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Lady Luck On Sounders Side En Route To US Open Cup Title

By Jacob Rude

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The Philadelphia Union had every chance to win the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup trophy in front of their home fans Tuesday night.

The Union couldn’t capitalize on an open net in the 88′.

Philly even hit the post in the 91′.

But in the end, the Sounders were too much for the underdog Union, scoring two goals in extra time to seal the deal and win the Open Cup, their record tying fifth time.

For the better part of the night, the Seattle Sounders were on their back foot, trailing 1-0 heading into the locker room after Maurice Edu headed in a goal off a free kick in the 38th minute.

However, their halftime adjustments took immediate form as headed in his own goal off a set piece, this coming off a corner in the 47th minute.

The rest of the second half was back and forth action, with the game opening up the deeper we went into the contest. Second half sub Pedro Riberio was almost the savior for the Union. After an initial deflected shot sent Seattle keeper Stefan Frei the wrong way, Riberio found himself an open net and a chance to be the hero. However, he fired it low and soft, back into the diving Frei’s path, who made a magnificent save to keep the game level.

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    • Moments later in stoppage time, another Union shot hit the post, this time Vincent Nogueira the near hero in the 91′ of six minutes of stoppage time. The two sides would remained deadlocked and head to extra time.

    It was there that the Sounders would finally pull away. First, Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins connected for some nice 1-2 play on the counter attack which would lead to a left-footed effort that slid past Union goalie Zac MacMath and put Seattle ahead in the 101′.

    The Sounders themselves had a near dagger in the first extra time period, a Marco Pappa missile smashing the crossbar moments before the whistle blow.

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    With the Union committed to finding an equalizer, the Sounders sat back and countered in the second extra time period. After a handful more brilliant saves from Frei, Martins sealed the deal on the night, beating the Union defense on the counter and lifting the shot over MacMath, securing Seattle’s win.

    The win and subsequent trophy gives Seattle it’s 4th US Open Cup win in 6 seasons. The Sounders still have a chance of completing the treble with the Supporter’s Shield and MLS Cup. They currently lead the Western Conference by 3 points over the LA Galaxy with a game in hand and just three games remaining.

    After that, they’ll head into the MLS Cup likely as the top seed with a chance to complete the rare feat.

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