No one takes the Open Cup as seriously as Sporting Kansas City. The club, founded in MLS’ inaugural year of 1996 by our tournament’s namesake and soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt, spun the historic Cup’s magic into its own identity in a major way.
From the early days of 2004 – and legends like Jimmy Conrad, Tony Meola, Preki and Josh Wolff – through those glory years of 2012 and 2015, Sporting Kansas City built their reputation as winners around the historic U.S. Open Cup.
With two veteran members of their 2017 Open Cup-winning side still in the mix, in Daniel Salloi and Tim Melia, the connections from past to present are too clear to miss.
So join usopencup.com for a look back at a wild ride through two decades – that leaves Sporting Kansas City now on the verge of making history as the first team from MLS to win five Open Cups.
2004 – Beginning of Something Big
They were still the Kansas City Wizards back in 2004 and among the ten original members of MLS when the league launched in 1996. The main names of the day were Preki and Tony Meola.
The 2004 Open Cup took place through the summer, starting in June, with the Final played at Arrowhead Stadium on September 22nd. The Wizards opened against noted giant-killers, the Atlanta Silverbacks. The Division II side hung on in the first half at De Kalb Memorial Stadium in Georgia before Davy Arnaud scored twice and Francisco Gomez and Diego Guttierez helped make the final score 4-1 for KC.
Arnaud was on the scoresheet again in the 4-0 Quarterfinal win in Kansas over the Dallas Burn (they’d change their name to FC Dallas the following year) before a Semifinal against the San Jose Earthquakes which proved a far tougher test. Igor Simutenkov grabbed the only goal in Overland Park, Kansas (1-0). The Final was also a one-goal affair as Simutenkov kept up his hot form, netting with a free-kick in the dying seconds to see the Kansans edge the Chicago Fire to the Dewar Cup, the original Open Cup trophy which was still in use at the time before retiring to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
“Before [Simutenkov] took it, I said to Jimmy [Conrad] ‘watch out this might go in’,” said then youngster Josh Wolff about the winning set-piece that Fire keeper Henry Ring fumbled off the crossbar and then into the net. “It didn't go in like I thought it would, but at least he put it hard on frame.”
2012 – Makings of a Cup Dynasty
The club in Kansas City had a new name in 2012, a brand-new soccer-specific stadium and a winning identity. The core of the side that would go on to win three Open Cups and an MLS Cup in the space of seven years was firmly in place. Matt Besler, Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi were all lined up for new coach Peter Vermes, who’s still there in the coaching chair to this day.
READ: Sporting KC happy as Underdogs in 2024 Open Cup Final
A slim 3-2 win over Orlando CIty (then in the Division II USL Pro League) was followed by a 2-0 result over the Colorado Rapids before a test against Div II Dayton Dutch Lions in the Quarters ended 3-0. SKC kept up their defensive assurance with a third straight shutout win, 2-0 against the Philadelphia Union away in the Semifinals. Zusi – who would go on to great heights with the USMNT – scored both goals that day in Chester, PA.
The 2012 Final was a tough test against a Seattle Sounders side that had made a habit of winning Open Cups in their first years as an MLS side. The game ended 1-1, with Kei Kamara nabbing an 83rd minute penalty for the home side at Livestrong Park (now Children’s Mercy Park). And, as he did through the 120 minutes of regular and extra-time, goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen stood on his head, saving two kicks in the shootout to see SKC scoop their first Open Cup under their new name.
“I can still feel the way the stadium was shaking then,” Nielsen said of the final penalty of the shootout, which denied the Sounders a fourth straight Open Cup crown. “I can tell you it gives me goosebumps to this day.”
Kei Kamara is the connective tissue from 2012 to this year’s Open Cup Final. The 40-year-old striker, the oldest active player in Major League Soccer, is part of the LAFC squad SKC will face in this year’s Decider. “Trophies are what we play for as pros,” he said earlier this year, thinking back to his victorious 2012 in Kansas City. “I’ll always remember celebrating in Vegas with the KC guys that year.”
2015 to 2017 – Runway to Today
Three years later, in 2015, SKC were up to their old Cup tricks again. They had a scare in the Round of 32 against then-Division II outfit St Louis FC that required a lone 70th minute goal from Zusi to seal the deal. That tense contest seemed to loosen the Kansans up – and they turned on the jets all the way through to the Final.
READ: Tim Melia & the Making of a Sporting Kansas City Icon
They demolished familiar MLS foe FC Dallas in the Round of 16 (6-2) with Open Cup Legend Dom Dwyer scoring four goals that would help him win that year’s tournament Golden Boot as top-scorer. He got another one in the Quarterfinal against more Texas-based opposition – a 3-1 win over Houston Dynamo. SKC repeated that same scoreline in the Semifinal (a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake) with USMNT standout Benny Feilhaber scoring for his second straight game in the tournament.
That year’s Final posed a challenge for the Kansas side as they were forced to play on the road for the first time in the campaign. But they never lost a beat in Chester, PA up against the Philadelphia Union. They again needed a penalty shootout and a heroic performance from Nielsen’s successor in goal, the outstanding (and previously overlooked) Tim Melia. It came after a 1-1 draw in which Sébastien Le Toux, the Open Cup Modern Era’s all-time top-scorer, grabbed the goal for the home side.
READ: Sporting KC’s Daniel Salloi: “I Love the Open Cup”
Melia’s Man of the Match performance was much deserved and set him on the road to becoming one of the true penalty-kick specialists – and all-around best shot-stoppers – in MLS history.“I love this tournament,” he said of the Open Cup. “Cup games are the kind where you just have to do anything to get through. It doesn’t matter if you win 5-4 or 1-0 or on penalties, you just need to win.”
Melia was the man again for SKC in their last victorious run in an Open Cup in 2017 (and will be in this year’s Final too at the ripe old age of 38).