Who Should Be US Open Cup Player Of Tournament?

by Dave Clark on Oct 5, 2011 12:20 PM PDT in Sounders: US Open Cup

SEATTLE - OCTOBER 04: Fans participate in the "March to the Match" while holding the Sounders' 2009 US Open Cup trophy prior to the match between the Seattle Sounders FC and the Chicago Fire in the 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final at CenturyLink Field on October 4, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

One of the fun things about the Seattle Sounders and this winning the US Open Cup for three straight years is that it is almost certain that a Sounder will also be the 4th straight Player of the Tournament. The award is handed out by TheCup.US through voting by the North American Soccer Reporters (a kind of guild or association of some the soccer writers in the US and Canada). The previous Sounders winnners are Chris Eylander, ~~Sebastien Le Toux~~ Kasey Keller and Nate Jaqua. In the 2011 Open Cup Mike Fucito was the Player of the Round for Round Three. It would seem a certainty that a Sounder will get the Player of Round for the Final.

But who should be the Player of the Tournament? Fredy Montero had 3 goals, each the game winner in successive rounds. Osvaldo Alonso had the dagger in the final, played in every match and is the defensive stalwart for the team. Kasey Keller, American Legend, shut out FC Dallas and the Chicago Fire with 5 saves.

If you had a vote who would it be for?

Poll

If you could vote, who would you choose?

Fredy Montero

208 votes

Osvaldo Alonso

263 votes

Kasey Keller

125 votes

Other (specify in comments)

4 votes

600 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 20 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

I vote Keller

not that he needs more accolades, but it is his last USOC and I think he was as good as any other single player.

by B Money on Oct 5, 2011 12:27 PM PDT reply actions

It's hard to argue against Montero...

But I’m going to try. No matter the lineup, you can always tell based on the flow of the game whether or not Ozzie Alonso is in the match. Change his shirt, put a wig on him, while listening to a FSC announcer, there is no doubt who is there because of how he affects everything around him. Not that Montero didn’t save us with his goals, and there were some impressive ones. Or that Keller didn’t stone a couple guys who probably should have scored.

But without Ozzie, I don’t think we win that Final, or even make it to it for that matter.

by Derek Young on Oct 5, 2011 12:30 PM PDT reply actions 4 recs

Ozzie was amazing last night.

Chicago players are going to be looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives thinking Ozzie is sneaking up on them for yet another amazing tackle.

"The fans are excited. And the stadium, well, it ignites with explosion."

by DarthGreedo on Oct 5, 2011 12:43 PM PDT reply actions

Has a harder question ever been asked?

I mean, besides what sort of cheese you want on your sandwich at Subway.

Seriously though, this run has been a complete team effort. I abstain from voting.

by Agent_J on Oct 5, 2011 12:59 PM PDT reply actions

The Honey Badger never ceases to amaze

But I have to go with Montero for what he was able to do against LA/DAL at Starfire. I also loved seeing Leo on the left side over Wahl. 3eattle brings out the best in players.

Go banana!

by Disco_Stew on Oct 5, 2011 12:59 PM PDT reply actions

I went the lifetime acheivement route

and voted for Keller. But my man of the match for most games I watch is Alonso. He impacts every play he is near and it seems as if he is near damn near every play on the pitch.

by look4wrd on Oct 5, 2011 1:08 PM PDT reply actions

Ozzie for tournament MVP, Keller for Final man of the match

Ozzie overall was in rampaging beast/honey badger mode.

Kasey last night had some ridiculous saves and also some pretty goddamn fine sweeper action going on.

by joesz on Oct 5, 2011 1:33 PM PDT reply actions

All deserving

I cast my ballot for Keller. Send him out with a laurel wreath. But His Royal Badgerness was amazing last night. I don’t know which will stick with me more, the quality of the final goal or the unbridled joy on Alonso’s face after he slotted it home.

by Abbott Smith on Oct 5, 2011 2:01 PM PDT reply actions

I think we're overthinking this

Three game winning goals. I loves me some honey badger, and these kind of rewards tend to overvalue strikers by a ton, but you can’t argue with that statistic.

by Tohoya on Oct 5, 2011 2:27 PM PDT reply actions

Alonso's wasn't a game winner last night... or are you refering other games...?

Almost seemed like it was though.

by SoundersForever on Oct 5, 2011 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions

er, you were talking about Montero... Nevermind... :)

by SoundersForever on Oct 5, 2011 6:12 PM PDT up reply actions

"Who would you choose as MVP?" is a different question than "Who do you think will win?"

I agree that Montero is likely to win the award. Particularly since he had the winning goals in both the Semis and Finals. But the beauty of this thread for me is that we can pass along our appreciation for the players who are not likely to win but no less deserving.

by Abbott Smith on Oct 5, 2011 6:17 PM PDT up reply actions

I didn't get there until the 2nd half

and of course being at the game I didn’t have the best vantage point but Hurtado looked fantastic to me. He seemed to be positioning himself really well and stopping a lot of dangerous counters.

by Boz86 on Oct 5, 2011 2:38 PM PDT via mobile reply actions

I suspect the best choice

Would actually be a Richmond Kickers defender or midfielder, since they held off a lot of teams to make it to the semis as a USL team. (But not Bulow. . he did all his scoring against lower division teams).

But I didn’t watch them closely enough to tell you who was holding down the defense for them.

Nos Audietis

by sidereal on Oct 5, 2011 2:57 PM PDT reply actions