Jaqua was hit high early in the game,
resulting in a cut on the left side of his
forehead. Seattle's medical staff had to
attend to Jaqua's wound multiple times
as his cut bled through his bandage.
Sahra Muehlheim / NSS
It was physical. It was heart-wrenching. It was even bloody.
Seattle’s 2-1 U.S. Open Cup semifinal victory was about as dramatic as the Sounders have been all season after they netted an equalizer in the 89th minute off an own-goal. Seattle rode that momentum into overtime when Stephen King broke the tie five minutes into the first overtime period.
With the win, Seattle advances to the USOC final against D.C. United Sept. 2 at RFK stadium in Washington D.C.
To Continue...
It was the second USOC match in a row that Seattle scored its first goal of the match in the last minute of regulation and it was the second time in the past two weeks the Sounders came from behind to defeat Houston.
Jaqua forced the equalizer in the 89th minute on a point-blank shot that ricocheted off a diving Houston defender and into the net for an own-goal.
King roofed the game-winner to the top of the net in the first overtime period on a lose bull scrum in front of Houston’s goal during the 95th minute.
The tone of the match was set early on when Nate Jaqua took a blow to the head resulting in a bloody cut in the seventh minute of the match. Jaqua played with a white bandage wrapped around his head for the remainder of the match, but the Seattle medical staff had to swap it out a few times as blood seeped through just over his left eye.
And the game didn’t soften up after that, with 10 yellow cards, including an ejection to Jhon Kennedy Hurtado in the 110th minute making the final minutes of the game even more nerve racking
But, 10 on 11 proved enough men to hold Dynamo out of the net for the remainder of the match.
Houston’s Ade Akinbiyi scored in the 32nd minute to silence the rowdy sold out crowd giving Houston the 1-0 lead. Seattle appeared deflated minutes after the goal but quickly regained their swagger soon after.
Houston was content biding their time after the goal and even lost a throw-in after a receiving a yellow card for delaying the game. Nothing changed in the second half as numerous Houston players milked the clock by falling to the turf and staying there, stalling play.
The move may have proved costly after Houston's slow tempo ousted them in the end after they couldn’t find the net for the remainder of the game.
Despite the head injury, Jaqua continued playing tough all game, drawing numerous fouls and even a yellow card in the 62nd minute.
As usual, Fredy Montero took the most damage by the opposing team. On one instance, defender Julius James pulled Montero to the turf after Montero spun around James for an apparent open shot at the net. James received a yellow card on the play and Sebastien Le Toux’s resulting free kick sailed high of the net.
Houston’s physicality thwarted Seattle’s attacks time and again. Just as Seattle appeared to be building up to a goal scoring opportunity, Houston would foul a Sounder to stop play.
Seattle came out firing again in the second half, with an early set piece by Le Toux being deflected on net but cleared by Houston’s defense.
As time waned, Sigi Schmid substituted in two of the team’s top players with Steve Zakuani in the 61st minute and Alonso in the 65th for Sanna Nyassi and and Peter Veganes respectively.
One of Seattle’s best chances in the second half came on a cross from Jaqua to the fresh-legged Zakuani, who had one man to beat in the box. Zakuani, running at full speed, put on the breaks and hit a slow ball to, which was met by the ‘keeper's hands.
He had another chance in the 73rd minute when he blew by a defender on the left side of the box to have an open shot on goal. But, once again ‘keeper Tally Hall made the save by getting a hand on the ball, deflecting it off the far post.
SEATTLE
GK Keller
D Riley
D Hurtado
D Marshall
D Wahl
M Nyassi
M Vagenas
M King
M Le Toux
F Montero
F Jaqua
HOUSTON
GK Tally Hall
D Andrew Hainault
D Bobby Boswell
D Julius James
D Danny Cruz
M Erik Ustruck
M John Michael Hayden
M Brad Davis
M Corey Ashe
F Ade Akinbiyi
F Dominic Oduro
Houston Dynamo (0-1-0) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (1-0-0)
July 21, 2009 -- Starfire Sports Complex - Tukwila, WA
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Ade Akinbiyi 1 (unassisted) 32
SEA -- Nate Jaqua 1 (Sebastien Le Toux 1, Roger Levesque 1) 89
SEA -- Stephen King 1 (Sebastien Le Toux 1, Steve Zakuani 2) 95
Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Julius James (Mike Chabala 60), Danny Cruz, Corey Ashe (Brian Mullan 68), Erik Ustruck, Brad Davis, John Michael Hayden, Dominic Oduro (Kei Kamara 65), Ade Akinbiyi.
Substitutes Not Used: Wade Barrett, Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel, Cam Weaver
Seattle Sounders FC -- Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall, Tyson Wahl (Roger Levesque 84), Sanna Nyassi (Steve Zakuani 61), Stephen King, Peter Vagenas (Osvaldo Alonso 65), Sebastien Le Toux, Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua.
Substitutes Not Used: Terry Boss, Lamar Neagle, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis
Seattle Sounders FC Houston Dynamo
total shots: 26 (Steve Zakuani 5) 7 (Kei Kamara 4)
shots on goal: 12 (Steve Zakuani 4) 4 (Kei Kamara 3)
fouls: 21 (Nate Jaqua 5) 19 (Danny Cruz 4,
Julius James 4)
offsides: 1 (Sanna Nyassi 1) 1 (Ade Akinbiyi 1)
corner kicks: 11 (Sebastien Le Toux 10) 8 (Brad Davis 4,
John Michael Hayden 4)
saves: 3 (Kasey Keller 3) 10 (Tally Hall 10)
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Julius James (caution; Reckless Tackle) 30
HOU -- Bobby Boswell (caution; Dissent) 30
HOU -- Brad Davis (caution; Delaying a Restart) 43
SEA -- Nate Jaqua (caution; Reckless Foul) 63
SEA -- Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; Reckless Tackle) 67
HOU -- Brian Mullan (caution; Reckless Tackle) 70
SEA -- Tyrone Marshall (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 80
HOU -- Mike Chabala (caution; Reckless Tackle) 91+
SEA -- Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (ejection; Second Caution) 110
referee: Edvin Jurisevic
Referee's Assistants: Ian Anderson; Eric Boria
4th official: Baldomero Toledo
time of game: 2:29
attendance: 4,895
weather: Sunny -and- 86 degrees
Reach Aaron Weinberg at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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