CCL: United thru on PKs

After a 2-2 result in the home leg, DC United managed a 1-1 draw away against Salvadoran squad CD Luis Angel Firpo and then advanced on penalty kicks 5-4 in the preliminary stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. Meanwhile, the USL-1 Puerto Rico Islanders defeated MLS club Toronto FC 1-0 in aggregate.

New York, who managed a 2-2 draw in the away leg, will play at home today against T&T side W Connection FC. MLS clubs Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo received byes into the group stage.

CCL: Dynamo claim final spot

The Houston Dynamo's season isn't over just yet. Having been ousted in the first round of the MLS Cup by finalist New York, Houston turned its attention to the CONCACAF Champions League match against CD Luis Angel Firpo of El Salvador and won 1-0 at Robertson Stadium to secure the final berth in the CCL's quarterfinal round.

Brian Ching scored for Houston in the 13th minute off a Dwayne DeRosario corner kick and Houston held on to their slim lead, even when they went down a man due to Eddie Robinson's ejection in the 82nd minute after a foul on Firpo's Carlos Monteagudo.

Houston will be the lone Major League Soccer representative in the quarterfinals after DC United finished a miserable CCL campaign winless in six matches. USL Division 1 club Montreal, however, nearly won their group, advancing in the second spot in Group C.

The draw for the CCL quarterfinals will be held on December 10.

Open Cup: United are champions again!

DC United has won the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the oldest soccer tournament in North America, forthe second time in club history, defeating USL.1's Charleston Battery 2-1 in the Final on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium.

United's Luciano Emilio scored just four minutes into the contest, but the plucky Battery fired back a salvo of their own, as former MLSer Ian Fuller scored the equalizer six minutes later. But it would be Brazilian midfielder Fred who would hand United the trophy in the 50th minute.

DC first lifted the trophy 12 years ago in MLS's inaugural season and went on to win the MLS Cup that year. In fact, in those 12 years, the US Open Cup winning club has made it to the MLS Cup final eight times (but has only won the double three times).

US Open Cup: DC, Battery in Final

The final of the US Open Cup will feature DC United of MLS and the Charleston Battery of the USL first division, after both squads advanced in their semi-final matches tonight.

DC United got a brace from Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio and beat the SuperLiga champions New England 3-1 at RFK Stadium. New England fell down a goal after just four minutes thanks to Emilio, but then Revolution rookie Joe Germanese scored in his MLS debut. In the second half, it was all DC, as Santino Quaranta, who has missed a lot of time due to injury, final scored his first goal of the season. Things got worse for the Revs in the 71st minute, when midfielder Wells Thompson received his second caution and was sent off. And then in the 81st minute, Emilio added his second.

New England clearly couldn't be bothered to suit up their A-team for America's oldest soccer competition, as only two starters from Saturday's MLS contest were in the Revolutions starting 11 -- Adam Cristman and Shalrie Joseph. Joseph of course will have an extra league game off after receiving a red card in the Saturday match against the Fire, so no sense in giving him the night off. With one trophy won, Steve Nicol seemed to thumb his nose at this tournament by sending on the B-team. 

But United head coach Tom Soehn is still on the hot seat after DC's up-and-down season, so the red-and-black played their regular starters. It really is a shame that the defending champions of this storied tournament didn't really bother showing up to defend their crown. I know that the SL win puts them in the 2009 CONCACAF Champions League, regardless, but is it really all about the money, then? I thought Steve Nicol and the Revolution organization had more class than that.

Seattle and Charleston, on the other hand, were two teams in it to win it, as an Open Cup championship in the "Professional Era" carries some weight among the United Soccer League clubs. And both clubs were out to show that they deserved to be counted among America's top clubs, as they each disposed of MLS clubs to get to this semi-final, and then fought hard in this semi-final.

Charleston and Seattle took their battle into overtime, after the score remained 1-1 following regular time and overtime. A Seattle own goal in the 20th minute put the Battery up, but Seattle responded just 12 minutes later, as Randi Patterson scored the equalizer. The match remained 1-1 through regular time and overtime, sending the match to penalty kicks. It was the fifth penalty kick shootout of the tournament and the second consecutive shootout for Seattle, who beat Kansas City 6-5 in PKs in the quarterfinals.

