Real Salt Lake crashes out of US Open Cup, but they aren't alone

It was an ugly night at Rio Tinto Stadium on Tuesday night as the home team got out manned and out played by NASL side Minnesota Stars. For RSL they weren't the only team in Major League Soccer to find rough goings on Tuesday night, in fact 50% of the MLS teams that played, lost. Two more MLS teams will play on Wednesday night and try their luck.

Here is the Press release from US Soccer:

EVEN MLS TEAMS OUSTED IN THIRD ROUND OF 2012 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP

2011 Runner-Up Chicago Fire, Defending MLS Champion LA Galaxy Among Third-Round Casualties

CHICAGO (May 29, 2012) - Seven of the 14 Major League Soccer (Division I) teams playing during Tuesday's third round action of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup have already been shown the exits. It was a big day of upsets throughout the tournament field.

The 2011 U.S. Open Cup runner-up and four-time U.S. Open Cup champion Chicago Fire was upended by the PDL's Michigan Bucks 4-3 in overtime in Pontiac, Mich. Defending MLS champion LA Galaxy, sitting in last place in MLS's Western Conference, continued its recent struggles with a 2-1 loss to the Carolina RailHawks - a team that has not posted a win this year in the North American Soccer League (Division II).

The USL PRO's Harrisburg City Islanders (Division III) had one of the more thrilling upsets of this year's tournament, clawing back from a 3-0 deficit in overtime and defeating the New England Revolution in a game-ending shootout.

Other upsets included the NASL's San Antonio Scorpions over the Houston Dynamo, the USL PRO's Dayton Dutch Lions topping the Columbus Crew, Clinton Irwin's 10-save effort to lead the USL PRO's Charlotte Eagles past FC Dallas and NASL side Minnesota Stars FC's road win against Real Salt Lake.

The third round concludes on Wednesday with two games. Three-time defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC hosts the NASL's Atlanta Silverbacks at 7 p.m. PT at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. The other match has the USASA's Cal FC taking on the Portland Timbers at 7:30 p.m. PT at JELD-WEN Field in Portland, Ore.

The 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup includes a random selection process for determining home teams from the first round through the quarterfinals among clubs that have applied to host. The process, conducted by a coin flip, gives participating teams with venues meeting tournament standards an equal chance at hosting their possible opponent for these rounds.

Complete results and recaps from the 3rd round after the jump, along with RSL's match recap & facts:

2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule

THIRD ROUND - Tuesday, May 29, and Wednesday, May 30
San Antonio Scorpions (NASL) 1, Houston Dynamo (MLS) 0: Hans Denissen's 51st-minute penalty kick gave the Scorpions an upset victory against the Dynamo on Tuesday Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio goalkeeper Daryl Sattler had five saves for the clean sheet.

Michigan Bucks (PDL) 3, Chicago Fire (MLS) 2 (OT): Nermin Crnkic lifted Michigan with a go-ahead goal in overtime and the Bucks held on to defeat the Fire at the Ultimate Soccer Arena in Pontiac, Mich. Leads switched hands a couple of times as Tommy Catalano gave the Bucks an early 1-0 advantage, but the Fire's Corben Bone and Frederico Puppo swung the match in Chicago's favor early in the second half. Michigan's Nate Boyden tied the score at 2-2 in the 78th minute to force overtime.

Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 3, Orlando City Soccer Club (USL PRO) 2: Sooney Saad scored back-to-back goals in the second half to lead Sporting past Orlando City on Tuesday at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. Paulo Nagamura had Kansas City's other goal in first-half stoppage time.

D.C. United (MLS) 2, Richmond Kickers (USL PRO) 1 (OT): D.C.'s Marcelo Saragosa scored in the game-winner in the second 15-minute overtime to defeat the host Kickers at Richmond City Stadium in Richmond, Va., on Tuesday. Hamdi Salihi had D.C.'s other goal in the first half.

Dayton Dutch Lions (USL PRO) 2, Columbus Crew (MLS) 1: Gibson Bardsley scored an 81st-minute goal to lift Dayton past the host Crew on Tuesday at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Jan Gerrit Bartels tied the score at 1-1 in the 78th minute as both his goal and Bardsley's winner were set up by second-half sub Daniel Holowaty.

Charlotte Eagles (USL PRO) 2, FC Dallas (MLS) 0: Charlotte goalkeeper Clinton Irwin made a whopping 10 saves and the Eagles upset host FC Dallas on Tuesday at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Darryl Roberts and Nate Thornton each had a goal and assisted the other.

