Toronto FC will be returning to Charleston to end their preseason ahead of the 2011 campaign. The Reds will travel to South Carolina to play in a round robin tournament with hosts Charleston Battery, Chicago Fire and D.C. United.
Charleston announced details of the tournament today. Here is the full press release:
The USL Champion Charleston Battery will be joined by Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire, D.C. United & Toronto FC for the 2011 Carolina Challenge Cup, March 5 – 12, 2011. The round-robin tournament will be played at Blackbaud Stadium, Daniel Island, SC with the 2010 champions D.C. United returning to defend their title.
This will be the first ever visit to Charleston by the Chicago Fire, the teams have met twice previously with the Battery edging Chicago in a penalty-kick shoot-out in the 3rd round of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the Fire defeating Charleston in the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals; both matches were played in Chicago.
D.C. United returns to Charleston for a sixth appearance after winning the tournament for the first time in 2010. Toronto FC also makes a return visit to the Challenge Cup, this will be TFC’s fifth entry; they have yet to win the competition. This is the eighth consecutive year that the Charleston Battery has hosted its pre-season tournament featuring Major League Soccer.
All three MLS teams will spend the week in Charleston, SC, training between the games as they prepare for the start of the Major League Soccer season.
The competition format will remain unchanged with three match day’s each featuring a double-header. The games will be played on Saturday (March 5), Wednesday (March 9) and Saturday (March 12), with each team playing the other in a round-robin tournament.
Individual tickets for the 2011 Carolina Challenge Cup will go on sale in early December; Charleston Battery Season Ticket holders receive complimentary tickets to all three Carolina Challenge Cup doubleheaders; for season ticket sales, group information and pricing please call (843) 971-GOAL (4625).
D.C. United
D.C. United won the 2010 Carolina Challenge Cup behind an undefeated three-match tournament run that saw them defeat Real Salt Lake (2-1), Toronto FC (1-0) and the Charleston Battery (2-0).
The Battery’s rivalry with D.C. United extends back to 1999 when Charleston ousted United from that years US Open Cup in a third round meeting. More recently the two sides met in the final of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2008 with D.C. defeating the Charleston Battery by a score of two goals to one.
D.C. United is the most successful professional soccer organization in the US. United is a four-time MLS Cup Champion (1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004) and winners of the 1996 and 2008 U.S. Open Cup, the 1998 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the 1998 Interamerican Cup and the 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2007 MLS Supporters Shield.
Chicago Fire
The Chicago Fire come to Charleston for a first ever appearance in the Carolina Challenge Cup.
In 1998, their inaugural league season, the Fire won MLS Cup as well as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (the "double"). They have also captured the 2000, 2003, and 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups. The Battery has met Chicago in the Open Cup on two occassions winning via a penalty-kick shoot-out in the 3rd round of this year’s tournament and losing in the 2004 edition; both matches were played in Chicago.
Chicago is led by former El Salvador national team head coach Carlos de los Cobos; the Fire roster includes Guatemalan goal scorer Marco Pappa and Ghanaian winger Patrick Nyarko.
Toronto FC
This is the fifth consecutive year that TFC will have visited Charleston for its pre-season. After a fourth stellar season at the turnstiles that saw another 15 consecutive sell-outs Toronto F.C. just missed the MLS post-season finishing in 6th position in the Eastern Standings.
Toronto FC are the current Canadian champions and have represented Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League for the past two years. Toronto added its first designated player towards the end of the 2009 season signing Canadian national team midfielder Julian de Guzman to a three-year contract. de Guzman has played 44 times for Canada and arrived in Toronto from Spanish La Liga side, Deportivo La Coruña.
Carolina Challenge Cup and MLS success
There is a remarkable correlation between success in the Carolina Challenge Cup and success in Major League Soccer. In five of the seven years of the tournament, the winner of the Carolina Challenge Cup has gone on to win either that season’s MLS Supporters Shield (regular season champions) or MLS Cup.
Carolina Challenge Cup - All-Time History
The Carolina Challenge Cup began back in 2004 as an expanded pre-season tournament following several years where the Battery would host individual Major League Soccer teams prior to the start of the season. The first year also featured the then USL2 champions the Wilmington Hammerheads with games held simultaneously in Wilmington, NC and at Blackbaud Stadium. The CCC is now regarded as the premier pre-season tournament in the United States.
All-Time Participants (Champions bolded)
2004: Charleston Battery (USL), Columbus Crew (MLS), D.C. United (MLS), Wilmington Hammerheads (USL)
2005: Charleston Battery (USL), Columbus Crew (MLS), D.C. United (MLS), SJ Earthquakes (MLS)
2006: Charleston Battery (USL), NY Red Bulls (MLS), D.C. United (MLS), Houston Dynamo (MLS)
2007: Charleston Battery (USL), NY Red Bulls (MLS), Houston Dynamo (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)
2008: Charleston Battery (USL), NY Red Bulls (MLS), SJ Earthquakes (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)
2009: Charleston Battery (USL), D.C. United (MLS), Real Salt Lake (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)
2010: Charleston Battery (USL), D.C. United (MLS), Real Salt Lake (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)
2011: Charleston Battery (USL), Chicago Fire (MLS), D.C. United (MLS), Toronto FC (MLS)
