Soccer blogging from the Web
Significant silverware got lifted again in RFK Stadium, as D.C. United claimed one of the three major U.S. domestic soccer trophies on Sept. 3.
D.C. United defeated Charleston Battery 2-1 and captured the 95th [!] Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. It was the Screaming Eagles’ third appearance in the competition’s final and their second victory there. There still remains the ultimate prize, the MLS Cup, and the most unwanted of trophies, the Supporters Shield, in the 2008 season.
Charleston, currently perched atop the 11-team USL First Division, put up a good fight, but they lacked a crucial element in their scheme: Brazilians. It’s also a commodity they’ll likely never have, unless in the future the U.S. soccer system switches to a relegation/promotion league and opens the way to more competition, more dollars and more common sense. The Battery already have a soccer-specific stadium, after all, though it only seats 5,100, according to Wikipedia.
D.C.’s effervescent goal poacher, Luciano Emilio, capitalized on a 5th-minute defensive cockup to claim an early lead when he sidefooted the ball into the net from the edge of the box. After long periods of midfield mastery and brutal challenges by the Battery, in which the southerners evened the score, D.C. coach Tom Soehn showed the power of the almighty dollar when he substituted attacking midfielder Fred into the game in the second half. The Brazilian showed his class when he beat the offside trap and waltzed in on top of the Battery goal from right midfield before sniping home the winner.
I think all three goals came from defensive lapses. There were also periods of the game that started to look very MLS, and I desperately wanted somebody to make a 50-yard pass or a 5-yard sliding tackle. Anything other than the no-attack style made famous by Team USA! D.C. United was especially guilty: After Emilio left the game through injury, only Jaime Moreno and Santino Quaranta remained on the field to pose any sort of goal-scoring threat for the Screaming Eagles, and neither is a Golden Boot candidate by any means.
Sept. 3 was the first time in at least eight years that a non-MLS team contested the final. Since the founding of MLS in 1996, top-tier teams have dominated the tournament that all U.S. clubs can contest. Rochester Rhinos, defeating Colorado Rapids in the 1999 final, made the USL’s last dent on the tournament.
Founded in 1993, the Battery reached the quarterfinals last year and the semifinals in both 1999 and 2004.
But the most successful team in U.S. Open Cup history remains…drum roll please…Bethlehem Steel! The team won five cups and finished runner-up in a sixth during the roaring twenties before the Great Depression killed it. If you are bored and want some interesting reading, glance at the team’s Wikipedia page [we used to import players from Britain to play in Pennsylvania??].
Of the teams with four Cups to their credit, only Chicago Fire looks poised to overtake Bethlehem Steel. I’m not a gambling man, but I wouldn’t put money on the likes of Maccabee S.C., Ukrainian Nationals or the Fall River Marksmen, even if they still existed, which, for some reason, I doubt they do.
Fun fact from www.usopencup.com: The New York borough of Brooklyn has been home to a team contesting the U.S. Open Cup final 13 times, in the form of Brooklyn Field Club, Robbins Dry Dock F.C., Brooklyn Italian SC, Brooklyn Dodgers S.C., Brooklyn Hispano F.C. and St. Mary’s Celtic. In fact, the very first final, in 1914, was the only all-Brooklyn affair: Field Club triumphed 2-1 over St. Mary’s.
Originally blogged by Jeremy H
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