CHESTER, Pa. — Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins teamed to give the Seattle Sounders their fourth U.S. Open Cup title — at the expense of the Philadelphia Union.
Dempsey and Martins scored in overtime in the Sounders’ 3-1 victory Tuesday night.
Dempsey, the U.S. national team captain, scored in the 101st minute on a left-footed blast off Martins’ feed.
Martins scored in the 114th minute after speeding around Union defender Ray Gaddis and poking one past goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
“They just find each other,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said about Dempsey and Martins. “They know where each other is on the field at all times. The combination they have is fantastic.”
Seattle also won three straight titles from 2009 to 2011. The Sounders earned one of the United States’ four spots in the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League.
Chad Barrett tied it at 1 on a header in the 47th minute for the Major League Soccer-leading Sounders.
Stefan Frei made four saves in net for the Sounders, and MacMath stopped three shots.
“From a fans’ standpoint, it was probably a very, very entertaining game,” Schmid said. “We equalized in the second half, and I thought we had some very good chances after that. And obviously they had some good chances in the last 15 minutes and they were unlucky to not win the game.”
Maurice Edu opened the scoring for Philadelphia in the 38th minute, heading home a free kick from Cristian Maidana.
The Union, playing the first title game in their five-year history, nearly scored at the end of regulation, but Vincent Nogueira’s shot hit off the post. 20014 FIFA World Cup star DeAndre Yedlin also made a big defensive play for Seattle late in the game, running 30 yards down the field to thwart a breakaway attempt from Maidana.
“I’ve never been proud of anything in my life that’s ended in a loss before,” said Union interim manager Jim Curtin, who took charge of the team just before Philadelphia’s Open Cup run began. “This is the first time.”