It came down to the final kick of round five, but Charleston keeper Dustin Hudock made his third save of the shootout to give the Battery the 3-2 PK win.

Seattle already has been awarded a promotion to Major League Soccer next year, but it boggles the mind how a team as consistent as the Charleston Battery, with a beautiful (and upgradable) facility and dedicated fan base, aren't even in the conversation for possible expansion into MLS. Rather than shipping teams in America's league to Canada and Mexico, why not buy American? But I digress.

The final will take place at RFK Stadium on September 3rd at 7:30pmET. And it better be on TV because the fact that the semifinal featuring two MLS clubs wasn't televised but you could watch the other one featuring two USL.1 teams online was an absolute embarrassment to the U.S. top flight. But I digress.

Montreal win battle of Canada

Viva la Impact. The USL.1's Montreal Impact have won the Canadian Championship series and earned a berth as the Canadian Champion to the CONCACAF Champions League after a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC in the final match of the Canadian tournament.

Montreal, entered the game with six points, and needed just a point to win the group, while Toronto FC faced a must-win situation. The final team in the group, Vancouver (USL.1) was already eliminated from contention.

Reds captain Jim Brennan served a ball to Rohan Ricketts putting the home side up 1-0 in the 15th minute, but the Impact's Roberto Brown equalized just 11 minutes later.

It's quite a blow for the up-and-down MLS club with a $2.5 million payroll, but not surprising given Toronto's inability to find a consistent scorer.

Canadian civil war set - Toronto v. Montreal

50 Cent has Ricketts

Vancouver forward Eduardo Sebrango spoiled the night for Toronto FC, scoring a brace to cancel out goals by Maurice Edu and Rohan Ricketts, as the Reds of MLS and USL.1's Vancouver Whitecaps drew 2-2 in the penultimate match of the Canadian Championships.

With the draw, Toronto will need to win in the final match of the tournament against the group leaders Montreal in order to claim the Voyageurs Cup, as the top soccer club in Canada. The Impact will only need a draw to take the title. Vancouver were eliminated from contention with four points in four matches.

Sebrango got things going in the 43rd minute, firing a low shot inside the right post, but American midfielder Maurice Edu equalized with a six-yard chip over the keeper in the 60th minute.

Forward Jeff Cunningham appeared to have won a penalty in the 64th minute, but referee Carol Anne Chenard waved play on. Cunningham had beaten Whitecaps keeper Jay Nolly and had only to tap it in, but Nolly, a former DC United keeper, swiped at him as he past and Cunningham went down. Although it would make absolutely no sense the knock didn't appear to be enough to bring Cunningham down. But knowing Cunningham, perhaps he took a dive rather than the embarrassment of missing the gimmie.

Rohan Rickets tearing down the left side, struck a hard right-footer off Nolly and in at the near post to put Toronto 2-1. Then, a poor attempt at a clearance by Edu was picked up by Sebrango who dribbled by a diving Greg Sutton and equalized.

The winner of the Canadian Championship will represent Canada in this August's CONCACAF Champion's League. They will face the champions of Nicaragua - Real Estelí - in a home-and-away series to decide the final clubs for the initial group stage of the tournament that starts on September 16.

Toronto will face Montreal in the final match of the Canadian Championships on July 22 at BMO Field.

Canadian Championship Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	+/-
Montreal	3	2	1	0	6	4	1	3
Toronto FC	3	1	1	1	4	1	1	0
Vancouver	4	1	2	1	4	1	4	-3

