"With the substantial number of international club and national team competitions this year and an odd number of MLS teams, 2007 presents some extraordinary scheduling challenges for MLS," said MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis. "We are nevertheless pleased to have found a solution that allows all of our eligible teams the opportunity to participate in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The introduction of a pre-qualification procedure allows us to schedule these games away from the mainstream of the U.S. Open Cup competition and into MLS’s less-busy early months and will provide some intense competition for the two available places in the tournament proper."

In past years the eight MLS teams that advanced to the previous season’s MLS Cup playoffs automatically qualified for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. This year the MLS teams that finished in the top three of each conference in 2006 will automatically qualify for the Round of 16 (D.C. United, New England Revolution, Chicago Fire, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Chivas USA), and the final two berths will be determined by a play-in among the other six U.S.-based MLS teams. All play-in games will occur before May 28; venues and dates will be announced by the teams in the near future.

The four teams that did not make the 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs (Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Kansas City Wizards, Columbus Crew) will compete in play-in games as follow:

Game A: Los Angeles at Columbus (Date TBD)
Game B: Kansas City at Real Salt Lake (Date TBD)

Game C: Los Angeles-Columbus winner vs. New York
Should LA advance, LA (determined by coin toss) will host the second round game
Should Columbus advance, New York will host the second round game

Game D: Kansas City-Real Salt Lake winner vs. Colorado
Should KC advance, KC (determined by coin toss) will host the second round game
Should RSL advance, Colorado will host the second round game

The winners of these two play-in games will advance to the Round of 16. The preliminary Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup schedule is as follows. A final schedule will be announced at a later date. Dates are subject to change.

Monday, May 28: Qualifying deadline
Tuesday, May 29: First Round pairings announced
Tuesday, June 12: First Round - all 32 lower division teams enter tournament
Tuesday, June 26: Second Round - Round 1 winners face off
Tuesday, July 10: Third Round - Round 2 winners face eight MLS teams
Tuesday, August 7: Quarterfinal Round
Tuesday, September 4: Semifinal Round
Tuesday, October 2: Championship game

About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Dating back to 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is a 90-year-old single-elimination tournament. The U.S. Open Cup is similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world. Cup competitions, which usually run concurrent with a country’s league season, are open in the early stages to any club that can qualify, giving local amateur teams a chance to compete against the best teams a country has to offer. Since its inception in 1996, Major League Soccer teams have won 10 of the last 11 U.S. Open Cup titles. Last year the Chicago Fire won their fourth U.S. Open Cup title with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.

RSL eliminate KC in extra time
Rocky mountain matchup on tap for the final round of qualifying

For the second year in a row, Andy Williams was the hero for Real Salt Lake in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. He scored the game-winner 19 minutes into extra time as RSL defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-1 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

With the victory, RSL will travel to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to take on the Colorado Rapids on May 28. The winner will qualify for the 2007 tournament. This is the first time since 2002 that MLS has not entered every one of their teams into the U.S. Open Cup. In addition, this is the debut of a "play-in" qualifying system for MLS with games separate from regular season play.

Freddy Adu helped open the scoring early in the first half when he drew a penalty after Wizards’ goalkeeper Kevin Hartman fouled him in the area. Jeff Cunningham, who already has two goals in the opening two regular season games, converted the spot kick to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

The game seemed to be in hand until the 88th minute when rookie Chris Seitz made a great save on a shot by Will John, but the rebound was buried by Sasha Victorine to send the match into extra time.

In the extra frame, Cunningham set up Williams for a rocket shot from 15 yards out, giving Hartman no chance to make a save and putting RSL through to the next round of qualifying. Williams also scored a game-winning goal in extra time in the club’s 2-1 win over the USL First Division’s Virginia Beach Mariners in last year’s Third Round cup match.

