Seattle next for Battery in Cup

And then were four.

The Charleston Battery is just two wins away from a national championship after Tuesday night's convincing 3-1 victory over Major League Soccer's FC Dallas in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The Battery will take on the Seattle Sounders, a fellow USL First Division team, in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Aug. 12 at Blackbaud Stadium. The Sounders defeated Kansas City, another MLS team, on penalty kicks in their quarterfinal matchup late Tuesday night. D.C. United and the New England Revolution will play in the other semifinal match on Aug. 12. The championship game will be played on Aug. 26 at a site to be determined.

The win was the Battery's second over an MLS team in as many weeks. The Battery beat reigning MLS champion Houston last week on penalty kicks.

"We were a little shaky in the first five or 10 minutes, but after that I thought we settled down and played one of our most complete matches of the season," Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser said. "All the credit goes to the players. We defended properly, and that's the most important thing against an MLS team. We kept our shape and only gave them a couple of quality scoring chances."

Unlike Houston, which played mostly its "reserve" squad against the Battery, FC Dallas played its top players, including United States national team forward Kenny Cooper.

"Dallas played all of their big guns that were available," Anhaeuser said. "It was a great win for the club. I think it shows the quality of players we've got and the depth on this team."

The Battery was forced to play without defender Marco Reda and midfielder Chris Corcoran. Both were given red cards last week against Houston. Striker Lazo Alavanja, who scored the first goal of the game against FC Dallas, was given a red card late in the second half and won't be able to play against Seattle in the semifinals.

"That was just a bizarre decision by the fourth official to kick Lazo out of the game," Anhaeuser said.

The most important 30 seconds of the game came late in the first half after a 53-minute lightning delay. With the Battery leading 1-0, FC Dallas had its best chance to score, but Arturo Alvarez's shot bounced off the right post. Ian Fuller capped a lethal Battery counterattack with a goal that gave the Battery a 2-0 lead just before halftime.

"That was the difference in the game," Anhaeuser said. "Ian had a beautiful finish and that put them down 2-0, which puts a ton of pressure on them to score."