October 4, 2011 marked the day where Seattle Sounders FC made history as the first team to win three consecutive US Open Cup championships since 1969. Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said, “To win three in a row is something that is special and unique and hasn’t been done in an awful long time. It’s huge for the organization.” With the Sounders record at 16-7- ,and Chicago’s at 7-8-16, many thought the Sounders would walk away with an easy win, but Chicago had been on a game-winning streak, so one could not count them out of the race. The outcome of the game was unclear in the beginning.
As Sounders and Chicago Fire fans filled Century Link field with record-breaking attendance numbers, many Sounders fans held up signs that showed their pride for their team, most notably a giant green grim reaper figure, with three gravestones for DC United, Columbus Crew, and Chicago that covered the entire south end of the field, held by Seattle’s Emerald City Supporters. The seats were a sea of green and blue, with a small section of red supporting Chicago. The crowd was energetic and ready for the match to begin.
The excitement of the crowd at Century Link field was slowly starting to dissipate as the Seattle Sounders FC battled Chicago Fire for the win. It was already late in the second half, and the game was tied at 0-0, with only a few minutes left. Seattle was dominating the majority of the game, with several close shots to the net, but was struggling to get the goal that would put them in the lead. Finally, in the 78th minute, Sounders forward Fredy Montero scored a goal, and as fireworks and confetti cannons erupted, the crowd roared and cheered in celebration while the scoreboard changed to read Sounders-1, Chicago-0.
The goal gave the Sounders an energy boost to finish the game strong and the Chicago Fire the hunger to tie the game up. The last few minutes saw shot attempts from both sides but in the five minutes of stoppage time, Seattle would be the ones to emerge victorious. Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, who received a yellow card earlier in the game, scored the Sounders second goal in the 96th minute, weaving past four Fire defenders and their goalkeeper. The referee blew his whistle a mere seconds after, as both the Sounders and the crowd celebrated their win, exchanging hugs, high fives, and loud cheers. The game ended with the score at Sounders-2, Chicago Fire-0.
Fans, as well as friends and family of the players rushed the field as the team celebrated their third U.S. open cup win, and earned the nickname “3eattle.” A post-game conference ended with a celebratory champagne shower that soaked the team and coaches.
The game marked Sounders goalkeeper and captain Kasey Keller’s last U.S. Open Cup championship with the Sounders, and with his goalkeeping skill, provided Seattle with a shut-out win against the Fire. After the game, Keller said, “We're not done yet. We still have one more very, very important competition left, and we're all looking forward to that,” speaking about the MLS Cup.
The Seattle Sounders walked away with $100,000 in prize money, and will be hosting their last home game against San Jose Earthquakes on October 15.
You did a good job with a good opening hook to make sure people knew your article was going to be good by having the quote in the second sentence of the first paragraph. With your opening sentence about the history made about the 3-peat in U.S. open cup history was well written I thought. throughout your article you kept it interesting with adding quotes at the right time and with the pictures also. For those who don't know much about the sounders or soccer, the second paragraph helped show and paint a picture in the readers mind about the passion of sounders fans and only a small taste of what soccer fans are like throughout the world by how fans in Seattle represent their team. Throughout the article, I didn't find any grammatical errors. There weren't any spelling errors that I noticed either that would have distracted your target audience. Overall I think you a good job in your article about the sounders.
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