CHESTER, Pa. – Ever since losing an extra-time heartbreaker to the Seattle Sounders in the 2014 US Open Cup title game at PPL Park, the Philadelphia Union made a pledge to get back to that same point this year.
They even came up with the motto of “Unfinished business” to guide them on their quest.
And while it may have taken some wild and unlikely wins, they accomplished that goal, beating the Chicago Fire in one Open Cup semifinal Wednesday before watching Sporting Kansas City take down Real Salt Lake in the other – a pair of results that ensured the Union will host their second straight Open Cup final.
And this time, they want to win it.
“We talked about it after the Seattle game last year that we had to get back to the final because there was unfinished business,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said. “But as cliché as it sounds, it’s amazing to get back. Every guy in there can look each other in the eye and be happy and know what it means to not just talk about but to actually do it. I couldn’t be prouder of our players.”
Curtin and his players, of course, are fully aware that things have not gone well for them in league play this year. The Union are ahead of only Wednesday’s opponent, the Fire, in the East, sitting in ninth in the Conference table with 23 points in 24 regular season games.
But for whatever reason, the Open Cup brings out the best in the Union, who stormed into the semifinal round after surviving two shootouts and winning back-to-back games while down a man.
Wednesday’s match against the Fire didn’t provide quite that level of drama but did have an exciting final flourish as Sebastien Le Toux – the all-time leading scorer in the modern history of the US Open Cup – nabbed a pretty game-winner in the 74th minute.
“We want to be the first one to win a trophy for this team,” said Le Toux, who’s also the franchise leader in Open Cup goals with four. “I think maybe when you look back at your career and when you look back at the history of this club, we can say, ‘We were the first ones to win a trophy.’ I think it’s something that would be big for the history and it would be just a huge reward for all the fans, for all the people who work for the team, all the people who are invested in this franchise.”
After the win, captain Maurice Edu – who battled through a groin injury to play the full 90 minutes – gathered all the Philly players together in a team huddle to praise them for allowing only Chicago two shots on goal and to tell them that should always be the “standard.”
Later, he talked about what it would mean to win one more Open Cup game – this one against SKC on Sept. 30 at PPL Park.
“When we set out in the beginning of the season, we said we wanted to win the Open Cup,” Edu said. “It was important to get to this day but this time we want to do better than last year.
“We want to win it. We want to bring the title home.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
