Second place in the East. Second place in the West. And Open Cup Final rematch. And MLS Cup rematch.
However you want to look at it, Saturday’s match between Sporting Kansas City and the Chicago Fire is about as high-stakes and history-driven as you can get.
With first-place implications looming large for both teams, here are some memorable moments from this historic matchup before the squads come together for the 52nd time in MLS regular season history.
Defense Wins Championships — Oct. 15, 2000
Back in 2000, the Kansas City Wizards had a near-impenetrable defense to go along with a goalkeeper who would stand on his head in Tony Meola. The juggernaut combination of these two led Kansas City to have the most shutouts in MLS that season and record the fewest goals allowed (29) in MLS history to that point.
The Wizards’ stifling defense carried the club to the MLS Cup, where they faced a Chicago Fire team whose offense could — and did — demoralize teams throughout league. Its 67 goals were the most in MLS that season, and the club was led by Ante Razov and his 18 goals on the season. It’s a feat that remains at the top of the list for goals in a season in Chicago Fire history.
The Cup Final took place at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., in front of nearly 40,000 fans. Chicago’s explosive offense made them the favorite for the match, but an 11th-minute Miklos Molnar goal quickly silenced the critics. After that, the Chicago offense lived up to the hype and sent shot after shot on goal. Time and time again, the Kansas City faithful thought their team’s lead might evaporate, but Meola turned away every equalizing attempt that the Fire sent at him. At the end of the 90 minutes, Meola had denied 10 shots on target and preserved a 1-0 clean sheet to earn Kansas City its first MLS Cup title in club history.
Extra-Time Goal Wins Open Cup — Sept. 22, 2004
Four years after the dramatic 2000 MLS Cup, another chapter was added to the Kansas City-Chicago storybook.
Chicago was looking to win its second straight U.S. Open Cup when it met Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium with the title on the line. The match once again featured a myriad of chances, but little scoring. After 90 minutes, the whistle blew and the game was headed to extra time.
Following 90 minutes of scoreless action, Kansas City’s Josh Wolff was taken down just outside of the box just four minutes into the overtime period, granting the Wizards a free kick. Igor Simutenkov stepped up and sliced the ball beautifully through a vacant spot in Chicago’s wall. The shot caught Chicago goalkeeper Henry Ring off guard, and the lengthy goalkeeper was able to get his fingertips on the ball, pushing it up just high enough to scare the Kansas City supporters, but not high enough to get over the crossbar. The ball ricocheted off the underside of the post, then back down, off Ring’s head and eventually over the line for a goal.
The goal proved to be all Kansas City needed, as the Wizards captured their first Open Cup title in club history.
New Stadium, Same Rivalry — June 9, 2011
Following the 2010 identity change from Kansas City Wizards to Sporting KC, Chicago Fire came to Kansas City as the visiting team in the club’s inaugural match at Children’s Mercy Park.
The park unveiling got off to kind of an awkward start, as the confetti shot off after Graham Zusi netted the first goal of the stadium’s history, but was waived off for offsides. The match once again was a stalemate, until Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen earned a red card in the 67th minute for touching a ball outside of the box. Despite getting the red card, Nielsen’s save on a breakaway chip shot kept the Fire off the scoreboard. The Kansas City defense was able to hold strong while being shorthanded, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. The contest might not have ended how Kansas City fans would have wanted, but it remained a special night in Kansas City soccer history.
Two Dazzling Goals Stun Chicago — July 7, 2013
Five months before lifting MLS Cup, Sporting KC traveled to Bridgeview, Illinois, to take on Chicago. Six minutes into the game, Sporting KC earned a throw-in by the attacking corner. Matt Besler ran up and threw a deep ball into the box that got deflected about five feet outside the top of the box. The scoring chance seemed deflated until Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber ran up and one-timed a bullet that found the inner left post and shot across the width of the net, putting the visitors up 1-0.
Just two minutes later, Graham Zusi curled in what might have been an intended cross from about 30 yards out, and the ball managed to drop into the right corner of the net. Stunned Chicago goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi sat on the ground in shock as two world-class strikes had managed to get past him, and his team was now down 2-0 within eight minutes of kickoff.
The Fire managed to get on the board with a second-half Mike Magee goal, but weren’t able to do anything more.
Melia’s Debut — May 3, 2015
Sporting KC’s current goalkeeper Tim Melia first came onto the scene in 2015, making his debut against Chicago Fire.
Melia came up strong and was able to push aside three shots in addition to recording his first MLS shutout and victory. His success in net was matched by Kansas City’s success on the other side of the pitch, as a 75th-minute header by Paulo Nagamura was placed perfectly in the top left corner of the net. Kansas City took the match 1-0, and thus, the legend of Tim Melia was born.
Another Chapter? — July 29, 2017
These interconference squads will once again square off and look to add a chapter to the rivalry this Saturday. With both teams in second place in their respective conferences, this heavyweight battle could see some fireworks. Kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park is set for 7 p.m. CT with a limited number of tickets available at SeatGeek.com.
