October 1st, 2007 . 9:41 pm . By: John Carlton

With FC Dallas playing in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final on October 3rd, it’s a good time to take a look at the team’s history in the competition since 1996, the advent of the “professional era.”  The history includes some great games and some great names.  It includes players from the past who became heroes, others who became goats, and a collection of upper and lower-tier teams that became Dallas enemies through their repeated meetings in the country’s national soccer championship.  As will become evident with some of the foes Dallas has faced in the Open Cup over the years, familiarity breeds contempt.

First, a word about the Cup itself.

The U.S. Open Cup began in 1914 and is one of the oldest domestic cup soccer competitions in the world.  It is also the oldest, annual team tournament in the United States.  So, the cup has a tremendous pedigree that gives it a certain weightiness.  It’s a full-blooded event that didn’t have to be “invented” in the new era of pro American soccer, because the tournament has existed for nearly a century.  Now that the U.S. Open Cup is getting more attention from media and garnering sponsorships, the tournament is rightfully becoming a more prominent event each year.

1996

In 1996, the inaugural season of MLS, the Dallas Burn were one of five Major League Soccer teams to participate in the tournament.  In their first match, they defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-2 at the Cotton Bowl, as Lawrence Lozzano, Ted Eck and Gerrell Elliot all scored for Dallas.  Dallas have officially played the Sounders in the Open Cup three times, so we’ll be hearing from them again.  In the semifinal, Dallas hosted DC United in front of 2000 people.  Jaime Moreno scored a brace for DC as they defeated Dallas 2-0.  DC United went on to win the trophy in 1996 by beating Rochester at RFK Stadium in Washington.

1997

1997 saw Dallas win it’s only trophy to date.  The Burn had a longer road this time around as they began with a 3-0 win against the USISL’s New Orleans Storm, a team managed by future FC Dallas headman, Mike Jeffries.  The next round pitted Dallas against the Chicago Stingers and they advanced with another easy win, 4-0.   In the semifinal, Dallas beat the New York/New Jersey MetroStars at Baker Field in New York, 2-1.  The match went into extra time and the Burn’s Jorge Flores scored the game winner in the 103rd minute.  Damian, who was in good form throughout the tournament, scored the other Dallas goal in the 17th.  Dallas advanced to face the defending champions, DC United, in the final.

Courtesy of FC Dallas, you can re-live the 1997 U.S. Open Cup final here: 

Suffice to say, the championship was earned, as the teams played in near-freezing temperatures in Indianapolis and battled through 90 minutes without a goal.  The game went to extra time with two fifteen minute halves, but the golden goal was also in effect.  Despite some good chances to capitalize on that rule, DC was forced to penalty kicks by Dallas.   After United’s Diaz Arce missed, Jorge Rodriguez scored the winning PK for Dallas and ran to the sideline in pure jubilation.  To date, this is the greatest moment in club history.  In all, Dallas only gave up one goal throughout the 1997 U.S. Open Cup tournament, a testament to solid defensive play and good goalkeeping by Mark Dodd.  

1998

Another good run by Dallas came at the 1998 tournament, played from June through October that year.  Dallas knocked off A-Leaguers Orange County Zodiac 4-0 in the opener, and the upstart Nashville Metros 5-1 in front of 4,000 at the Cotton Bowl in the next round.  Against Nashville, Dante Washington scored twice and Mickey Trotman, Temoc Suarez and Richard Farrer added a goal a piece.  The Burn played the Chicago Fire in the semifinal, who had beat the San Jose Clash on penalties to get there.  The game was played at Zephyr Field in New Orleans, first of a twin bill of semifinals, and featured five goals.  Unfortunately, three of those were scored by the Fire.  A young Ante Razov scored early for Chicago, but Mickey Trotman brought Dallas level in the 23rd minute.  Two more goals for Chicago did the damage before Leonel Alvarez converted a penalty, the Burn’s last goal of the tournament, in the 83rd minute.  The loss was unfortunate in that it was the closest Dallas would come to glory in 1998.  The team qualified for the MLS playoffs, but got crushed by the Los Angeles Galaxy 6-1 in the first leg of a home-and-home and couldn’t recover in the second leg.

