Greetings from the nation's capital. It's been what seems like months of build up to this evening. Barbs have been traded between each club, helping to spawn one of the biggest marketing campaigns for an Open Cup final.
More than a month after the U.S. Open Cup semifinals concluded, the Dewar Cup will finally be awarded tonight. Can D.C. nab their 13th trophy? Or will Seattle put an exclamation point on what has been a tremendous debut season in MLS with their first trophy?
Kickoff is set for Wednesday at RFK Stadium (7:30pm EST, Fox Soccer Channel). I'll be providing some in-game commentary so please feel free to follow along here, and share your thoughts and opinions below.
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FULL TIME– Celebrations continue, but that'll be it from me tonight. Thanks for following along, and remember to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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FULL TIME– Sounders over paying tribute to the traveling fans on hand to see this. Perhaps 60 or 70 in attendance across from the press box. United still on the field as well to grab their second place medals.
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FULL TIME– A deserved win for Seattle who managed to capitalize on their chances. United can't be happy with Wicks, who deserved his red card for stomping on Montero. Seattle is celebrating in the middle of the pitch.
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FULL TIME– Seattle 2, D.C. United 1. What a first season for the Sounders, as they grab silverware at their first opportunity.
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95th Minute– Kocic forward and D.C.'s net is open. Moreno goes for goal? This is almost over.
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94th Minute– Everyone forward for D.C., but just a minute remains.
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92nd Minute– Seattle just trying to clear as United presses. Ljungberg skies an attempt on goal.
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90th Minute– Is an equalizer possible? Moreno with yet another short corner.
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89th Minute– Injury time approaches, Seattle content to hack it clear. Five minutes of injury time.
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88th Minute– GOAL. Simms gets one back. A free kick deflects to the midfielder who scores. Ianni kept Simms onside.
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87th Minute– No one helped Jakovic on that one after Le Toux shrugged him off. That should be that tonight.
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86th Minute– GOAL Seattle. Roger Levesque left wide open. Le Toux beats Jakovic and taps it to a wide open Levesque. Looks like Seattle wins trophies.
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85th Minute– Quaranta will need something spectacular to score from there.
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83rd Minute– Not much going for D.C. Seattle content to smother anything, as a weak volley is wide of the mark.
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82nd Minute– He'll come in for Olsen. Eight minutes left plus stoppage.
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81st Minute– Can United get anything going on attack? Rodney Wallace is coming in for their last sub.
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80th Minute– A chip from Moreno is dealt with easily by Keller. United hasn't really tested Keller much tonight.
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78th Minute– Vagenas with a yellow card for a tug down of Ben Olsen. Chippy here, with the Open Cup in sight for Seattle.
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78th Minute– Sounders keep five or six players back on the attack. Just 12 minutes to go.
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77th Minute– Brad Evans on his way in for Montero. Earns a chorus of boos from the United fans.
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75th Minute– Zakuani has come off for Levesque.
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74th Minute– United still on the attack, winning a corner.
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72nd Minute– Burch skies a free kick won by Emilio.
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71st Minute– Back underway as D.C. is down to 10 men and down a goal. Montero is back in the game.
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69th Minute– All to do for D.C. now. Kocic is going to come in for Gomez.
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67th Minute– It looks like Wicks stomped on Montero after the play and could be in trouble. Sent off.
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67th Minute– GOAL Seattle. Freddie Ljungberg gets behind the defense, Wicks gets a hand on the ball but Montero scores on the follow up.
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65th Minute– Quaranta leads the counter but not enough on his through ball. Too much dilly dallying by United.
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60th Minute– Pontius taken down in the box, shouts again for a penalty. D.C. spending too much time on the ball in the box.
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59th Minute– Simms skies it over after a shout for handball is turned down. Would've been a harsh call.
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55th Minute– 17,329 in attendance tonight. The marketing pays some dividends. Now about that trophy…
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55th Minute– Gomez skies another chance, left alone at the top of the box.
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53rd Minute– Jakovic with another clearance. The central defender and Wicks have been United's best players.
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51st Minute– In six minutes Quaranta has already created more than Fred has.
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50th Minute– Three D.C. players try for the dummy only for none of them to get on the end of it.
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48th Minute– Ljungberg wins a corner by banging a cross off Simms. It misses everyone, and Quaranta leads the counter attack before he's hauled down by Leonardo Gonzalez who earns a yellow.
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46th Minute– Burch over a free kick after Riley fouls Pontius, misses everyone.
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45th Minute– The Sounders get the game back underway
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HALFTIME- Fred, who has been far from his best, comes off for Quaranta.
