Category: Sporting KC

Russell leads Sporting comeback over Houston in U.S. Open Cup

Forward Johnny Russell scored his second goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 73rd minute. Russell’s two goals led Sporting Kansas City to victory over the Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

Sporting Kansas City took another step on the road toward its fifth U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo Wednesday night at Children’s Mercy Park.

Kansas City gave up the lead in the first half, but came barreling back in the second thanks to two goals from forward and team captain Johnny Russell.

Despite nagging injuries that have kept him listed as questionable on recent injury reports, Russell was all over the pitch on Wednesday — attacking down the left and right sidelines, dropping low to defend, and taking on some very physical challenges from Dynamo defenders.

Russell’s game-winner came on a 73rd minute penalty kick earned by Daniel Salloi, who was tripped by Houston’s Daniel Steres as he tried to make a run on the Dynamo goal. Russell took a big run-up and slapped his left-footed kick into the lower right corner of the goal.

The Scottish forward tied the score in the 52nd minute after he snared a Houston clearance about 20 yards out. Though he got pushed to the turf by forward Beto Avila, Russell maintained possession, made a turn among three defenders and blasted in his shot from outside the penalty area.

Corey Baird got the Dynamo on the board near the end of the first half, receiving a beautiful through pass down the middle from Darwin Quintero and then outracing Logan Ndenbe and Andreu Fontas to get a shot on goal from 12 yards out.

Kansas City had plenty of chances, using long, diagonal passes to get in behind the Houston defense. Speedsters Ndenbe and Salloi put the right side of the Houston defense under pressure repeatedly, and Sporting outshot the Dynamo 18-7, despite holding only 40 percent of the possession.

After the match, head coach Peter Vermes sang the praises of Russell’s all-out effort.

“He’s the captain,” said the coach. “He’s the leader. That’s why the guys respect him. He wins all the time. He wins in practice, and he brings it to the game week in and week out.”

Kansas City now advances to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, a single elimination tournament that features teams from several professional and amateur soccer leagues.

The opponent will be USL League One team Union Omaha, which defeated Minnesota United FC 2-1 on Wednesday. The match will be played at Children’s Mercy Park on June 22.

Sporting’s next regular season game will be at home on May 28 against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The game will kick off at 8 p.m.

The Cauldron fan section celebrated Johnny Russell’s goal in the 52nd minute. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Daniel Steres’s foul on Daniel Salloi led to the game-winning goal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

A late challenge from Houston defender Daniel Steres sent defender Logan Ndenbe sprawling. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Houston defender Griffin Dorsey cleared the ball, just out of reach of forward Cam Duke. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Kansas City defenders Kortne Ford, center, and Andreu Fontas leaped for a corner kick as Houston goalkeeper Michael Nelson tried to knock it away. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

A cutback from midfielder Felipe Hernandez had Houston midfielder Brooklyn Raines on his heels. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Defender Kayden Pierre ran along the end line, looking for options in the center. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Forward Khiry Shelton signed a cast for a fan after the game. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Houston visits Sporting KC tonight in U.S. Open Cup match

Sporting Kansas City will resume play in the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against Houston Dynamo FC at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, in the Round of 16.

Tickets are available online at SeatGeek.com and are included in Sporting Kansas City season ticket member packages.

Wednesday’s match will stream live on ESPN+ for subscribers across the U.S. with local radio broadcasts available on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

Open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, the 2022 U.S. Open Cup features the largest field in the competition’s modern era (1995-present) with 103 clubs from all levels of the sport. Sporting KC is one of 13 MLS clubs remaining in the competition along with two USL Championship teams and Union Omaha from USL League One.

Sporting’s showdown with Houston is one of five all-MLS matches in the Round of 16 and the only fixture of the round to feature former U.S. Open Cup champions going head to head.

Sporting KC owns four U.S. Open Cup titles in team history – tied for the most among MLS teams – as champions in 2004, 2012, 2015 and 2017. Houston claimed the club’s first U.S. Open Cup trophy in 2018.

While Houston and Sporting have won three of the past five U.S. Open Cup titles, the teams will now meet in the U.S. Open Cup for a fifth time in the past six editions of the tournament.

Most recently, Sporting earned a 1-0 victory over the Dynamo in the MLS regular season on March 5 in the 2022 home opener at Children’s Mercy Park with Remi Walter scoring the game’s only goal to even the all-time series at 13-13-13 through 39 meetings.

During the Sporting era of the club (2011-present), Sporting has now faced Houston 10 times in elimination matches with four meetings in the MLS Cup Playoffs (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2017) and six matches in the U.S. Open Cup (2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022). In fact, Sporting has played Houston 40 times – more than any other opponent – in all competitions since 2011.

Sporting KC advanced to the Round of 16 with a thrilling 4-2 win in extra time against FC Dallas on May 10 at Children’s Mercy Park.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first half, Sporting KC rallied with four unanswered goals – the most dramatic of which came in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time as Marinos Tzionis headed home the last-gasp equalizer.

