July 3 (1983)

Kutis of St. Louis starts quickly, but the Pancyprian Freedoms of New York score twice on penalty kicks and add two other goals to win their second consecutive U.S. Open Cup, and third in four years, with a 4-3 victory in the Cup final at Delmar Stadium in Houston. Kutis goes ahead in the first minute when Steve Gauvain beats goalkeeper Demetrias Miltiadous. A minute later, referee Paul Mikol calls a foul on Jerry DeRouse of Kutis for tripping Evagoras Christophi in the penalty area. Christos Christou puts the penalty kick past Kutis goalkeeper Paul Dueker to tie the score. Christophi scores in the 18th and 24th minutes. Ten minutes later, Craig Guempel rallies Kutis when he pounces on a misplayed ball by the Freedoms’ defense and scores to cut Kutis’ deficit to 3-2. But the Freedoms go ahead 4-2 on their second penalty kick goal by Christou when Dueker is called for fouling Christophi in the 61st minute. Joe Eppy makes it 4-3 five minutes later, but the Freedoms hang on the rest of the way. The Freedoms, composed mostly of players from Cyprus who are New York college students, are coached by Mimis Papaioannou, a legendary Greek player who appeared in 480 matches for AEK Athens and in 61 games with the Greek National Team. He praises both clubs for a well-played Cup final. “The way the soccer was played today, it was beautiful,” he tells Soccer America magazine. “Both of the teams wanted to win and were in a position to win. By scoring so many goals, they showed the fans how good soccer can be.” Asked about the penalty kicks, Kutis coach Jim Henson replies: “I can’t say if they were penalties or not. The referee was in a position to see it. He made the calls. What can I say?” Kutis will return to the Cup finals in 1985 and 1986, winning in 1986.