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USL-1 Charleston Battery

Battery to battle MLS's Chicago Fire in Open Cup semifinal

August 24, 2004 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Charleston Battery News Release


Charleston, SC - The Charleston Battery heads to Chicago Wednesday to battle Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup semifinal match; kick off is set for 8:30 PM EST (Newsradio 730 WSC / www.charlestonbattery.com.) The Battery earned the right to play Chicago by defeating the Rochester Raging Rhinos by a score of one goal to none back on August 4. Chicago advanced to the semifinal stage with a 1-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers.

This is the first ever meeting between the Battery and the Fire. Chicago is the defending US Open Cup Champion winning the 2003 Cup with a 1-0 victory over the MetroStars. The Fire has won the Open Cup on three occasions (1998, 2000 & 2003).

This is the second time that the Charleston Battery has reached an Open Cup semifinal. In 1999 the Battery lost 3-0 to MLS's Colorado Rapids in the semifinal stage. That year was also the last and only occasion that an A-League team has won the US Open Cup since the inception of Major League Soccer in 1996.

The Chicago Fire roster features several high-profile players including US National Team midfielder, Chris Armas and Jamaican international's Damani Ralph and Andy Williams. Goalkeeper Henry Ring was an All -American at the University of South Carolina.

The Battery roster has two players with Fire links. Midfielder, Justin Evans played eight games for Chicago recording one assist in the 2000 & 2001 seasons. Kevin Jackson was drafted by the Chicago Fire in 2000 but was dealt to the Hershey Wildcats before the start of the season.

The second semifinal features two MLS sides, the San Jose Earthquakes and the Kansas City Wizards. San Jose travels to Kansas City Tuesday for the match.

At stake in the tournament is $180,000 in prize money broken down as follows: $100,000 to the champion, $50,000 to the runner up and $10,000 to the team which advances deepest in the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation's National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

Madra Rua Listening Parties

There will be an official Charleston Battery listening party Wednesday night at Madra Rua Irish Pub, 1034 East Montague Avenue. For directions to Madra Rua please call 554-2522. All Charleston Battery road games are carried live on Newsradio 730 WSC and can also be heard via the web at www.charlestonbattery.com.

Check out the Charleston Battery Statistics



USL First Division Stories from August 24, 2004


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