Seattle lifted their third straight USOC last night, others should take note. (Photo via Seattle
Sounders Communications)
First off, congratulations to the Seattle Sounders FC on their third straight US Open Cup title.
Its a feat that has to be commended since three-peats in sports happen so rarely anymore.
Peter Nowak may be rooting for the Chicago Fire to get their fifth US Open Cup title (10pm, Fox
Soccer), but the rest of the Union might want to pull for Seattle.
"I've been through the scenario where they tried to position it a week after MLS Cup and one
year we lost in the final at Columbus, we played the MLS final on a Sunday in New England and we
had to play the Open Cup final on a Thursday in Columbus.
US Soccer has announced the potential hosting venues for the USOC final this season. As you
would expect with three of the four teams being from MLS, they have the hosting rights depending on
the matchup.
Very interesting possibilities either way, none too surprising as Seattle would always give the
USSF the best possible chance at a good crowd for the final.
I won't bash the bidding process to host games today that the USSF has in place for the Lamar
Hunt US Open Cup, I will at least let you all know who could be hosting the semifinal matches. The
USSF released the information today and as expected a couple teams did the right thing and bid well
enough to get the USOC games on their home turf.
The US Soccer Soccer Federation has announced the possible third round pairings for all eight
remaining MLS clubs still alive in the US Open Cup tournament. The Fire will play the winner of
next Tuesday's match between the Rochester Rhinos and Harrisburg City Islanders to be held in
Harrisburg, Penn.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
Union
Power rankings roundup! At MLSsoccer.com, the Union moves into second place and do the same at
ESPN, SBI, Goal.com.
Sheanon Williams is named to Goal.com's Best XI for Week 13. Danny Califf and Keon Daniel get
honorable mentions.
Danny Mwanga says of playing in Vancouver, "The opening minutes on the road, in a tough place to
play, are so important.
Three area teams featured in Tuesday night's the first round of the 2011 US Open Cup. In
Harrisburg, the USL PRO side City Islanders were host to fellow Philadelphia Union affiliate
Reading United of the PDL. USASA amateur side Phoenix SC traveled to Rochester to face USL PRO side
Rochester Rhinos.
The Fire broke what seemed like a season long winless drought with a dramatic victory over the
San Jose Earthquakes. The victor was decided after an additional thirty minutes of play and six
penalty kick rounds. Daniel Paladini converted the deciding kick as Scott Sealy missed his chance
for San Jose.
The Fire will need a win tonight to avoid missing the knock out stages of US Open Cup play for
the first time ever in franchise history. This game, along with the previous win against Colorado
are considered "play in" games and not part of the tournament proper.
San Jose manager Frank Yallop says he's going for the win with his best line up.
With the announcement of two high-profile exhibition matches, Reading United provided another
example of its expanding national reputation.
Reading is set to play the United States Under-17 National Team on May 22, followed by the New
York Cosmo's Under-23 team two months later. The Harrisburg City Islanders and Philadelphia Union
are already scheduled to visit Exeter's Don Thomas Stadium in the coming weeks.
Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz
Union
Peter Nowak is among the 25 on the Player Ballot for the 2011 class of the National Soccer Hall
of Fame. Congratulations!
The Brotherly Game quotes a report from Monday in Guatemala-based Prensa Libre that says Carlos
Ruiz was in discussion with the Union but terms could not be reached.
The wait is over for those interested in what will happen to the 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
Today the USSF released details on the structure of the tournament and the schedule for each
round.
The 98th edition of the USOC will get underway on June 14 with 16 first-round games. Five rounds
of play precede the Oct.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
Union
Before the Union won the rights to Chris Agorsor they announced that Eduardo Coudet had been
waived, thus ending weeks of speculation about his status with the club. The addition of Agorsor
combined with the subtraction of Coudet means that the club's roster remains at 25 players.
