Hoops outlast Battery in Open Cup
Simo Valakari won the game for Dallas in the shootout, slotting home the fifth and final penalty kick after Dario Sala saved Luke Vercollone's kick after both teams traded successful attempts up to that point.
Kenny Cooper netted all three of the Hoops goals, two in regulation and one in extra time to send the game to penalties after the Battery took the lead for the first time of the game in the 114th minute off a world-class goal by substitute Luc Harrington.
On a sweltering night, with temperatures in the mid-90s at kickoff, the game was the sixth game in 19 days for the Hoops, who have been decimated with injuries. Fielding what Dallas coach Colin Clarke called "the best team I can put out there," the Hoops started the night with a mixture of regulars and reserve players.
Noticeably absent from the lineup were Carlos Ruiz, Ronnie O'Brien and Bobby Rhine, the first two who have been recovering from various injuries for most of the month of July. Though Rhine and O'Brien did travel to Charleston, only O'Brien saw action, coming on for Abe Thompson in the 71st minute.
Dallas, having made it to the Open Cup Final last year, played with every intention of returning, dominating play in the midfield early on, with all 10 Battery players retreating behind the ball when Dallas had possession. The early pressure nearly paid off when Abe Thompson shot was cleared off the line by the Battery's Brandon Curran.
"We had some half chances early but weren't able to put them away," said Clarke. "Otherwise, I thought we dominated the first half of the game."
Charleston responded in the 21st minute when Ben Hollingsworth hit a cracker off the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards out. But it wasn't until injury time of the first half that anyone found the goal when Cooper hit a right-footed blast from 25 yards out just seconds before the halftime whistle.
The Hoops held the lead for 15 minutes. A miscommunication in the back found former Dallas player Gavin Glinton one-on-one with Clarence Goodson.
With superior pace, Glinton pushed the ball past Goodson leaving the lanky center back little choice but to commit the professional foul, dragging him to the turf. Goodson was summarily given his walking papers, and the Battery's Ben Hollingsworth banged home the penalty kick.
Cooper put the Hoops in the lead again in the 88th minute from inside the six-yard box, slamming home an O'Brien cross from close range after the Battery failed to clear the ball.
"I hoped we would be able to put it away then," said Clarke.
And they would have were it not for the upstart Battery, which continued to send numbers forward frantically in search of the tying goal.
The Battery's Vercollone, who gave the tired legs of Dallas defenders considerable trouble after he came on in the 78th minute, beat Justin Moore inside the penalty area and was brought down by Moore's subsequent attempt to win the ball. With the clock at 90 minutes, Ian Fuller stepped up and leveled the score for the second time of the night for the Battery from the penalty spot. Both sides had scoring chances in overtime, but it was the Battery who capitalized first. Harrington supplied an incredible finish off a Troy Lesesne cross from the right flank, first-timing the ball from 10 yards out at full stride, slotting it in the top corner of Sala's far post.
Cooper responded four minutes later, fighting off a Battery defender inside the goal area off a Dominic Oduro cross and awkwardly poking the ball past a flailing Dusty Hudock for this third tally of the night, sending the game to penalty kicks.
"I was in the right spot at the right time," Cooper said. "I got a good service and was lucky to get enough of it to get it in."
The teams traded goals through the shootout until Sala held his ground on Vercollone's kick, hit hard down the middle.
All Valakari had to do was score to give the Hoops the win. He calmly slotted home the last kick, beating Hudock with a hard shot down the middle. The win pits Dallas against Houston, 4-2 winners Wednesday against the PDL Carolina Dynamo, in the quarterfinals Aug. 23 at Houston.
Andrew Mosier is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
FC Dallas vs. Charleston Battery
August 02, 2006 -- Robertson Stadium
Scoring Summary:
FCD -- Kenny Cooper 1 (Simo Valakari 1) 45+
CHB -- Ben Hollinsworth 1 (penalty kick) 63
FCD -- Kenny Cooper 2 (unassisted) 89
CHB -- Ian Fuller 1 (penalty kick) 91+
CHB -- Luc Harrington 1 (Troy Lesesne) 114
FCD -- Kenny Cooper 3 (Dominic Oduro) 120
Penalty kicks:
FCD -- Ronnie O'Brien (Scored)
CHB -- Luc Harrington (Scored)
FCD -- Chris Gbandi (Scored)
CHB -- Lazo Alavanja (Scored)
FCD -- Ramon Nunez (Scored)
CHB -- Troy Lesesne (Scored)
FCD -- Kenny Cooper (Scored)
CHB -- Luke Vecollone (Saved)
FCD -- Simo Valakari (Scored)
Charleston Battery -- Dusty Hudock, Tim Karalexis, Mark Watson, Brandon Curran, Anthony Catalano (Luc Harrington 112), Omar Daley (Troy Lesesne 90), Stephen Armstrong (Luke Vercollone 78), Lazo Alvanja, Ben Hollingsworth (Teba McKnight 82), Ian Fuller, Gavin Glinton.
FC Dallas -- Dario Sala, Chris Gbandi, Justin Moore (Dominic Oduro 102), Alex Yi, Clarence Goodson, Marcelo Saragosa (Aaron Pitchkolan 78), Simo Valakari, Ramon Nunez, Kenny Cooper, Abe Thompson (Ronnie O'Brian 71), Arturo Alvarez (David Wagenfuhr 65).
Misconduct Summary:
FCD -- Marcelo Saragosa (caution) 21
FCD -- Alex Yi (caution) 33
FCD -- Chris Gbandi (caution) 53
FCD -- Clarence Goodson (ejection) 62
CHB -- Teba McKnight (caution) 86
FCD -- Ronnie O'Brien (caution) 101
Attendance: 2,332
