AET)

A former New York Red Bull crushed the U.S. Open Cup dreams of the New York Red Bulls. Harrisburg City Islanders forward Sainey Touray scored a surprise opener in regulation and a winner in extra time against a shorthanded Red Bulls side that did not have enough players to fill outs its bench.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY 2, COLORADO RAPIDS 0

Sporting Kansas City benefited from a Matt Pickens own goal in the first half, and they went on to pick up a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids. Pickens had a ball that he saved ricochet off of him and roll into the net, while Teal Bunbury added an insurance goal for Sporting Kansas City in the second half.

DAYTON DUTCH LIONS 2, MICHIGAN BUCKS 1 (AET)

The Dayton Dutch Lions continue their surprising run in the U.S. Open Cup. Despite being winless in the USL Pro season, the Dutch Lions advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament after a 2-1 extra time win over PDL Club Michigan Bucks. The Dutch Lions knocked off the only remaining PDL team courtesy of a penalty kick from Joel DeLass in the first half of extra time.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 1, MINNESOTA STARS FC 0

Another late goal, another win for the San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose punched their ticket through to the next round of the tournament with a 1-0 triumph over NASL side Minnesota Stars FC. Steven Lenhart finished off Steven Beitashour’s feed in the 85th minute, and that was all that was needed for the Earthquakes to pull out the victory.

CHIVAS USA 2, CAROLINA RAILHAWKS 1

The Carolina RailHawks were on the brink of heading into extra time with Chivas USA, but U.S. youth international Gale Agbossoumonde was whistled for a handball late in the game to give the Goats a penalty kick that Juan Pablo Angel converted. Angel’s goal came in response to a Mike Palacio equalizer. Juan Agudelo scored the opening goal for Chivas USA.

CHARLOTTE EAGLES 2, SAN ANTONIO SCOPRIONS 1 (AET)

Mauricio Salles scored on a penalty kick in the second half of extra time to give USL Pro team Charlotte Eagles a 2-1 win over NASL expansion club San Antonio Scorpons. Charlotte intially took the lead in the game, but it went to extra time after Pablo Campos scored a 75th-minute goal for San Antonio.

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What do you think of these results? Are the Sounders the favorite to win this tournament? What do you make of Cal FC’s run? Wondering how the Red Bulls were knocked off?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Sounders fan here.

    If you’re seriously questioning Adrian Hanauer, you are, to put it lightly, not very bright. Sorry for the ad hominem, but I’m sick of us driving every successful coach/GM out of town. AH has made this team a highly profitable (ie sustainable), exciting, successful one from the very beginning, and besides that, there is really no one out there (unless you know someone) who would do a similarly good job.

    /rant

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  2. I see half and half. I dont care where in the bay area, just as long as it maximizes attendance…40k dammit!!!!!!

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  3. Who was the referee? Does he do MLS games? Or is he, like Harrisburg, a “lower-tier” performer? (No disrespect to Harrisburg – just trying to find about how refs get chosen to do these Cup games.)

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  4. and they shall see their defeat in the wooded park by the ocean in the city of San Francisco. Their 3yr reign will end on the 26th…Monterrey will be playing Quakes before a packed house next yr at Oakland coliseum in the CCL.

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  5. I think the management is pretty smart. You’ve noticed the attendance figures, right? They are big and stable. No one is bailing on the team even though they haven’t achieved the things you suggested deems success. I would argue Open Cup has helped that.

    If they are failing, what do you call the rest of the leagues GM and their ability to draw in a fan base?

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  6. The handball was incredible (at least Mardonna sorta disguised his Hand of God)but RB didn’t get it done during the game. Who says your can’t defend for 90 (or 120) and win?

    Harrisburg must have some voodoo on that pitch (and fiesty playing) considering the last 2 results against NE and RB.

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  7. A good team will try to win every game/cup they play in. The ultimate goal is to win each game one game at a time. You cannot control 4 months in the future so I am glad they take each game as seriously as the last an as seriously as the next. Sounders fans love that our team plays hard every game.

    4-peat!

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  8. JRP, thankfully you’re in the minority here in Seattle. We want to win it all. I fully expect the Sounders to compete for everything, every year and I would be disappointed if they didn’t. The fact that they’ve been so close is a testament to the fantastic management this team has.