1999

Dallas finally got tripped up by an A-League team in their 1999 U.S. Open Cup campaign.  After a comfortable 3-0 win over A-league minnows, the Jacksonville Cyclones, Dallas ran into eventual champions, the Rochester Raging Rhinos.  Rochester were A-league in name only, sporting a good roster and great crowd support.  They had enjoyed success in the Open Cup in previous years, but the 1999 championship stands as quite an achievement.  They are still the only non-MLS team to win the U.S. Open Cup in the professional era. 

To review, the Dallas Burn’s overall record in the Open Cup during the 1990’s was very good.  A championship, two semifinals, and one early exit at the hands of the eventual champs.  A good run, but that was all about to change.

2000

The 2000 tournament got underway with Dallas meeting the Tennessee Rhythm (another incarnation of the Nashville Metros) in the opening round and prevailing, 3-0.  Next up was the defending A-League champions, Minnesota Thunder, who were fresh off a 7-0 thrashing of USASA side Mexico SC.   To make things more difficult, the game was in Minnesota and the Burn were winless on the road in MLS league play to that point (0-6-2).  Fortunately, Minnesota midfielder Morgan Zeba was sent off in the 23rd minute for a hard challenge on Paul Broome, and the extra space allowed Dallas to play without pressure.  They won 2-0 and advanced to play the Chicago Fire in the quarterfinals.  The game was a lopsided affair that saw Dallas lose 5-1.  Not a good outing, and not an overall great year for Dallas.  Chicago went on to win the 2000 Cup and the $100,000 cash prize.

2001

In the 2001 U.S. Open Cup, Dallas couldn’t even get out of the gate, losing in the first round to the Seattle Sounders Select, the Sounders reserve team.  The Dallas midfield was outplayed by Billy Sleeth who eventually had a cup of coffee in MLS.  Dallas was rather ordinary in league play that season, but the loss to the Seattle second-stringers must rank as one of the most disappointing in franchise history.

2002

Dallas rebounded for the 2002 Cup campaign.  In the third round, they escaped with a comeback victory in extra time against the Atlanta Silverbacks, even though they didn’t deserve to win.  Antonio “Chivas” Martinez scored two goals for Dallas in the game, including the game-winner in the 102nd minute.  Next up was the quarterfinal against Columbus Crew at the Cotton Bowl on August 7th.  The game was played during sweltering evening humidity and the teams doggedly fought to a draw for the first 90 minutes.  Chad Deering and Bobby Rhine were among the players pulling the offensive strings for Dallas, but several good chances on goal in regulation went begging.  Deep into extra time, Antonio Martinez found Paul Broome down the left side, who played a ball into the box.  Ronnie O’Brien perfectly ran onto it, and poked his golden goal into the left corner of the net.  Dallas were onto the semifinals to face a very good LA Galaxy team.

At the Rose Bowl on September 3rd, 2002 the Galaxy trounced Dallas 4-1 behind goals from Carlos Ruiz, Cobi Jones, Simon Elliot and Mauricio Cienfuegos.  The lone Dallas goal came in the 89th minute as Antonio Martinez sent a low cross from the byline for Ronald Cerritos who rammed a header under the crossbar.  For Dallas, another semifinal reached, but a whimpering exit from the competition.  On reaching the final, the Los Angeles Galaxy had a chance to become the first team to win back-to-back U.S. Open Cup titles since the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms in 1982-83, but they lost to Columbus in the final.

2003

The 2003 season was a disaster all around for the Dallas Burn, so it’s not difficult to guess how their Open Cup fortunes went.  USL Second-division side Wilmington Hammerheads absolutely destroyed the Burn 4-1 in the fourth round.  Today, it’s hard to imagine a loss like this occurring, but Dallas had a –29 goal differential at the end of the 2003 MLS regular season, so really this was just par for the course for that year.  Wilmington, by the way, also gave DC United a tough time in the next round, only losing 1-0 to a vastly superior side.

