U.S. Open Cup roundup

Brunt strike sends Minnesota to 1-0 upset over Galaxy in fourth round.

Steve Klein led the Charleston Battery to a 1-0 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup upset of the MetroStars by scoring early in the second half. -- Charleston Battery web site photo --

MINNEAPOLIS, Minne. (Tuesday, July 20, 2004) -- Defender Chris Brunt scored in the first half and the Minnesota Thunder made it stand up with a 1-0 upset of the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 before 5,505 at the Metrodome tonight.

The Galaxy, which has the best record in Major League Soccer this season, was one of three teams from the first-division league to be knocked out of the tournament tonight by clubs from the second-tier A-League. The Charleston Battery used midfielder Steve Klein's tally just after intermission to eliminate the visiting MetroStars 1-0. The Rochester Raging Rhinos prevailed 3-1 in a penalty-kicks tiebreaker to send the host New England Revolution packing after the two teams were tied 1-1 through 120 minutes of play.

Minnesota will host MLS's San Jose Earthquakes in a quarterfinal August 4 at at James Griffith Stadium in Minneapolis.

"We played very well today. It was a phenomenal victory for us, to beat L.A.," said Thunder coach Buzz Lagos who registered his 300th coaching victory -- his record is now 301-127-31 (.670) -- with a 3-0 A-League triumph over the Calgary Mustangs Thursday. "The stars were aligned right today. We had good preparation for the game, we were sharp mentally and we came out tough."

The Thunder was pressing the attack in the 21st minute it went ahead 1-0. After a Galaxy foul about 25 yards from goal on the right side, former Columbus Crew midfielder Jeff Matteo curled a free kick to the far post, directly to Brunt's head. Brunt's header deflected off the hand of goalkeeper Dan Popik before entering the net.

"It's good for us to be able to go another round," Brunt said. "We'll take it as far as we can."

The Thunder came out pressuring and nearly went ahead after 25 seconds. After a Galaxy turnover in its defensive third, Minnesota striker Johnny Menyonger rifled a shot from the edge of the box that eluded Popik but skidded just wide the far post. The Thunder threatened again in the ninth minute, but forward Melvin Tarley shot well wide.

In the 12th minute, Galaxy rookie forward Joseph Ngwenya looked to break into the scoring column, but his close-range header of an Arturo Torres cross sailed just wide of the post.

"We lost the game in the first 20 minutes tonight," Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid said. "We gave them confidence and hope in those first 20 minutes. Even though we slowly grabbed the game back, it was not enough. In the end, we had too many injured defenders to compensate for."

After falling behind, Los Angeles put together some possession, but did not create any chances that caused Thunder keeper Joe Warren any great concern. Midfielder Sasha Victorine's shot from just outside the penalty area did not trouble Warren who collected the ball on two hops inside his six-yard box.

In the 57th minute, Schmid brought Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz, MLS's leading scorer, in for Ngwenya. Twelve minutes later, his fellow forward Jovan Kirovski sliced through the Thunder defense on a run of more than 50 yards up the middle of the field. Warren was up to the task and easily made a save on Kirovski.

"We got off to a horrible start," Kirovski said. "We talked about getting off to a good start before the game and we did just the opposite. We gave up a shot in the opening seconds and a goal in the first 20 minutes. We never recovered."

Minnesota countered in the 77th minute, but reserve striker Marco Ferruzzi's first-time effort went wide.

Ruiz tried to tie matters in the 89th minute, but Warren parried his blast over the crossbar.

With a showdown Saturday against the Kansas City Wizards with the Western Conference lead and the league's best record at stake, the L.A. used less than half of its usual starters. "Even if we were to use the same crew (as tonight) on Saturday, I would expect a different game, especially in the first 20 minutes," Schmid said.

DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. -- Midfielder Steve Klein found net shortly after the interval, lifting the Charleston Battery of the A-League to a 1-0 decision over Major League Soccer's MetroStars before 2,200 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery advanced to an August 4 quarterfinal visit to its A-League brethren, the Rochester Raging Rhinos. Rochester prevailed over MLS's New England Revolution 3-1 in penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw.

The decisive tally came after Charleston after defender Rick Titus took a free kick in the Battery's attacking third and drilled it into the MetroStars' defensive wall. Klein collected the loose ball and slid it past keeper Zach Wells into the net for a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.

The MetroStars came up empty on a prime chance to knot the score when striker Mike Magee failed to convert a penalty kick in the 73rd minute, After Charleston midfielder Gabe Valencia took 17-year-old forward Eddie Gaven down in the Battery box, Magee fired a penalty kick that hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced downward and was cleared.

The Battery created the first true chance of the game in the 12th minute when Valencia broke free of the MetroStars' defense and ripped a shot that beat Wells, but hit the goal frame and bounced into the six-yard box. MetroStars defender Chris Leitch calmly collected the ball and cleared it from danger.

In the 20th minute, it was the MetroStars who had a shot hit the post. Forward Cornell Glen drilled a shot from the top of box that was deflected. The ball bounced towards Charleston keeper Dusty Hudock, but before he was able to grab it, Magee ran onto it and hit a shot with the inside of his right foot that caught the frame and deflected away.

Wells made spectacular saves in the 26th and 29th minutes. First, he made a fully-extended diving stop on a Valencia shot from 30 yards out. Then, Valencia broke through the defense and blasted a low shot that Wells denied with another dive.

