Chivas USA wins, Cal FC loses in U.S. Open Cup

The glass soccer boot finally proved too tight for Cal FC, which saw its Cinderella run through the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup end in a 5-0 loss to Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders on Tuesday in Tukwila, Wash.

The fourth-round win sends the three-time defending champion Sounders on to the quarterfinals, joining Chivas USA, which beat the NASL’s Carolina RailHawks, 2-1, in Cary, N.C.

Juan Pablo Angel’s penalty-kick goal in stoppage time proved decisive for Chivas. The match appeared headed for overtime when Carolina defender Gale Agbossoumonde was called for a hand ball after deflecting the ball with his arm while on the ground. Angel had no trouble converting his kick, leaving Chivas unbeaten in six consecutive matches in all competitions.

Juan Agudelo’s header in the 31st minute accounted for the opening score against the RailHawks, who beat the Galaxy a week ago. Chivas will meet the Charlotte Eagles of USL PRO in the quarterfinals on June 26. That game will be played at the Home Depot Center’s track stadium.

As for Cal FC, one of just two amateur teams to reach the fourth round, it fell before a second-half blitz that saw Seattle score five times in a 19-minute span. A week earlier Cal FC had beaten another MLS team in the Portland Timbers.

“It’s been a great ride,” said Cal FC Coach Eric Wynalda, a former U.S. national team standout. “That’s all these guys ever wanted, was a chance to play against the big boys.”

Seattle will play MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes in its quarterfinal after San Jose beat Minnesota Stars FC, 1-0, on Steven Lenhart’s goal in the 85th minute.