Match Report - Real Salt Lake
Match Report - Kansas City Wizards

From MLSnet.com

Kansas City Wizards (0-1-0) vs. Real Salt Lake (1-0-0)
April 18, 2007 -- Rice-Eccles Stadium

Scoring Summary:
RSL -- Jeff Cunningham 1 (penalty kick) 12
KC -- Sasha Victorine 1 (unassisted) 88
RSL -- Andy Williams 1 (Jeff Cunningham ) 109

Kansas City Wizards -- Kevin Hartman, Jack Jewsbury (Davy Arnaud 72), Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Michael Harrington, Ryan Raybould, Kurt Morsink, Kerry Zavagnin (Carlos Marinelli 61), Will John, Eddie Johnson (Scott Sealy 46) (Sasha Victorine 76), Yura Movsisyan.

Substitutes Not Used: Jose Burciaga Jr., Aaron Hohlbein, Eric Kronberg

Real Salt Lake -- Chris Seitz, Jack Stewart, Eddie Pope (Chris Lancos 62), Daniel Torres, Willis Forko, Chris Klein (Andy Williams 69), Mehdi Ballouchy (Duke Hashimoto 85), Kenny Cutler (Chris Brown 12), Carey Talley, Freddy Adu, Jeff Cunningham,

Substitutes Not Used: Nikolas Besagno, Atiba Harris, Nick Rimando

	Real Salt Lake		Kansas City Wizards
total shots:	8	(Chris Klein 2,  Andy Williams 2)	15	(Yura Movsisyan 3,  Sasha Victorine 3)
shots on goal:	5	(Andy Williams 2)	5	(Sasha Victorine 3)
fouls:	15	(Mehdi Ballouchy 4)	12	(Ryan Raybould 4)
offsides:	2	(Freddy Adu 1,  Mehdi Ballouchy 1)	5	(Eddie Johnson 3)
corner kicks:	5	(Freddy Adu 2,  Mehdi Ballouchy 2)	5	(Carlos Marinelli 3)
saves:	4	(Chris Seitz 4)	3	(Kevin Hartman 3)

Misconduct Summary:
RSL -- Jeff Cunningham (caution; Reckless Foul) 4
KC -- Ryan Raybould (caution; Reckless Foul) 68
KC -- Yura Movsisyan (caution; Delaying a Restart) 90
KC -- Carlos Marinelli (caution; Game Disrepute) 105
RSL -- Daniel Torres (caution; Game Disrepute) 105
RSL -- Andy Williams (caution; Game Disrepute) 109

Referee: Colin Tait
Referee’s Assistants: Feliciano Palomino; Brett Stephens
4th official: Jeff Young
Time of game: 2:24
Attendance:
Weather: Flurries -and- 37 degrees

Galaxy survive the Crew 1-0
LA will host Red Bulls for the Open Cup berth

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Nate Jaqua scored an opportunistic goal in the 17th minute, and backup goalkeeper Steve Cronin made the narrow lead stand up as the Los Angeles Galaxy held off the Columbus Crew 1-0 in a U.S. Open Cup qualifier Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

"Win & You’re In"

New York Red Bulls at Los Angeles Galaxy May 8th - 10:30 p.m. EST Real Salt Lake at Colorado Rapids May 23rd - 9:00 p.m. EST

With the victory, the Galaxy will play host to the New York Red Bulls, with the winner earning a spot in the U.S. Open Cup. The date and time of the match will be announced Wednesday.

Landon Donovan set up the lone goal, cruising down the left side and sending a cross into the box. Crew keeper Bill Gaudette, though, mishandled the ball and Jaqua swooped in and scored the easy goal to give last year’s U.S. Open Cup runners-up the early advantage.

Cronin was called upon to make two key saves in the first half, the first on Danny Szetela’s shot from about 20 yards out in the 21st minute, then on a free kick by Andy Herron in the 36th.

Gaudette stopped two shots before leaving the match with a leg injury in the 34th minute. Andy Gruenebaum, Columbus’ regular starting keeper, came in and also made two saves in the rematch of the 2002 U.S. Open Cup final. Five years ago at Crew Stadium, it was Columbus that scored a first half goal and held on for the 1-0 win to capture their first championship.

