Monday, June 30, 2008

Open Cup 2008 Primer

The 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup begins tomorrow for MLS teams. Eight qualifiers will take on eight lower league clubs in what is always one of the single most exciting days of the season. Last year was not the greatest year for MLS in the tournament, as only 3/8 teams advanced. One of those 3, the Rapids, then lost 5-0 in the quarterfinals to Seattle. In fact, the only matchup between two MLS teams took place in the final, where the Revolution finally won a championship. Certain teams seemed to take the tournament less seriously than usual, probably because of the new Superliga competition.

It's hard to win away from home with lineups like these:

DC:

Jay Nolly, Marc Burch, Bobby Boswell (Devon McTavish 45), Domenic Mediate, Stephen deRoux, Brian Caroll (Josh Gros 45), Clyde Simms, Rod Dyachenko (Justin Moose 65), Jeff Carroll, Brad North (Mira Mupier 58), Nicholas Addlery

HOU:

Zach Wells, Patrick Ianni, Ryan Cochrane (Stuart Holden 33, Nate Jaqua 62, Brian Mullan 102), Mike Chabala, John Michael Hayden, Nick Hatzke, Mpho Moloi, Corey Ashe (Eddie Robinson 66), Erik Ustruck, Paul Dalglish, Chris Wondolowski

Of course, even with reserve lineups, losing a majority of the round was unexpected. But, that's also unlikely to happen again this year. The key reason those results happened is because 6/8 teams played on the road last year. Only half do so this year, and one of those games is against a USL-2 team. There's only three seemingly trouble-laden games this time around, at Carolina, Charleston and Seattle:

NE vs Richmond
Baltimore vs NY
Charleston vs HOU
Carolina vs KC
DC vs Rochester
CHI vs Cleveland
DAL vs Miami
Seattle vs CHV

Of the MLS teams remaining, those who are playing in the Superliga and CONCACAF Champions League appear to be at a huge disadvantage. Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and New York should probably be favorites to win the whole thing, especially the first two who have had more success in this tournament and have deeper benches. Several of those teams may have to win away from home in the quarterfinals (potential matchups), though.

A lot of people seem to care less for this tournament nowadays. We've all known about the various problems for years, like no tv coverage and small attendances (due to not being on the schedule). Nothing's really changed there. Lately, however, with the addition of the Superliga, it seems to have shifted even further down the average fan's attention span. Personally, I don't see how the Superliga is a more worthwhile prize. It's a tournament made to replace those Mexican preseason friendlies vs MLS you see every year. Contrast that with the 100 year old history of the Open Cup. You have one tournament filled with tradition, and one created solely for money. The Superliga may have higher profile matchups featuring more talent, but I don't think it's as big of a prize as the Open Cup (yet).

US Soccer has done some good things in the past year, however. The tournament is now apparently qualifying a team for the Champions League, which should give some incentive to the habitually under-performing teams like New York. Second, the schedule is now condensed which not only makes things easier down the stretch but also should keep people interested more.

And now, below is a huge list of statistics regarding MLS teams in the competition since 1996. I want to mention two important things. First of all, player stats include only those while playing for MLS teams. If someone played in the Open Cup for a minor league team, I'm not including those stats here. MLS only. I also need to point out that Open Cup qualifying games are not part of the tournament proper, and any results/stats are not included here.

Be sure to check out usopencup.com for their great coverage of the tournament as a whole.


Records - Overall



W
L D
Pts
GF GA GD
1 Chicago 24 6 2 74 61 27 34
2 Los Angeles 20 7 1 61 64 30 34
3 Dallas 18 11 4 58 63 49 14
4 DC United 16 7 3 51 52 25 27
5 Columbus 15 7 1 46 51 29 22
6 New York 12 10 1 37 40 32 8
7 New England 9 6 2 29 35 25 10
8 Kansas City 9 8 1 28 36 25 11
9 San Jose 8 6 4 28 35 18 17
10 Colorado 8 11 0 24 20 35 -15
11 Miami 5 3 1 16 24 15 9
12 Tampa Bay 3 6 1 10 11 20 -9
13 Houston 2 2 0 6 8 6 2
14 Chivas USA 1 2 1 4 6 10 -4
15 Real Salt Lake 1 2 0 3 6 8 -2