Houston reached the Round of 16 with a pair of home wins over USL Championship sides, defeating Rio Grande Valley FC in the Third Round 2-1 before earning a 1-0 victory over San Antonio FC in the Round of 32.

The Dynamo are led by first-year head coach Paulo Nagamura, who played in Kansas City for five seasons and served as head coach of Sporting KC II for the past four years. Notably, Nagamura’s staff includes assistant coach Jimmy Nielsen, who captained SKC to the 2012 U.S. Open Cup and 2013 MLS Cup championships as a teammate with Nagamura.

Wednesday’s match will mark Houston’s first U.S. Open Cup road match since 2017, snapping a streak of 10 straight home games in the competition. Meanwhile, Sporting has prevailed in the club’s last 10 home matches in the U.S. Open Cup since 2015.

Wednesday’s winner between Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo FC will secure a berth in the quarterfinals, to be played on June 21-22, and will be host to the winner of the Minnesota United FC and Union Omaha match.

The quarterfinal winner of the Central Region will then advance to play the winner of the West Region (LA/LAFC vs. San Jose-Sacramento) in the semifinals on July 26-27.

Contested since 1914 and named in honor of former Kansas City Wizards owner Lamar Hunt, this year marks the 107th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The competition will crown a champion in September with the tournament winner to receive $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League and the honor of having its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy.

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Sporting KC plays to draw against San Jose

Sporting Kansas City (3-7-4, 13 points) picked up a point on the road on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes (3-5-5, 14 points) at PayPal Park in San Jose.

Club captain Johnny Russell scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season and in doing so moved into sole possession of third place on the team’s all-time scoring chart with 44 career regular season goals. Add in his 31 career regular season assists and Russell is now the fifth player in team history to tally 75 goal contributions.

Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia also put in a strong performance, matching his season high with four saves — all coming in a 15-minute span of the first half to keep the hosts at bay before Russell’s breakthrough.

Melia was first called into action in the 29th minute with a sliding stop on Cade Cowell from close range at the edge of the six-yard box.

Ten minutes later, Melia dove low to his left to palm away a header from Francisco Calvo on a corner taken by Cristian Espinoza.

Jeremy Ebobisse was next to test Melia a minute later with a dipping strike from 35 yards out that was turned away before San Jose came close to scoring on the ensuing corner only to see Calvo’s header blocked and Oskar Agren’s header directed just beyond the crossbar.

Melia’s fourth and final save of the night came in the 42nd minute as Cowell picked up the ball at midfield and drove forward down the field before unleashing an attempt from 30 yards out that was smothered by Melia.

After the flurry of scoring opportunities for the Earthquakes, it was Sporting that stunned San Jose with the game’s opening goal in the 45th minute.

Roger Espinoza lofted a pinpoint pass from the left touchline into the path of Cam Duke, who took the ball out of the air with his first touch, rounded the goalkeeper with his second touch and cut the ball back for Russell with his third touch. Russell did the rest, smashing a left-footed shot past two Earthquakes defenders for his second goal in as many weekends.

Duke, a Sporting KC Academy product, now has a team-best three assists this season while Espinoza became one of only five SKC players to record 40 career assists for the club and one only three active MLS players with assists in 13 different seasons.

Sporting’s first halftime lead on the road this season was ultimately short-lived as San Jose took the second half kick off and struck for the game-tying goal before the visitors touched the ball. Jackson Yueill headed home a cross from Jamiro Monteiro 52 seconds into the half, giving the 25-year-old goals in back-to-back games for the Earthquakes who have now secured a league-leading 11 points from trailing positions in 2022.

Playing without nine total players due to injuries and suspensions, manager Peter Vermes brought Marinos Tzionis off the bench in the 64th minute and the Cypriot international nearly made an immediate impact. The 20-year-old winger beat his man to the endline and played a cross that connected with Duke but San Jose goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski was alert to make the save.

The two sides — each navigating a stretch of seven games in 22 days — would continue to create chances in search of a go-ahead goal. Earthquakes second-half substitute Javier “Chofis” Lopez curled a shot just off target in the 72nd minute and Russell laid out at full extension to reach a cross from Duke in the 75th minute however his volley went wide.

Sporting Kansas City, which held the Earthquakes without a shot on goal after conceding the equalizer, improved to 7-1-5 against San Jose in the last 13 competitive meetings dating back to 2016, including a 3-1-2 record in the team’s last six visits to PayPal Park.

Having earned results in six of the team’s past seven matches in all competitions, Sporting will return home to play host to the Houston Dynamo at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Children’s Mercy Park in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. Tickets are available online at SeatGeek.com with the winner of Wednesday’s match advancing to be the host of the quarterfinal round of U.S. Soccer’s national championship.

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