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 is visiting the most relevant storylines, historical narratives and statistical trends surrounding the Open Cup Final, U.S. Soccer’s National Championship.
Our seventh installment of the daily countdown examines how home-field advantage could sway the outcome on Sept. 20.
Since the dawn of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup's modern era, the championship match has been hosted by a participating finalist on 20 occasions.
As one might expect, the home side held a distinct edge in Open Cup finals through 2012, when Sporting Kansas City edged Seattle Sounders FC in a penalty shootout.
In the three years that followed, however, the script was flipped. Visiting teams emerged victorious in 2013, 2014 and 2015 before FC Dallas prevailed on home turf last September.
So just how important is home-field advantage in U.S. Soccer's National Championship? The hosts have won 13 of 20 finals played at non-neutral sites since 1995, a clip that favors Sporting KC but certainly won't discourage the New York Red Bulls ahead of their visit to Children's Mercy Park.
MODERN-ERA U.S. OPEN CUP FINALS
1997 and 1999 finals not listed (played at neutral sites)
<strong>Year</strong> |
<strong>Home</strong> |
<strong>Away</strong> |
<strong>Host Result</strong> |
1995 |
El Paso Patriots |
Richmond Kickers |
T 1-1<br>
(<em>L 2-4 in PKs</em>) |
1996 |
D.C. United |
Rochester Rhinos |
W 3-0 |
1998 |
Chicago Fire |
Columbus Crew |
W 2-1 |
2000 |
Chicago Fire |
Miami Fusion |
W 2-1 |
2001 |
LA Galaxy |
New England Revolution |
W 2-1 |
2002 |
Columbus Crew SC |
LA Galaxy |
W 1-0 |
2003 |
New York Red Bulls |
Chicago Fire |
L 0-1 |
2004 |
Sporting KC |
Chicago Fire |
W 1-0 |
2005 |
LA Galaxy |
FC Dallas |
W 1-0 |
2006 |
Chicago Fire |
LA Galaxy |
W 3-1 |
2007 |
FC Dallas |
New England Revolution |
L 2-3 |
2008 |
D.C. United |
Charleston Battery |
W 2-1 |
2009 |
D.C. United |
Seattle Sounders FC |
L 1-2 |
2010 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
Columbus Crew SC |
W 2-1 |
2011 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
Chicago Fire |
W 2-0 |
2012 |
Sporting KC |
Seattle Sounders FC |
T 1-1<br>
(<em>W 3-2 in PKs</em>) |
2013 |
Real Salt Lake |
D.C. United |
L 0-1 |
2014 |
Philadelphia Union |
Seattle Sounders FC |
L 1-3 |
2015 |
Philadelphia Union |
Seattle Sounders FC |
T 1-1 (L <em>7-6 in PKs</em>) |
2016 |
FC Dallas |
New England Revolution |
W 4-2 |
While a 65-percent success rate among home teams isn't exactly eye-opening, a host of other statistics would suggest that the Red Bulls are facing a Herculean task in the 2017 final.
Indeed, Sporting Kansas City is 6-0-1 in its last seven Open Cup home matches and 3-0-1 in its last four MLS home playoff games. The club is also 10-0-6 in all competitions this season at Children's Mercy Park.
If there's a team capable of beating such odds, it just might be New York. The Red Bulls survived road tests against the New England Revolution and FC Cincinnati in this year's quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. And since the start of 2015, when head coach Jesse Marsch began his current tenure, New York's 14 MLS away wins are fourth-most in the league.
