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.

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Gonzaga’s Zach Scott part of Sounders bid for history in Open Cup

Scott helped lead Seattle in this 1-0 Semifinal win versus Dallas last year | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

When Gonzaga University’s 2001 All-WCC selection Zach Scott graduated and signed with the then second division Seattle Sounders in 2002, little did he or anyone else know that 10 years later he would be a part of history. Tonight, his Sounders look to become the first team in Lamar Hunt US Open Cup history to win four consecutive championships when they take on Sporting Kansas City on the road at LiveStrong Sporting Park (6:00 pm PT, GolTV).

Though they are on the doorstep of doing something no one else has ever accomplished tonight in the conclusion of the 99^th edition of the tournament, the Sounders have already made history as the fourth team to three-peat and are only the third-ever to reach four consecutive finals (Bethlehem Steel, Stix Baer & Fuller).

Gonzaga product Zach Scott recognized by Sounders fans with tifo

Former Gonzaga standout Zach Scott was honored by the Emerald City Supporters at the latest Seattle Sounders match Saturday versus Colorado with one of the group's special tifo displays.

The presentation was surf-themed for the Hawaii native, who played for the Bulldogs from 1998-2001 and has been a member of the Sounders lower division and MLS sides since becoming a professional. That 10-year span was part of the impetus for the recognition with a prominent banner stating: Hanging Ten For The Sounders.

Gonzaga’s Ching sees Dynamo dumped from Open Cup in upset; NW clubs, GU's Scott play tonight

Gonzaga University and former Spokane Shadow PDL striker Brian Ching was given the night off for the Houston Dynamo as the MLS side traveled to nearby San Antonio to face the expansion San Antonio Scorpions of the new North American Soccer League in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. It may have been a decision Ching, considering retirement after this season, and the club regret as San Antonio registered a surprising 1-0 victory to eliminate Houston from the tournament.

The Dynamo, however, were not alone as six other MLS teams saw their tournament campaign come to an unexpected end.