Short-handed Battery advance to U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals

Charleston keeper Dusty Hudock has a simple philosophy when it comes to penalty kicks — try to keep the other team from scoring.

There certainly was no arguing the results Tuesday night against the Houston Dynamo.

Marco Reda scored for Charleston and Steve Wondolowski scored for Houston during regulation as the match was forced to penalty kicks where the Battery defeated the Dynamo, 4-3, in the shootout in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup before a crowd of 3,103 at Blackbaud Stadium.

Charleston will play at Dallas FC, a 2-1 winner over Miami, in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup next Tuesday night.

It was the second straight year the Battery eliminated the Dynamo, the two-time defending Major League Soccer champions, from the U.S. Open Cup. Last year, Stephen Armstrong's penalty kick in the 108th minute sent the Dynamo home.

This time it took a Herculean effort from the Battery, which played two men down for most of the overtime periods, and a save from Hudock to get the Battery past the Dynamo.

"What a result, what a finish," said Charleston coach Mike Anhaeuser. "You've got to give all the credit in the world to the players. They left everything out on the field. We've got nothing left. The buried all four of our penalty kicks and got a fantastic result."

After more than 120 minutes, the game remained tied and the match went into penalty kicks. After the first two shooters from each team made their shots, Houston defender Geoff Cameron sailed his attempt over the cross bar. Darren Spicer and Tim Velton scored for the Battery, Hudock then made a diving save on Franco Caraccio in the fifth round of the shootout to end the match.

"Honestly, I really don't have a strategy when it comes to penalty kicks," Hudock said. "I try to guess. Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I wrong. I try to get a read off of guys and that works sometimes. It's really kind of random. Honestly, I just try to keep the other team from scoring."

It was a dramatic win for the Battery, who were forced to play the final 18 minutes two men down after midfielder Chris Corcoran received a red card in the 74th minute and Reda was ejected for his second yellow card in the 102nd minute.

"It's a great win for us," Hudock said. "To play two men down like we did against an MLS team of that caliber and to come out with a result against long odds is a fantastic win. This team has a lot of character. This team has a lot of guys that are willing to work for each other. I think when you have the kind of guys that are willing to work hard and to work hard for each other good things are going to happen."

Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, who was credited with five shots on goal, dominated the midfield.

"I can't believe the motor on that kid," Hudock said of Alonso. "He was still running 60-yard runs with the ball 115 minutes into the game. That's unbelievable. I can't say enough about him."

With an MLS game scheduled for Thursday against Real Salt Lake, the Dynamo fielded a team that look nothing like the team that has won the last two MLS Cups. Star players like Brian Ching, Dwayne De Rosario and Ricardo Clark were all left back in Houston to rest up for its game against Salt Lake.

"Let's be honest, there's always a possibility for a game like this to get into overtime," said Houston coach Dominic Kinnear. "So, you could be looking at 120 minutes for some guys and 90 minutes again on Thursday night. That, plus a long travel day makes it tough and I think you put some players' health at risk. Because of our game on Thursday, this is the way we approached it."

Charleston dominated the possession and the play for most of the first half controlling the action and getting scoring chance after scoring chance.

The Battery got the first quality scoring chance in the 22nd minute when defender John Wilson made a strong run down the field. Lazo Alavanja got the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and flicked it over to Wilson, who came storming down the middle of the field into the 18-yard box. Wilson's shot, however, bounced off the side of the net.

Three minutes later Alavanja had another excellent scoring chance. Chris Williams served a ball into the 18-yard box that Randi Patterson slid over to Alavanja, pivoted and blasted a shot on goal that Houston keeper Tony Caig stopped.

Charleston finally grabbed a 1-0 lead on Reda's header in the 31st minute off a set piece. After Houston defender Erik Ustruck grabbed the shirt of Charleston midfielder Stephen Armstrong and the Battery was awarded a free kick from about 30 yards out.

Alonso curled a ball into the box that midfielder Ian Fuller headed to Reda in the 6-yard box. Reda easily beat Caig for the score.

The Dynamo came out in the second half much stronger dominating the ball for most of the final 45 minutes of regulation.

Houston got its best chance to score in the 54th minute after a scramble inside the 18-yard box. The ball bounced around the box for several seconds with Houston striker Franco Caraccio ended up with possession. With Hudock out of the net, Caraccio tried to chip the ball into the open net, but Armstrong was there on the line to clear the ball.

The Battery had another glorious chance to score in the 68th minute off another set piece. Again it was Alonso who curled a ball into the 6-yard box and again it was Reda who got on the other end of the kick. Reda's half-volley, however, hit the top of the cross bar to end the threat.

The Dynamo tied the ball just before the end of regulation on Steve Wondolowski's header in the 89th minute. Chris Wondolowski served the ball into the 6-yard box to Caraccio, who headed the ball to his right Steve Wondolowski. Wondolowski's header just beat Hudock for the score.