U.S. Open Cup roundup

Selolwane strike sends Chicago past Kickers 1-0 in quarterfinals.

RICHMOND, Va. (Wednesday, August 4, 2004) -- Forward Dipsy Selolwane struck in the second half and his goal allowed the Chicago Fire to defeat the Richmond Kickers in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals before 5,712 at University of Richmond Stadium tonight.

While Chicago is 0-6-3 in its last nine Major League Soccer matches, the Fire is two victories away from defending its Open Cup title and having its name etched on the Dewar Trophy for the fourth time. Chicago will face the Charleston Battery, like the Kickers a member of the second-tier A-League, in the semifinals August 25 at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Ill.

The Battery defeated its A-League brethren, the Rochester Raging Rhinos 1-0 on the road tonight.

"We've taken this Cup very seriously and we're very pleased with the result," Fire coach Dave Sarachan said. "We're always critical that the little pieces of the soccer could always be better, but I was very proud of my team for keeping its shape and composure against a team that really dropped off on us. We needed patience and we got the goal from Dipsy and ended up advancing, so we're extremely pleased."

In the 56th minute, Selolwane scoring his first goal for the Fire in nearly three months. Midfielder Chris Armas played a short corner kick from the left side 15 yards out to defender Orlando Perez, who snapped a cross inside the penalty area that found Selolwane open seven yards from goal. The Botswanan international had plenty of space and easily beat goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale with a header to give Chicago the 1-0 advantage.

That lead was in peril for much of the next 10 minutes with Fire keeper Henry Ring stepping up to make several big saves and punches off his line to keep the Fire ahead. Ring's best effort came in the 60th minute when Richmond midfielder Kevin Jeffrey found himself behind the Fire defense on a breakaway. As the Trinidad & Tobago international carried into the right side of the area, Ring came off his line and dove low to his left to snuff Jeffrey's chance from 10 yards out.

Each team took 10 shots in the contest with Chicago having a 3-2 edge on frame, necessitating each keeper into making two saves.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Charleston Battery is only 3-14-4, in last place in the A-League Eastern Conference, but an early goal by striker Gabe Valencia gave the club its third U.S. Open Cup victory of 2004, a 1-0 defeat of the Rochester Raging Rhinos in their quarterfinal before 7,012 at Frontier Field.

Rochester is third in the A-League East at 13-8-1, trailing first place by three points.

Charleston will face MLS's Chicago Fire August 25 in the semifinals at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Ill.

In the sixth minute, Valencia elevated above two defenders and knocked a header past goalkeeper Theo Zagar for a 1-0 lead.

Rochester came close to tying midway through the first half when forward Chris Carrieri hit the crossbar from 18 yards.

The Rhinos controlled a majority of possession after intermission, Despite the constant pressure by Rochester, the Battery defense used its size to great advantage in keeping the Rhinos away from goal.

Rochester outshot the Battery 18-9, but it was Charleston that held the 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.

The Battery advanced to the Open Cup semifinals in 1999, losing 3-0 to the Colorado Rapids of MLS. Rochester has reached the semifinals twice since MLS began in 1996, losing the 1996 title match 3-0 to MLS's D.C. United 3-0 before defeating the Rapids 2-0 in the 1999 final.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The San Jose Earthquakes advanced to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals for the first time, needing a 5-4 decision in a penalty-kicks tiebreaker to eliminate the Minnesota Thunder after the two teams played a 2-2 draw before 5,668 at James S. Griffin Stadium.

San Jose will face another MLS club, the Kansas City Wizards, August 24 in the semifinals.

"We are pleased, but we don't want to get too high," San Jose coach Dommenic Kinnear said. "It is just one win."

San Jose made all five of its penalty kicks in the shootout. Midfielder Jay Alberts missed for Minnesota in the second round, his shot over the crossbar proving to be the difference. Defender Todd Dunivant netted the decisive kick for the Earthquakes.

Minnesota of the A-League tied the match at 2-2 in the 77th minute when defender Jeff Branan headed home a corner kick by midfielder Jeff Matteo.

