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U.S. Open Cup final preview
Revs try again for their first trophy, Hoops aiming for their 2nd
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2007 U.S. Open Cup Final
New England Revolution (MLS)
at
FC Dallas (MLS)
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Wednesday, Oct. 3 - 8:00 p.m. EST
Pizza Hut Park - Frisco, TX
TV: Fox Soccer Channel
FC Dallas Radio:
92.1 FM KXEZ (English)
1540 AM KZMP (Spanish)
New England Radio: None
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HOW THEY GOT HERE
New England entered the tournament in the third round where they met the Rochester Raging Rhinos (USL-1) for the fourth time in the last five Open Cups. In one of the more entertaining matches of the tournament, Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston put the Revs up 2-0, but the Rhinos’ Hamed Diallo scored two goals to pull the match level by the 85th minute. However, the Revs would escape the city of Rochester with a win when Taylor Twellman scored the game-winner in the 90th minute. Ralston would add a stoppage time penalty kick to make it 4-2. In the quarterfinals, the Revolution hosted the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL Second Division, and moved on to the semifinals with a 2-1 win with goals from Twellman and Andy Dorman. They controlled the majority of the match, but the City Islanders scored a late goal, and nearly equalized in the final minutes.
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Road to
the Final
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New England
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FC Dallas
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Third Round
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Rochester (USL1) 4-2
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Atlanta (USL1)
1-1 (4-3 PKs)
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Quarterfinals
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Harrisburg (USL2) 2-1 (aet)
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Charleston (USL1) 2-1 (aet)
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Semifinals
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Carolina (USL1)
2-1
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Seattle (USL1)
2-1 (aet)
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In the semifinals, they rebounded from a sixth minute goal by the Carolina RailHawks’ Anthony Maher and equalized in first half stoppage time. Pat Noonan, who assisted on the equalizing goal by Adam Cristman, scored the game-winner four minutes into overtime.
Dallas also joined the fun in the third round and eliminated the Atlanta Silverbacks (USL-1) on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw. The Hoops then visited the Charleston Battery (USL-1) in the quarterfinals, winning 2-1 in extra time with Arturo Alvarez scoring the game-winner in the 95th minute. In the semifinals, they were taken to overtime for the third straight match, but defeated the Seattle Sounders (USL-1) with a 92nd minute goal from Carlos Ruiz, and a late penalty kick by Abe Thompson. Seattle pulled one back in stoppage time, but Dallas held on to advance to the final with a 2-1 victory.
OPEN CUP HISTORY
New England Revolution
8th appearance, 9-7 (1-1 in PKs)
Record vs. MLS: 2-4
New England’s greatest season was in 2001 when they won four games and earned a spot in the Open Cup final against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Unfortunately, they failed to win the club’s first trophy, losing 2-1 in sudden death overtime on a goal by Galaxy defender Danny Califf.
Outside of their impressive run in 2001, the Revolution have enjoyed very little success in the tournament. Removing 2001, the Revs had a 2-6 record entering the 2007 Open Cup, with both of those wins coming against the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL First Division. Their lowest moment came in 2000, when they lost 1-0 at home to the Mid-Michigan Bucks of the USL Premier Development League (4th Division).
The Revs haven’t beaten an MLS team in the Open Cup since the 2001 tournament when they defeated DC United 2-0 in the semifinals.
FC Dallas
12th appearance, 22-10 (4-0 in PKs)
Record vs. MLS: 7-7 (2-0 in PKs)
The 1997 U.S. Open Cup champion, FC Dallas has been involved in every edition of the Open Cup since the start of MLS in 1996. This is their third appearance in the final, and second in the last three years. In 1997, they defeated the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (A-League), Chicago Stingers (D-3 Pro), and the Metrostars (MLS) before advancing to the championship game on a neutral field in Indianapolis, IN. There they faced DC United and after finishing the match scoreless, Dallas, then known as the "Burn", defeated United in penalty kicks 5-3. The last time FCD played for the championship, they lost 1-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005.
HEAD TO HEAD
This is the first head-to-head matchup between these two clubs in the U.S. Open Cup. In the MLS regular season, New England leads the all-time series 19-9-1, including winning three straight and seven of the last eight meetings. New England has won both meetings with the Hoops this year, 1-0 at Dallas on April 29 and 4-2 at home on September 15. The two clubs have never met in the MLS playoffs.
OPEN CUP CONNECTIONS
Both teams have lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in an Open Cup final. In the 2001 final, the Revoltion lost 2-1 on a Danny Califf golden goal in extra time. FC Dallas fell 1-0 in the 2005 championship on a 25th minute goal by Herculez Gomez.
While there are few Open Cup connections between these two teams, FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow and New England manager Steve Nicol have both won England’s FA Cup in their playing career. Nicol was a three-time winner with Liverpool FC (1986, 1989, 1992) while Steve Morrow won the FA Cup (and the League Cup) with Arsenal in 1993. Morrow was unable to play in his team’s victory in the final over John Harkes’ Sheffield Wednesday side because he was recovering from a broken arm. Oddly enough, he suffered that injury while celebrating his game-winning goal in the League Cup Final (also against Sheffield Wednesday) a month earlier.
LEAGUE FORM
New England Revolution
14-6-7, 49 points (2nd place in Eastern Conference)
8-2-4 home / 6-4-3 away
Last 5 matches: W T W L W
Leading goalscorer: Taylor Twellman, 14 (4th in MLS)
Leading assist man: Steve Ralston, 12 (1st in MLS)
Goalkeeper: Matt Reis (27 starts, 14-6-7, 10 shutouts, 1.33 GAA)
FC Dallas
12-11-4, 40 points (3rd place in Western Conference)
7-4-2 home / 5-7-2 away
Last 5 matches: L L T L W
Leading goalscorer: Carlos Ruiz, 7
Leading assist man: Dax McCarty, 7
Goalkeeper: Dario Sala (18 starts, 8-7-3, 5 shutouts, 1.61 GAA)
OPEN CUP STANDOUTS
New England
Taylor Twellman - 3 goals (T-3rd)
Steve Ralston - 2 goals (T-4th)
Dallas
Carlos Ruiz - 2 goals
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