FRISCO, Texas - Throwing traditional cup final wisdom to the wind, the New England Revolution secured their first piece of hardware with a 3-2 victory against FC Dallas in an attacking, pulsating Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Pizza Hut Park.
Wells Thompson sealed his place in club lore with his second professional goal proving the deciding factor in a wide-open final.
Pat Noonan opened the scoring on 21 minutes after slotting home a deflection at the far post. Arturo Alvarez equalized nine minutes later with a cultured finish with the outside of his left foot. Taylor Twellman restored the Revolution advantage just before the break from a Steve Ralston corner kick.
Thompson grabbed New England's third, and the eventual game-winner, 12 minutes after the break after buildup play from Twellman and Noonan before Abe Thompson tallied less than a minute after entering the game to halve the deficit in the 64th minute. But FC Dallas paid for its defensive frailty and could not muster an equalizer.
With Shalrie Joseph suspended after his dismissal in the semifinal victory against Carolina RailHawks, Revolution head Steve Nicol made one change from Saturday's lineup, inserting Wells Thompson at right midfield in place of Joseph. Andy Dorman dropped back into the defensive midfield slot, yielding his attacking midfield role to Steve Ralston.
FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow shocked everyone by leaving Denilson out of his matchday squad. The Brazilian has struggled for form and Morrow made the brave move to leave him out altogether, preferring to deploy Dominic Oduro and Arturo Alvarez just behind Carlos Ruiz in attack.
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