Projo Sports Blog

FOXBORO -- The 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup began its 80th year with 40 teams that ranged from MLS pro teams to the amateur leagues of the United Soccer League, Premier Developmental League, and the United States Adult Soccer Association.

Last night the tournament was whittled down to four teams when the New England Revolution became the final squad to advance to the Final Four with a quarterfinal 2-1 victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL’s Second Division last night at Gillette Stadium.

New England will host the Carolina RailHawks (USL-1) on Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m., in the semis.

"To get to the semifinals, we are all really happy," New England midfielder Andy Dorman said. "I’m looking forward to it."

New England dominated the match from start to finish.

Looking for some payback after getting embarrassed by D.C. United, 3-0, last Sunday, New England didn’t waste any time establishing its supremacy over Harrisburg last night.

Sharlie Joseph made a slick pass to Dorman who fired it past Harrisburg goalie Matt Nelson in the fourth minute of the match to give New England an early 1-0 lead.

"The ball was just bouncing around the area and I just hit it with my left foot, but I probably could have got three or four in the end because I had a lot of chances," Dorman said. "I would have liked to have taken a lot more [shots]."

New England appeared to go up 2-0 in the 12th minute on a Taylor Twellman header, but the goal was waived off when Twellman was called offsides.

That only delayed the inevitable.

In the 17th minute, Dorman crossed the ball from the right sideline to Twellman who one-timed it in from point-blank range.

New England controlled the pace of the game in the first half by spreading the field and making crisp passes. The Revolution outshot Harrisburg, 10-3 (5-1 shots on goal), in the first half.

New England coach Steve Nicol said that he wasn’t surprised with the way New England controlled the game early.

"A couple of days rest is good for the soul," said Nicol, who gave New England a few days off after Sunday’s loss to D.C. "We’ll probably do the same again [after this game]."

New England was on cruise control in the second session until Harrisburg cut its lead in half in the 78th minute on a direct kick goal scored by Matt Tanzini, who did not start but was inserted into the game in the 27th minute to provide a spark.

Revolution goalie Matt Reis got a hand on the ball but the momentum of the shot carried it into the net.

That was one of only two shots that New England allowed on goal in the second half.
"It was kind of a tough game," Twellman said. "We had chances in the first half and in the second half, a 2-0 lead is kind of dangerous, but we were professional and did the job."

The Revolution has participated in U.S. Open Cup eight times since its inception (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003-07), and last night was the Revolution’s fourth appearance in the quarterfinals of the tournament (2001, 2003, 2006, and 2007).

New England is 7-6-2 all-time in the event. New England reached the finals only once (2001) and lost to the L.A. Galaxy, 2-1, in stoppage time.

New England is now focused on Sunday’s 7 p.m. game against David Beckham and the Galaxy.

"It’s not all about who is on their team, it’s about what we do on the day," Nicol said. "That’s the key for us...We would like to play well and have people enjoy the game and maybe a lot of the people who don’t normally come here will come back but the three points [for a win] are the most important thing."

Thirty-two thousand tickets have been sold for the game.

"It’s a chance for us to have a good game and hopefully get some of these people to be fans not just because Beckham is in town, but more so to come and watch us play every weekend," Twellman said.

--ROB LEE

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