Thrilling finish sends LA to the Cup
Gary Richards from The 2 G's radio show recaps the match

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By Gary Richards
The Two G’s Radio Show

The very thought of these two household names, within MLS and U.S. soccer history, conjures up classic games. East coast versus West coast. Lakers vs. Knicks. Kings vs. Rangers. Now, Galaxy vs. Red Bulls. You name it in any sport, New York versus Los Angeles is ‘BIG’. So why, you ask, is this game different? Well The powers that be at MLS and U.S. Soccer headquarters, I guess, have differing opinions. There is no TV. Not even tape delay. Radio...Huh! You try to find it. This game and the whole enchilada, needs coverage.

Thank god for the fans. If this becomes a classic game (and it could!), only the fans passing it around the office, will make the difference. For the Galaxy, it is a must-win. A franchise built on success and now even more at stake as David Beckham needs to be on a winning team. The Galaxy needs to be a ‘winner’. When he arrives the team needs to be in all competitions and competing rigorously for trophies.

For the New York Red Bulls, a recent name change, a new coach, and an influx of talent from abroad. Yes, abroad. Juan Pablo Angel from Aston Villa of the EPL and also Claudio Reyna, the U.S. international who had a splendid career both in the English and Scottish top flight. They have arrived at a good time for New York along with Clint Mathis. Bruce Arena has instilled a terrific balance of youth, experience and knowledge. However, anything other than the progression into the later rounds of U.S. Open cup will be considered a massive failure. The fact that these two sides, even have to qualify at this stage, is unto itself an irony with massive implications.

An August heat wave has ascended upon Los Angeles. At kickoff, both coaches, not wanting the wrath of fans, media or owners, put out extremely strong sides.

Within two minutes the Galaxy made their intentions clear. A nice move down the left side saw Galaxy’s Anti Jazic, fouled, inches from being a penalty. The punch and counter punch, then took hold of the game. Steve Cronin, the Galaxy number two keeper, was called to stop the advance of Altidore. Illegally so, according to tonight’s ref. The New York number 17, then stepped up to take his own penalty kick. Poor as it was. Cronin saved!

With Landon Donovan on the Galaxy bench, Claudio Reyna began controlling the middle of the park for the Red Bulls. Still Robbie Findley found himself open on several occasions, just failing to hit the target. Clint Mathis began to show his class and on the 21st minute, he struck a shot low and hard across goal ending up wide of the far post. On the half hour, Hunter Freeman for New York had to be subbed out. A young player with a lot of speed and talent, finally succumbed to one of many tough challenges delt out by the Galaxy defense. Reyna’s shot in the 38th minute comfortably saved by Cronin, but it was a sign that the Red Bulls sensed a Galaxy weakness. Several long range shots then barraged the Galaxy goal and as half time approached New York’s Dave Van den Bergh crossed in from the left, and was sweetly met by a leaping Clint Mathis. A little to close to the keeper, but domination and possession were firmly in New York’s favor.

Some erratic refereeing in the 45th minute saw a yellow card handed to Nate Jaqua and a free kick awarded to New York on the edge of the Galaxy area. (To be honest it wasn’t a foul.) The placement was too close and was easily saved by Cronin.

The second half started brightly and in the 48th minute, Dane Richards was set free on the right. Similar to the penalty award in the first half, but this time, Cronin grasped the ball and not player. The game continued it’s fast pace, with chances going begging at either end. The game took a nasty turn in the 55th as Galaxy captain Cobi Jones received a straight red card. Galaxy subs immediately began warming up on the sidelines as L.A. head coach Frank Yallop, began strategizing the changes needed. Kyle Martino was introduced.

Red Bull fans would be relieved to see the introduction of their newest number 9. Juan Pablo Angel, in the 62nd minute. The Colombian sent on by Bruce Arena to put the weakened Galaxy out of there misery. Frank Yallop then countered in the 64th, with the introduction of Landon Donovan. The home crowd, not more than 10,774 seemed revitalized. I wish the game was!

A clear chance, self created by Galaxy #20 Robbie Findley, should have put the L.A. Galaxy ahead in the 65th. Jon Conway sprinted off his line and made a splendid save. With the Bulls down to ten men, the Donovan-led Galaxy seamed full of new hope and confidence. In the 73rd minute Red Bull midfielder Dema Kovalenko received his marching orders for a second bookable offense. With that, the Galaxy stretched its collective muscles and began pressing.

