The Sounders win a hyper-chippy game with Houston, 2-1, before a sellout crowd of 4,895 at Starfire in Tukwila. (Here's my game story.)

Their reward is the right to play for the first trophy in franchise history: the U.S. Open Cup, the oldest such trophy in the United States, which will be determined Sept. 2 at RFK Stadium against homestanding/high-bidding U.C. United. United advanced with a 2-1 win over USL-1 Rochester earlier tonight.

It would be the 13th major title for United, the first for the expansion Sounders.

“Obviously, the object it to go there and win,” said Gary Wright, Sounders vice president of business. “What a great job by (coach Sigi Schmid, general manager Adrian Hanauer, technical director Christ Henderson), the whole team side. They’ve just done a remarkable job of putting the team together. I think that’s pretty evident.”

If the Sounders eventually hoist the Open Cup, they will think back to this sweltering night in Tukwila, when they outplayed the long-delayed game-winner came on a Stephen King goal that followed a cross by Steve Zakuani and either a slight touch or a daring dummy by Sebastien Le Toux near the Houston goal.

“I’m trying to remember (the play),” King said. “I know Steve Zakuani had the ball out wide. He took his guy one-on-one, he made a good cross. I think Sebastien might have gotten a touch to it – it might have ricocheted off a defender -- it was kind of a loose ball, and I just kind of shot it in.”
That was Seattle’s first lead, despite a 16-2 advantage in shots, including 12-0 in the second half.

The Sounders outshot Houston, 26-7, including 12-0 in the second 45 minutes and even 7-3 in the final 15 minutes of extra time, when they were defending their lead.

“The last 20 minutes of (regulation) when we were getting chance after chance and nothing was going in it was getting a little frustrating,” King said. “But we just tried to remain confident and keep doing what we were doing and we tied it up”

The score was identical to the Sounders controversial regular-season win over Houston on July 11 at Qwest Field, and it seemed that hard feelings from that game lingered into Tuesday.

The game was chippy from the start as 10 yellow cards were awarded. Two went to Sounders All-Star defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. That forced the Sounders to play the final seconds one player down, and it will keep Hurtado out of the title game.

"I think if some of the things would have (been called) early on, the guy who scored the equalizer (Jaqua) would have been off the field," Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said. "The guy who is throwing elbows deserves more than a talking to."

That wasn't Kinnear's only complaint.

"(Open Cup home games should be given) to the team which has a grass field," he said. "We played three turf games in 10 days in (Qwest), Toronto and now here. It has gone from the better of the three to worst to worst. We have a guy (Brian Mullan) who has a possible fractured ankle because he gets it caught in the turf."

(Everybody who has played at Starfire has hated the turf. If the Sounders are going use this place next season, they need to do something about it."

Jaqua, meanwhile had staples put into his scalp at halftime.

"In the first 5-10 minutes, a guy came over my back. I don't know exactly what the collision was. I was a little bit angry -- anytime you get hit in the head, you get a little bit angry. It was just a real physical game. So, stuff like that happens."

"I know there are rivalries that are based on proximity like us and Portland, but I think what you’re going to see is that there are going to be pretty intense battles when Seattle plays Houston," Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. "I think that’s something you’re going to see from here on out."

The Sounders visit Houston Aug. 23. First, they return to league play Saturday, meeting the Eastern Division-leading Chicago Fire at Qwest Field.

P.S.: Quality and quantity in the comments tonight gents. Nice job.

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