Soccer News: Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final NEWS

UPDATE Sporting Kansas City Claims 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup After Penalty Shootout Victory Against Three-Time Defending Champion Seattle Sounders FC

For the first time in 15 years, the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup would be decided in a penalty kick shootout. Through 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime, it was Sporting Kansas City that prevailed with a 3-2 shootout victory against three-time defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday in front of a crowd of 18,873 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.

• Sporting Edges Seattle 3-2 in Shootout After 1-1 Draw in Regulation and Extra Time
• First Final Decided by Penalties Since 1997
• Kansas City Collects Second Open Cup to Add to Title in 2004

Paulo Nagamura’s penalty kick proved to be the game-winner in the fifth round after each team had twice failed to convert. Seattle forward Eddie Johnson had a chance to equalize but skied his shot over the crossbar after Sporting goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen displayed an assortment of chatter and movement to try to disrupt his effort. Kansas City earned its first title since 2004, when the formerly named Kansas City Wizards won the Open Cup.

Kei Kamara and Matt Besler tallied the other two penalties in the shootout for Sporting. Kamara also had the game’s first goal in regulation in the 84 ^th minute, only to see the lead erased two minutes later by Seattle defender Zach Scott.

The shootout was the first since the Dallas Burn won the 1997 U.S. Open Cup against D.C. United in penalties at Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis. The Burn and D.C. United played to a scoreless draw through regulation, and Dallas topped D.C. 5-3 in the shootout.

Wednesday’s match saw the end of a phenomenal U.S. Open Cup run by the Seattle Sounders, which had won the three previous tournaments and had dominated most of this year’s field heading into the final. Seattle was in search of an unprecedented fourth straight crown.

The start of the match was delayed approximately 40 minutes because of rain, lightning and hail. When play got underway, it was Sporting Kansas City that generated the better scoring chances within the game’s first 20 minutes. In the 24^th minute, Kamara took a shot from about 25 yards that had Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning beat, but his effort caromed off the crossbar.

The Sounders’ first shot on goal nearly found the back of the net when Mauro Rosales delivered a 30th-minute corner kick into the box to a leaping Johnson. He rose above the Sporting defense and headed the ball toward goal, but Nielsen dove to his left for the clutch save. Johnson attacked again in the 35th minute, making a strong turn as he received the ball in the midfield and sped past the Kansas City defense before firing a shot just wide left of the goal.

Sporting’s Seth Sinovic took a deep chance outside the box in the 38th minute, a left-footed strike that came close to finding the upper left corner of the frame that hit the outside netting. The Sporting Kansas City faithful prematurely thought it was a goal with a small burst of confetti flying near the end line.

With Seattle and Kansas City combining for only five shots and three on goal in the second half, the two worn-out MLS sides clearly struggled to create consistent scoring chances in regulation.

Both teams finally broke through on the score sheet in a short time frame. Sporting gave its home crowd a 1-0 lead in the 84^th minute as Kamara capitalized on a penalty kick after Seattle’s defense was called for a handball in the box. Kamara placed his shot just inside the right post as Gspurning guessed the opposite direction.

Kansas City’s lead was short-lived as Seattle responded on a set piece opportunity in the 86^th minute. Rosales took a free kick that he sent into the box and Scott found a gap in the Sporting defense, rising for the header and redirecting it perfectly into the left corner of the net. Nielsen did not have a chance to react and the scored remained level after 90 minutes.

Kamara made things interesting in second-half stoppage time with a superb right-footed strike that just missed the mark, and Sporting and Seattle could not wrap things up in regulation.

In the two 15-minute overtime sessions, Sporting managed one shot on goal while Seattle could not muster a genuine opportunity. Seattle defender Patrick Ianni picked up his second yellow card and was sent off in the 118th minute, but that had little bearing as Kansas City and Seattle decided the title winner through penalty kicks.

The shootout had its share of ebbs and flows, with Seattle carrying a 2-1 lead after hitting its first two attempts from Brad Evans and Burch. Gspurning came close to turning away Kamara’s opening attempt, then saved Espinoza’s strike.

