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| CHICAGO FIRE WIN 2003 U.S. OPEN CUP WITH 1-0 WIN OVER METROSTARS: The Chicago Fire got a 68th minute goal from MLS Rookie of the Year Damani Ralph to earn their third Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title in six years on Wednesday night at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on October 15, 2003. The Fire, who also won the Open Cup in 1998 and 2000, bring the championship back to Chicago for the eighth time in the 90-year history of the competition as the first MLS team to win the cup final on the road. The match was played back and forth, with neither team creating many chances on a very windy night in the Meadowlands as both goalkeepers combined for just five saves. One of the differences in the game were the Chicago Fire forwards outplaying the forwards from the MetroStars. Frontrunners Ralph and Ante Razov combined for as many shots – seven – as the entire MetroStars starting 11, while drawing a combined nine fouls, as compared to the one drawn by Clint Mathis and Andrzej Juskowiak. |
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| $180,000 IN PRIZE MONEY HANDED OUT: Not just the Open Cup Champion Chicago Fire walked away with a payday. A total of five of the 34 teams divided $180,000 in prize money for their performances. The Fire won $100,000, with the MetroStars earning $50,000. Another $30,000 had been claimed by lower division teams before the final even kicked off. The Seattle Sounders claimed the Division II (A-League) prize of $10,000 as the only team from their level to advance to the quarterfinals. Similarly, it was the Wilmington Hammerheads claiming the Division III (USL-PSL) prize of $10,000 as the team to advance the furthest from that level with a quarterfinal appearance. Winning the amateur (USASA, PDL) prize of $10,000 was the Fresno Fuego, with two wins against professional teams. |
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| DEWAR CUP ON DISPLAY DURING FINAL: The 100-pound, three-foot tall Dewar Cup made the 200-plus mile journey from the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. to Giants Stadium for the 2003 Open Cup Final. The 2003 Open Cup winners will be awarded the 2003 Championship Trophy, gold medals and also had their team’s name added to the Dewar Trophy. The second-place team will receive silver medals. The Dewar Cup has been retired and resides permanently in the Hall of Fame. This was the first time the Cup was at an Open Cup final since the 1998 championship game in Chicago’s Soldier Field. |
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| HISTORY OF THE DEWAR CUP: The oldest trophy in United States team sports history was donated to the American Amateur Football Association in 1912 by Sir Thomas R. Dewar, a British distiller, sportsman and philanthropist during a AAFA (now United States Amateur Soccer Association) visit to London prior to the 1912 Olympics. The trophy was originally purchased for $500 and given in the hope of promoting soccer in the United States and in the name of Anglo-American friendship. The cup was first awarded to the Yonkers Football Club (N.Y.) in 1912 after they defeated the Hollywood Inn Football Club (N.Y.) at the Lennox Oval in New York City. The trophy was officially adopted as the U.S. Open Cup trophy prior to the Brooklyn Field Club's inaugural championship in 1914 in Pawtucket, R.I. The trophy was retired in 1979, but was refurbished by the USASA in 1997 and was presented to the 1997 and 1998 Open Cup winners, before permanently returning to the National Soccer Hall of Fame. |
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| MORE THAN 150 TEAMS PARTICIPATE IN 2003: A total of 163 were eligible to qualify for the 2003 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, with the field narrowed down to 34 teams for the tournament. A breakdown of the numbers and qualifying follows: |
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MLS: All 10 teams automatically qualify |
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A-League: Eight of 15 teams qualify (The defending league champion and seven other teams play home-and-away series as part of the A-League regular season schedule that serve as qualifiers) |
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United Soccer League’s-Pro Select League: Six of 13 teams qualify (Defending league champion and five teams with the best records after playing four pre-selected qualifying games that are also part of the league’s regular season) |
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Premier Development League: Six of the 47 teams qualify (Determined by the results of four pre-selected regular season games, with the top two teams from the Eastern and Central Conference advancing, and the top team from the Southern and Western Conference advancing) |
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United States Amateur Soccer Association: Four of 78 teams qualify (Determined by regional tournaments, with each of four region winners advancing to the final tournament) |
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Open Cup Facts
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