US Open Cup: Champs survive scare

2007 US Open Cup champs New England stay alive.

The defending Open Cup champion Revolution needed penalties to fend off the plucky CP Baltimore and will play DC United in the first semifinal. And for the first time since 1999, a USL.1 squad is guaranteed to reach the final of the US Open Cup, after both Charleston and Seattle advanced to the other semifinal.
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CP Baltimore (USL.2) 1-1 New England (MLS) (Veteran's Stadium)
Crystal Palace Baltimore nearly pulled off the improbable, taking MLS's best club to penalty kicks before finally succumbing 5-3 on penalty kicks. Revolution apologists might point out that their line-up consisted largely of benchwarmers and reservists (although both Taylor Twellman and Khano Smith started), but you can't take anything away from CP Baltimore's colossal effort.
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Chicago (MLS) 1-2 DC United (MLS) (Maryland SoccerPlex)
Jaime Moreno assisted on both the equalizer Francis Doe and the extra time winner by Bryan Namoff. In the first half of extra time, a terrible double ejection by referee Shane Moody on a harmless exchange sent Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Marc Burch to the showers early. The ejection along with a string of injuries spells trouble for DC going forward, however.
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Charleston (USL.1) 3-1. FC Dallas (MLS) (PH Park)
If MLS had promotion/relegation, Charleston wouldn't be playing in USL.1, but FC Dallas might. The Battery flipped the script at Pizza Hut Park, scoring three unanswered goals to burn last year's Open Cup runners-up. Lazo Alavanja in 28th, Ian Fuller in the 43rd and then Randi Patterson rubbed salt in the wound in injury time. A goal by Kenny Cooper seconds before full time did nothing to salve the home sides' ills.
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Kansas City (MLS) 0-0 Seattle (USL.1) (AET) (Qwest Field)
KC and Seattle put on show with incredible saves, lots of near misses, a few rail rattlers and one apparent goal (for Seattle) called back for offside. It was a shame someone had to lose. And an even bigger shame that it had to be settled in penalty kicks. But such is life. Seattle makes it an all USL.1 semifinal, winning 6-5 in PKs.
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Semifinal Match-ups (August 12)
New England @ DC United (RFK Stadium) -- 7:30pmET
Seattle @ Charleston (Blackbaud Stadium) -- 7:30pmET

US Open Cup: Quarterfinals!

It's David v Goliath in the first match of the night, as USL.2 club Crystal Palace Baltimore looks to bring down MLS's best team the New England Revolution. Coach Steve Nicol has already said that he will be testing his reservists for this one, so take heart CPB fans, it may not be that ugly.

The official web site of the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup will be live blogging tonight's quarterfinal US Open Cup matches.

Here's the complete schedule with links to audio/video broadcasts.

Crystal Palace Baltimore (USL.2) vs. New England Revolution (MLS)
Veteran's Stadium (New Britain, Conn.) -- 7pmET
Radio Broadcast

Chicago Fire (MLS) vs. DC United (MLS)
Maryland SoccerPlex (Boyds, Md.) -- 7:30pmET
Radio Broadcast

Charleston Battery (USL.1) vs. FC Dallas (MLS)
PH Park (Frisco, Texas) -- 8:30pmET
Video Broadcast

Kansas City Wizards (MLS) at Seattle Sounders (USL.1)
Qwest Field (Seattle) -- 10pmET
Video Broadcast

2008 US Open Cup: Minnows bite back

GARY BROOKS AND CRYSTAL PALACE TAME RED BULLSJULY 1
FIve out of eight MLS clubs advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday night, but the story of the night was a plucky Crystal Palace Baltimore squad of the United Soccer League's second division pulling off the colossal upset against New York. A close second in shock value (and a much more dramatic finish) was the Charleston Battery's defeat of MLS Cup defending champs Houston on penalty kicks, after having two men sent off. Here are the rundowns of all the night's action:

Rochester(USL.1) 0-2 DC United(MLS) (Maryland SoccerPlex)
TYH's No. 2 Marc Burch scored two unassisted goals, as DC United take the Ragin' Rhinos to anger management.
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New York(MLS) 0-2 CP Baltimore(USL.2) (Broadneck H.S.-Anapolis)
Red Bulls lose to a second division USL team. Mike Magee sent off for complaining. So this is what rock bottom feels like? Crystal Palace defender Andrew Marshall and forward Gary Brooks (pictured) were the goalscorers for Baltimore.
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Houston(MLS) 1-1 Charleston(USL.1) (Blackbaud Stadium)
The Charleston Battery should be sponsored by Diehard after withstanding an 89th minute equalizer and two men sent off to beat the Houston Dynamo 4-3 on penalty kicks. Great match, despite poor officiating.
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Richmond(USL.1) 0-3 New England(MLS) (Veterans Stadium)
Taylor Twellman started, scored a goal in the 67th and was then quickly subbed, as the Revs blew by the supremely over-matched Richmond. New England reservists Sam Brill and Joe Germanese got into the action, scoring in the 46th and 63rd minutes, respectively.
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Kansas City(MLS) 4-2 Carolina(USL.1) (WakeMed Park)
A few tense moments for Kansas City, as Carolina stretched the match into overtime, but in the end KC proved to be the better side, scoring twice in the extra session. Not sure who wins in the class department as both clubs brawl at the conclusion of this one and several players are sent off.
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Cleveland City(USL.1) 1-4 Chicago(MLS) (Toyota Park)
17-year-old Mike Banner made the most of his chance to start for the Chicago in the Open Cup, scoring the first and last goals of the game to help the Fire route the Cleveland City Stars 4-1. Sandwiched in between were goals buy Calen Carr, Chad Barrett (PK) and Cleveland's Kiel McClung.
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Miami(USL.1) 1-2 Dallas(MLS) (PHP)
A brace by Abe Thompson, the second coming just seconds from the whistle, delivered Dallas past a pesky Miami squad, who managed to keep things knotted (courtesy of Alex Afonso) for nearly an entire half. It marks the first win for Jurassic coach Schellas Hyndman.
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Chivas USA(MLS) 0-2 Seattle(USL.1) (Starfire Sports Complex)
Despite boasting a line-up full of starters, including keeper Brad Guzan, the USL Seattle Sounders easily disposed of Chivas USA, sending a signal that the soon-to-be MLS franchise is already able to run with the bog dogs.

