I am shocked that Richmond lost. I thought they were gonna destroy Carolina, but kudos to them. The Railhawks making some history in the US Open Cup. Bye bye Rapids. Sounders are on the move.
http://goalseattle.blogspot.com/2007/08/sounders-soar-to-semis-5-0.html Experience the wonder that is... FAN CAM!
The Rapids were clearly thrown by Seattle's player intro, which didn't conform at all to the new MLS standard. This tournament is shaping up the way the FA Cup did a couple of years ago -- two lower-division sides against two top-tier powerhouses. Should be fun.
Doesn't sound promising for the City Islanders (or just simply the "Islanders" as the Revs website says)....but there's still plenty of time left, you never know.
Hello, I know this may be off topic, but I am in the "desert of soccer" here. If there is anyone who has US Open Cup game programs or used ticket stubs, please send me a message. I am trying to collect a few cheap items regarding the CUP ... any help would be appreciated. cheers
New England Revolution (MLS) 2-1 Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) - FINAL Semifinals - Tuesday, September 4th New England Revolution (MLS) v Carolina RailHawks (USL-1) - 7:00 ET Veterans Stadium, New Britain, CT Seattle Sounders (USL-1) v Dallas (MLS) - 10:00 ET
Oh tasty. I hope its MLS vs USL in the final. I'm not a fan of any of these teams so I don't really care who, but that would be the most appetizing scenario. And quite frankly I can see Dallas-NE every year.
Now that the Railhawks are sticking around, can we ask a bit about their style of play? I get a little concerned when I see a team (A) averaging less than a goal a game and (B) coached by Scott Schweitzer, who had plenty of soccer skill in his playing days but was known mostly for his gamesmanship. (Classic Schweitzer moment from his Carolina Dynamo days: As the refs are breaking up a shoving match, an opposing player is walking away. Schweitzer walks up alongside him, moves his head in close, then flings himself to the ground as if he's just been punched in the face by Mike Tyson in his prime. The ref didn't buy it.)
Up until this year the Revs would often play at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Mass., home of the Western Mass. Pioneers of USL-2. It's a nice stadium that holds about 3,500 tucked away in a working class Portuguese neighborhood. It's about a 2 hour drive from Boston, so a bunch of us regulars would make the drive. There's a great restaurant down the street that serves cold Segares with Bifana and Chorizo and other Portuguese dishes. Great stuff! The stadium is also very intimate. We saw the Chicago Fire there and we were behind a 4-foot high chain link fence, less than 10 feet from Zach Thornton. Well, we were until that weasely little prick Dave Saracan't called the cops and had them remove us because we were "distracting his goalkeeper." After much fuss and an intervention from the Revs front office, we were eventually allowed back. There was a conflict with a Pioneers game the date of the Harrisburg game and for this round, I guess they wanted to play in New Britain (which is near Hartford) to help build the fan base in Connecticut and perhaps because the stadium holds more--about 8,000. I saw the US play Scotland there in the early 90s. Have we come a long way since then or what?
At this point in the year, it's safe to say we're extremely lucky to be in the semifinals. We've been roughed up by injuries and our lack of depth is obvious. We don't have a true goalscorer and we have no creative midfielder. Our goalkeeping/defense was steady at the beginning of the year and both have been shaky at best in recent games. Our style of play is described as "dirty" by most opposing fans (and at this point in the season, by most of the team's fans as well). Don't be surprised to see off-the-ball stuff, trash talking, reckless challenges, etc. Our style of play is pretty unimaginative most of the time, our wing play isn't stellar, our midfield connection with forwards isn't top notch, and our finishing is definitely sub-par. But it's true that we've definitely saved our best for USOC, I thought we were fantastic against Chicago and probably should've won 2-0 or 3-0 instead of the 1-0. Players to watch: Edozien (when he's not hurt and on his game) can be exciting to watch, it's my personal opinion he has the best touch on the team. Steele is a loose cannon, he can be brilliant and provide a spark at times but you can bet he'll be involved in most of the "dirty" play mentioned above and it usually takes him off his game. I guess the casual fan can get behind us as a cinderella, even though fans are honest about the quality of the team and realize we only had to beat one MLS team to get here. When we played the Fire, they were probably the worst team in the MLS at the time and we also played a USL-2 (although a very good one) side in the quarterfinals. I'm hoping for the best, but recent play combined with our first road game in the USOC against one of the best teams in MLS may prove to be too much for us to overcome.
How about USSF to ogarnize the Lamar Hunt cup on a state basis i.e having teams from each state vieying for state champ who represents the state at the nationals? For example Texas winner vs Alaska winner etc? Just a thought
That's how it happens now. The top (sometimes 2) teams from a state advance to the regional qualifiers. The winners of those advance to the cup proper.
I think he means each state, inclusive of pro teams. So the top Texas amateur team would need to go through the Dynamo and/or FC Dallas to advance.
hey railhawks fans: do any of you know if dombrowski played all 90 against richmond? and any cards? i can't find a full match report, and i keep stats on all the wisconsin players in pro soccer for my web site. thanks!
Doesn't look like anyone's posted here in a few weeks. According to MLSnet's scoreboard New England just beat Carolina 2-1 after 30 minutes of overtime. http://www.mlsnet.com/mls/events/us_open/2007/scoreboard/ In spite of the fact that MLS' scoreboard says the game went 201 minutes I'm pretty sure it went just 120. Opening goal for Carolina by Maher after just 6 minutes. Shalrie Joseph and former Rev Connally Edozien were redcarded at 42 minutes. Larentowicz equalized for the REvs at 47 minutes. Carolina's David Stokes was tossed for a 2nd yellow at 80 minutes. Noonan scored the eventual game winner early in OT at 93 minutes.
Full stat sheet from Carolina-NE match: http://www.usopencup.com/score/index_E.html Dallas-Sounders match broadcast live from Qwest Field: http://usl.playonsports.tv/free/event/1943/index.html?eventId=1943
Thanks for the link. They're playing Bryan Adams on the PA and I'm staring at a giant Seahawks logo at midfield. Yuck. Move Seattle to their own stadium.