Records - vs MLS only



W
L D
Pts
GF GA GD
1 Chicago 15 3 1 46 37 18 19
2 Los Angeles 10 5 1 31 30 20 10
3 Columbus 7 6 1 22 24 21 3
4 Dallas 5 8 2 17 17 28 -11
5 New York 5 6 1 16 22 19 3
6 DC United 4 4 2 14 14 14 0
7 Colorado 4 4 0 12 10 13 -3
8 Kansas City 3 5 0 9 12 12 0
8 New England 3 4 0 9 12 12 0
10 Miami 2 3 0 6 8 11 -3
11 Houston 1 1 0 3 4 3 1
12 San Jose 0 4 2 2 3 8 -5
13 Real Salt Lake 0 1 0 0 0 1 -1
14 Chivas USA 0 1 0 0 2 5 -3
15 Tampa Bay 0 4 0 0 0 10 -10


Titles/Best finishes

4-Chicago (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006)
2-Los Angeles (2001, 2005)
1-D.C. United (1996)
1-Dallas (1997)
1-Columbus (2002)
1-Kansas City (2004)
1-New England (2007)
0-Chivas USA (round of 16: 2005, 2007)
0-Colorado (runners up: 1999)
0-Houston (semifinals: 2006)
0-Miami (runners up: 2000)
0-New York (runners up: 2003)
0-Real Salt Lake (round of 16: 2006)
0-San Jose (semifinals: 2004)
0-Tampa Bay (quarterfinals: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)


Most Goals - Overall

(italics = active MLS player)

1 Jaime Moreno 11
2 Carlos Ruiz 9
2 Josh Wolff 9
4 Chris Albright 8
4 Ronald Cerritos 8
4 Brian McBride 8
7 Abdul Thompson Conteh 7
7 Herculez Gomez 7
7 Jason Kreis 7
7 Alejandro Moreno 7
7 Dante Washington 7

Other top active players

6 goals: Cunningham, Donovan, Herron, Razov, Twellman
5 goals: Arnaud, Guevara, Williams
4 goals: Buddle, De Rosario, Kovalenko, O'Brien, Thompson


Most Goals - Single Season

1 Herculez Gomez 6 LA 2005
1 Welton 6 MIA 2000
1 Josh Wolff 6 CHI 2000
4 A.T. Conteh 5 DC 2001
5 Jeff Cunningham 4 CLB 2003
5 Amado Guevara 4 NY 2000
5 Andy Herron 4 CHI 2006
5 Jaime Moreno 4 DC 2000
5 Diego Serna 4 MIA 2000
5 Taylor Twellman 4 NE 2007

Top MLS scorer by year:

(bold = also won or tied for the overall golden boot)

1996 3 goals Jaime Moreno (DC)
1997 2 goals Shaun Bartlett (NY), Ronald Cerritos (SJ), Damian (DAL), Ted Eck (DAL), Lawrence Lozzano (SJ)
1998 3 goals Brian McBride (CLB)
1999 3 goals Jorge Dely Valdes (COL), Bobby Rhine (DAL)
2000 6 goals Welton (MIA), Josh Wolff (CHI)
2001 5 goals Abdul Thompson Conteh (DC)
2002 3 goals Carlos Ruiz (LA)
2003 4 goals Amado Guevara (NY)
2004 3 goals Davy Arnaud (KC)
2005 6 goals Herculez Gomez (LA)
2006 4 goals Andy Herron (CHI)
2007 4 goals Taylor Twellman (NE)

Nobody has scored more than 6 goals in a single cup since the "professional era" started in 1995. Three minor league players have also scored 6: Marquis White in 1997, Mugurel Dmitru in 1999, and Melvin Tarley in 2005.


Most Games Played

1 Jesse Marsch 26
2 C.J. Brown 24
3 Peter Vagenas 23
3 Andy Williams 23
5 Chris Armas
22
5 Cobi Jones
22
5 Zach Thornton 22
8 Chris Albright 21
9 Diego Gutierrez 20
9 Steve Jolley
20
9 Carey Talley
20


Most Games Played Without Appearing For A Losing Team

The record is 9 games and is held by Mario Gori, who played tournament games for DC in 1996 & 1997 and CLB in 2000. The first team won the title, while the latter two were eliminated in shootouts.


