Sounders' Schmid covets Open Cup
Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid won the U.S. Open Cup last season with Seattle and in 2001 with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
But his memories of the tournament go back nearly 50 years.
“My mother cooked for a club called the Los Angeles Kickers,” Schmid recalled this week. “When we came to the country it was 1956, so the Kickers won the championship when I was 5, and I really don’t remember that. But then they won the championship when I was 11, and I remember they played at Wrigley Field – they played the Philadelphia Ukrainians at Wrigley Field in L.A. where the (baseball expansion) Angels played. After the game the players used to go to the clubhouse and they’d be served a full meal. ... I was a little 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-year-old kid just running around the kitchen with my mom, and I was in awe of all these guys.”
All these years later, Schmid will go for his third Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title at 7 p.m., when the Sounders meet the Columbus Crew at Qwest Field.
And while the tournament is no longer this country’s most prestigious soccer championship, it has the longest history – one that dates to 1914 when the Brooklyn Field Club defeated Brooklyn Celtic, 2-1, before about 10,000 fans.
About three times that number are expected at Qwest tonight in what is certain to be the best-attended Cup final of them all.
“I’ve never really had the opportunity to win the championship at home,” Schmid said. “And if (the Los Angeles Galaxy) did it at home, it was in front of a small crowd. I think when we won it against New England – when we won the Open Cup that year, we played at Fullerton (Calif.) and (the crowd was 4,195). But this is going to be a very unique and a very special feeling.”
The Sounders won the title last season at Washington, D.C., and that gives them another piece of Cup history to shoot for: No MLS club has ever defended its Open Cup title.
“It’s always special when you can do something that is unique and that’s different and can set yourself apart from the group, and we have that opportunity,” Schmid said. “Nobody has defended this title in a long time. Being able to step up and do that after a 27-year or 28-year gap is something that is definitely special for our team and we look forward to it.”
The Sounders and Crew have met twice this MLS regular season, a tie and a Sounders’ victory.
The Sounders figure their 4-0 win last month in Columbus – they also played to a 1-all draw in May at Qwest Field – was the kind of result that could give the visitors added incentive – if such a thing were needed.
“I think that gives them a little extra motivation, because it probably wasn’t a four-zero game,” said Sounders midfielder Nathan Sturgis, who scored a goal in Columbus. “They actually played pretty well, and they’re a good team. The score probably flattered us a little bit. ... But it’s Open Cup final, so you don’t need extra motivation.”
Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808
don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com
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SOUNDERS GAMEDAY
COLUMBUS CREW AT SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
7 p.m., Qwest Field
TV: Fox Soccer Channel. Radio: 97.3 FM.
About U.S. Open Cup: The competition dates to 1914, making it the oldest soccer tournament in the United States. It is a single-elimination competition involving amateur and professional clubs across all levels of U.S. Soccer. Seattle is the defending champion.
Head to head: Seattle leads, 2-0-2. This season, the clubs played to a 1-1 draw at Qwest Field on May 1, and Seattle won, 4-0, at Columbus on Sept. 18.
Kasey Keller on the game: “Cup finals are Cup finals. You work hard. You have multiple games to get in there. It’s a knockout stage. We’ve proven over the last two years with the strength of our squad that we can make changes, we can win games; and it’s going to be a fun night.”
Notes: Sounders FC is trying to become the first MLS club to defend its U.S. Open Cup title. The last team to repeat was New York Pancyprian Freedom, in 1983. Cup rules limit each team to five foreign players. Schmid would not reveal which two international players from his normal MLS roster would sit out. The Sounders expect reserve goalkeeper Terry Boss to return from duty with the Puerto Rican national team in time to be available tonight. Ticket sales of 28,800 through Monday afternoon assure this will be a record crowd for a U.S. Open Cup final. Tickets remain available. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, there will be 30 minutes of extra time. If the score remains even, the championship will be determined by penalty kicks.
Next: The Sounders return to MLS play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kansas City Wizards.
Don Ruiz, staff writer
This story was originally published October 5, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Sounders' Schmid covets Open Cup."