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Sounders begin MLS side of Open Cup campaign
Real Salt Lake travels to the Northwest for play-in semifinal
Recent Form
Both the Seattle Sounders F.C. and Real Salt Lake are having solid starts to their seasons. The Sounders are 4-2 in their inaugural MLS campaign, and goalkeeper Kasey Keller has not allowed a goal in his 389 minutes of league play. Salt Lake enter the game after a 6-0 pounding of the New England Revolution at Rio Tinto Stadium, with all goals coming in the last 40 minutes of the match. The winner of this match will take on the Colorado Rapids for the right to enter tournament proper, most likely in the third round.
Did You Know?
The Seattle Sounders F.C. may be new to MLS Open Cup qualifying, but they are veterans in U.S. Open Cup experience. The Sounders, who played in the USL First Division last season, made it all the way to the semifinals of the 2008 tournament, before falling to fellow USL side Charleston Battery on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Striker Sebastien Le Toux earned the scoring title in both 2007 and 2008 with the Sounders, scoring 5 goals each year. Current backup goalkeeper Chris Eylander was named the USOpenCup.com Player of the Tournament in 2008, conceding only 1 goal in 510 minutes, including a 453-minute shutout streak, a Professional Era U.S. Open Cup record.
The Sounders have been participating in the tournament since 1995, when they were a part of the American Professional Soccer Leagues (APSL), which later evolved into the USL First Division (USL-1). They advanced to the semifinals of the Open Cup in 2007 and 2008, becoming the first USL-1 club to ever do so. Prior to 2007, their Open Cup success was rather limited, as the club had a 8-10 record in 10 tournament appearances.
Real Salt Lake, on the other hand, hasn’t made the tournament since MLS qualifiers were reintroduced before the 2007 season. Their best result was the fourth round in 2006, where they were defeated by the Colorado Rapids.
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