Trailing 1-0, the MetroStars had a great chance to knot the contest in the 71st minute. Magee carried down the left flank on a counterattack and played a low ball across the six-yard box. Reserve forward Fabian Taylor slid and met the ball, but it ricocheted off a post and was cleared away by the Battery.

LUDLOW, Mass. -- The A-League's Rochester Raging Rhinos, who having been bidding to become an MLS expansion franchise, eliminated the New England Revolution 3-1 in a penalty-kicks tiebreaker after the two teams tied 1-1 at Lusitano Stadium.

Rochester will host fellow A-League club, the Charleston Batterry in the quarterfinals on August 4.

After Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis kept the game scoreless with a save of Rhino midfielder Sean Tsakiris' penalty kick in the second minute, striker Pat Noonan put New England ahead 1-0 in the seventh minute with midfielder Richie Baker getting the assist.

Midfielder Kirk Wilson tied the match at 1-1 for Rochester with an unassisted goal in the 60th minute.

"The second half, they kept us under pressure and we never stood up to it,'' New England coach Steve Nicol told the Boston Herald.

After 30 minutes of sudden death settled nothing, Rochester keeper Theo Zagar made two saves in the shootout and watched another attempt sail high while Craig Dennim, Roland Aguilera and Carlos Mendes were successful among the Rhinos' four penalty attempts. Mendes ended the match with his successful try.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Striker Damani Ralph scored his second goal of the game in the 106th minute, stoppage time in the first of two sudden-death overtime periods, to give the Chicago Fire a 2-1 triumph over the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium.

The extra time was apparently added when Crew forward Edson Buddle was sent off with a disputed red card in the 97th minute for his tackle on Fire midfielder Logan Pause.

Chiacgo will meet the winner of Wednesday's fourth-round match which has MLS's D.C. United visiting the A-League's Richmond Kickers.

Midfielder Frankie Hejduk put Columbus on top 1-0 in the 27th minute when he leapt over Fire defender C.J. Brown to head home a cross from defender Chris Wingert.

The Fire tied the game at 1-1 with a penalty kick in the 66th minute after Duncan Oughton was called for a foul on Andy Williams in the box. Ralph converted the penalty to the right of Crew goalkeeper Jon Busch who just barely missed saving the shot with his right hand.

Otherwise, Busch was outstanding, recording 13 saves.

DALLAS -- Midfielder Ronnie O'Brien scored the decisive goal on an assist by forward Eddie Johnson who proceeded two add a pair of goals in a second-half explosion that gave the Dallas Burn a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in the fourth round battle between MLS clubs at the Cotton Bowl.

The Burn will travel to MLS's Kansas City Wizards August 4 for the quarterfinals.

Dallas did not break through until the 60th minute. Striker Jason Kreis sent a cross from the right flank to Johnson near the penalty spot. Johnson flicked the ball on to O'Brien who used his first touch to drill a shot into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, O'Brien shook free of two defenders at the top of the box and cracked a shot that caromed off of the right post. The ball ricocheted to the right of the goal where Johnson struck a left-footer into the top right corner to make it 2-0.

Johnson capped off his evening with a second tally in the 75th minute. Simo Valakari played the ball across the midfield stripe to Ramon Nunez who had entered the match just one minute earlier. Nunez sprang Johnson one-on-one with a through ball that Johnson slotted into the net's lower left corner for a 3-0 advantage. .

"I thought the first half, (the Rapids) came with the game plan of sitting back," Burn coach Colin Clarke said. "We had a lot of possession, but some of our passes and finishing weren't great. But we always looked like if we got one, we'd get two, three or four. I think there was a collective sigh of relief when the first one went in and the boys enjoyed it from then on."

CLARKSTON, Ga. - Striker Davy Arnaud had two goals and an assist to lead the Kansas City Wizards to an easy 4-1 decision over the A-League's Atlanta Silverbacks.

Kansas City will host another MLS club, the Dallas Burn, August 4 in the quarterfinals.

The Wizards went ahead for good 2-1 in the 52nd minute, Arnaud collected his second goal of the match, tapping in a loose ball in front of the goal after a corner kick from midfielder Chris Klein. Defender Jimmy Conrad got the initial touch on the floating ball and it fell to Arnaud's feet.

Two minutes later, Arnaud sent a beautiful cross from the right side to midfielder Francisco Gomez on the left, just above the top of the box. Gomez leapt to take the ball out of the air and nailed a wicked first-time shot that went inside the far post for a 3-1 advantage

In the 81st minute, Klein made a 40-yard breakaway run before banging a shot off the crossbar. Tehn, Klein losted a pass to midfielder Diego Gutierrez who stepped around his defender and rocketed a right-footed shot inside the right post to make it 4-1..

The Wizards were in control from the outset and, after near misses by midfielder Francisco Gomez and Arnaud, took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute. Gomez found Arnaud alone on the left flank and Arnaud moved diagonally on goal before unleashing a wicked shot that beat keeper Joe Barton and kissed the far post before going in.

Atlanta knotted the score in the 40th minute on a 20-yard free kick from forward Alex Pineda Chacon. His blast changed direction and it caromed off the center of the Wizards' defensive wall and caught keeper Tony Meola going the wrong way.

"After the first goal, we let off the accelerator," Wizards coach Bob Gansler said. "But we got the second goal early in the second half and the third goal was colossal. It had that death-knell effect because not only was it a goal, but it was a well-worked-out goal and well finished."

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.