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Selolwane strikes again in overtime, sending Fire past Charleston 1-0 in semifinal.
Simutenkov penalty kick propels Wizards past San Jose 1-0 in semifinal.
Selolwane strike sends Chicago past Kickers 1-0 in quarterfinals.
Cephas nets pair to lead Richmond past D.C. United 2-1 in Round of 16.
Brunt strike sends Minnesota to 1-0 upset over Galaxy in fourth round.
2003 U.S. Open Cup complete results
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U.S. Open Cup Simutenkov strikes in sudden death, Kansas City takes the title 1-0 from Fire.KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Wednesday, September 22, 2004) -- Reserve striker Igor Simutenkov's scored with a free kick six minutes into sudden death, giving the Kansas City Wizards the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title with a 1-0 decision over the defending champion Chicago Fire before 8,819 at Arrowhead Stadium tonight. Simutenkov also netted the winner with a first-half penalty kick to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in an August 24 semifinal. "It was a shot for a right-footer," Kansas City coach Bob Gansler said of assigning Simutenkov to take the decisive kick. "If the same ball was on the other side, you would have seen Diego (Gutierrez) in there. If Francisco (Gomez) was in there, he might have had to arm-wrestle Igor for it." By winning the battle of Major League Soccer clubs, Kansas City won for the first time the Open Cup, which is named after the team's owner\operator Lamar Hunt, and will have its name etched on the Dewar Cup. The Dewar Cup, the oldest trophy in United States sports history, is three feet tall and weighs 100 pounds. It was initiated in 1912 and served as the U.S. Open Cup trophy since its inception in 1914. Kansas City earned the $100,000 first prize while the Fire took home $50,000. "For me, this is the most important goal of my life," said Simutenkov, who replaced Gomez at the break, of tonight's heroics. "(Kansas City defender) Alex (Zotinca) ducked down and I was able to get the ball through the wall. I'm very happy and happy for this group of guys, the coaches and the fans." Chicago seemed to carry momentum into overtime, but the Wizards were the aggressor in extra time. After a restart, Kansas City pushed forward and earned a free kick 19 yards out when Fire defender Evan Whitfield fouled K.C. striker Josh Wolff, who had received the ball on a break, three yards above the top left side of the box Simutenkov drove his 21-yard low direct kick through the Fire's defensive wall to the near post. Goalkeeper Henry Ring dove to his right and got both hands on the shot, but had the ball shoot up and hit the underside of the crossbar. As the ball caromed back to the ground, it hit the prone Ring and rolled into the net for the 1-0 in the 96th minute. "It didn't go in like I thought it would, but at least he put it hard on frame," Wolff said. "Henry made a good save on the first one, then it took an unfortunate bounce off the crossbar and hit him in the back of the head and it went it. I was sitting at the back of the doorstep for any loose change. I'm extremely happy for Igor with all the work he put in." Kansas City keeper Tony Meola needed to make only one save to record the shutout. Ring made four stops in the losing effort. "It was a hard game for the offense," Chicago coach Dave Sarachan said. "Kansas City doesn't concede a lot of goals and we didn't have many looks at the goal tonight. I give credit to their defenders. In these kind of games -- championship matches -- everything is tight as it is and teams don't get a lot of looks." Wolff nearly set up a decisive Wizards goal in the 85th minute when he led a four-on-three counterattack. Wolff found Gutierrez alone in the right side of the box, but Ring came quickly out to turn away Gutierrez's point-blank shot. As the game progressed through the early-going, Kansas City backs sent long balls ahead to Wolff, forward Davy Arnaud and midfielder Jack Jewsbury, but as hard as the trio tried, it could not get behind the Fire defense. In the 43rd minute, Chicago midfielder Logan Pause excited the Fire fans, streaking into the right side of the box. His shot from a sharp angle went wide of the far post. Striker Damani Ralph could have tapped the ball in, but he would have been ruled offside had he tried. Ring made a sprawling save on Kansas City midfielder Kerry Zavagnin, who had been fed by Wolff, in the 69th minute, to keep the contest scoreless. Kansas City Wizards 1, Chicago Fire 0 Lineups: Kansas City - Tony Meola, Alex Zotinca, Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr., Francisco Gomez (Igor Simutenkov 46), Jack Jewsbury (Taylor Graham 68), Kerry Zavagnin, Diego Gutierrez, Josh Wolff, Davy Arnaud. Chicago - Henry Ring, C.J. Brown, Jim Curtin, Evan Whitfield, Kelly Gray, Logan Pause (Chris Armas 88), Jesse Marsch, Andy Williams, Dipsy Selolwane, Nate Jaqua, Damani Ralph. Scoring:
Total shots: Kansas City 15 (Wolff 4), Chicago 9 (Williams 4). Shots on goal: Kansas City 5 (five tied with 1), Chicago 1 (Williams). Saves: Kansas City - Meola 1; Chicago - Ring 4. Fouls: Kansas City 16 (Arnaud 3, Conrad 3), Chicago 25 (six tied with 3). Offside: Kansas City 4 (Jewsbury 2, Wolff 2), Chicago 2 (Ralph, Selolwane). Corner kicks: Kansas City 1 (Burciaga), Chicago 8 (Williams 8). Yellow card cautions: Kansas City - Gutierrez 80; Chicago - Pause 21. Referee: Terry Vaughn. Referee's assistants: Nathan Clement, Greg Barkey. Attendance: 8,819 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Weather: Clear, 79 degrees. 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (all times Eastern) Key:
Championship at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Semifinals Wednesday, August 25 at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Ill.
Tuesday, August 24 at Blue Valley Complex in Overland Park, Kans.
Quarterfinals Wednesday, August 4 at James Griffin Stadium in St. Paul, Minne.
at Blue Valley Complex in Overland Park, Kans.
at University of Richmond (Va.) Stadium
at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y.
Fourth round Wednesday, July 21 at University of Richmond Stadium
Tuesday, July 20 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis
at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas
at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Mass.
at Columbus (Ohio) Crew Stadium
at DeKalb Stadium in Clarkston, Ga.
Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.
Wednesday, July 14 at PGE Park in Portland, Ore.
Third round Wednesday, June 30 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City
at James Griffin Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.
at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.
at MacPherson Stadium in Browns Summit, N.C.
at Old Panther Stadium in Duncanville, Tex.
at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Va.
at Columbus (Ohio) Crew Stadium
at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y.
Second round Tuesday, June 21 at Winslow (N.J.) High School
Wednesday, June 15 at Pleasant View Field in Boulder, Colo.
at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City
at Winslow (N.J.) High School
at Virginia Beach Sportsplex
at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H.?
at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Mass.
at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, N.C.
at MacPherson Stadium in Browns Summit, N.C.
First round Tuesday, June 8 at Pennington Field in Bedford, Tex.
at Cocoa (Fla.) Sports Complex
Wednesday, June 2 at Rooks Stadium in Chico, Calif.
at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, Wash.
at Winslow High School in Tansboro, N.J.
at Redmond Recreational Complex in Bensenville, Ill.
at Belson Stadium in Jamaica, N.Y.
at McPherson Stadium in Browns Summit, N.C.
Fourth round - Tuesday, July 14-21 Quarterfinals - Wednesday, August 4 Semifinals - Tuesday, August 24 and Wednesday, August 25 Championship - Wednesday, September 22 The field 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
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