DALLAS - MLS' Dallas Burn ended the Tennessee Rhythm's national championship hopes on Wednesday night, scoring three goals while Tennessee was short-handed to lift them to a 3-0 victory in a downpour at the Cotton Bowl.
Midfielder Chad Dearing scored twice for the Burn and midfielder Lazo Alavanja scored once to seal the Rhythm's fate in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament game, which was interrupted by lightning shortly before the end of the first half.
Outshooting the Rhythm 21-3, Dallas controlled play for most of the contest yet could not score at even strength. But an injury to Rhythm midfielder Danny DeVall opened the door for the first Dallas goal in the 27th minute.
With DeVall off the field being checked for an injury, Rhythm midfielder Doug Schenkel was stripped of the ball in the Rhythm end of the field by Burn forward Jason Kreis, who passed ahead to Dearing. As Rhythm goalkeeper Brian Covey slipped to the ground positioning himself to stop Dearing's breakaway, Dearing launched a shot into the open net to give Dallas the early 1-0 lead.
The teams went to the locker room with the score still 1-0. It wasn't until the 67th minute that Dallas could extend its lead following a yellow card to Rhythm midfielder Chris Brady for a trip. While he remained in the game, defender Adam Cohen was ejected for arguing the call, forcing the Rhythm to play a man down the remainder of the game.
The Burn wasted little time capitalizing on Cohen's mistake. In the 73rd minute, Alavanja grabbed a pass from Dearing on the left side where Cohen would have been and launched a blistering 40-yard shot that beat Covey to the upper left corner of the goal to give Dallas the 2-0 advantage.
Just three minutes later, it was Dearing who capitalized on another Rhythm defensive miscue. Intercepting a Rhythm pass at the top of the penalty box, he launched a quick low shot that found the lower left corner of the goal to complete the scoring.
The game marked the second time the Dallas franchise has dashed Tennessee's Cup dreams. In 1998, it was the Burn who knocked the Rhythm's predecessor, the Nashville Metros, out of the Cup quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory in Dallas.
The Rhythm return to the A-League wars again Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. to take on the future stars of MLS, U.S. Pro-40 Select, at Battle Ground Academy Stadium in downtown Franklin.
BOX SCORE
1st Half 2nd Half Final
Tennessee Rhythm 0 0 0
Dallas Burn 1 2 3
SCORING SUMMARY
Dallas Chad Dearing Jason Kreis 27th minute
Dallas Lazo Alavanja Jason Kreis 72nd minute
Dallas Chad Dearing Unassisted 75th minute
SHOTS: Rhythm 3 Dallas 21
SAVES: Rhythm 6 Dallas 2
FOULS: Rhythm 10 Dallas 11
EJECTIONS
Rhythm : Adam Cohen, 67th minute, dissent
Dallas: None
GOALKEEPERS
Rhythm: Brian Covey, 90 minutes, 21 shots, 6 saves, 3 goals against
Dallas: Johann Noetzel, 90 minutes, 3 shots, 2 saves, 0 goals against
