crystal palace baltimore took new england revolution to penalty kicks in a valiant defeat. charleston leads dallas 2-0 at half. seattle sounders look good early against KC (free and live right now on usllive.com!)

i really am not sure they are that much better than we are right now. i thought that last year and i'm thinking that even more now.

Good night so far, but, Seattle is being thoroughly out played so far.

Also, who is "we"?

i look at the header and thought we were usl fans. at least i am.

I root for all american professional soccer leagues, not just the usl or mls.

p.s. Remember, if usl owners had been smart back ~1994 they would be us.

I think Seattle and the Wizards look fairly equal right now with the Sounders having many more chances to score. Plus the Refs are blind def and out of breath and missed an obvious Wizards penalty inside the box. Score should be 1-0 Sounders and the Wizards should be down to 9 men.

the sounders are thrashing them and the ref is simply insane in his support of MLS. even cheating, they aren't better.

i am greatly sadenned that that usl has so little in terms of fan base. the quality of this league demands more respect.

Woohoo! USL will be represented in the US Open Cup Championship! Hell yeah!

Question:

With the winner of the USOC getting an automatic bid in the next CONCACAF Champions League, what happens if Seattle wins the Cup this year? Would they give the spot to the MLS Seattle team even though its not the same club?

I concur. Go Battery !

I was wondering about that. Is the new MLS Seattle team a completely seperate entity? Are they going to clean out their roster?

What a great night for the USL ... I was on the edge of my seat following the matches.

While some MLS clubs may have fielded weaker sides, I think this goes to show that the USL-1 and -2 for that matter, are truely increasing their quality year after year.

Congratulations to the teams/players/fans.

Here's the Seattle Pitch match report for SEA-KC, with links to other reports:
http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/matches/2008/jul8.html

Seattle Sounders FC will be a separate entity, but there is some overlap with the current Sounders. Current majority owner Adrian Hanauer is a minority owner of the MLS franchise. Some current players will make the move to the MLS side, with Sebastien Le Toux already signed to a MLS contract. Due to popular demand, there is major overlap in the team name.

Sounders advance:

http://goalseattle2.blogspot.com/2008/07/sounders-advance-to-cup-semis-on.html

I'd bet that the MLS club that has tried to distance itself from the USL-1 Sounders would love to have that 2008 U.S.O.C. trophy in its case.

How true. Hanauer is um, changing his tune as needed:
http://soundersfc.com/Article.aspx?id=1762&languageId=1033

“We’ve started that conversation with U.S. Soccer, and if we’re lucky enough to get past Kansas City,” says Hanauer, “there will be another one next week, and I’d say the urgency level would be fairly extreme.”

The wrinkle involves the Sounders, present and future. The USL club is scheduled to close shop following this season, giving way to the Sounders FC debut in Major League Soccer next spring. If the Sounders lift the cup, to whom will go the spoils?

Hanauer will present a case that binds the two clubs together; one that makes Champions League berth transferrable. He is majority owner of the USL team. He is also general manager and among the ownership group of the MLS club.

Further, there will be continuity on the team side. Already it has been announced that Sebastien Le Toux will migrate to Sounders FC, and more of the USL players are expected to follow.

Earning a slot in the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League would be a big deal, to say the least. Especially for a first-year club wishing to one day play on the world stage.

U.S. Soccer determines which four American clubs take part. The remaining three Champions League slots go to the winner of the MLS Cup and MLS Supporters Shield (best regular season record) and MLS Cup runner-up.

Hey, I can roll my eyes and hope he's successful...all at the same time.

that continuous team sort of talk will make it sound too much like promotion for the mls to accept. still 2 more games to play though among four sides, so the odds say this will be a moot question in the end.

Here's a preview for Tuesday night from ESPN SoocerNet:
USL presence adds spice to Open Cup

That actually is a well done, informative article. Not just a rehash of a few statistics.

Anyone else out there watching our USL-1 Semi-Final?

And interested in match banter?