The Thunder continued to pressure as time wound down, but Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Conway was up to the task, making a couple of diving saves.

The Thunder took a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute on a goal by striker Melvin Tarley who hammered home a shot from the middle of San Jose's six-yard box after Alberts beat his defender to make a low left-side cross.

The Earthquakes tied the game at 1-1 in the 24th minute after forward Brian Ching was taken down just above the right side of the penalty area. Defender Jeff Agoos curled his free kick into the middle of the box with the ball bouncing once before Ching volleyed a shot past Minnesota goalkeeper Joe Warren.

In the 64th minute, San Jose midfielder Ramiro Corrales crossed from the right side to Ching for a first-touch pass to advancing striker Landon Donovan. He broke in alone on Warren, who made an initial save, but watch the rebound go to Donovan for an easy shot into the open net.

Corrales was sent off after being issued his second yellow card in the 109th minute, leaving San Jose playing a man down for the remaining 11 minutes of sudden death.

OVERLAND PARK, Kans. -- Midfielder Chris Klein ignited an eruption of four second-half goals that led the Kansas City Wizards to a 4-0 victory in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal between MLS teams before a capacity crowd of 2,143 at the Blue Valley District Activities Complex.

Kansas City will host MLS's San Jose Earthquakes August 24 in the semifinals.

"I thought we looked a little rusty the first half offensively, but defensively we were up to the task," Wizards coach Bob Gansler said. "The second half, we revved it up a little, obviously. Kleiny's goal jumpstarted us offensively, making a great solo effort picking up the ball in the midfield. The guys are serious about this tournament."

Kansas City nearly took a lead in the 11th minute when striker Davy Arnaud took a pass from Klein and drilled a 14-yard blast of the top off the right goalpost.

In the 52nd minute, Klein stripped Dallas midfielder Oscar Pareja near midfield and raced in on goal from inside the center circle. Klein weaved around one defender with another trailing him before finding space just above the penalty area and firing a right-footer past goalkeeper Scott Garlick and inside the right post to make it 1-0.

"We didn't play all that well in the first half and we talked at halftime about coming out with a little more fire and intensity," Klein said. "Once we got that first goal, it gave us a lot of confidence we needed to put that second one in, and we played a lot better in the second half than we did in the first."

Five minutes later, Klein sent a ball into the box from the right side. Forward Justin Detter squeezed between two Dallas defenders inside the six-yard box and laid out for a diving header only to have his attempt slapped away by Garlick with a great reaction save. The ball squirted to the left of Garlick and Arnaud was quick to collect the loose ball and score for a 2-0 advantage.

Arnaud created another Wizards opportunity in the 73rd minute, making a solo run down the right flank, piercing through the Dallas defense. With two Burn defenders closing in and a third approaching, Arnaud played a perfect ball into the middle of the box where Justin Detter was wide open for a first-time strike for a 3-0 lead.

Alex Zotinca, who replaced Arnaud three minutes earlier, nailed a rocket from the right side in the 88th minute to make it 4-0 after being set up by reserve forward Matt Taylor.

MLS (10): Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, Dallas Burn, D.C. United, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution, MetroStars, San Jose Earthquakes
A-League (8): Atlanta Silverbacks, Charleston Battery, Minnesota Thunder, Portland Timbers, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Syracuse Salty Dogs, Virginia Beach Mariners.
Pro Select League (6): Charlotte Eagles, New Hampshire Phantoms, San Diego Gauchos, Utah Blitzz, Western Massachusetts Pioneers, Wilmington Hammerheads.
Premier Development League (8): Boulder Rapids Reserves, Cape Cod Crusaders, Carolina Dynamo, Chicago Fire Reserves, Cocoa Expos, DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) Tornadoes, South Jersey Barons, Spokane Shadow
USASA (8): Allied FC (Baltimore), Azzurri (Dallas), Chico Rooks, Legends FC (Texas), Milwaukee Bavarians, N.Y. Greek-American-Atlas, SAC Wisla (Chicago), Sacramento Knights.