US Open Cup: MLS enters Cup fray

The official web site of the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup will be live blogging tomorrow night's US Open Cup matches.

The field of MLS clubs will enter the fray in tomorrow night's contests, round three of the oldest soccer competition in America. For a complete list of match-ups, check the bracket at the bottom of the page.

Six of the eight match ups will be broadcast live and for free on USLlive.com, a web site that regularly broadcasts United Soccer League matches. All contests will have matchtrackers, so fans can follow the action. The first match of the night -- New England (MLS) v. Richmond (USL.1) -- starts at 7pmET.

TYH's Mock Promotion/Relegation Battle

Los Angeles survived the mock drop and nearly made the Cup playoffs, but it was a bad week to be a Canadian or a Mormon, as both Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC finished the mock season at 12th and 13th, respectively. This means, of course, that both clubs will have to endure the mock humiliation of mock relegation to the USL.1 for next mock season. It also proves, of course, that neither God nor Canada really exists.

Taking their place in MLS next mock season will be the USL.1 double winners the Seattle Sounders* and the runners-up the Portland Timbers.

MLS Relegated Clubs:

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
RSL	30	6	15	9	27	-14
TOR	30	6	17	7	25	-24

USL.1 Promoted Clubs:

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
Seattle	28	16	6	6	54	14
Portland	28	14	5	9	51	14

*Seattle may indeed be promoted in non-mock reality. Rumors are flying around the web that Seattle will be the next expansion team announced for either 2008 or 2009.

TYH's Mock Promotion/Relegation Battle

Congratulations to the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers, who became the first two teams to win mock-promotion from the USL-1 to MLS in TYH's Mock Promotion/Relegation Battle! Portland secured passage by virtue of a second-place regular season finish, after the Seattle Sounders* tore through the postseason and succeeded in capturing the USL-1 double, as regular and post-season champs.

Meanwhile, the drama over mock relegation heats up in MLS. Toronto managed a 2-1 win over New York to overtake Real Salt Lake in the standings, but both clubs remains in the drop zone, three points behind Los Angeles. RSL face Chivas USA and Los Angeles take on Houston. Although both the Chivas and the Dynamo have clinched playoff berths, they are fighting for a second seed and an outside shot at the Supporters' Shield, so neither club will be taking their foot of the pedal. It's enough to make an owner mock nervous. The Galaxy will host Toronto on October 13 in a match that may likely decide the mock fate of both clubs. Stay mock tuned.

USL.1 Promoted Clubs:

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
Seattle	28	16	6	6	54	14
Portland	28	14	5	9	51	14

MLS Relegation Candidates (Week 26):

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
COL	27	7	12	8	29	-6
LA	26	7	13	6	27	-11
TOR	27	6	15	6	24	-22
RSL	27	5	14	8	24	-13

*Seattle may indeed be promoted in non-mock reality. Rumors are flying around the web that Seattle will be the next expansion team announced for either 2008 or 2009.

