MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Seattle Sounders FC Claim Third Straight U.S. Open Cup Title

Published on October 5, 2011 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


SEATTLE - Fredy Montero's goal in the 78th minute snapped a scoreless deadlock and Osvaldo Alonso added an insurance tally in stoppage time as Seattle Sounders FC claimed a third straight Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship with a 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire before a tournament record crowd of 35,615 on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field on Tuesday night.

Kasey Keller made four saves to earn the shutout as Seattle became the first club in 42 years and the fourth in the Open Cup's 98-year history to win three years in a row.

Montero's goal, his 16th in all competitions and fifth in the last four matches, came after Sounders FC had twice hit the post. A well-placed corner kick by Erik Friberg was sharply headed on goal Jeff Parke. Chicago keeper Sean Johnson parried the shot but Montero pounced on the rebound and blasted the ball into the net from close range.

Playing in his fourth consecutive Cup final, Alonso tacked on the final goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The Cuban midfielder rounded the keeper before dumping the ball into the net. It was Alonso's sixth goal in all competitions and third in three games.

Keller's most impressive save came in the 39th minute. Fire midfielder Marco Pappa cut inside and fired from 25 yards. The shot deflected off a Seattle defender and Keller was forced to dive back to his left to catch the ball cleanly.

The Rave Green finished with a 24-6 advantage in shots (8-4 on goal). They also had a 10-6 edge in corner kicks. Johnson made six saves.

The New York Greek Americans (1967-69) were the last team to win three successive Cups.

Sounders FC are now 13-0-1 in Open Cup play since their inception in 2009. It is coach Sigi Schmid's fourth Open Cup title.

For Chicago, the loss snaps a four-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and prevents the Fire from becoming just the third club to ever win the Cup five times.

Unbeaten in four games and winners in 10 of the last 13 in all competitions, Sounders FC are now 4-0-3 against Chicago. Seattle fans had set the previous record crowd with 31,311 for last year's final, a 2-1 win over Columbus.

Sounders FC had multiple opportunities early in the game, but were not able to capitalize.

Seattle had two good opportunities at the end of the first half. In the 44th minute Mike Fucito dropped the ball to Alvaro Fernandez who smashed a shot that was swatted away by Johnson. Then in stoppage time, Montero made a couple moves and cracked a 22-yard shot off the left post. Fucito tried to follow-up but his attempt went wide.

In the 52nd minute, halftime-substitution Friberg flicked a Brad Evans throw into the path of Fucito. Fucito nicked the ball past Johnson but it caromed off the right post.

Sounders FC returns to MLS play on Saturday night, hosting the Philadelphia Union at 7 p.m. The Fire play next Wednesday October 12 at home against FC Dallas.

Check out the Seattle Sounders FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from October 5, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central