FC Dallas, New England Revolution to Dispute 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final

The 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship will feature two Major League Soccer clubs after the New England Revolution and FC Dallas advanced to the finals with overtime victories on Tuesday evening.

Sep. 5, 2007

CHICAGO (Sept. 5, 2007) - The 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship will feature two Major League Soccer clubs after the New England Revolution and FC Dallas advanced to the finals with overtime victories on Tuesday evening. Both clubs overcame game opposition from United Soccer League First Division teams in a tournament which saw five of the final eight teams representing the lower divisions of the professional game in the United States. The final between the two teams is slated for Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. ET at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, in a match that will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel.

In New Britain, Conn., the New England Revolution downed the USL's expansion Carolina Railhawks 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Pat Noonan in the 93rd minute. Noonan also had an assist in the game in front of 4,203 fans at Veterans Stadium. With the win, the Revs will play in their second U.S. Open Cup championship match (after losing to the L.A. Galaxy in the 2001 final).

Noonan's game-winning goal came three minutes into the 30-minute overtime on a 19-yard shot past Carolina goalkeeper Chris McClellan for the game-winning goal. The Revolution victory was a physical match that featured a total of three ejections, 11 total cards and 37 fouls.

In Seattle, the perennially strong Sounders and FC Dallas battled into overtime at 0-0, before watching the MLS side score twice and eventually win 2-1 in Washington. Dallas was led by Carlos Ruiz and Abe Thompson, each scoring in overtime to lift the franchise into their second U.S. Open Cup final.

At stake in the tournament is $180,000 in prize money broken down as follows: $100,000 to the champion, $50,000 to the runner up and $10,000 to the team which advances deepest in the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels. Seattle will take home the $10,000 for the Division II team after the fifth tie-breaker: having defeated the most teams from one division higher. The Richmond Kickers receive the $10,000 for the Division III team, having defeated the most teams from the same division (the seventh tie-breaker). The El Paso Patriots earned the prize money awarded to the amateur team after advancing to the third round of the tournament and winning the fourth tie-breaker: drawing with a team in a higher division.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world having crowned a champion for 93 consecutive years dating back to 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

2007 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
SEMIFINAL ROUND RESULTS

No.	Date	Teams	Venue; Location	Time
37	September 4	Carolina RailHawks (USL-1) at New England Revolution (MLS)	Veterans Stadium; New Britain, Conn.	1-2 (OT)
38	September 4	FC Dallas (MLS) at Seattle Sounders (USL-1)	Qwest Field; Seattle, Wash.	2-1 (OT)