Seattle, Oct 5: The Seattle Sounders won the U.S. Open Cup for the third straight year by beating the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Tuesday.
The opening goal came in the 78th minute. Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson made a diving save on a header from a corner, but the ball fell to Fredy Montero, who slid it into the net, delighting the record crowd of 35,615 -- the largest ever for any game in the competition.
Osvaldo Alonso sealed the win with a breakaway goal in the final minute of stoppage time.
Seattle is the first club in more than 40 years to win three straight titles in the oldest competition in American football.
The victory will likely mean another berth in the CONCACAF Champions League as well for Seattle. The Sounders have advanced to the quarterfinal round in this year's CCL.
While Seattle dominated the competition in recent seasons, Chicago wasn't unfamiliar with Open Cup success. The Fire owned four Open Cup titles before Tuesday, the last coming in 2006. Interim Fire coach Frank Klopas scored the winning goal when Chicago beat Columbus for the title in 1998.
It was Montero's second Open Cup final goal, scoring one in 2009 in Washington when the Sounders collected the first of their three trophies with a 2-1 win over D.C. United. Montero also scored the only goal in Seattle's semifinal victory over Dallas in late August.
Montero nearly gave Seattle the lead just before halftime. beating the goalkeeper but not the post.
Mike Fucito was also denied by the post early in the second half. Lamar Neagle's flick header found Fucito's foot and he was able to chip a shot over Johnson, only to see it hit the far post and bounce away.
Chicago's best chance in the first half came in the 39th minute when Marco Pappa's left-footed shot from distance deflected off a Sounders defender and Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller was only just able to adjust and grab the ball.
Tuesday's victory adds another notch in a big few weeks for the Sounders, where they advanced in the CCL, clinched a MLS playoff spot for the third straight season and claimed the Cascadia Cup in their regional rivalry with MLS newcomers Vancouver and Portland. AP