Besler tied the shootout at 2-2, and the next three attempts either went over the crossbar or were saved. Seattle’s Alonso powered his shot over, then Sporting’s Graham Zusi tried a chip that also missed the target. Nielsen saved Tiffert’s attempt and the two sides stayed at 2-2 through a combined eight shot attempts.

The turning point of the shootout was Nagamura’s penalty. Nagamura, who played most of the game with a big gash above his left cheek from a collision with Seattle’s Alex Caskey, took his penalty kick toward the right side of the net and Gspurning turned it aside. However, the official ruled that Gspurning was off his line too early and Nagamura was awarded a second chance.

Nagamura took his next opportunity with a bit more conviction, this time to the left, and buried it for a 3-2 lead that would deliver Sporting the U.S. Open Cup crown.

-Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Match Report 

Match: Sporting Kansas City vs. Seattle Sounders FC 
Date: Aug. 8, 2012 
Competition: 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final 
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park 
Kickoff: 8 p.m. CT 
Attendance: 18,873 
Weather: 77 degrees, clear

Scoring Summary: 1 2 OT1 OT2 F 
SKC                         0 1   0     0     1 
SEA                         0 1   0     0     1

SKC – Kei Kamara (penalty) 84^th minute
SEA – Zach Scott (Mauro Rosales) 86

Penalty Summary:
SKC: Kamara (goal), Espinoza (saved), Besler (goal), Zusi (miss), Nagamura (goal)
SEA: Evans (goal), Burch (goal), Alonso (miss), Tiffert (saved), Johnson (miss)
Sporting Kansas City wins 3-2 on PKs 

Lineups: 
SKC: 1-Jimmy Nielsen (capt.); 7-Chance Myers, 13-Lawrence Olum, 5-Matt Besler, 16-Seth Sinovic (2-Michael Harrington, 100); 6-Paulo Nagamura, 55-Julio Cesar, 15-Roger Espinoza, 8-Graham Zusi; 9-Teal Bunbury (17-C.J. Sapong, 89), 23-Kei Kamara
Subs not used: 18-Eric Kronberg, 22-Soony Saad, 25-Neven Markovic, 37-Jacob Peterson, 88-Michael Thomas 
Head coach: Peter Vermes

SEA: 1-Michael Gspurning; 20-Zach Scott, 34-Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, 4-Patrick Ianni, 12-Leonardo Gonzalez; 10-Mauro Rosales (capt.), 6-Osvaldo Alonso, 25-Andy Rose (13-Christian Tiffert, 69), 27-Alex Caskey (3-Brad Evans, 69); 17-Fredy Montero (8-Marc Burch, 106), 7-Eddie Johnson
Subs not used: 11-Steve Zakuani, 13-Christian Tiffert, 26-Sammy Ochoa, 31-Jeff Parke, 33-Andrew Weber 
Head coach: Sigi Schmid

Statistical Summary: SKC / SEA 
Shots: 14 / 7 
Shots on Goal: 6 / 2 
Saves: 1 / 5 
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3 
Fouls: 18 / 15 
Offside: 0 / 2

 

Misconduct Summary: 
SEA – Osvaldo Alonso (caution)      4^th minute
SEA – Mauro Rosales (caution)        57
SEA – Patrick Ianni (caution)           73
SEA – Zach Scott (caution)              93
SEA – Patrick Ianni (caution)           118
SEA – Patrick Ianni (sent off)           118 

Officials: 
Referee: Ricardo Salazar 
Assistant Referee 1: Corey Rockwell 
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Manikowski 
Fourth Official: Michael Kennedy

Budweiser Man of the Match: 
Jimmy Nielsen

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From Earlier: SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC AND SPORTING KANSAS CITY SET FOR U.S. OPEN CUP FINAL: The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final figures to be an exciting clash between two Major League Soccer sides as Sporting Kansas City hosts three-time defending champion Seattle Sounders FC at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET) on Wed., Aug. 8, at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. The match will be broadcast live on GolTV. 

Seattle Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid and Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes both have strong teams and determination to win.  The game is expected to be at capacity crowd. 

Schmid says, "The Lamar Hunt Open Cup is going to be a tremendous final and we know the competition is going to be very hard tomorrow night and the nation is going to see a great game."