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HALFTIME- It's been a relatively even match. D.C. has had more of the ball while Seattle has had three dangerous chances Wicks has turned aside. United hasn't been able to turn their possession into anything dangerous, something that has dogged them all year.
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45th Minute-
Half comes to a close with no stoppage time.
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44th Minute- Montero with a free header, saved by Wicks once again.
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43rd Minute- Zakuani needs to work on that left foot. He's much faster than Namoff but the more experience defender knows how to shut him down.
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39th Minute- Seattle's defense backs of Gomez but he fires wide of the net.
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37th Minute- The battle between Montero and Jakovic is a fierce one. Sloppy turnovers marring the game now.
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34th Minute– Leonardo Gonzalez sends in a dangerous cross but Montero heads over the bar. Continues the trend of D.C. holding the ball but Seattle looking more likely to score.
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32nd Minute– Olsen jukes out Vagenas and forces a save from Keller. Corner to D.C.
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30th Minute– United hanging onto the ball but can't get anything going against the Seattle defense.
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28th Minute– Jakovic makes a last ditch effort on Zakuani to deny the speedy winger after he's in on goal again.
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27th Minute– Zakuani with a bit of a wayward spot. D.C. is giving him space but he isn't doing anything with it.
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25th Minute– Gomez sends in the free kick over the bar. Needs to be better.
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24th Minute– Ianni gets turned by Emilio and gets a yellow card for a jersey pull.
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22nd Minute– Montero is down in the box after taking a knock.
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19th Minute– Fred with a ghastly turnover in midfield. Le Toux finds Ljungberg but Wicks comes to the rescue again.
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18th Minute– Gomez misses the bottom corner on the free kick after much deliberation.
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16th Minute– Vagenas fouls Christian Gomez who looks gassed after a box-to-box run. Free kick in a dangerous spot.
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15th Minute– Namoff is light years behind Zakuani in speed. That's a matchup to keep an eye on.
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14th Minute– Seattle has carelessly turned it over a few times already and aren't looking crisp.
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12th Minute– Seattle doing well to test Jakovic in the 3-5-2. Olsen with a speculative effort towards Keller that is easily dealt with.
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10th Minute– Wicks with a save that he probably knew little about. Zakuani behind the defense, crosses for Montero, who hits it straight to the keeper.
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9th Minute– Montero tests Wicks from long range but misses by a few feet.
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8th Minute– The small crowd Seattle here is pushing United's supporters to stay fired up. The result is a great atmosphere.
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6th Minute– Seattle testing the United backline with long balls towards Montero, who is marked well by Jakovic.
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4th Minute– Pontius just misses. Collects a long ball but shoots wide.
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4th Minute– Montero draws a free kick in a dangerous position, Ljungberg to take.
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3rd Minute– D.C. bossing possession, as Seattle content to lump it forward. The first goal in this game will be HUGE.
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1st Minute– Smoke bombs off in the Barra while Sounders fans toss green streamers.
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1st Minute– The fans are fired up for this one as D.C. gets things underway. Let's see if the players can match it.
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PRE-GAME– Seattle fans sang along to the national anthem. And were way off the actual singer.
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PRE-GAME– Starters coming out.
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PRE-GAME– Substitutes on their way out.
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PRE-GAME– Crowd is still trickling in, but it's not looking strong at the moment.
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PRE-GAME– Looks like they're bringing out the trophy for a pre-game presentation.
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PRE-GAME– Players heading off the pitch after warmups. Supporters trading barbs. Decent Seattle crowd (maybe 30?) so far. Reports that over 100 made the trip.
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PRE-GAME– Here is how the Sounders look (more or less)
————-Le Toux———–Montero———-
Zakuani——————————–Ljungberg
————-Alonso——-Vagenas—————-
Gonzalez——Ianni——-Wahl———–Riley
———————Keller——————–
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PRE-GAME– Here is the D.C. lineup:
————-Emilio———–Moreno————-
Fred—————Gomez—————–Pontius
———-Simms———Olsen—————–
Burch———-Jakovic———-Namoff———
———————Wicks————–
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PRE-GAME– D.C. defender Julius James, who was used in the previous league match against the Fire won't be available because he is cup tied, having played for Houston in the Open Cup already. Seattle has defensive problems of their own, as Tyrone Marshall and Taylor Graham will miss out due to injury and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is unavailable because of suspension.
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PRE-GAME– Just a note that the internet in the RFK press box is at times dodgy so if no updates appear, that's why.