San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 2, Fort Lauderdale Strikers (NASL) 1: Sam Garza scored the game-tying and go-ahead goals in the second half to lead San Jose past Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday at Stanford University's Cagan Stadium in Stanford, Calif. The Strikers' Mark Anderson gave his side the first-half lead, but Garza found the equalizer in the 63rd minute and gave the Earthquakes a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute.

Philadelphia Union (MLS) 3, Rochester Rhinos (USL PRO) 0: Freddy Adu carried the Union with two goals and Josue Martinez had the game's first goal and an assist during Tuesday's victory at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. The match was delayed for nearly an hour because of lightning.

Harrisburg City Islanders (USL PRO) 4, New England Revolution (MLS) 3 (PKs): The Islanders overcame a 3-0 overtime deficit to tie the score and Andrew Marshall's fifth-round penalty kick in a game-ending shootout gave Harrisburg City the upset over New England on Tuesday at the Skyline Sports Complex in Harrisburg, Pa. Islanders goalkeeper Nick Noble stopped the Revolution's Benny Feilhaber on the final penalty kick. During the final 10 minutes of overtime, the Islanders' J.T. Noone, Sainey Touray and Brian Ombiji combined for three unanswered goals to push the match into penalties.

New York Red Bulls (MLS) 3, Charleston Battery (USL PRO) 0: The Red Bulls' Kenny Cooper, Heath Pearce and Dax McCarty each scored a goal as New York topped Charleston for the first time in U.S. Open Cup play at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday. The Battery had won the previous two Open Cup matches against the Red Bulls.

Chivas USA (MLS) 1, Ventura County Fusion (PDL) 0: Cesar Romero's 14th-minute goal proved to be enough for Chivas USA during its victory against the host Fusion at Ventura College in Ventura, Calif., on Tuesday.

Carolina RailHawks (NASL) 2, LA Galaxy (MLS) 1: The RailHawks, winless in NASL play through nine games, scored two goals in the final 15 minutes and defeated the defending MLS champion Galaxy at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on Tuesday. Brian Shriver's header was the difference in the 88th minute, and teammate Ty Shipilane scored the equalizer in the 75th minute.

Colorado Rapids (MLS) 3, Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) 1: Brazilian forward Edu's penalty kick and Andre Akpan's 33rd-minute goal gave Colorado the early advantage during its win against Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Tuesday. Kamani Hill added a goal for Colorado in the closing minutes.

Minnesota Stars FC (NASL) 3, Real Salt Lake (MLS) 1: Kevin Venegas, Neil Hlavaty and Simone Bracalello each found the net as the Stars topped host Real Salt Lake on Tuesday at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Hlavaty's goal came on a penalty kick following Salt Lake defender Jamison Olave's handball in the box.

Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) at Seattle Sounders (MLS): Starfire Sports Complex^; Tukwila, Wash.; 7 p.m. PT^; May 30^

Cal FC (USASA) at Portland Timbers (MLS): JELD-WEN Field; Portland, Ore.; 7:30 p.m. PT, May 30^

^ Note: Changed from original May 16 announcement

Here is the official RSL match recap:

REAL SALT LAKE CRASHES OUT OF 2012 U.S. OPEN CUP WITH 1-3 LOSS

Record-Setting Crowd of 17,212 Witness 4^th Multi-goal Loss in 80 Home Games since 2008

SANDY, UTAH (Tuesday, May 29, 2012) - Real Salt Lake (9-3-2, 29 points, West #1) was one of numerous MLS victims in the Third Round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight, falling at home to the NASL Minnesota Stars FC by a 1-3 scoreline in front of a record crowd of 17,212 - the biggest non-Final, non-doubleheader in Open Cup history. The loss dropped RSL to 54-9-17 in the 80 home games across all competitions since the beginning of the 2008 season, Jason Kreis' first full campaign at the helm.

RSL went down early, allowing a Minnesota goal in the third minute. A long free kick from the near touchline was sent into the box, where it was cleared by RSL GK Kyle Reynish, but not out of danger. The bouncing ball in the mixer was finally controlled 10 yards out by Stars MF Kevin Venegas, whose looping header went over the outstretched arm of an extended Reynish but under the bar to shock the still-arriving crowd.

The Claret-and-Cobalt allowed last year's NASL champions to dictate the pace of the game for another 15 minutes, Reynish saving a fine effort from distance by Stars DF Brian Kallman. RSL then knocked on the door for a 20-minute period in the middle of the first half, unable to crack Minnesota GK Matt VanOekel until 18-year old MF Luis Gil took a pass from Ned Grabavoy, firing a laser to the lower left corner to breathe some life into the RSL attack.

VanOekel came up huge with back-to-back saves in the 38^th minute to keep the game level at 1-1. RSL FW Paulo Junior was in alone on the ‘keeper, who parried the Brazilian's shot wide to the RSL attack's right, where an awaiting Grabavoy one-timed a rocket at the goalmouth, only to see the Stars GK tip the ball over the bar.