2004

The Burn’s first match of the 2004 Cup came against the Virginia Beach Mariners in the 3rd round.  Dallas scored a pair of goals in the early-going, the first a tap-in from Toni Nhleko (20’) off a cross from Ramon Nunez.  Three minutes later, Irish winger Ronnie O’Brien took another pass from the active Honduran Nunez at the top of the box and converted a hard low runner into the left side of the net.  Former Burn stalwart Dante Washington nearly bought Virginia Beach a goal in the 64th minute but his close header was parried away by Burn keeper Jeff Cassar.  Dallas went down a man in the 75th minute when Milton Reyes was shown a second yellow card, but Dallas was able to kill off the last fifteen minutes and advance to the fourth round to play the Colorado Rapids.  The match was played at the Cotton Bowl and featured three second half Dallas goals by Ronnie O’Brien (60’) and Eddie Johnson (67’,75’).  In the first half, Dallas heaped the pressure on the Rapids, out shooting them 9-1 but not finding net.  Ronnie O’Brien, Oscar Pareja and Eddie Johnson proved to be too much for the Rapids to handle in the second half, and the Burn notched a rather easy 3-0 victory to put them through to the 2004 Open Cup quarterfinals.  Playing at a good level, it looked as though at least another semifinal appearance was in the cards for Dallas, but the eventual 2004 Cup winners, Kansas City Wizards had other ideas.

The quarterfinal was played at Blue Valley Athletic Complex in Kansas and saw both teams get off to shaky starts.  There was a lot of erratic play with plenty of long balls over the top in the opening frame, and Dallas actually held the advantage in shots going into the half.  But whatever was said in the KC locker room at halftime inspired a better second half performance.  Chris Klein opened the floodgates for the Wizards in the 52nd minute, finding net off a left-footed blast that beat Scott Garlick near post.  Five minutes later, Dave Arnaud pounced on a rebound in front of goal which he easily converted to give the Wizards a 2-0 lead.  Dallas manager Colin Clark inserted Ramon Nunez into the match in the 65th minute looking for a spark, and nearly got it when Nunez hit the near post on a shot that had beaten KC keeper Tony Meola.  Alas, on the ensuing counter Kansas City’s Davy Arnaud combined some pretty footwork with a quality cross into the box that was finished by rookie forward Justin Detter.  Despite some quality offensive attacks from Dallas in the final minutes, it was too little, too late and Dallas would bow out of the 2004 Cup with two good wins and a bad loss.

2005

The FC Dallas era in the U.S. Open Cup began with a measure of revenge against USL-2 side Wilmington Hammerheads, who had ousted Dallas from the tournament in 2003.  It wasn’t easy this time around against Wilmington, either.  The Hammerheads pushed FC Dallas to the limit, scoring an early goal and forcing a furious comeback from the Hoops that went all the way into extra time.  Wilmington midfielder Derek Popovich opened the scoring in the 18th minute sending a powerful shot past an outstretched Jeff Cassar.  Dallas forward Abe Thompson, who was a handful for the Hammerheads all match, scored on a rebound in the 35th minute to equalize for FC Dallas.  Carey Talley and Oscar Pareja, the Dallas veterans, kept the teams shape and composure as the match continued, and as a result Wilmington did not get a shot off the entire second half.  The young bucks for Dallas also gave the USLers all they could handle, as Ronnie O’Brien, Roberto Mina and Arturo Alvarez all put in classy performances.  Roberto Mina put the Hoops ahead in extra time as he shimmied two defenders on the right side of the box and sent a pretty cross to the waiting Carey Talley, who calmly headed in the goal (98’).  Mina then slammed the door shut when he scored on an elegant chip over the head of the Wilmington ‘keeper in the 112th minute. 

The win put FC Dallas into a fourth round match up against the Columbus Crew at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.  In this game, Colin Clarke opted to field a mainly reserve side, leaving four MLS all-stars off the roster.  Missing from the roster were winger Ronnie O’Brien, GK Scott Garlick, defender Greg Vanney and midfield captain Simo Valakari.   Carey Talley opened the Hoops’ account in the 29th minute off a cross from midfielder Oscar Pareja.  The Crew’s lone shot on goal in the first half ended in a pretty goal that began with good work from Chris Henderson who chased a ball into the corner and got off a cross that was back heeled to a wide open Kyle Martino who easily beat Jeff Cassar for the goal (36’).  Despite several good chances on goal for the visitors the game changed when the Crew’s Frankie Hejduk and Danny Szetela were sent off at the same time for reckless fouls on Arturo Alvarez.  Nine-man Columbus fought on gamely, taking the match into extra time, but Abe Thompson put the game away in the 113th minute firing a loose ball into the upper 90.  A late penalty kick was converted by Dallas striker Eddie Johnson to provide the 3-1 final score line.  Next up was a quarterfinal match against powerful defending MLS Champs DC United at the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, Maryland. 

