Soccer Columnist Steve Davis

Maybe FC Roma, the amateur team that made such a splash in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, hasn't taken down its last giant, after all.

Now the little side from Dallas is battling the very top of domestic soccer's establishment, the U.S. Soccer federation. And the little guys are holding their own.

Roma officials pushed back when U.S. Soccer threatened to channel a $10,000 bonus away from Dallas' amateurs.

After a week of wrestling between Roma and U.S. Soccer, soccer's governing body in the United States agreed Tuesday evening to pay half the bonus to Roma.

Roma may continue to push the issue, especially since the full amount would go far in reimbursing manager Michael Schell, who put some of the tab for two trips to Los Angeles on his personal credit card.

Prior to receiving word about the $5,000 compromise, Roma officials had been quite upset with U.S. Soccer, accusing the organization of playing fast and loose with its own rules and attempting to invent a way to avoid paying the North Texas side.

At issue is some of the fine print in the official Open Cup handbook, which gives the longest surviving amateur team a $10,000 bonus.

Roma fell to the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer on Aug. 1 in the tournament's fourth round.

U.S. Soccer sent a letter last week to Roma officials stating that the bonus may be awarded instead to the Carolina Dynamo, a team from the Premier Development League. The PDL is the amateur extension of United Soccer Leagues, a three-tiered coalition of minor leagues that operates throughout the United States.

Like Roma, Carolina was eliminated in the tournament's fourth round. It eliminated Seattle, from the USL First Division in the third round. Roma eliminated Chivas USA, from MLS, in a penalty kick shootout in the third round.

According to U.S. Open Cup handbook, if two or more teams advance to the same round, the first tiebreaker goes to the team "with the most victories against opponents from a higher division."

John Calandro, who assists with Roma's business endeavors, said the club had no idea the issue was in question until it received U.S. Soccer's letter more than a week after losing to the Galaxy.

In the letter, U.S. Soccer discounted Roma's result over Chivas because it was achieved in a penalty kick tiebreaker.

"They had to sit there for eight or nine days to figure out how not to pay us," Calandro said. "But there's nothing in the rules that say a penalty kick win is not a win.

"They've decided to change the rules," said Calandro, who wondered if U.S. Soccer was favoring the PDL team due to its association with the politically tied-in United Soccer Leagues.

U.S. Soccer spokesman Jim Moorhouse said late Tuesday that a subsequent decision had been made and that the penalty kick tiebreaker would indeed count. He said Carolina and Roma would share the bonus.

Calandro still believes Roma deserves all the money, since Chivas is from a higher division than Seattle according to the Open Cup handbook. Moorhouse, however, says the tiebreaker rules do not give more weight to wins over higher-ranked teams.

E-mail stevedavis@dallasnews.com

Keeping score in area soccer:

1. Jonathan Villanueva: Grand Prairie standout, not yet ready for pro soccer, reports for freshman season at Virginia after 10-day trial at Amsterdam's Ajax.

2. Dallas' Liverpool supporters: Local group has Liverpool legend Ronnie Whelan, a big contributor to the club's big 70s and 80s, in town for an Aug. 20 dinner at the Tipperary Inn.

3. Sarah Wagenfuhr: FC Dallas' defender's sis is a standout defender on the U.S. team in Moscow for FIFA Under-20 Women's World Championships, which begin Friday.

4. SMU soccer – The region's ranking college program gets its season going with its annual Kickoff Luncheon on Tuesday at Trinity Hall.

5. Bobby Rhine – Versatile FCD vet can bowl a little, too. He's the big scorer as club event raises $15,000 for charity.