Vermes says, "Seattle has not always had the attention they should for participating in four Lamar Hunt tournaments in a row and I want to say congratulations.  We are so fortunate to play against them in the LiveStrong park with this incredible match up and we are very excited to be a part of it."

Seattle is shooting for its fourth straight crown, which would be an unprecedented streak in the 99-year history of the tournament. Kansas City is vying for its second Dewar Challenge Trophy after winning the 2004 title as the Kansas City Wizards.

The last time the U.S. Open Cup title game was held in August, the Richmond Kickers defeated the El Paso Patriots in a 4-2 shootout on Aug. 27, 1995, in El Paso, Texas.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Jimmy Nielsen, 18-Eric Kronberg, 21-Jon Kempin
DEFENDERS (12): 2-Michael Harrington, 3-Korede Aiyegbusi, 4-Kevin Ellis, 5-Matt Besler, 12-Konrad Warzycha, 13-Lawrence Olum, 16-Seth Sinovic, 24-Cyprian Hedrick, 25-Neven Markovic, 27-Kyle Miller, 55-Julio Cesar, 78-Aurelien Collin
MIDFIELDERS (7): 6-Paulo Nagamura, 7-Chance Myers, 8-Graham Zusi, 15-Roger Espinoza, 19-Peterson Joseph, 20-Oriol Rosell, 88-Michael Thomas
FORWARDS (7): 9-Teal Bunbury, 11-Bobby Convey, 14-Dom Dwyer, 17-C.J. Sapong, 22-Soony Saad, 23-Kei Kamara, 37-Jacob Peterson

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (4): 1-Michael Gspurning, 29-Josh Ford, 33-Andrew Weber, 35-Bryan Meredith
DEFENDERS (9): 4-Patrick Ianni, 5-Adam Johansson, 8-Marc Burch, 12-Leonardo Gonzalez, 20-Zach Scott, 30-Andrew Duran, 31-Jeff Parke, 32-Daniel Steres, 34-Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
MIDFIELDERS (9): 3-Brad Evans, 6-Osvaldo Alonso, 10-Mauro Rosales, 13-Christian Tiffert, 14-Michael Tetteh, 22-Mike Seamon, 23-Servando Carrasco, 25-Andy Rose, 27-Alex Caskey
FORWARDS (7): 7-Eddie Johnson, 11-Steve Zakuani, 16-David Estrada, 17-Fredy Montero, 19-Babayele Sodade, 21-Cordell Cato, 26-Sammy Ochoa

ROAD TO 2012 U.S. OPEN CUP TITLE GAME:
Sporting Kansas City

• Third Round (May 29): Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 3, Orlando City Soccer Club (USL PRO) 2: Scoring: SKC - Paulo Nagamura 45+2; Soony Saad 65, 68; ORL - Kevin Molino 55; Dennis Chin 84
• Fourth Round (June 5): Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 2, Colorado Rapids (MLS) 0: Scoring: SKC - Own goal (Matt Pickens) 27; Teal Bunbury 79
• Quarterfinal Round (June 26): Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 3, Dayton Dutch Lions (USL PRO) 0: Scoring: SKC - C.J. Sapong 5, 59; Graham Zusi 56
• Semifinal Round (July 11): Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 2, Philadelphia Union (MLS) 0: Scoring: SKC - Jacob Peterson 65, Graham Zusi 90+

Seattle Sounders FC

• Third Round (May 20): Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) 5, Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) 1: SEA - Andy Rose 44; Osvaldo Alonso 47; Alex Caskey 54; Sammy Ochoa 62, 66; ATL - Reinaldo Navia 53
• Fourth Round (June 5): Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) 5, Cal FC (USASA) 0: Scoring: SEA - Osvaldo Alonso (PK) 50, 70; Fredy Montero 58, 68; Andy Rose 66
• Quarterfinal Round (July 11): Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) 1, San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 0: SEA - Cordell Cato 19
• Semifinal Round (July 11): Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) 4, Chivas USA (MLS) 1: Scoring: SEA - Eddie Johnson 31, Osvaldo Alonso (PK) 48, Brad Evans 83, Sammy Ochoa 88; CHV - Cesar Romero 74