FC Dallas gutted out an extra-time penalty kick victory behind superb play from striker Carlos Ruiz and a key late substitution from manager Colin Clarke.  Ruiz had worked hard all game but had been shut down for almost 90 minutes until, with just seconds left in regulation, and down 1-0, El Pescadito got loose on a long run that ended in a crucial tying goal that sent the match into extra time.  At the end of a scoreless extra time, the game went to penalties, where late substitution Abe Thompson showed his skill from the spot.  Thompson scored the match-winner on the fourth and final PK, following misses by United’s John Wilson and Joshua Gros.  The win qualifies as one of the best comeback victories in Dallas history, and secured a spot in the semifinals against their archrivals, the Chicago Fire.

The semifinal took place in the glittering new Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.  In front of a midweek crowd of 7,000 fans, Dallas gutted out a 1-0 victory.  Ronnie O’Brien scored the game’s only goal in the 20th minute, getting on the end of a Ramon Nunez cross that Fire ‘keeper Zach Thornton mishandled, giving O’Brien a second bite of the apple and a goal.  The match was especially physical, the Hoops committing 20 fouls on the evening, six from Finnish defensive midfielder Simo Valakari.  More importantly, it was FC Dallas’ first win at their new stadium.

In the 2005 U.S. Open Cup final, the Hoops traveled west to meet the LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.  Unfortunately for FCD, they were running into a buzz saw in the form of Hercules Gomez, who had scored 5 goals in three US Open matches to that point in the tournament.  He notched his sixth against Dallas in the 25th minute on a beautiful scissor kick shot that left Scott Garlick helpless.  FC Dallas had their chances to get back into the match.  In the 40th minute, defender Clarence Goodson got his head on the end of a Bobby Rhine cross that cruelly skipped off the top of the woodwork.  But it was really the last best chance for the visitors, as the Galaxy were able to sit back and play the counter attack to good effect.  LA forwards Joseph Ngwenya and Landon Donovan continually used their speed to get behind the Dallas defense, and sloppy play from the back line created more chances than were warranted.  A late volley from English midfielder Mark Wilson forced a good save from Galaxy ‘keeper Kevin Hartman, but Los Angeles had earned their victory and the national championship.  LA went on to win the MLS Cup, completing the first domestic double since the Chicago Fire in 1998.

2006

The 2006 tournament was notable for its domination by MLS teams.  Every team in the quarterfinals was an MLS side, but the second-tier teams still put up a fight.  FC Dallas opened against USL-1 side Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.  The game was a free-flowing affair that featured four goals in regulation.  Dallas forward Kenny Cooper got on the board first for the visitors, converting a good goal in the dying moments of the first half.  In the second half, two penalty calls went against the Hoops.  Charleston converted both PKs, the second in the dying moments of regulation, and forced extra time.  Moments before the second Charleston penalty kick, Kenny Cooper scored his second of the match, seemingly a game-winner.  In extra time, the Battery’s Luc Harrington scored a huge goal that seemed destined to give Charleston an upset victory, but Kenny Cooper was having none of it.  In the last few seconds, with FC Dallas desperately attacking with all of their remaining energy, Cooper took the team on his back and slotted home a goal at the very last possible moment to force penalty kicks.  The hat trick was Cooper’s first for Dallas, and FCD went on to win 5-3 on penalties, conversions coming from Ronnie O’Brien, Chris Gbandi, Ramon Nunez, Kenny Cooper and Simo Valakari.

