"By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Sporting Kansas City will begin its pursuit of a record fifth Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title on Wednesday by visiting USL League One side Union Omaha at Caniglia Field in the Round of 32. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT with a live stream on MLSsoccer.com and local radio coverage on Sports Radio 810 WHB.
Manager Peter Vermes is no stranger to resounding Open Cup success, having led Sporting to the tournament championship in 2012, 2015 and 2017. The first step to another Open Cup run comes against an upstart Omaha team that has yet to lose in 2024 and boasts a slew of players with MLS experience.
We take a statistical look at this compelling Open Cup encounter in our newest edition of By The Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting and Omaha met once previously, squaring off in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals at Children’s Mercy Park on June 22, 2022.
- Sporting won 6-0 behind braces from Daniel Salloi and Felipe Hernandez while also receiving goals from Khiry Shelton and Kortne Ford. Hernandez and Shelton also had assists in the game.
- Omaha midfielder Mechack Jerome played for Sporting from 2013-2014. He is one of five players on the Omaha roster with MLS experience alongside defender Ryen Jiba, midfielder PC, and forwards Missael Rodriguez and Zeiko Lewis.
Sporting Kansas City
- Best Open Cup Finish: Champions (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017)
- 2023 Open Cup: Lost at Houston Dynamo FC in Round of 32
- 2024 MLS Record: 2-4-5, 11 points (18 GF, 19 GA)
- Sporting have won four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles, tied with Chicago Fire FC and Seattle Sounders FC for the most among MLS clubs and one behind Maccabi Los Angeles and Bethlehem Steel for most in the tournament’s 109-year history.
- Sporting have won three U.S. Open Cup titles since 2012, more than any other team.
- Sporting have prevailed in 25 U.S. Open Cup matches since 2012, more than any other team.
- Sporting own a 16-5-4 all-time record against non-MLS opponents in the U.S. Open Cup.
- Sporting own a 9-11-5 all-time road record in the Open Cup and a 34-18-8 overall record in the tournament.
- Sporting are 0-3-1 in their last four Open Cup away matches since 2019. Sporting’s last road win in the tournament came in the 2018 Round of 32 at Real Salt Lake.
- The home team has prevailed in each of Sporting’s last nine Open Cup matches since June 2018.
- Forward Daniel Salloi is Sporting’s all-time leader with eight career goals in the Open Cup.
- Forward Johnny Russell has six goal contributions (four goals, two assists) in seven career Open Cup appearances.
- Forward Marinos Tzionis has scored two of his three career goals for Sporting in the Open Cup.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia has prevailed in 10 of his 11 career Open Cup appearances for Sporting, including penalty shootout wins in the 2015 final and the 2017 semifinal.
- The following players on Sporting’s current roster have won U.S. Open Cup titles: goalkeeper Tim Melia (2015 and 2017 with SKC), forward Daniel Salloi (2017 with SKC) and midfielder Memo Rodriguez (2018 with Houston).
Union Omaha
- Best Open Cup Finish: Quarterfinals (2022)
- 2023 Open Cup: Lost at St. Louis City SC in third round
- 2024 USL League One Record: 3-0-1, 10 points (7 GF, 3 GA)
- Omaha is unbeaten through its first eight matches, tying a USL League One record for longest unbeaten run to start a season in all competitions.
- Omaha has a 5-0-3 record in all competitions this season, with two of the three draws accounting for shootout victories in knockout-style competitions.
- Omaha has participated in two shootouts this season, winning both at home. Omaha beat El Paso Locomotive 5-3 on penalties in the Open Cup third round on April 17 and beat Northern Colorado Hailstorm 3-2 on penalties in their USL Jägermeister Cup opener on May 1.
- Omaha is 3-0-1 through four matches in USL League One, the third division of American pro soccer.
- In 2022, Omaha advanced to the Open Cup quarterfinals before falling 6-0 to Sporting at Children’s Mercy Park. During that tournament run, Omaha defeated two MLS clubs: a penalty shootout road win over Chicago in the third round (following a 2-2 draw) and a 2-1 road win over Minnesota in the round of 16.
- Omaha has a 4-0-1 all-time home record in the Open Cup, with the one draw accounting for a shootout win over El Paso last month.
- Omaha has defeated higher-division opponents in the Open Cup for three straight seasons (two MLS teams in 2022, one USL Championship team in 2023 and one USL Championship team in 2024).
- In 2023, Omaha led USL League One with 65 points in the regular season—going 19-5-8 and finishing the regular season with a 13-0-1 record—before losing their playoff opener to Charlotte Independence in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw.
- Omaha has advanced to the USL League One playoffs in all four years of the club’s existence.
- Midfielder Joe Gallardo leads Omaha with four goals across all competitions this season, including three in the Open Cup (one shy of the tournament lead).
- Forward Missael Rodriguez leads Omaha with three goals in USL League One.
