Countdown to Cup: Sporting KC well familiar with Open Cup glory

Sporting Kansas City will look to write another glorious chapter in club history on Sept. 20 when the New York Red Bulls visit Children’s Mercy Park for the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, slated for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
In our 21-day Countdown to Cup, SportingKC.com will visit the most relevant storylines, historical narratives and statistical trends surrounding the Open Cup Final, U.S. Soccer’s National Championship.
Our daily countdown begins exactly three weeks prior to the highly anticipated showdown between MLS charter members. In the first installment, we examine Sporting Kansas City’s place as one of the most successful clubs in the world’s third-longest running open soccer tournament, now in its 104th edition.

From 1996-2003, arguably no MLS club had a more dismal Open Cup record than Kansas City. The Wizards went one-and-done in their first four tournament appearances between 1996 and 2000 — having failed to qualify in 1999 — and won just three Open Cup matches combined in their first eight seasons as a team.

None of the nine other MLS originals had fewer Open Cup victories through 2003.

The pendulum swung emphatically in 2004, when head coach Bob Gansler guided Kansas City to the championship at Arrowhead Stadium.

A rebrand to Sporting Kansas City and a move into world-class Children’s Mercy Park has seen the club become habitual Cup conquerors under the tutelage of Manager Peter Vermes. Home supporters witnessed an unforgettable shootout win over fellow Open Cup powerhouse Seattle Sounders FC in the 2012 Final, three years prior to an equally pulsating penalty kick triumph at the Philadelphia Union.

Fast-forward to present day, and Vermes’ side is on the brink of becoming just the third MLS club to boast four Open Cup titles. Seattle and Chicago Fire have hoisted the trophy on four occasions, more than any other team in American soccer’s top flight. Sporting Kansas City also has the distinction as Major League Soccer’s only Open Cup winner to never lose a final.

U.S. OPEN CUP WINNERS AND FINALISTS
(MLS TEAMS SINCE 1996)

Not surprisingly, no team has more Open Cup wins since 2012 than Sporting KC's 14. Chicago, FC Dallas and Philadelphia each have 12, while Seattle is the only other side with double-digit victories at 10. In the chart below, note that penalty shootouts are recorded as draws.

U.S. OPEN CUP WINS
(MLS TEAMS SINCE 2012)