2012 U.S. OPEN CUP GOALSCORING LEADERS: Brian Shriver of the Carolina RailHawks (NASL) currently leads the scoring bunch with five goals as the RailHawks advanced to the fourth round of the 2012 U.S. Open Cup. Four goals came during the team's 6-0 victory against PSA Elite (USASA) in the second round and his fifth goal was the game-winner against the LA Galaxy in the third round. Seattle Sounders FC's Osvaldo Alonso has an opportunity to match or surpass Shriver as he sits on four goals entering Wednesday's title game:

5 - Brian Shriver (Carolina RailHawks)
4 - Danny Barrera (Cal FC)
4 - Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC)
4 - Francisco Lopez (Ventura County Fusion)
3 - Artur Aghasyan (Cal FC)
3 - Nate Thornton (Charlotte Eagles)
3 - Aly Hassan (Fort Lauderdale Strikers)
3 - Brian Ombiji (Harrisburg City Islanders)
3 - Sainey Touray (Harrisburg City Islanders)
3 - Freddy Adu (Philadelphia Union)
3 - Sammy Ochoa (Seattle Sounders FC)
2 - 28 players tied*

* Seattle Sounders FC's Fredy Montero and Andy Rose, Sporting Kansas City's Soony Saad, C.J. Sapong and Graham Zusi each have two goals entering the final

MOST U.S. OPEN CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS: Seattle Sounders FC enters this year's final tied for seventh all-time with three championships:

5 - Bethlehem Steel of Pa. (1915, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1926)
5 - Fall River Marksmen of Mass. (1924, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932) - '32 team was New Bedford Whalers
5 - Los Angeles Maccabee SC (1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981)
4 - Chicago Fire (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006)
4 - New York Greek-Americans (1967, 1968, 1969, 1974)
4 - Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals (1960, 1961, 1963, 1966)
3 - New York Pancyprian-Freedoms (1980, 1982, 1983)
3 - Seattle Sounders FC (2009, 2010, 2011)
3 - St. Louis Stix, Baer and Fuller FC (1933, 1934, 1935) - 1935 team was St. Louis Central Breweries

2012 U.S. OPEN CUP FIELD:
Professional Teams (32 total):

• Major League Soccer (Division I - 16 teams): Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City.
• North American Soccer League (Division II - 6 teams): Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Minnesota Stars FC, San Antonio Scorpions, Tampa Bay Rowdies.
• USL PRO (Division III - 10 teams): Charleston Battery, Charlotte Eagles, Dayton Dutch Lions, Harrisburg City Islanders, Los Angeles Blues, Orlando City, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Rhinos, Wilmington Hammerheads.

Amateur-Level Teams (32 total):

• U.S. Adult Soccer Association Regional Qualifiers - 9 teams: ASC New Stars, Cal FC, Croatian Eagles, Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks FC, Jersey Shore Boca, K.C. Athletics, NTX Rayados, N.Y. Greek Americans, PSA Elite
• United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League - 16 teams: Carolina Dynamo, Chicago Fire PDL, Des Moines Menace, El Paso Patriots, Fresno Fuego, GPS Portland Phoenix, Kitsap Pumas, Laredo Heat, Long Island Rough Riders, Michigan Bucks, Mississippi Brilla FC, Orlando City U-23s, Portland Timbers U-23s, Reading United AC, Real Colorado Foxes, Ventura County Fusion
• National Premier Soccer League (6 teams): Brooklyn Italians, FC Sonic, Fullerton Rangers, Georgia Revolution, Jacksonville United, Milwaukee Bavarians
• US Club Soccer (1 team): United Turlock Express

2012 U.S. OPEN CUP FACTS:

• Largest field of teams (64) in tournament proper in competition's modern era (1995 to present), eclipsing previous record of 42 (2005, 2006)
• Largest expansion of teams (24) from previous a year in competition's modern era
• First time in modern era where all U.S.-based Division I, II and III professional clubs participated in tournament proper
• Home teams through quarterfinal round determined by random selection (change from sealed bid process)
• Largest field of professional teams (32) in tournament proper in competition's modern era, eclipsing previous record of 28 (2000, 2001)
• Largest field of amateur teams (32) in tournament proper in competition's modern era, eclipsing previous record of 21 (2011)

For a complete history and a list of U.S. Open Cup championship results, visit ussoccer.com.