TYH's Mock Promotion/Relegation Battle

Since MLS and USL do not have the infrastructure (or finances) to have actual relegation/promotion between first and second divisions, we here at TYH thought is might be fun to create a mock promotion/relegation battle, if for nothing else but to make the end of the year a bit more exciting for us. Plus, we're soccer geeks.

The competition is simple. At the end of the regular season, the two MLS clubs with the worst records will be "relegated" and the USL.1 regular season champ and the USL.1 Cup winner will be "promoted." If the same USL.1 club wins both honors, "promotion" will go to the second-place team during the regular season. Since USL.1 is nearing the end of their season, our first promoted club will be announced in a matter of weeks (see standings below). TYH's mock promotion/relegation competition will ignore divisions in both leagues and will tabulate a single table (using MLS tie-breaking procedures). Why? Because that's how it should be done.

TYH will post regular columns covering the mock promotion/relegation battle, along with single-table breakdowns of the current candidates in both categories. Questions? Comments? Feel free to stump for your team or to comment on who you think will be relegated or promoted. TYH might highlight your comments in future posts.

MLS Relegation Candidates (Week 23):

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
TOR	23	5	13	5	20	-19
RSL	22	4	12	6	18	-13
LA	20	4	11	5	17	-9

USL.1 Promotion Candidates (Week 17):

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
Seattle	28	16	6	6	54	14
Portland	28	14	5	9	51	14
Montreal	28	14	6	8	50	9
Atlanta	28	12	9	7	43	10
Rochester	28	12	10	6	42	3
Puerto Rico	28	10	8	10	40	1

Hoops to host Revs in Open Cup final

In what could be a preview of MLS Cup, FC Dallas will host the New England Revolution in the final of the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

New England needed just four minutes of overtime to break the 1-1 deadlock with USL.1 club the Carolina Railhawks, as the Revs rode a Pat Noonan goal in the 94th minute into the final, while FC Dallas disposed of USL.1 upstarts Seattle, 2-1, on goals by Carlos Ruiz and Abe Thompson.

Carolina jumped out to an early lead when Anthony Maher put one past Mat Reis in the sixth minute, and managed to hold onto the lead for 45 minutes, surrendering a first-half injury time equalizer, scored by Jeff Larentowicz. Adam Cristman was credited with assists on both Revolution goals.

The equalizing goal came shortly after the double ejection of Carolina's Connally Edozien and New England's Shalrie Joseph. Carolina went down to nine men in the 80th minute when David Stokes was also sent off. Here's mlsnet.com's account of the dust up:

The match flared to life in the 38th minute after a hard John tackle, which looked fair, caused a fracas in front of the Revolution bench. Players grouped and discussed the situation and it took referee Shane Moody and his crew a few minutes to sort out the resulting melee. Yellow cards were issued to John, for the tackle, and Carolina defender David Stokes, for his role. If Moody thought he quelled the danger, it flared again before the restart in the 42nd minute. Joseph and Edozien came together. No punches were apparently thrown, but both Edozien and Joseph were sent to the showers as the game sputtered out of control.

FC Dallas and Seattle also needed overtime to settle their match, as the first 90 minutes ended without a goal. Ruiz broke the scoreless deadlock a minute into overtime, when Arturo Alvarez found him at the six from the right wing. Thompson added the insurance goal from the spot in the 119th minute, after Dax McCarty was brought down in the area. Finally, Seattle’s Leighton O’Brien managed a conciliation goal right before the whistle.

The Revolution will travel to Dallas for the final on or Oct. 3. It is the Revolutions second trip to the US Open Cup final; they have never won the title. FC Dallas were the 1997 U.S. Open Cup champions.

TYH's Mock Promotion/Relegation Battle

Since MLS and USL do not have the infrastructure (or finances) to have actual relegation/promotion between first and second divisions, we here at TYH thought is might be fun to create a mock promotion/relegation battle, if for nothing else but to make the end of the year a bit more exciting for us. Plus, we're soccer geeks.

Promotion/relegation, a concept completely foreign in American sports, makes the final matches of the season much more exciting. Among the top flight, it's the desperation to remain in top flight football. For those successful second divisions squads, it's winning the chance to play with the big boys and the possible financial windfalls to come. I mean, besides the die-hard fans, who will really watch Los Angeles play Real Salt Lake on Sept. 19 when absolutely nothing will be riding on it?

