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Two of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer square off for the countries oldest soccer trophy, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
I'm sure MLS fans get a little tired of hearing about how great the Seattle Sounders' supporters are. In fact, I'm sure there are more than a few of you who think it's much more hype than anything real. Regardless of what you think, though, just check out the tifo display Emerald City Supporters came up with for Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup final against the Chicago Fire and tell me you're not impressed.
From the way it was unfurled all the way down to the details, this is pretty awesome. My favorite part of it is the way the three graves are obviously different ages, with DC United's clearly starting to rot, the Columbus Crew's looking nice and grown over and the third displaying a casket freshly wrapped in a Chicago city flag.
The first team to win three straight U.S. Open Cups in the professional era is the Seattle Sounders and it took them all of three years to do it. The Sounders have now won all three Open Cups they have played in since moving to MLS after defeating the Chicago Fire, 2-0, in the 2011 Cup final at CenturyLink Field before more than 35,000 people. It took 78 minutes for the Sounders to finally go in front, but Fredy Montero was there to put them on top then Osvaldo Alonso found a second goal in injury time to seal the trophy for Seattle.
At no point did it look like the Fire would win. Seattle were better from the get-go and the surge in form that saw Chicago win match after match was missing. The Fire gave the ball away regularly and the Sounders had chances. For much of the match, those chances went begging though. That is partly because Sean Johnson was in top form, making several great saves to keep the Sounders off the board. The post also did its part, denying Montero in the first half then Mike Fucito in the second half.
Finally, Montero broke though with just a dozen minutes left in the match. Jeff Parke rose to meet a corner kick and headed it down for what could have been a goal, but Johnson was there to get down and deny him. The Fire players just watched as Montero jumped on the rebound though and blasted it home for the go-ahead goal.
To put a nice ribbon on the championship, Alonso scored a tremendous goal six minutes into injury time to send CenturyLink Field into a frenzy. The midfielder, who had done a brilliant job all match breaking up every Chicago attack, got forward on his own this time and danced his way through the Fire defense. Finally, he split two defenders right in front of goal and sent Johnson sliding out to take out his own defender before finishing into an open net.
The final whistle blew and the Sounders players stormed onto the field. They gathered in a circle, dancing in celebration before getting together on the stage where Kasey Keller lifted yet another Sounders U.S. Open Cup trophy.
Since the Seattle Sounders joined Major League Soccer back in 2009, the Chicago Fire have struggled valiantly against the Cascadia side. In six league matchups, the Fire have yet to record a win against the rave green. Some of those losses have been particularly painful, with the Sounders scoring late winners in fairly even games. On Tuesday night, the Fire will look to overturn those results in the Final of the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a competition which they have won a record four times.
Chicago Fire blog Hot Time In Old Town is cautiously optimistic that their team can finally get the monkey off their back and beat the Sounders on Tuesday, thanks to their recent form and some great mid-season acquisitions.
Although the Fire have struggled so far during the Sounders short MLS history, there is not a better time than now to end the slump. We are peaking at the right time, making a hard playoff push and looking like a very dangerous side. For the first time in a long time Chicago features a dangerous striker in Dominic Oduro. Marco Pappa is looking good of late, and our back line has really solidified. Sean Johnson is looking like the stellar goalkeeper we all know he can be. And newcomers Pavel Pardo and Sebastian Grazzini (health status up in the air aside) have seemed to nudge the Fire over the top.
The Fire will be slight underdogs against the two-time defending champion Sounders on the road in front of a huge crowd at CenturyLink Field, but it would have been hard to imagine the team would be in this situation just a couple of months ago.
For more on the U.S. Open Cup final and the Chicago Fire all season long, head on over to Chicago Fire blog Hot Time In Old Town.
At first glance, the 2011 U.S. Open Cup final looks like a mismatch. The Seattle Sounders have been one of the best teams in MLS all year and currently sit second in the league. The Chicago Fire are 13th in MLS and haven't been a factor all season long. Tuesday evening final will also be played at CenturyLink Field in Seattle before more than 33,000 people so the Fire have no chance, right? Wrong.
While the Fire have been insignificant all season, they have been fantastic of late. In the last two months they have been the third-best team in MLS and thanks to the incredible play of Marco Pappa, Dominic Oduro and the rest of the team, they've really picked things up. They're not the same team that everyone began ignoring in April and Jeremah Oshan from SB Nation's Sounders blog, Sounder at Heart, showed exactly how much better the Fire have gotten.
Over this roughly two-month span, the Fire have been scoring at a clip of 1.9 goals per game in all competitions and have outscored their opponents by eight goals. That run of form has allowed them to qualify for their MLS record sixth Open Cup final (of which they've won five) and climb to within three points of the final playoff spot. This all comes after a start to the MLS season in which the Fire were scoring 1.05 goals per game and had been outscored by seven, while sinking to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
There is no doubt that the Sounders are still favorites. Especially at home, they should get past the Fire, but the visitors will give Seattle a tough match. This isn't the same Fire team from earlier in the year and they have the individual quality, especially in Pappa, to flip the match and send the trophy on its way to Chicago.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has a storied past that only a select few have been able to get their name on multiple times. Tomorrow night, history will be made again. Seattle Sounders FC are going for their third straight USOC title, a first since Greek America SC did it back in the late 1960s.
