Sebastian Le Toux can earn his second Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title in five years if he can beat the team that got him his first.
Le Toux was a Sounders star back in 2009 when Seattle toppled DC United 2-1 to win its first Open Cup title. He’s also the all-time leading goal scorer in Open Cup history, with 14.
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The well-traveled 30-year-old wasn’t with the Sounders when they won their second and third titles in 2010 and 2011, but he has a chance to deny them their fourth when his Philadelphia Union welcome Seattle to PPL Park for Tuesday’s Open Cup final.
The veteran wrote an exclusive essay regarding his chances for our pals at Soccerly:The final will take place in our home stadium, PPL Park, with all of our die-hard Philadelphia fans standing behind us. Seattle has already won this particular competition 3 times, in 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons – now looking for their 4th US Open Cup title on Tuesday. With the Sounders on fire this season, they’re certainly not going to give the title up easily – and neither are we! We are going to need to stay motivated and hungry on the feel but I believe that the Cup is in our reach.
This is our first opportunity as a team to bring home a trophy for the Philadelphia Union franchise. Not only do the members of the team and everyone in the front office deserve this Cup, but also our fans deserve to see the Union claim a title for their beloved city – and that’s exactly what we plan to do.
The game is going to be a beauty, with Philadelphia looking to pick up its first ever Open Cup title and Seattle looking to keep advancing toward all-time title leaders Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles (5). A win for the Sounders would tie them with the Chicago Fire for the most Open Cup championships of any MLS team.