Jazik had the best chance to date, shooting just over the Red Bull crossbar. Juan Pablo Angel with his virtual first touch, headed from close range, but a point blank save by Steve Cronin spared L.A.’s blushes. Donovan then received the ball, scampered down the right. Cut inside the Red Bull left back and launched a blistering shot from outside the box that was only saved by the crossbar.

Both teams now down to ten, the game certainly woke up and was very entertaining. With eight minutes remaining the Galaxy pressed. New York failed to clear a corner and Peter Vagenas, who was unmarked, shot just wide from thirty yards out. Later, a right-footed free kick by Angel was easily dealt with by the Galaxy keeper.

In the 90th minute, the Red Bulls had a chance to steal the game when second half sub John Wolyniec produced a fire cracker of a shot. Only equaled by the spectacular save by Steve Cronin in the Galaxy goal. A deputy for the rested Joe Cannon, Cronin produced a man of the match performance. Three minutes of stoppage time couldn’t produce a result. Extra time beckoned.

The Galaxy started the brighter of the two in extra time. Two minutes in, Peter Vagenas was taken down in the box, resulting in a successful Landon Donovan penalty kick.

The game certainly not over, Kyle Martino had the chance to seal a Galaxy win in the 8th minute of the first extra period, but great steadiness and poise by Jon Conway in the NY goal prevented such. To be honest the LA squad looked at this stage of the proceedings to be the fitter of the two sides. In the 103rd minute a spectacular cross by Santino Quaranta found a diving Kyle Martino. The ball sent powerfully into the roof of the New York net to make it 2-nil! Galaxy now firmly in control, they slowed the pace of the game, to suit them. Bruce Arena sat quietly on the bench.

Fifteen minutes left to save the tie. How would his team rebound, after going two goals behind? Possession switched to the LA end. New York was not finished. With the Galaxy defending heavily, a poor challenge gave the Red Bulls a chance to pull one back. The left edge of the ‘D’, Juan Pablo Angel stepped up and hammered home, giving Cronin no chance. It was low and to the far corner, and was perfectly placed.

Then at the other end, Landon was free on the right, unselfishly slipped the ball to Martino who missed the open goal. Back the other way, Todd Dunivant’s shot was brilliantly saved by Cronin once again. The rebound fell to Angel, but Cronin was up and quick enough to prevent the equalizer.

Two minutes to play, the kitchen sink was thrown forward by Bruce Arena, in the attempt to tie this one up. A last cross to Angel, who was sniffing around the right hand goal post, a poor header, which I’m sure he’d like back. The ball once again breaks free to Mr. Landon Donovan. Red Bull players clearly tired and struggling to keep up. The ball placed perfectly in front of Santino Quaranta. Who seals the tie for Los Angeles. For New York, a game well-fought. Clearly for me, the man of the match, has to be Steve Cronin the Galaxy keeper. If not for him, New York are the ones heading to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16.

Peterson strikes again
Stoppage time goal sends Rapids to the U.S. Open Cup

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For the second year in a row, Jacob Peterson of the Colorado Rapids is the reason that Real Salt Lake is eliminated from the Open Cup. His stoppage time goal, his second of the game, in the 93rd minute lifted the Colorado Rapids to a 2-1 win over their Rocky Mountain rivals. In 2006, Peterson scored the lone goal in the fourth round Open Cup match between these two clubs.

"Win & You’re In"

Real Salt Lake 1:2 Colorado Rapids Match Reports MLSnet.com Colorado Rapids Real Salt Lake

The match was the final play-in game for Major League Soccer, as eight of the 12 teams will enter the tournament in the third round, set to begin July 10.

The Rapids earn a spot in the tournament despite a fielding a second-string lineup, against RSL’s best 11. Peterson opened the scoring in the 48th minute when Salt Lake goalkeeper Chris Seitz punched the ball away, only to have it find the foot of Peterson, who put the ball into the back of the net.

Chris Klein equalized in the 64th minute with an untouchable shot from 15 yards out, thanks to an assist by Mehdi Ballouchy. However, it was Peterson who would prove to be the hero as new acquisition Conor Casey, who was making his first start with the club, sent Peterson down the right wing where he was able to send the game-winner off the far post and across the line.