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Oh my how so many jumped on their high horses when it was announced that Seattle bought the rights to host their 3rd round match against Atlanta after the Silverbacks had won the draw. Yet Real Salt Lake made the same move, it is about finances and home field advantage, and within the rules of how US Soccer set up the tournament.
Here is a bit from the US Soccer Press release:
Three third-round scheduling changes were made following Tuesday's second-round play. MLS's Real Salt Lake, which would have gone on the road to face the NASL's Minnesota Stars in Blaine, Minn., is now hosting the third-round matchup. RSL and Minnesota will play each other at 7 p.m. MT on Tuesday, May 29, at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
The Seattle Sounders also will host their third-round match, which originally would have been played in Atlanta, Ga., against the NASL's Atlanta Silverbacks. Seattle will host Atlanta at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday, May 30, at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.
The Chivas USA-Ventura County Fusion game will take place at Ventura College in Ventura, Calif., kicking off at 7 p.m. PT on Tuesday, May 29.
US Soccer
I said it for Seattle and I will say it for RSL, a team should do whatever they can within the rule to get as much advantage as possible. I have no problem at all with this as it is within the tournament guidelines. It will provide the Minnesota Stars with a larger payday than they could have gotten by hosting, it prevents RSL from having to travel and allows them both home field advantage and the potential to make some money.
Here is the ticket info from RSL:
Tickets for RSL's debut in the 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will go on-sale to the public TOMORROW, Wednesday, May 23 at 10:00 a.m. MT, with tickets in all general seating areas at Rio Tinto Stadium costing just $10 for current Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holders and only $15 for the general public. Real Salt Lake "PRIDE" Season Ticket Holders will have their seating locations reserved throughout Wednesday and Thursday, and can purchase an unlimited amount of tickets. U.S. Open Cup contests are NOT already included in the 2012 ticket package and MUST be purchased separately.
Full RSL press release after the jump
Here it is:
REAL SALT LAKE TO HOST MINNESOTA ON MAY 29 IN LAMAR HUNT
U.S. OPEN CUP 3RD-ROUND CONTEST
Rio Tinto Stadium Kickoff Set for 7:00 p.m. MT; Minnesota Stars FC First RSL Opponent in 99th Edition of U.S. Soccer's National Championship
SANDY, Utah / CHICAGO (Tuesday, May 22, 2012) - Real Salt Lake opens its return to Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play next Tuesday, May 29, with the Claret-and-Cobalt hosting the NASL (Division II) Minnesota Stars FC at Rio Tinto Stadium, kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. MT.
Tickets for RSL's debut in the 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will go on-sale to the public TOMORROW, Wednesday, May 23 at 10:00 a.m. MT, with tickets in all general seating areas at Rio Tinto Stadium costing just $10 for current Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holders and only $15 for the general public. Real Salt Lake "PRIDE" Season Ticket Holders will have their seating locations reserved throughout Wednesday and Thursday, and can purchase an unlimited amount of tickets. U.S. Open Cup contests are NOT already included in the 2012 ticket package and MUST be purchased separately.
LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP THIRD ROUND PAIRING - Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Real Salt Lake (MLS)
vs Minnesota Stars FC (NASL): Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah; 7 p.m. MT
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is an annual, single-elimination competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer.. This year's tournament proper kicked off last week with 16 First Round matches contested across the country, with four amateur sides prevailing. The 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup continued tonight with 32 teams pairing off for Second Round fixtures, with the 16 teams that emerge matching up against MLS opponents in the Third Round on May 29. The U.S. Open Cup "Round of 16" will be held June 5, followed by four Quarterfinal Round games on June 26, a pair of Semifinal Round games on July 10 and the 99th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on August 7 or 8.
Winning the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - U.S. Soccer's National Championship tournament - would offer Real Salt Lake a road back to the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, the continental club championship the Utah side was on the cusp of winning last spring. Participation in MLS Cup 2012 and claiming the MLS Supporters' Shield (regular season) title would provide alternate routes for qualification into the 2013/14 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. RSL finds out its group pairings in this year's CCL tourney on Wednesday, May 30.
A year ago, RSL won its third-round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contest at home against the USL PRO Wilmington Hammerheads, emerging 2-0 in a match featuring goals by DF Tony Beltran and FW Jean Alexandre. A few weeks later, RSL dropped the quarterfinal match to FC Dallas by the same score to suffer elimination from the tourney, the deepest that Utah's club has ever progressed in the Open Cup. Last year's appearance in the U.S. Open Cup proper marked RSL's first since 2006, the final season in which all MLS teams automatically entered the competition's earlier rounds. For four consecutive years from 2007-10, RSL was forced to try and earn its spot in the domestic tournament as one of at least nine Major League Soccer sides fighting for the two "play-in" positions allocated to America's top-flight division. RSL's all-time U.S. Open Cup history is as follows:
REAL SALT LAKE - US OPEN CUP HISTORY
vs. Team GP W-L-T OT ShO GF GA Mtg. Round
Minnesota Thunder (USL) 1 0-1-0 0-1-0 4 6 2005 Rd of 16
Virginia Beach (USL) 1 1-0-0 1-0-0 2 1 2006 Rd of 16
Kansas City Wizards 1 1-0-0 2 1 2007 Play-in
Colorado Rapids 2 0-2-0 1 3 2007 Quarterfinal
Columbus Crew 1 0-1-0 0 2 2008 Play-in
Seattle Sounders FC 1 0-1-0 1 4 2009 Play-in
San Jose Earthquakes 2 1-0-1 1-0 7 3 2010 Play-in
D.C. United 2 0-1-0 0-1-0 1 2 2010 Play-in
Wilmington (USL) 1 1-0-0 2 0 2011 Rd of 16
FC Dallas 1 0-1-0 0 2 2011 Quarterfinal
TOTALS
During the team's inaugural 2005 season, RSL traveled to Minnesota to play its first-ever U.S. Open Cup contest against the Stars' forerunner in Division II professional soccer in the area, the Minnesota Thunder. Despite a hat trick by former captain and current head coach Jason Kreis - the only three-goal performance in club history prior to Robbie Findley's outburst in the 2009 home opener - RSL dropped the affair by a 4-6 score after 120 minutes.
The 2012 champion will earn a $100,000 cash prize, while the runner-up will collect $50,000 (both prizes awarded by U.S. Soccer). The top Division III (USL PRO) and Amateur Division clubs (USL PDL, USASA & NPSL) will each receive a $10,000 prize. The winner also will have the team's name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, the oldest trophy in American team sports that is housed in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. The tournament has crowned a champion for 98 consecutive years dating back to 1914.
For more information on the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, visit www.USsoccer.com or www.TheCup.us.
OFF MY SOAPBOX