Shortly before halftime, a long clearance out of the Minnesota defense found fleet-footed FW Amani Walker in the clear, where he was tracked down by RSL DFJamison Olave. Walker's cross into the box hit Olave's arm as it was nestled next to his body, but the penalty kick was awarded in the 45^th minute to the visitors. The chance from the spot was slammed home by Neil Hlavaty to give Minnesota a 2-1 halftime lead.

In the second half, Minnesota made its biggest chance count, as MF Simone Bracalello poked home a long Kallman service from outside the area to essentially ice the game. RSL saw numerous chances in the second 45, with Paulo, Emiliano Bonfigli, Olave and DF Nat Borchers each seeing opportunities to narrow the gap go wanting. Despite outshooting the Stars 21-14 on the night and having a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks, RSL could not force extra time and saw its hopes for hoisting the oldest trophy in U.S. Soccer thwarted, just as they began.

Real Salt Lake Match Notes - RSL 1 : 3 MIN

• All-time in Open Cup-related play, RSL is now just 5-8-0, scoring 21 goals and conceding 27. Against lower-division teams, RSL is now 2-2-0 in Open Cup action, losing 4-6 at Minnesota in 2005 (despite a Jason Kreis hat trick) before defeating the USL Virginia Beach Mariners 2-1 at home in 2006 and the Wilmington Hammerheads 2-0 a season ago. Each of the 2005 and 2006 games went 120 minutes after being tied in regulation.
• Dating back to 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is now a 99-year-old single-elimination tournament. The U.S. Open Cup is similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world. Since its inception in 1996, Major League Soccer teams have won 15 of the last 16 U.S. Open Cup titles, with Seattle Sounders FC aiming to become the first-ever team to win four consecutive titles in 2012.
• With tonight's loss to Minnesota (4-0-4; 2^ndNASL), DF Tony Beltran leads the Claret-and-Cobalt in games played in the U.S. Open Cup at eight, two behind RSL's head scout Andy Williams and two ahead of fellow teammate Kyle Beckerman, currently on international duty with the United States, preparing to face Brazil Wednesday at FedExField in Landover, Md.
• Five of the starting XI (Tanaka, Alvarez, Steele, Paulo Jr. and Bonfigli) in tonight's matchup made their U.S. Open Cup debut, while two others (Arnoux and Velasquez) entered the match to also make their first appearance.
• Tonight's disappointing loss drops Real Salt Lake's U.S. Open Cup record to 5-8-0. Fans came out to support the Claret-and-Cobalt poured into Rio Tinto Stadium as it filled to an attendance of 17,212, the highest non-final, non-doubleheader in U.S. Open Cup history. RSL's last U.S. Open Cup victory at Rio Tinto Stadium came on June 28, 2011 winning 2-0 against the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO), before 7,620 fans, the highest turnout in last year's tourney prior to Seattle's semifinal match.

Goals by Period 1 2 F

Real Salt Lake 1 0 1

Minnesota Stars FC 2 1 3

Scoring Summary:

MIN - Venegas (Kallman) 3'

RSL - Gil (Grabavoy) 29'

MIN - Hlavaty (PK) 45'

MIN - Bracalello (Kallman) 58'

Misconduct Summary:

RSL - Velasquez (handball) 83'

RSL - Olave (tactical foul) 85'

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2) - Kyle Reynish; Terukazu Tanaka (Tony Beltran 46), Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers (c), Chris Wingert; Yordany Alvarez (Sebastian Velasquez 53), Ned Grabavoy, Jonny Steele, Luis Gil; Emiliano Bonfigli, Paulo Junior (Cody Arnoux 67)

Substitutes Not Used: Lalo Fernandez (GK), Enzo Martinez, Chris Estridge, Fabian Espindola

Minnesota Stars FC (4-2-3-1) - Matt VanOekel; Justin Davis, Brian Kallman, Kyle Altman (c) (Connor Tobin 76), Ernest Tchoupe; Neil Hlavaty, Kentaro Takada, Kevin Venegas, Miguel Ibarra, Martin Nunez (Devin Del Do); Amani Walker (Simone Bracalello 46)

Substitutes Not Used: Mitch Hildebrandt (GK), Kevin Friedland, Fuad Ibrahim, Daniel Wasson

Referee: Tyler Ploeger

Referee's Assistants: Brandon Major, Alex Krelo

4th Official: Brad Jensen

Attendance: 17,212

Time of Game: 1:52

Weather: Sunny and 77 degrees

OK, that is enough of that.

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