Sporting Kansas City will host USL expansion side St. Louis FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on June 16 at Sporting Park in the fourth round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. St. Louis FC advanced past Minnesota United FC (NASL) on Wednesday in a penalty kick shootout (3-1) after a 1-1 draw through extra time at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri.
Tickets for the upcoming match start at $14 and less than 1,000 seats remain available via Ticketmaster.com for the first competitive meeting between Sporting KC and a club from St. Louis in team history. Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members will use Special Game A in their season ticket package for entry to the game.
LIVE STREAM: Subscribe to Sporting Kansas City's official YouTube channel for the #SKCvSTL live stream, presented by Sprint
St. Louis FC began play in the U.S. Open Cup one week ago with a 2-1 extra time victory over the Des Moines Menace (PDL) in the tournament's second round. Tonight, the Saints fell behind in the 53rd minute on a J.C. Banks put back but rallied to level the score with 10 minutes remaining in regulation courtesy of a penalty kick converted by Bryan Gaul.
Gaul, one of seven players on the St. Louis FC roster with MLS experience, was sent off in the second extra time period by referee Jon Freemon and will miss the fourth round match against Sporting Kansas City while serving a mandatory one-game suspension.
St. Louis FC's MLS Connections
Alec Kann* (2013-15 with Chicago Fire)
Bryan Gaul (2012-13 with LA Galaxy)
Charles Renken (2012 with Portland Timbers)
Mike Roach (2012 with New England Revolution)
Patrick Doody* (2015 with Chicago Fire)
Brandon Barklage (2009-15 with three MLS teams)
Alex Riggs (2011 with Columbus Crew)
*On loan from MLS affiliate Chicago Fire
With the score deadlocked at 1-1 after 120 minutes, St. Louis FC was successful on their first three shots in the penalty shootout thanks to well-taken attempts from Barklage, Doody and Oskar Gasecki. Conversely, the visiting Loons converted only one of their four attempts with the lone make coming from U.S. Men's National Team forward Miguel Ibarra.
Led by head coach Dale Schilly, St. Louis FC is 3-3-2 in their inaugural USL season and sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The club will play each of the next three Saturdays, including a home match against the Harrisburg City Islanders on June 13, prior to traveling across I-70 for the June 16 match-up in Kansas City.
The 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is headlined by the largest field in the modern era (1995-present) with 89 teams in contention when the first round began earlier this month. After tonight, 32 teams remain – including Sporting KC’s USL affiliate OKC Energy FC – ahead of the fourth round to be held on June 16-17.
2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Fourth Round June 16-17
Fifth Round June 30-July 1
Quarterfinals July 21-22
Semifinals August 11-12
Final Sept. 29 or 30
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has been held annually since 1914 and is open to all amateur/professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. Sporting Kansas City has twice lifted the Dewar Challenge Trophy as champions of the competition in 2004 and 2012, while teams from St. Louis have won the U.S. Open Cup on 10 previous occasions.
This year’s winner will earn $250,000 and a berth into the 2016-17 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.
