CHESTER, Pa. -- With second-place medals around their necks, the bitter Union sat and watched as the Seattle Sounders hoisted the US Open Cup on Tuesday at PPL Park.
And while the team was overcome with the sting of disappointment following the 3-1 extra-time loss on their home turf (see game recap), the pride was palpable.
“To a man, every guy left it on the field,” said Union interim manager Jim Curtin. “That was a man’s game tonight. Two teams going at it. Good soccer, moments of not-so-good soccer, it was a grind. Seattle pulled off more plays than us.”
Curtin isn’t someone to accept moral defeats, but Tuesday was a bit different. The Union out-shot the Sounders, 25-17, earned 12 corners to the Sounders’ seven and forced goalkeeper Stefan Frei into making eight saves.
They pushed the league’s best team to the brink.
“I’ve never been proud of anything that ended in a loss before but this is the first time,” Curtin said. “I thought our guys put a ton into it. It just wasn’t meant to be. Seattle is the best team in our league and I thought we went toe-to-toe with them.”
Where the Union stumbled was their inability to put the game away in regulation. Vincent Nogueira hit the post in stoppage time and rookie Pedro Ribeiro failed to capitalize on multiple attempts in the box after relieving Conor Casey in the 43rd minute.
The result of missed opportunities caused the Union to run out of gas in the 101st minute, allowing Sounders forward Clint Dempsey to score the game-winning goal from Obafemi Martins.
The effort was there from the Union, but the finish wasn’t. And the experienced three-time Open Cup champions made them pay. The Sounders are 17-7-3, with their eye on the MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield as the league's winningest team.
“It was tough,” Ribeiro said. “We had a couple of chances before the end of the 90 minutes, but we didn’t put them away. In a game like this, you’ve got to put away those chances. I know I had one. Vince had one that hit the post. The mentality was good going forward to the overtime, because we thought we were all over, up on top of them. We thought we were going to create more chances, but we should’ve won that game before the 90 minutes.”
One day, Union players might look back on Tuesday’s match as the most impressive showing in the team’s short history. They might eventually believe there was no shame in the hard-fought loss.
But that day won’t be anytime soon.
“Nobody is going to remember who was finalist,” said Union defender Sheanon Williams. “They are only going to remember that Seattle won. I’m extremely proud of the group and extremely proud of the guys, but I think I’m going to just toss this one away, remember the feeling and try to never let it happen again.”