Seattle begins Open Cup play with plenty of experience
Le Toux, Eylander both helped USL side to Open Cup semifinals in 2008
So does Chris Eylander, Seattle's backup goalkeeper. He recorded a 453-minute scoreless streak in the 2008 tournament, including a virtuoso 12-save performance against the Kansas City Wizards in the quarterfinals. Eylander went on to save two penalties as Seattle advanced in a shootout.
He finished the tournament with only one conceded goal in 510 minutes, for an unprecedented 0.178 goals against average. In recognition of his heroics, he beat out D.C. United's Jaime Moreno to be named the 2008 Open Cup Player of the Tournament.
"Both of those guys are very proud of their accomplishments," said Brian Schmetzer, former USL head coach and current Sounders FC assistant coach. "Those kinds of accolades are big for young guys who want to continue their success at the MLS level."
Both players have a good chance of taking the field as Seattle takes on Real Salt Lake on Tuesday in the first MLS play-in round of the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The victor earns the right to play the Colorado Rapids -- the winner of that game will be ushered into the tournament proper's round-of-16. Against RSL, Sounders FC will try to recapture the giant-killing ways of their USL predecessors.
In 2007, the USL First Division side dismissed MLS sides Chivas USA and the Colorado Rapids in the 2007 Open Cup before being ousted by FC Dallas. The following season, Seattle beat Chivas USA again and the Kansas City Wizards before once again crashing out just one match before the final, this time at the hands of current Sounder Osvaldo Alonso and the Charleston Battery.
The memory of the shootout loss to Charleston still lingers on the minds of many of the former USL Sounders, including Kevin Forrest. The current senior developmental player came on as a substitute and had his final penalty saved as the Battery won the shootout, 4-3. (Le Toux also failed to convert.)
To this day, Forrest still remembers the disappointment of the missed penalty.
"That was only my second game, I hit the crossbar and set up someone else (during the game), but it was just one of those games where nothing went our way," Forrest said. "I probably shouldn't have taken one. I was just coming back from being out for 6-8 months and I hadn't taken a penalty in over a year. I went left but I didn't hit it that great.
"It was a really bad experience -- one of the biggest disappointments of my career. I didn't really sleep that night. It was only my second game with the team and I felt like I had let everyone down. "
Forrest might get a chance to exorcise those demons in this year's tournament. As is his routine, Seattle coach Sigi Schmid is holding his cards close to his vest with regards to the starting lineup, but he expects "a mixture" of regulars and reserves to take the field against RSL.
Several seldom-used players could get a chance to show their wares. USL veterans Zach Scott and Le Toux were both recently removed from the starting lineup against San Jose, while Sanna Nyassi has played sparingly since his opening day start. Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl and Stephen King have yet to notch their first action in 2009.
Players recovering from injuries, like Taylor Graham, Pete Vagenas and Jarrod Smith, could also feature in some capacity. Seattle will be without Freddie Ljungberg, who flew to Sweden to attend the funeral of his grandmother. He is expected to return Thursday.
Neither Real Salt Lake nor Seattle will likely play their full complement of starters. However, Schmetzer said that based on the intensity of training everyone is taking this game "extremely seriously" and that the budding rivalry between Seattle and Real Salt Lake should extend down to the reserves. Le Toux, in particular, is hopeful for a good performance after being displaced from the starting lineup, according to Schmetzer.
The game will be played at Starfire Sports Complex instead of the Sounders' usual home, Qwest Field.
"It's smaller, which is the biggest thing," Schmid said. "People don't realize when you take away four or five yards of width, you really multiply that by 110 yards. And all of a sudden five yards times 110 is 550 less square yards, and that ends up being a big difference.
"It means it's going to be more of a bang-bang type of game. It's going to be a little more contained upon finding your options quickly. It's going to be a little more duels; a little more physical in that regard."
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
