Aug. 30, 2004

Former West Texas A&M University men's soccer player Davy Arnaud and the Kansas City Wizards will host MLS-foe Chicago Fire in the Championship match of the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Arrowhead Stadium on Wednesday, September 22nd. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Central Time.

The winner of the U.S. Open Cup will take home $100,000 in prize money, while the runner-up will receive $50,000.

The Wizards reached the final of the tournament named after their owner by defeating MLS-rival San Jose, 1-0, last Tuesday, in the semifinals. KC open the tournament with a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks of the A-League, 4-1, then shutout MLS-rival Dallas Burn, 4-0, in the Quarterfinals.

The winner of the U.S. Open Cup will have their name added to the Dewar Trophy, the same piece of hardware that was presented to the winner of the first U.S. Open Cup final in 1914. The Trophy will then remain on display in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York. At 90 years of age, the Dewar Trophy is the oldest team sport trophy in the United States.

In other Arnaud news, the U.S. National Team invited him to their training camp in preparation for this Saturday's FIFA World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador, but Arnaud did not make the final cut of 23 players.

KC, currently tied atop the Western Conference, will play Chicago in an MLS match Wednesday night, as the Wizards will take on the Fire in a 7:30 p.m. match.

Arnaud, a Nederland, Texas native who played for WTAMU from 1999-2001, was the Buffs' first-ever All-American in the 2001 season, after netting 13 goals that season. He led WTAMU to the quarterfinals of the NCAA-II National Tournament, falling to defending national champion Call State Dominguez Hills. Arnaud also was named to the All-Midwest Region team and the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior. He led the Buffs to the 2000 LSC regular season and tournament title and the 2001 LSC regular season crown.

For more on Arnaud and the Wizards, including complete stats and highlight video, check out www.kcwizards.com, the Wizards' official web site.