The Division III San Francisco Bay Seals continued their impressive run in the U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over its MLS neighbor the San Jose Clash Aug. 20. The Seals, who beat the A-League champion Seattle Sounders, 1-0, and the Kansas City Wizards, 2-1, before taking down the Clash in the quarterfinals, now get a shot at defending MLS champ D.C. United in the semifinals on the campus of the University of Pacific in Stockton, Calif., Sept. 3. The Seals earn $10,000 for being the last Division III team remaining in the competition. If they had lost to the Clash, the Seals would have had to share the money with the Chicago Sting, which lost in the quarterfinal round to the Dallas Burn. Against San Jose, Seals central midfielder Troya Cowell’s composure on the ball allowed the Seals to control the tempo for much of the game. Still, the Clash had done its homework as Marquis White, the hero against the Wizards in the previous round, was marked tightly by Clash defenders John Doyle and Tim Martin. But that left room for White’s strike partner Shane Watkins to be the hero. On the other side of the ball, Seals defenders C.J. Brown and Tim Weaver were solid, although Weaver took down Lawrence Lozzano for a penalty kick in the 19th minute, converted by Ronald Cerritos. A golden opportunity for the Clash to up the lead to 2-0 was squandered early in the second half, when substitute Eddie Lewis sliced a ball through to Lozzano, who slipped his marker and sent a ball across the goalmouth past Wozniak. But a sliding Cerritos couldn’t connect with the ball, which skidded past him. The momentum turned in the 77th minute when midfielder Shani Simpson chested down a loose ball inside the penalty box and from 15-yards out volleyed into the upper left corner of the goal past Clash keeper David Kramer. Nine minutes later the winner came after Kramer, with a Seals player challenging, failed to snare a ball at the top of the box. The ball caromed into the right corner with Doyle and Watkins in hot pursuit. Once again Watkins was first to the ball, and he snaked his way past Doyle on the endline and slotted the ball past Kramer into the goal. San Jose coach Brian Quinn, who called the game the “most disappointing loss since I’ve been here,” refused to use as an excuse the absence of several players. “[MLS] teams should be good enough to beat the minor league teams every time,” Quinn said. by Soccer America Editor Poul Swain