Dazzling Dipsy moves Fire into final
Orlando Perez, Selolwane hook up for second game-winner
Perez and Selolwane, who teamed up for the game winner in the Fire's quarterfinal victory over the Richmond Kickers on Aug. 4, struck gold in the 12th minute of overtime following a two-hour lightning delay Wednesday. Perez, who supplied the assist for Selolwane against the Kickers, again played provider, sending a cross into the box from the left for Selolwane to convert and send the Fire to their second straight U.S. Open Cup Final and fourth Open Cup championship match in seven years.
The Fire's opponent in the Sept. 22 title tilt at Arrowhead Stadium will be the Kansas City Wizards, who advanced Tuesday with a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. The last time the Fire and Wizards met with a trophy on the line was the 2000 MLS Cup Final, which the Wizards won 1-0 to capture their first and only piece of hardware. While the Fire's journey toward a fourth Open Cup crown continues, the Battery's quest to be just the second A-League team to win the Open Cup since the inception of MLS comes to an abrupt end.
The outcome of Wednesday's match was very much in doubt until Selolwane struck, and there was even some doubt that the match would be finished by the end of the night. Thunderstorms rolled through northern Illinois during the first half and lightning in the distance threatened the area. Play was halted at halftime and did not resume until nearly two hours after the teams had entered the locker rooms.
Because the weather and the two teams' strong defense slowed down the opponent's attackers, the goalkeepers were not forced to expend much energy early on. Fire 'keeper Henry Ring had to move very little to make his three saves in the first half, and Battery 'keeper Dusty Hudock only twice had to exert himself to keep the score sheet clean, both times turning away efforts from Fire midfielder Andy Williams.
In the 19th minute, Hudock was quick off of his line and smothered the ball at Williams' feet as the Jamaican international looked poised to finish off a Logan Pause through ball into the box. Ten minutes before the halftime whistle, Hudock snuffed out another Williams attempt, diving to his right to stop a shot Williams had taken from 15 yards out.
After the long delay, the Fire came out pushing to get the first goal. Eleven minutes after the start of the second half, Justin Mapp turned inside from his position on the left wing, and after driving into the box, fired a shot that Hudock pushed over the bar for a corner. Off the corner kick, Fire forward Damani Ralph got a shot off, but Hudock again was there for the save.
A short while later, Ring saw his first real action of the game at the other end. In the 61st minute, Ring put a stop to a dangerous situation after a cross fell at the feet of Battery forward Jesus Martinez near the top of the six yard box. Martinez fired a shot as Ring started to come off his line, and the Fire 'keeper made the save -- apparently with his face -- to keep the game scoreless.
Ring again had to come up big in the first overtime session, turning away Battery midfielder Steve Klein's header from a corner four minutes in.
The Fire's luck at finishing was no better than the Battery's in the first overtime. Ralph, looking for his second game-winning goal of the Fire's 2004 Open Cup campaign, was stoned at the near post by Charleston 'keeper Chris Doyle, who replaced Hudock in the 78th minute.
It was a different story in the second period of overtime, however, as a familiar pairing combined to send the Fire to the final. Perez served in a cross from the left and Selolwane, who replaced Nate Jaqua in the second half of regulation play, nodded the ball down and into the goal from eight yards out.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
Charleston Battery vs. Chicago Fire
Aug. 25, 2004 -- Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium - Naperville, Ill.
Scoring Summary:
CHI -- Dipsy Selolwane (Orlando Perez) 107
Charleston Battery -- Dusty Hudock (Chris Doyle 78), Steve Klein, Mark Watson, Rick Titus, Jason Kutney, Justin Evans, Kevin Jackson, Gabe Valencia, Ted Chronopoulos (Chris Goos 86), Greg Simmonds (Paul Conway 90), Jesus Martinez.
Substitutes Not Used: Nick Downing, Nigel Henry, Henrik Jensen, Josh Smith.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Greg Simmonds 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (6 tied with 1); FOULS: 17 (Greg Simmonds 4); OFFSIDES: 11 (Greg Simmonds 6); CORNER KICKS: 4 (Ted Chronopoulos 2); SAVES: 9 (Dusty Hudock 6)
Chicago Fire -- Henry Ring, Evan Whitfield (Craig Capano 107), C.J. Brown, Jim Curtin, Orlando Perez, Andy Williams, Kelly Gray, Logan Pause, Justin Mapp, Damani Ralph, Nate Jaqua (Dipsy Selolwane 79).
Substitutes Not Used: Scott Buete, Denny Clanton, D.J. Countess, Leonard Griffin, Alexandre Boucicaut.
TOTAL SHOTS: 19 (Damani Ralph 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Andy Williams 4); FOULS: 11 (Kelly Gray 3); OFFSIDES: 4 (Damani Ralph 3); CORNER KICKS: 8 (Andy Williams 6); SAVES: 6 (Henry Ring 6)
Misconduct Summary: NONE
Referee: Michael Kennedy
Referee's Assistants: -Robert Fereday; Greg Barkey
4th Official: Abiodun Okulaja
Attendance: 1,847
Time of Game: 3:44
Weather: Cloudy-and-73-degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
