Seattle Sounders News Release - www.seattlesounders.net
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
TUKWILA, WA -- Once Chris Eylander had made one save, he figured he could come up with at least one more. The Seattle goalkeeper did exactly that on Tuesday night, helping the Sounders get past the Kansas City Wizards in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal game in penalties, 6-5, at Qwest Field after a scoreless draw.
After 120 minutes of scoreless soccer -- 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of overtime -- the Sounders won the penalty kick shootout, 6-5, with defender Zach Scott converting the game-winner in the seventh round.
"Once you save one, you build on that," said Eylander, who made 10 saves on 16 Kansas City shots during the 120 minutes, then stopped KC's second and seventh tries in the shootout. "You try to go 3 for 3, and it's game over. I've just done that once in my lifetime."
The victory sends the Sounders to the semifinals for the second year in a row. This time, it'll be an all-USL First Division affair as Seattle returns to Charleston on Aug. 12 to face the Battery. Seattle and Charleston already have played twice this season, both times in South Carolina. They tied 1-1 in the season opener, then played to a 2-2 tie last Thursday.
"We don't fear Charleston. We respect Charleston," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. "If we're at 100 percent, it's going to be a good game."
This also is the second straight year the Sounders have knocked off two MLS teams in Open Cup play. They blanked CD Chivas USA in a third-round contest last Tuesday night, 2-0.
Both teams converted their first shootout attempts -- Ryan Pore for Kansas City, Danny Jackson for Seattle. In the second round, Eylander dove to his left to stop Jimmy Conrad, one of just two full-time Wizards starters who made the trip to Qwest Field. But then Sebastien LeToux sent his shot off the underside of the crossbar, leaving it knotted at 1-1.
Each team converted its next four, with Kenji Treschuk, Kevin Sakuda, Leighton O'Brien and Yousouff Kante converting for Seattle.
Tyson Wahl, who kicked a shot by Le Toux off the line during the second half of regulation, then stepped up for Kansas City. Eylander went to his right to stop it.
"I can remember a bunch of times when Chris has come up big in PK shootouts," Schmetzer said. "He has good reaction, he's quick. If he happens to guess the right way, he has a tremendously quick first push that gives him a chance to make the save."
With Eylander having done his job, that brought up Scott, who drove his shot high into the back left corner to the delight of 4,674 fans, who had endured two hours of near-misses by Seattle.
The Sounders had three golden chances during the first 45 minutes, one of which was a non-call by referee Jeremy Vehar late in the 41st minute. Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar sent a perfect through-ball to Sebastien LeToux, who went into the penalty area behind Kansas City defender Rauwahan McKenzie. Both players went into the box, and McKenzie took Le Toux down, but no whistle was forthcoming.
In just the third minute, Leighton O'Brien sent a through ball into open space down the right wing side. Andre Schmid got to it with no one between him and the net except for Wizards goalkeeper Eric Kronberg. Schmid took it into the top of the box, hesitated momentarily as Kronberg came out to cut down the angle, then sent the ball wide right.
Just before the halftime whistle, O'Brien let fly with a rocket shot from the top of the box, but Kronberg was there to stop it in mid-flight four yards in front of the net.
During what was a wide-open half -- each team had seven shots -- the Wizards also had handful of opportunities. Kansas City's most dangerous try came in the 19th minute. John Leathers, playing outside the box on the right side, sent a through ball across to Mike Kraus, who was position on the top left corner of goalkeeper Chris Eylander's front porch. Kraus fired from point-blank, but Eylander slid to his feet to make the save.
Eylander, who posted shutouts in Seattle's first three Open Cup games, came up big again late in the 38th minute when Leathers let loose with one from just inside the top right corner of the penalty area. Of Kansas City's seven first-half shots, Eylander made saves on five of them.
The Sounders had two more serious threats during the second half. In the 61st minute, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar sent a through ball down the left wing, and Josh Gardner caught up with at at the top of Kronberg's 6-yads box. He had Kronberg beat on the shot, but the ball slammed off the upper right side of the crossbar.
Midway through the 78th minute, Alcaraz-Cuellar found Le Toux, who took it into the left side of the box, and chipped it over Kronberg, who had come well off his line. The ball was going toward the open net, but was kicked off the line by Wizards defender Tyson Wahl.
The Wizards had one last chance to win it right at the end of overtime when Kerry Zavagnin took a free kick 30 yards up from the goal. He lofted it over a four-man Seattle wall, but Eylander dove to his left to stop it, and, and the whistle blew immediately thereafter.
QUICK KICKS -- The Sounders continue a rugged stretch of six games in 13 days when they head east for two games this week. Seattle plays at Rochester on Friday night and at Montreal on Sunday, and will have a little added incentive in both games. The Rhinos scored a 90th-minute goal on May 14 to pull out a 1-1 tie at Starfire Sports Complex. And on June 28, Montreal scored in the 84th minute to escape with a 1-1 tie. … The Sounders and Rochester play a return match at Starfire on July 18. … Midfielder Kenji Treschuk was named to the USL Team of the Week for June 30-July 6. Treschuk scored a goal in Seattle's 2-2 tie at Carolina on July 3.