Standing in their way is the Chicago Fire, who are seeking history of their own. They would like to be the first Major League Soccer team to lift the Dewar Trophy for the fifth time, a first for a pro-era club. Chicago is 4-1-0 all-time in USOC finals matches with the only loss coming to the Kansas City Wizards in 2004. The Fire are also winless in three meetings in Seattle against the Sounders, dating back to 2009.
Both teams come into this match as two of the hottest clubs in MLS over the last two months. Since August 1, both teams have earned 19 points in league play, tied for the most with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Seattle may have to go into this match without two key players, James Riley may be out with a concussion and MLS MVP-candidate Mauro Rosales is still having issues with a MCL sprain. Both are said to be game-time decisions for Sigi Schmid.
Chicago should be fully-fit for this match as they rested some starters in their 1-1 draw in Houston over the weekend. The Fire will need to lean heavily on Marco Pappa and the quick feet of Dominic Oduro in this one to get their offense going. Oduro has been very impressive as of late as he currently has 12 goals on the season. Pappa on the other hand is looking good as he netted a hat trick last Wednesday against Real Salt Lake.
The Fire will need a big effort from their defense as Fredy Montero has been hot as of late. Expect a fun matchup with Montero and Jahil Anibaba or Cory Gibbs.
The real fun will come down to these two clubs in the midfield. Seattle has been doing very well with creating chances and keeping possession through their midfield with veterans Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Evans. along with their wing play through either Rosales, Alvaro Fernandez and Lamar Neagle.
Chicago has been like a new team in the midfield over these last two months since Pavel Pardo and Sebastian Grazzini came on board. Both have helped free up Pappa and allow for Oduro to get open into space more often. Their defense has also been improved with the growth of keeper Sean Johnson and the back four coming together nicely.
X-Factors
Marco Pappa (Chicago) - After reviewing the RSL-Chicago game, it is still pretty clear that this club goes as Pappa goes. Oduro has done well to score as many as he has this season but Pappa is still the biggest factor going on this Fire team. Seattle will need to key in on him and eliminate the passes out of the midfield to Oduro and Patrick Nyarko.
Fredy Montero (Seattle) - 5 goals and 3 assists in last 6 MLS games is reason alone to key on on Montero. The Fire have to know that he is key to getting the offense going if Rosales is unable to play in this game.
Prediction
The crowd could be a fun factor in this one as CenturyLink Field will be packed for this game. Both have history on their side in a way in this competition. Chicago is an impressive 28-8-3 record in Open Cup play since 1998, which has helped them win four Cups already. But the home crowd and strong play from the Sounders favors them a tad bit more in this one. I like Montero to keep his current scoring up and someone like Fernandez or Mike Fucito to bag the game winner. Chicago will make this one interesting make no mistake about that but with this game in Seattle, the Sounders have the edge.
Pick: Seattle 2, Chicago 1
TV: Fox Soccer, 10pm ET (7pm PT)
For more on this match be sure to check out SBNation.com's Seattle Sounders blog, Sounder at Heart and Chicago Fire blog, Hot Time In Old Town for more information and coverage of this match.
US Open Cup May Be Ready To Change Up Format For 2012
Somewhat lost in all the hoopla surrounding the Seattle Sounders' third-straight U.S. Open Cup is the reality that they've been able to achieve this feat while rarely having to go on the road. In three years, they've played outside of their own stadium just three times -- twice against the then-second division Portland Timbers and for the 2009 final against DC United -- which has surely contributed to their 13-0-1 all-time record in qualifying and the tournament proper. Now, the Sporting News is reporting that U.S. Soccer, which runs the tournament, is ready to change up the 98-year-old tournament's format to somewhat level the playing field.
At the core of the complaints is the blind bidding process by which home teams are determined. Prior to each round, the prospective hosts are selected based on a bid form they submit to U.S. Soccer, part of which includes an actual cash payment. These bids are never revealed, which has caused quite a bit of consternation.
According the story, MLS and U.S. Soccer are considering the possibility of making the bid system more open or possibly even forcing teams to guarantee an attendance figure. While this change would not necessarily keep teams from being able to host the vast majority of the games, it would at least allow teams to know what they are up against.
The other big change would allow all 16 U.S.-based MLS teams direct entry into the main tournament. Currently, the top six teams in the previous season's regular standings are given spots in the Round of 16. Two more MLS teams earn entry through a single elimination play-in tournament, which often features largely reserve sides playing in near empty stadiums. Those 16 MLS teams would likely enter the tournament in the Round of 32, but it is unclear if they would play only lower division teams or if they would potentially play games against one another.
Oct 05 6:03p by Jeremiah Oshan - 0 comments