The reward for beating Charleston was a match up against in-form Houston Dynamo.  The in-state rivals met at Carl Lewis Track and Field Stadium in Houston on August 23rd, 2006.  Houston scored first courtesy of an Eddie Robinson header that got past new Dallas goalkeeper Shaka Hislop.  Despite the fact that the Dynamo fielded a team with a mix of starters and reserves, and FCD put a mostly starting XI on the field, the game was a rather unbalanced affair.  Houston applied high pressure in the midfield all game, and effectively clogged the middle and forced Carlos Ruiz and Kenny Cooper to take long range shots out of frustration.  Ruiz did finally manage to put a good shot on goal in the 53rd minute, but his header was well-collected by Pat Onstad.  The rest of the game saw FC Dallas make a series of defensive miscues that resulted in two additional Houston goals and a 3-0 win over their Texas rivals.  The match helped solidify the Dynamo’s near dominance over Dallas, a trend that continued into the 2007 season.  Though the Hoops bowed out in the quarterfinals, it could be said that Houston was the toughest match up available at the stage of the competition, especially playing at home.  A month later, Houston would lose to the Galaxy in the semifinals, but went on to hoist the MLS Cup in November.

2007

The 2007 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has been one of the best tournaments to date.  A resurgence of lower division teams made it deep into the competition, and MLS squads have been pushed to the limit by their USL counterparts.  FC Dallas played their first match in the 3rd round versus a very good Atlanta Silverbacks team.  Unlike in recent years, Dallas hosted their first match of the tournament, hoping to provide a little home-cooking for their cause.  The match took place before 2,500 restless souls at Pizza Hut Park as Dallas narrowly escaped with a win on penalties – sound familiar?  After spurning a goodly number of chances in the first half, Dallas finally got on the board in the 74th minute behind a 20 yard strike from Carlos Ruiz.  Despite out shooting the Silverbacks 14-4, Dallas found themselves tied only four minutes later when Daniel Antoniuk finished off a good free kick from teammate Rodrigo Rios in the 78th minute.  Minutes later, Antoniuk was given a red card for taking out Drew Moor from underneath then whipping his leg around hitting Moor in the face.  After regulation ended 1-1, the Hoops continued to dominate proceedings, but let several good goal-scoring opportunities go by the board.  Once again, Dallas was forced to penalty kicks at the end of extra time, and narrowly escaped the pain of a early-round ouster, as they scored one more PK than Atlanta, 5-4. 

The victory sent the Hoops to the next round to face Charleston Battery who did Dallas a favor by eliminating the Houston Dynamo in their third round match.  The quarterfinal took place at Charleston’s Blackbaud Stadium for the second year in a row.  Not surprisingly, the Hoops needed extra time, once again, to take down the little scrappers from the USL’s 1st division.  A theme from the 2007 season for Dallas has been the inordinate amount of wonder strikes scored by the opposition.  In this match, it was Charleston’s Stephen Armstrong in the 16th minute who issued a 35 yard blast that young ‘keeper Ray Burse was helpless to defend.  The Charleston lead disintegrated just five minutes later when Dallas defender Clarence Goodson connected on a header from a Dax McCarty corner kick.  A match played in oppressive heat and humidity, the tempo slowed measurably in the second half, as both teams looked to wisely conserve energy.  Almost expectedly, regulation time ended with the teams tied a goal each.  In the 96th minute, Arturo Alvarez, who had been rounding into top form, took a pass near the penalty area, slashed inside and hit a low shot inside the near post.  When the final whistle blew in extra time, the Hoops were headed to their sixth Open Cup semifinal in twelve years of play in the competition.

The semifinal was all set for Seattle, as FCD would travel to the Pacific Northwest for a showdown with the USL’s best team, the Sounders.  Seattle had just come off a 5-0 Open Cup demolition over the Colorado Rapids, and had been enjoying a superb run through the USL regular season.  (Seattle will play Atlanta for the USL championship on September 29th.)  Once again, FC Dallas controlled the play and generated the better scoring chances, and once again the teams were deadlocked after 90 minutes.  The Hoops needed only 58 seconds into extra time to score their first goal.  Arturo Alvarez ran down the right wing and supplied a good ball into Ruiz who was at the top of the penalty area.  El Pescadito took a couple of steps forward then sent a pretty chip over the Seattle ‘keeper that found the back of the net.  Abe Thompson added a penalty kick in the 119th minute, which turned out to be necessary as Seattle’s Leighton O’Brien scored a great goal on the last play of the match.  The 2-1 victory sent FC Dallas back to the U.S. Open Cup Final for the first time since 2005.

The 2007 final will be played at Pizza Hut Park on October, 3rd at 7:30 pm against the New England Revolution. 

Categories: FCD Lore.

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