Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Open Cup history elude's Gonzaga's Zach Scott as Sounders fall in PKs

Zach Scott (bottom left) finally gets to play in Final after 25 previous USOC appearances | Corky Trewin / Sounders FC
It was a US Open Cup championship game Gonzaga product Zach Scott will not forget. A member of the Seattle Sounders since 2002, the defender finally earned his first Open Cup Final appearance in four years with the club. Then, in the final 10 minutes of regulation, he became the focal point of everything.

First he was called for a controversial handball in the box - though replays were not clear if the call was correct. Then he scored the dramatic late equalizer at the other end, heading in a free kick that sent the match to overtime tied 1-1 and, ultimately, penalty kicks.

Sporting Kansas City ended the Sounders' bid to become the first club in 99 years of the tournament to win the event four consecutive times, taking the dramatic back-and-forth penalty kick tiebreaker, 3-2. The Sounders, however, still boast a remarkable 22-game unbeaten streak, which will continue in 2013, that spans back to a 2007 semifinal overtime loss to FC Dallas as the second division USL club. Scott has played in 15 of the 22 contests during the streak.

Full coverage at affiliate site... TheCup.us >