Recap: Sporting KC reaches Open Cup Final with 2-0 win over Indy Eleven

Sporting Kansas City punched a ticket to the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final with a convincing 2-0 victory over Indy Eleven in Tuesday’s weather-delayed semifinal at Children’s Mercy Park.

Captain Johnny Russell opened the scoring with a superb long-range strike in the 14th minute, Dany Rosero buried a powerful header in the 35th minute and goalkeeper Tim Melia had five saves to secure his club record-tying fifth career Open Cup shutout. Sporting has now prevailed in 16 straight Open Cup home matches since 2015 and reached the Open Cup Final for the fifth time in club history, having previously won the tournament title in 2004, 2012, 2015 and 2017.

The final of U.S. Soccer’s national championship will see Sporting travel to face either Seattle Sounders FC or LAFC on Sept. 25. Seattle and LAFC will square off at 9:30 p.m. CT Wednesday in the tournament’s second semifinal. The winner of the 2024 Open Cup will receive $300,000 in prize money and a berth in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.

Cementing their spot in next month’s championship match, Sporting will have this weekend off before returning to MLS regular season action on Sept. 7 with a visit to the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey. The cross-conference clash will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and stream live on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Three days removed from a 3-0 league win over Orlando City SC on Saturday, Sporting fielded a starting lineup against Indy that featured five fresh faces: Russell, Rosero, striker Alan Pulido, midfielder Remi Walter, and left back Logan Ndenbe, who earned his first start since tearing his ACL in the MLS Cup Playoffs on Nov. 5, 2023.

Undeterred by a two-hour, 32-minute weather delay that pushed kickoff to 9:44 p.m. CT, Sporting seized early momentum by dominating territory and possession against their USL Championship counterparts. Midfielder Erik Thommy was first to threaten in the 11th minute with a dipping strike from distance that beat Indy goalkeeper Hunter Sulte but rattled the crossbar.

However, Sporting found their deserved breakthrough three minutes later. Receiving a pass from Thommy, midfielder Jake Davis slithered centrally from the right side of the penalty area before laying the ball off to Russell 22 yards from goal. The Scottish winger made no mistake from there, brandishing a left-footed rocket that found the far left corner to make the score 1-0. Russell now has 67 career goals for Sporting in all competitions, tying Dom Dwyer for second most in club history, while his nine career goal contributions in the Open Cup (five goals, four assists) are also second most on Kansas City’s all-time charts.

Shaken and stirred, Indy suffered a further setback shortly after Russell’s goal as center back Callum Chapman-Page was forced to exit with an injury, summoning former Sporting defender James Musa as his replacement. His introduction came a few minutes before Thommy was once again denied by the woodwork, his swerving free kick kissing the inside of the left post.

The visitors seldom threatened in the first half but were afforded a major opportunity in the 27th minute when Logan Neidlinger’s searching cross from the right wing skipped past Rosero and found Augi Williams, whose shot near the penalty spot was saved smartly by Melia. The chance preceded another good look for the hosts, with Daniel Salloi galloping free on the breakaway and teeing up Pulido for a blistering strike that was smothered by Sulte at the near post.

Rosero doubled Sporting’s advantage in the 35th minute, moving into an advanced position and planting an emphatic header past Sulte after Walter clipped a delectable ball to the back stick. Rosero has now scored in consecutive Open Cup matches, having bagged the winner in a 2-1 extra-time win over FC Dallas on July 10, and each of his seven career goals for Sporting have been headers. Davis picked up a secondary assist on the play, giving him his first multi-assist game for Kansas City, and almost made the score 3-0 prior to halftime with a booming effort from 20 yards that fizzed narrowly wide.

Indy improved after the break as Melia became a busier man, palming aside a 25-yard turf-trimmer from Jack Blake in the 52nd minute. Blake was the focal point of his team’s attack in the second half, dragging a shot marginally wide near the hour mark and seeing a pair of sweetly struck piledrivers snuffed out by an in-form Melia in the latter stages of the contest. Williams then went worryingly close to cutting the deficit in half with an 81st-minute attempt that smacked the near post from a tight angle.

Pulido made his 100th appearance for Sporting in all competitions on Tuesday and nearly punctuated the occasion with a goal, but his thumping shot on the right side of the area sailed high. The Mexican World Cup veteran then had a chance to add icing to the cake in second-half stoppage time when fellow forward William Agada was fouled in the box, but Sulte saved Pulido’s penalty kick and the game ended 2-0 in favor of the hosts.

2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinals
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 10,812
Weather: 79 degrees and cloudy

Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Khiry Shelton, Dany Rosero, Andreu Fontas (Robert Voloder 61'), Logan Ndenbe (Tim Leibold 61'); Jake Davis, Remi Walter (Zorhan Bassong 75'); Johnny Russell (C) (Stephen Afrifa 88'), Erik Thommy (William Agada 75'), Daniel Salloi; Alan Pulido

Subs Not Used: John Pulskamp, Memo Rodriguez

Indy Eleven: Hunter Sulte; Ben Ofeimu, Callum Chapman-Page (James Musa 17'), Josh O'Brien (Sebastian Guenzatti 88'); Logan Neidlinger (Maalique Foster 77'), Aodhan Quinn (C), Cam Lindley (Laurence Wootton 77'), Jack Blake, Aedan Stanley; Douglas Martinez, Augi Williams (Elliott Collier 88')

Subs Not Used: Yannik Oettl, Ben Mines

Scoring Summary:
SKC -- Johnny Russell 1 (Jake Davis 2, Erik Thommy 1) 14'
SKC -- Dany Rosero 2 (Remi Walter 1, Jake Davis 3) 35'

Misconduct Summary:
IND -- Aodhan Quinn (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 19'
SKC -- Daniel Salloi (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 68'

Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistant Referee: Brian Dunn
Assistant Referee: Kevin Lock
Fourth Official: Jon Freemon
VAR: Daniel Radford
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson