Quakes fall to Fire on penalties in U.S. Open Cup play
Ellis McLoughlin scores San Jose's first goal. Photo: Joe Nuxoll, centerlinesoccer.com.
(Santa Clara) Following 120 minutes of soccer that saw both sides score twice, the Chicago Fire won a penalty kick tiebreaker over the San Jose Earthquakes, 5-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2011 US Open Cup. Goals from Ellis McLoughlin and Justin Morrow gave the Quakes a 2-0 halftime lead, but Chicago’s Orr Barouch and Yamith Cuesta netted in the 61st and 76th minutes, respectively, to send the match into extra time. Despite losing defender Gonzalo Segares to a 98th minute red card, the Fire held on to take the match to penalties, and Scott Sealy’s shot off the crossbar in the sixth round of PKs ended the match.
Center Line Soccer’s complete coverage of the match includes this photo gallery.
“It was a tough night for us,” said San Jose head coach Frank Yallop. “I thought we had enough chances to win, to be honest. You can’t be 2-0 up at halftime, and (let them) tie the game, and then go a man up, and not finish it off. It was disappointing.”
As they did previously in Open Cup play-in competition, the Quakes used the prospect of three matches in eight days as an opportunity to spread around the playing time. Andrew Weber got the start in goal, behind a back four of Steven Beitashour, Bobby Burling, Brandon McDonald, and Ramiro Corrales. Justin Morrow moved to left midfield, where he was joined by Brad Ring, Sam Cronin, and Anthony Ampaipitakwong, behind a front line of Ellis McLoughlin and Chris Wondolowski.
The Fire also used the mid-week match as a chance to put some different players in their starting lineup. Sean Johnson opened the match in goal, with a back line of Jalil Anibabba, Yamith Cuesta, Dasan Robinson, and Gonzalo Segares. Their four-man midfield consisted of Bratislav Ristic, Daniel Paladini, Logan Pause, and Marco Pappa, behind forwards Cristian Nazarit and Gaston Puerari. Of Chicago’s starting 11, only Anibaba, Segares, Pause, Papa, and Puerari had started the majority of the team’s MLS matches.
The Fire had the first opportunity to open the scoring. Just ten minutes in, Puerari’s left-wing run gave him the opportunity to put in a cross for Nazarit, but the ball was just a bit too high for the tall Colombian and he couldn’t direct his shot.
The Earthquakes made no such mistake with their first chance. Four minutes later, Ellis McLoughlin found the ball at his feet 20 yards from goal and smashed a low shot that deflected off Cuesta and into the Fire goal, giving San Jose a 1-0 lead. The goal gave McLoughlin the unusual statistic of having scored four goals in his last three games, all in different competitions: a pair of tallies in an Earthquakes reserve match, his first MLS goal on Saturday night against New England, and now a goal in the Open Cup.
San Jose nearly doubled their lead in the 16th minute, when Wondolowski created some room for himself to get off a left-footed shot, but Johnson parried it for a corner. A minute later, Weber misjudged a loose ball in the box, but the same crazy spin that helped it elude the Earthquakes goalkeeper carried it past the net and over the end line, saving Weber some embarrassment but also foreshadowing the gaffes that were to come for both netminders later in the match.
The Fire continued to press for an equalizer but continued to be denied by the Quakes. Defender Steven Beitashour came through on a number of occasions with timely tackles and blocked shots, and San Jose ultimately kept Chicago from placing a shot on net in the first half. Justin Morrow, starting at left midfield, had a solid outing, making good use of his speed. Late in the half, he was hacked down by Cuesta as he looked to get behind the Fire defense, earning a dangerous free kick for the Quakes and a yellow card the right back.
Morrow’s hard work paid off again in the 43rd minute, this time with a goal. The play began on the right flank, with Ampaipitakwong finding McLoughlin with a through ball. McLoughlin scuffed a 20-yard shot at the Fire goal, but Johnson — who was projected as Chicago’s starter when the Fire released Jon Busch last year — somehow spilled the rebound, giving the alert Morrow a chance to knock it home from point-blank range.
“It was a good play up the right side,” Morrow said. “I was able to get free, made a cut down the middle looking for a cross. Instead it was a shot. I was in the right place and I was able to follow up and score.”
After the break, it took the Fire 16 minutes to pull one back, as Barouch rolled a carefully-placed shot from the top of the area past Weber, just inside the post. The Chicago goal cut San Jose’s lead to 2-1.
Things unraveled for both Weber and the Earthquakes in the 76th minute. First, Weber came off his line to chase down a ball intended for Nazarit, but missed it. Only a heroic, sliding block by Burling kept the ball out of the net. Then, following a Fire free kick, Weber couldn’t corral the ball as it bounced around his penalty area, giving Cuesta an opportunity to bundle it over the line to even the score at 2-2.
“At the end of the day, it all goes back to that goal I gave up,” said Weber. “We should have hung on 2-1; I have to bounce back from this in my next performance. I have to continue training and put it behind me.”
The Earthquakes responded to the goal by bringing on Steven Lenhart. His presence helped create several opportunities over the remainder of the match, perhaps none better than in the 86th minute. Morrow and Wondolowski combined to create space in San Jose’s attacking third, with Wondolowski providing a gorgeous chipped cross for Lenhart, but Johnson was able to make the save for Chicago.
The only real fireworks for the rest of the match, including the extra-time session, came in the 98th minute. Second-half Earthquakes sub Khari Stephenson received a yellow card for a reckless tackle and, as several Chicago players gathered around referee Daniel Radford to protest, Radford produced a red card for Segares for abusive language.
Despite the man advantage for the remainder of the match, the Earthquakes could not find a winning goal; in fact, neither of their two shots in the final 15 minutes of extra time were on frame.
Pappa, Nazarit, Barouch, Oduro, and Paladini all scored their penalties for the Fire, with Pause’s effort sailing over the net. For San Jose, Wondolowski, Corrales, Stephenson, and McDonald found the net, while Cronin and Sealy both found the crossbar.
The result gives Chicago a berth in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup. The two teams meet again in league play Saturday night at Toyota Park. Kickoff is at 5:30 Pacific; the match will be broadcast on CSN Bay Area.
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Chicago Fire
U.S. Open Cup Play-in Match
May 24, 2011 – Buck Shaw Stadium
Attendance: 4,124
Scoring Summary: SJ – Ellis McLoughlin (unassissted) 14; SJ – Justin Morrow (unassisted) 43; CHI – Orr Barouch (Gonzalo Segares) 61; CHI – Yamith Cuesta (unassisted) 76.
Penalty Kick Summary:
CHI — Marco Pappa (Goal), Logan Pause (High); Cristian Nazarit (Goal), Orr Barouch (Goal), Dominic Oduro (Goal), Daniel Paladini (Goal).
SJ — Chris Wondolowski (Goal), Sam Cronin (Crossbar), Ramiro Corrales (Goal), Khari Stephenson (Goal), Brandon McDonald (Goal), Scott Sealy (Crossbar).
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Chris Wondolowski (caution) 37; CHI – Yamith Cuesta (caution) 39; CHI – Daniel Paladini (caution) 63; SJ – Brad Ring (caution) 69; CHI – Orr Barouch (caution) 69; CHI – Bratislav Ristic (caution) 74; CHI – Cristian Nazarit (caution) 89; SJ – Khari Stephenson (caution) 97; CHI – Gonzalo Segares (ejection) 98.
Lineups
Chicago Fire – Sean Johnson; Jalil Anibaba (Dominic Oduro 46), Yamith Cuesta, Dasan Robinson (Cory Gibbs 88), Gonzalo Segares; Bratislav Ristic, Daniel Paladini, Logan Pause, Marco Pappa; Cristian Nazarit, Gaston Puerari (Orr Barouch 46).
Statistics: Shots: 14; Shots on Goal: 6; Saves: 5; Fouls: 20; Offsides: 4; Corners: 5.
San Jose Earthquakes – Andrew Weber; Steven Beitashour, Bobby Burling, Brandon McDonald, Ramiro Corrales; Anthony Ampaipitakwong (Steven Lenhart 83), Sam Cronin, Brad Ring (Khari Stephenson 71), Justin Morrow; Ellis McLoughlin (Scott Sealy 46), Chris Wondolowski.
Statistics: Shots: 15; Shots on Goal: 7; Saves: 4; Fouls: 16; Offsides: 5; Corners: 4.
I stopped listening when it went to PKs because with Scott in the line up… *sigh* I knew that our dreams would be dashed. How a ‘seasoned’ Forward canNOT find the back of the net EVER and yet stay on a team is beside me. Hope Ellis is better for Saturday and the month of June!!!
Thanks Robert for your live chat during the match and your followup article.
Can’t wait to see Buschy get a Clean Sheet and Ellis, Lenny, and Wondo GOALS this Saturday against the Fire. :-) Go Quakes !!!
Sorry Jay… I meant to thank you too… *sigh* Still getting over the despair of failure.
Thanks, Lisa! Appreciate it.
“Chicago players gathered around referee Daniel Radford to protest,” Good grief…what really happened was that Chicago players, in a display of poor sportsmanship chased the poor, pathetic, incompetent referee all over the field and he let himself be bullied by 4-5 players who should have been carded and weren’t. Eventually Radford was rescued by his ARs and yet 5 or 6 minutes were wasted, none of which were added to the OT stoppage time. That ref had no business doing this game. His calls weren’t that bad, but his game management was unacceptable.
Good call. We saw quite a performance from the Chicago Fire Speech and Debate Club last night.
I always try to give referees the benefit of the doubt as my view from the press box isn’t as good as theirs. Plus, I think it’s a psychological trap for coaches or players to think that the referee has the ultimate say over who wins and loses. That said, there was a lot going on last night that deserves more scrutiny. For example, what was going on between Ristic and Ring? Ristic clearly dove in hopes of getting Ring carded at one point, and he proved it by rolling on the ground until the Quakes started a counter, upon which he immediately sprang to his feet and began sprinting. Immediately after that, Ring took him out off a throw-in and may have been lucky not to see red instead of the yellow he received. Re: Segares, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get a straight red for “abusive language” before, either.
So yes, there are questions about how the ref ran the game. It was also a night in which neither goalkeeper covered himself in glory.
What difference does ” it’s a psychological trap for coaches or players to think that the referee has the ultimate say over who wins” make to a match report? Are you writing a watered down PR piece for Quakes’ players and coaches and the referee to read so they can feel less bad about themselves? Or are you trying to report the events that happened accurately for general readership so if they didn’t see the game, they’ll still get a true and accurate sense of it? The biggest story of the game journalistically (whether it’s good psychology for the Quakes’ players to think that way or not doesn’t matter) is that game easily could have been abandoned. When the ARs have to dash onto the field to protect the CR from what they believe is impending assault, it’s THE story no matter if you sit the press box or not. The ARs didn’t come on to separate players, which is rather more common in melees, since the Quakes were not involved. They believed the safety of the CR was immediately at risk and that’s the tipping point for abandoning a game. This ref was on his 3rd or 4th different position on the field having run away from Fire players in fear. Sweeping this under the rug by watering it down or pretending it didn’t impact the game, isn’t journalism–it would only be done by someone whose primary role is PR for MLS, USSoccer, or USOC. Journalistically, it ought it to be reported & followed by a call to USSoccer about will happen as a consequence. Taking notes on the game?…writing a match report that really describes what happened?…..or writing a PR piece for USSoccer so they can keep pretending their referee situation isn’t in crisis?
Any videos of the goals jay?
Not that I’ve seen anywhere, but we’ve got a great photo gallery on Center Line now.