    As for the CCL–we qualified via the U.S. Open Cup but our 2nd-place finish in the league allowed us to skip the play-in round. Winning the U.S. Open Cup is a guarantee, though–hoping for second place depends on the results of others. I say go for the sure thing.

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  9. The reality is that the Red Bulls put themselves in that position. They played mediocre and they can use every excuse in the book why they didn’t win but the truth of the matter is that they just weren’t that good.

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  10. I can’t believe that the handball was not called; someone has to post a video clip of this.

    It should have been 2-2 and HCI down a man.

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  11. That non call with 2 min left in overtime just totally killed the game….. And I am still in believe that first goal by Harrisburg was an offside . The linesman that was on the half that all goals were scored was atrocious .

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  12. Or if Rosales hadn’t been hacked to the ground by a cheap tackle in the last game of the year (seems to happen every game he plays) or if Zakuani hadn’t been wiped out by the cheapest of tackles.

    You can trace it to whatever you want, bottom line go for what is in front of you now as opposed to hoping for something in the future.

    I have this cool poster showing the team behind 3 trophies-I think I can live with that.

    They will lose in the Open Cup at some point, but we will enjoy it while we can.

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  13. Yeah, this is the same kind of OG that Clint got denied an extra goal on in the EPL on a great shot and good attempted save. I “understand” the logic of it being an OG, but it doesn’t really seem fair. I say, don’t give the initial “save” and simply credit the goal.

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  14. RBNY were short-handed, but still — just one goal against a USL Pro side? I wish Henry had played. And no subs until they were down 2-1. I guess taking this competition “seriously” is in the eye of the beholder.

    All that said, the non-call on the obvious handball was brutal and comical. The guy may as well have been playing volleyball back there. Nice to know that ridonkulous officiating isn’t limited to MLS matches.

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  15. You missed my point that the Sounders qualified anyway. Perhaps had they not added 8+ games to the schedule they would have been in better shape to play RSL in the quarter finals. They only lost by a slight margin.
    People should care about Open Cup. It is one piece of a larger picture. It may be a smart move for Seattle to let one year slide and focus on the Shield and they MLS playoffs and really get the hardware the fans deserve.
    With the talent they have they will likely qualify for Concacaf through other means. And yes, I am questioning the GM and I am not the only one.

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  16. The Cal FC experiment made this tournament more fun than it would have been without them. I love the new tournament format too.

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  17. so nobody should care about the US Cup. the excitement it produces isn’t worth anyone’s time.

    oh and i think the tournament DOES matter. remind me again what tournament the winner of the Cup qualifies into. there’s something about the winner of that tournament going on to an even bigger tournament where they play some of the best club teams in the world.

    you might not think that this tournament matters, but really, it might be the simplest path for the Sounders to prove their mettle against the the region and world.

    perhaps you should vote to fire the GM for taking the silly US Open Cup seriously.

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  18. Wrong. Dead wrong. They are in the tournament because they finished second in points in the league. RSL got in to the tournament because Seattle was already in because of Open Cup. Seattle would have been in any way. Seattle would have been better rested had they ignored Open Cup. They would have beaten RSL in the quarter finals and played LA in the semi finals and maybe advanced to the finals. Seattle is a poorly managed team with a great fan base and incredibly talented players.

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  19. Apparently the US Open Cup had his way with JRP 1 wild night and now he’s pissed! Btw JRP do you know why the Sounders are in the CCL?? Thanks to the tournament you hate so much.

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  20. Tough to say SKC benefitted from a Pickens OG. It was a great reaction to get a finger to the ball and force it onto the post to begin with. To have it then deflect back into him and into the goal is cruel to give as an OG to the keeper and makes it seems like he did something bad rather than making a damn good rection save on the initial header that just wasn’t quite enough to keep it out.

    And I hate Colorado.

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  21. I didn’t resort to name calling. I was just pointing out, sarcastically, that putting stock in this tournament hasn’t done Seattle any favors. It isn’t, in my opinion, a smart coaching or management move. And to make the same mistake for the fourth year is really unacceptable to the fans of the team. Seattle is a really good team that deserves to play in the conference finals. Putting this much energy and focus on Open Cup hinders that possibility. It is too many added games.

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  22. Amazing performance by the Sounders. I hope they wear themselves out playing a tournament that doesn’t matter and are too exhausted to play well in Concacaf this fall and too tired win in the playoffs. I hope they make it a fourth straight year of Open Cup Dominance and fourth straight year of losing the games that matter. Go Sounders!

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