Saturday, June 6, was the originally scheduled date for Sporting Kansas City to host Orlando City SC at Children's Mercy Park.
The temporary suspension of the 2020 MLS campaign means the Lions' visit to Kansas City is on hold, but it won't stop us from revisiting three previous trips Orlando made to Children's Mercy Park—the first of which as a second-division team and the latter two as a fellow MLS adversary.
We look back at Sporting's three wins over Orlando in the space below.
Sporting 3-2 Orlando (May 29, 2012 | U.S. Open Cup Round of 32)
Sporting's run to the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title began in the Round of 32 with an exciting 3-2 win over the second-division Lions, who competed in the USL at the time. Midfielder Paulo Nagamura gave the hosts a 1-0 lead on the stroke of halftime, only for Kevin Molino to draw Orlando level in the 55th minute. Sporting forward Soony Saad then struck twice in the space of four minutes to put the game out of reach, rendering Dennis Chin's late goal inconsequential.
Sporting 2-1 Orlando (May 15, 2016)
Sporting had outshot Orlando 34-7 by the end of the game, including a 13-0 advantage in attempts on target. The visiting Lions, meanwhile, mustered just seven total shots and failed to test goalkeeper Tim Melia the entire game. What made this particular plot so wild, though, was the fact that Orlando weathered Sporting’s onslaught and—somehow, some way—went ahead in the 67th minute. Jimmy Medranda’s unfortunate own goal gave the Lions a lead to defend and left nearly 20,000 fans at Children’s Mercy Park in disbelief.
Enter Jacob Peterson, a grizzled MLS veteran aptly nicknamed “The Answer.” The do-it-all serviceman had played just 14 minutes all season, but his second-half cameo went down as a one of the biggest moments of Sporting's 2016 campaign. Peterson was the catalyst to unlocking Orlando City’s defense, assisting Dom Dwyer’s goal in the 74th minute before nodding home the game-winner in the 79th. In doing so, he became the first player in Sporting history to tally a game-winning goal and an assist after being subbed in past the 60th minute.
Sporting 1-0 Orlando (Sept. 8, 2018)
Facing forward Dom Dwyer in his first game back to Children's Mercy Park after leaving Kansas City in 2017, Sporting claimed a 1-0 victory over the Lions to boost their hopes of a first-place finish in the Western Conference. Midfielder Felipe Gutierrez bagged the game-winner in the 53rd minute as Sporting leapfrogged LAFC for second place in the West and closed the gap on leaders FC Dallas. Goalkeeper Tim Melia posted his MLS-leading 12th shutout of 2018 and the 38th of his regular season career, taking sole possession of second-most in club history at the time.
A high-profile MLS newcomer in 2018, Gutierrez effectively decided the contest eight minutes after the restart. Yohan Croizet squared up his defender on the right side of the box and played centrally to the Chilean international, who fired low into the left corner from the top of the box to ignite joyous celebrations among supporters.