Best Strike Rate

(goals per game, min 10 games played)

1 Carlos Ruiz 0.64
2 Ronald Cerritos 0.62
2 Brian McBride 0.62
4 Jaime Moreno 0.61
5 Alejandro Moreno 0.58
6 Clint Mathis 0.55
7 Dante Washington 0.54
8 Josh Wolff 0.53
9 Ante Razov 0.46
10 Landon Donovan 0.40
10 Abe Thompson 0.40


Hat Tricks

4-Welton, MIA vs New Jersey (2000)
4-Josh Wolff, CHI vs Dallas (2000)
3-Bobby Rhine, DAL vs Jacksonville (1999)
3-Raul Diaz Arce, DC @ Charlston (2000)
3-Abdul Thompson Conteh, DC vs New Jersey (2001)
3-Carlos Ruiz, LA @ Seattle (2003)
3-Jason Kreis, RSL @ Minnesota (2005)
3-Kenny Cooper, DAL @ Charleston (2006)


Top Coaches by PPG

(minimum 10 games)

1 Dave Sarachan 2.500
2 Tom Fitzgerald 2.200
3 Greg Andrulis 2.100
4 Sigi Schmid 2.048
5 Bob Bradley 2.043
6 Dave Dir
2.000
6 Bob Gansler
2.000
6 Ray Hudson 2.000
9 Colin Clarke
1.700
9 Steve Nicol
1.700


Biggest Margin Of Victory

8:0-DC vs New Jersey (2001)
7:1-NE vs Mid-Michigan (2001)
6:0-SJ @ Central Coast (2001)
6:1-MIA vs New Jersey (2000)
6:1-KC vs Des Moines (2006)
5:0-SJ @ Stanislaus Utd (2000)
5:0-LA vs Nashville (2001)


Wins By Lower League Teams Over MLS

(shootouts are counted as draws)

USL-1/A-League (27)

7-Rochester Raging Rhinos (1996-TB, COL; 1999-CHI, DAL, *CLB, *COL; 2005-NY)
4-Charleston Battery (1999-DC; 2000-NY; 2004-NY, 2007-HOU)
4-Minnesota Thunder (2004-LA, 2005-RSL, COL, KC)
3-Seattle Sounders (2003-SJ, 2007-CHV, COL)
2-Richmond Kickers (2000-COL; 2004-DC)
1-Carolina Railhawks (2007-CHI)
1-Connecticut Wolves (2001-TB)
1-Long Island Rough Riders (1997-NE)
1-Milwaukee Rampage (2002-CHI)
1-Nashville Metros (1998-KC)
1-Pittsburgh Riverhounds (2001-COL)
1-Staten Island Vipers (1999-NY)

USL-2/PSL/D-3 (6)

2-San Francisco Bay Seals (1997-KC, SJ)
1-Chicago Stingers (1997-COL)
1-Harrisburg City Islanders (2007-DC)
1-Richmond Kickers (2007-LA)
1-Wilmington Hammerhaeads (2003-DAL)

PDL (2)

1-Mid-Michigan Bucks (2000-NE)
1-Seattle Sounders Select (2001-DAL)

Bold signifies an MLS home game. Overall, MLS teams are 92-35-12 against lower league competition. That is 2.07 points per game, or the equivalent of 62 points in a 30 game season.

*neutral venue.


Further Reading

US Open Cup - Top Finish By State

Comments on "Open Cup 2008 Primer"

 

Blogger George Shook said ... (9:43 PM, June 30, 2008) : 

technically Josh Wolff is active now.

 

Blogger henryo said ... (10:28 PM, September 16, 2008) : 

Time to update the all-time table after 2008 Open Cup has concluded, :-)

 

Blogger henryo said ... (10:32 PM, September 16, 2008) : 

By the way, why was KCW listed ahead of SJE in the Overall Table?

Thought SJE had a better GD/game than KCW hadn't they?

 

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