USL-1 Charleston Battery

Battery to face Sounders in Open Cup semifinal at Blackbaud Stadium

July 10, 2008 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Charleston Battery News Release


Charleston, SC. The Charleston Battery will play the Seattle Sounders in the semifinal of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, August 12 at Blackbaud Stadium; gates open at 6 PM, kick off 7:30 PM. Charleston advanced to the final four of US Soccer's national Championship with a 3-1 road victory over Major League Soccer's FC Dallas last Tuesday night. This will be the Battery's third appearance in the semifinal round (1999, 2004, and 2008) but the first time Charleston has hosted a semifinal fixture.

The Battery has now won four consecutive games in the 2008 tournament. Charleston defeated the ASC New Stars (USASA) in the first round, the Charlotte Eagles (USL2) in the second round and MLS's Houston Dynamo in the third round. Tuesday's win versus Dallas also marked the first time that Charleston has defeated a Major League Soccer opponent away from Blackbaud Stadium.

The USL is guaranteed a representative in the Open Cup final for the first time since 1999. The USL1 Rochester Rhinos won the tournament in 1999, the only time a non-MLS side has won the Open Cup since the inception of Major League Soccer.

The Seattle Sounders also beat consecutive MLS opponents to reach the semifinal. Seattle defeated Chivas USA 2-0 in the third round then dispatched the Kansas City Wizards via a penalty shootout win last Tuesday night. This will be Seattle's second Open Cup semifinal, the Sounders lost to FC Dallas at this stage in the 2007 tournament.

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.

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 that advances deepest into the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels. The winner of the U.S. Open Cup also receives an automatic berth into the CONCACAF Champions League.

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