Sounders come back to stun Houston

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, Jul 22, 2009

[U.S. OPEN CUP] The quest of Seattle to win a trophy in its expansion year took another step forward Tuesday when the Sounders rallied to beat Houston, 2-1, in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.

Stephen King completed Houston's nightmare defeat by scoring five minutes into overtime, after the Sounders had equalized late in regulation when former Dynamo forward Nate Jaqua had scrambled a shot toward goal that defender Mike Chabala got a piece of but couldn't keep out of the net.

That goal matched a tally in the 32nd minute -- by Houston striker Ade Akinbiyi, who struck home a loose ball in the goalmouth -- that backup keeper Tally Hall and the Dynamo held for nearly an hour of play.

Jaqua, a member of the Dynamo for part of the past two seasons - before and after a short stint in Austria - took a gash in his forehead early in the match and played the rest of the way with a head bandage. He scored in the 89th minute after substitute Roger Levesque played the ball into the goalmouth to trigger a delirious celebration from the nearly 5,000 fans who crammed their way into the small stadium, to which temporary seating had been added, at the Starfire Sports Complex training facility.

King scored five minutes into overtime from a feed by Sebastien LeToux, who gained possession of the rebound from a shot Hall saved from Steve Zakuani.

Defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado received his second caution give minutes later and the 10-man Sounders, which outshot Houston 26-7, over the 120 minutes, held out to the final whistle.

Seattle advances to the U.S. Open Cup final, in which it plays D.C. United at RFK Stadium Sept. 2.

U.S. Open Cup semifinal
July 21 in Tukwila, Wash.
Seattle 2, Houston 1 (OT).
Goals: Akinbiyi 32, King (LeToux, Zakuani) 95; Jaqua (LeToux, Levesque) 89.
Seattle - Keller; Riley, Hurtado, Marshall, Wahl (Levesque, 84), Vagenas (Alonso, 65), King, Nyassi (Zakuani, 61), LeToux, Jaqua, Montero.
Houston - Hall; Hainault, Boswell, James (Chabala, 60), Hayden, Davis, Ashe (Mullan, 68), Cruz, Ustruck, Akinbiyi, Oduro (Kamara, 65).
Red cards: Hurtado 110.
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic.
Att.: 4,895.