Of course, given the "mock" nature of this competition, there still isn't anything really riding on that match, except for bragging rights (i.e. "My team is slightly less crappy than your team"). And after the years that the relegation targets have had, bragging rights might be enough. As for the USL.1, it might get their team's a bit more coverage, as we have virtually ignored the USL, outisde of US Open Cup coverage. Who knows, maybe we'll spot the next Maykel Galindo. Or maybe Portland or Seattle will make a stronger case for MLS expansion through their showings with their USL.1 clubs.

The competition is simple. At the end of the regular season, the two MLS clubs with the worst records will be "relegated" and the USL.1 regular season champ and the USL.1 Cup winner will be "promoted." If the same USL.1 club wins both honors, "promotion" will go to the second-place team during the regular season. Since USL.1 is nearing the end of their season, our first promoted club will be announced in a matter of weeks (see standings below). TYH's mock promotion/relegation competition will ignore divisions in both leagues and will tabulate a single table (using MLS tie-breaking procedures). Why? Because that's how it should be done.

TYH will post regular columns covering the mock promotion/relegation battle, along with single-table breakdowns of the current candidates in both categories. Questions? Comments? Feel free to stump for your team or to comment on who you think will be relegated or promoted. TYH might highlight your comments in future posts.

MLS Relegation Candidates (Week 21):

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
Toronto FC	22	5	12	5	20	-17
RSL	20	3	11	6	15	-17
Los Angeles	18	3	10	5	14	-10

USL.1 Promotion Candidates (Week 15):

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
Seattle	25	14	5	6	48	10
Portland	26	13	5	8	47	13
Montreal	25	12	5	8	44	10
Atlanta	25	11	8	6	39	9
Rochester	26	11	9	6	39	3
Puerto Rico	26	10	7	9	39	3

Revs round out Open Cup final four

The New England Revolution dispatched USL-2 club the Harrisburg City Islanders 2-1 at Gilette Stadium in the final quarterfinal match of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The Revs will host the Carolina Railhawks (USL-1) on September 4.

New England sat on two early goals by Andy Dorman in the 4th minute and Taylor Twellman in the 17th for much of the contest, before Harrisburg's Matt Tanzini managed a concilation goal for the visitors.

The other semi-final pairing will have FC Dallas traveling to Qwest Stadium to take on MLS killers Seattle on September 4.

Seattle Open a frosty can of whoop ass

The Seattle Sounders of USL-1 humiliated the Colorado Rapids, 5-0, while FC Dallas managed to retain some top-flight dignity with an OT win over the Charleston Battery (USL-1). Meanwhile, Carolina (USL-1) managed to hold onto a 1-0 win over USL-2 club Richmond.

Seattle 5, Colorado 0
The US Open Cup typically features upsets due in part to the relative lack of importance most MLS clubs appear to place in America’s oldest soccer pro soccer tournament combined with lower divisions clubs frothing at the collective mouth for a chance to show their quality versus an MLS club.

But Colorado’s absolute hammering at the hands of MLS hopefuls was the worst defeat suffered by an MLS team in Open Cup history. Goals from four different Sounders players (Taylor Graham, Zach Scott, Josh Gardner, and Sebastien Le Toux) along with a Facundo Erpen own goal gave Seattle back-to-back wins over MLS franchises, a stat that gives their bid for an expansion team some real ammunition. Keep an eye out for a post on Seattle’s MLS chances later in the day.

http://seattlesounders.net/

FC Dallas, 2, Charleston 1 (OT)
FC Dallas needed extra time to fight off experienced MLS-killers Charleston, as Arturo Alvarez’s 95th minute goal delivered Dallas to the semi-finals.

Stephen Armstrong’s 17th-minute goal put the Battery on top for just five minutes, as Clarence Goodsen equalized in the 22nd. Dallas will face another apparent MLS-killer, Seattle.

http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com/t104/

Carolina 1, Richmond 0
A Connally Edozien goal helped the home-side Railhawks advance to the semi-finals, as Carolina topped Richmond. Former MLS striker Chris Carrieri featured for the Railhawks, and nearly scored in the 50th minute with a rocket just past the right post.

Although Richmond, the USL-2 defending champs, gave the Railhawks all they could handle, they managed to hold on to the 1-0 win. The winner of Wednesday’s final quarterfinal between the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) and the New England Revolution will face Carolina in the other semi-final.

http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/