10/6/07
| U.S. Open Cup Victory Recap |
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When the final whistle blew to end the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, then-rookie Wells Thompson took his place in the New England Revolution record books. The young midfielder made his second career professional goal perhaps the most important of his life, as his 57th-minute strike proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park. Not only did Thompson’s goal seal New England’s first-ever cup championship in the club’s 12th year of existence, but it also helped erase the Revolution’s painful history in cup finals.
| Shalrie Joseph 2010/11 Away Replica Jersey |
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Prior to their 2007 U.S. Open Cup triumph, the Revs certainly hadn’t missed out on winning a title for lack of championship appearances; New England had reached four previous title matches – one U.S. Open Cup Final and three MLS Cup Finals – but had fallen on each occasion. Not only had the Revs been defeated all four times, but they’d fallen in the most painstaking fashion possible, losing three of the matches in overtime and the fourth in penalty kicks. As if that wasn’t enough, the two most recent title losses – the 2005 and 2006 MLS Cup Finals – had occurred at FC Dallas’ Pizza Hut Park, the location of the 2007 U.S. Open Cup Final.
So when the Revolution held on to the narrow victory that day, not only did the club earn its’ first-ever cup championship, but it also shed its’ unwanted reputation as a team that couldn’t win the big game.
Perhaps most important to New England’s cup run was Pat Noonan, who garnered Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament by totaling two goals and four assists in four appearances. Half of his offensive output came in the final, when he had a hand in all three Revolution goals (one goal and two assists).
Noonan opened the scoring in the final in the 21st minute, poking a shot past Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala from close range after Sala failed to control a loose ball. The Hoops equalized just nine minutes later, however, as Arturo Alvarez sent a curling shot off the inside of the post to knot the score at 1-1.
New England’s all-time leading goal scorer, Taylor Twellman, restored the Revolution’s lead before halftime with his tournament-leading fourth goal. Noonan got his head onto Steve Ralston’s corner kick in the 41st minute and directed a pass to Twellman, who sent a volley past Sala and into the back of the net.
That set the stage for Thompson to score his historic goal in the 57th minute, giving the Revs a 3-1 lead with the eventual game-winner. Twellman’s low cross from the left wing was flicked on by Noonan into the path of Thompson, who eluded Dallas defender Adrian Serioux before blasting a shot past the onrushing Sala.
The hosts made it a nervous finish for the Revolution when they cut the lead to 3-2 in the 64th minute, as second-half substitute Abe Thompson scored just one minute after entering the match. However, New England goalkeeper Matt Reis stood tall and the Revs’ defense shut the door to secure the famous victory.
FC Dallas was the Revolution’s only MLS opponent on its run to the U.S. Open Cup title, but the journey to Frisco, Texas for the final on Oct. 3 was anything but easy. New England took down a trio of United Soccer League sides – one from USL-2 and a pair from USL-1 – en route to the title, including the 1999 U.S. Open Cup champion Rochester Rhinos.
The Revs opened the competition against the Rhinos in the third round, traveling to PAETEC Park to battle Rochester in front of 8,551 raucous supporters. Ralston and Twellman each scored a pair of goals to lift New England to a 4-2 victory, but the score-line was kind to the Revs, who didn’t find a game-winner until the 90th minute. After Ralston and Twellman staked New England to a 2-0 lead, Rhinos forward Hamed Diallo struck in the 76th and 85th minutes to knot the score at 2-2, but the Revs responded with Twellman’s deciding goal in the 90th minute before Ralston converted a penalty kick to secure the win in the third minute of stoppage time.
The Harrisburg City Islanders of USL-2 followed for the Revolution in a quarterfinal match, which the Revs hosted at Gillette Stadium. Early goals from Andy Dorman (4) and Twellman (17) put New England in control, but a 78th-minute goal from the Islanders’ Matt Tanzini cut the deficit in half. Although Harrisburg City pushed for a late equalizer, the Revs held on for a 2-1 victory and a spot in the tournament’s semifinals.
Standing in New England’s way of a fifth cup final appearance was the Carolina Railhawks, a USL-1 side which the Revs welcomed to Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Conn. Carolina’s Anthony Maher scored in the sixth minute to put the visitors up, 1-0, and put the Revolution behind for the first time in the competition. After red cards to the Revs’ Shalrie Joseph and the Railhawks’ Connally Edozian reduced both teams to 10 men, New England midfielder Jeff Larentowicz struck with a header in first-half stoppage time to level the score. The tension-packed match wasn’t decided until extra time, when the Revolution – playing a man up after the ejection of David Stokes – scored the game-winner on Noonan’s long-range blast.
Noonan continued to power the Revs in the final, contributing to all three Revolution goals as the club finally raised its first-ever cup championship.
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