FC Dallas Wins Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
FRISCO, Texas – Mauro Diaz had a goal in three assists to lead FC Dallas to its second Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title in franchise history in front of a standing-room crowd of 16, 612 fans tonight at Toyota Stadium.
FC Dallas went down 1-0 in the sixth minute when a turnover in its defensive third of the field was quickly sent to Juan Agudelo at the top of the box by Gershon Koffie. Agudelo battled with FC Dallas center back Matt Hedges and got off a curling shot to the back post that whistled over the right shoulder of goalkeeper Chris Seitz.
Diaz accepted a pass from Mauro Rosales in a similar position in the 12th minute of the match and earned a free kick for FC Dallas. The Argentine playmaker attempted to clip a shot over the wall but caught a piece of defender Jose Goncalves, who jumped and deflected the shot with his head to deny Diaz.
Diaz worked his magic again in the 15th minute. Following an FC Dallas corner kick, Michael Barrios and Carlos Gruezo cycled the ball back to Diaz and Dallas’ No. 10 crossed a ball into the feet of Maxi Urruti. The forward took the ball down out of the air perfectly, setting up a full volley attempt from close range that the striker would not miss. Urruti hammered a shot low, below the arm of Revolution goalkeeper Brad Knighton and into the far corner of the net. The goal was Urruti’s second of
the tournament and the third assist for Diaz.
Plano native Kellyn Acosta combined with Ryan Hollingshead for a great scoring chance in the 33rd minute. Overlapping on the right flank, Hollingshead received the return pass from the Homegrown midfielder and cracked a hard shot towards the far post. Fortunately for New England, Knighton was on his toes and make a kick save to his right side to keep the score 1-1.
Dallas picked up his fourth assist of the Open Cup in the 40th minute following another FC Dallas corner kick. Once again the ball was kept in play, this time by Maynor Figueroa, who quickly got the ball back to Diaz. FCD’s magic little unicorn picked out Hedges at the top of the six yard box and the defender redirected a diving header past Knighton to make it 2-1.
The home side took a 3-1 lead into halftime when New England’s Jose Goncalves was whistled for a foul in the box on Hedges, while defending a free kick. Diaz stepped to the penalty spot and snuck a low shot past Knighton. The goalkeeper read the spot kick well, and had a chance to make a stop on the play, but the shot came in too hard for Knighton and the ball dribbled past the goalkeeper to give the home side a two-goal lead.
Diaz kept his foot on the pedal and picked up his fifth assist of the tournament after Acosta pried the ball loose at midfield. After receiving the pass from Acosta, Diaz instantly put Urruti in on goal alone against Knighton. Urruti scored his second goal of the evening and third of the tournament after feinting to his right side before slipping a low shot just inside the left post.
Teal Bunbury put New England back in the game by beating a defender on the right flank and sending a cross through the area to Agudelo at the back post. FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman caught a piece of the cross, but the pass tricked through and the forward scored his second of the match by slipping a shot just inside the post.
