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 highlighting the most relevant storylines, historical narratives and statistical trends surrounding the Open Cup Final, U.S. Soccer’s National Championship.
This installment of the daily countdown showcases the formidable center-back partnership between Matt Besler and Ike Opara.
With less than two months of the MLS regular season remaining, Sporting Kansas City is on pace to post one of the league's lowest goals against averages ever.
Manager Peter Vermes' men have allowed 0.77 goals per game through 26 matches, which would set the new league record in a 34-game regular season.
The recipe for success has been multifaceted. Goalkeeper Tim Melia has pieced together his best year as a professional, consistently delivering standout performances between the posts. Ilie has added poise, precision and overall quality in the all-important holding role. Roger Espinoza's tireless midfield motor has shown no signs of slowing down, while any combination of the front three has served admirably as the "first line of defense" in Vermes' 4-3-3 setup. To Melia's immediate left and right, respectively, Seth Sinovic has been as steady as ever and Graham Zusi has been an outright revelation.
Then there's the center-back pairing of captain Matt Besler and fully healthy Ike Opara. Teammates since 2013, the duo entered 2017 without forming any semblance of a consistent partnership, mostly due to the fact that Opara missed nearly all of 2014 and 2015 with season-ending injuries.
But Opara is now enjoying the strongest campaign of his eight-year pro career. And after four seasons of playing alongside each other only sparingly, Besler and Opara have forged a formidable partnership that stacks up as one of the best in Major League Soccer.
Arguing against this sentiment would fly in the face of unassailable facts.
Besler and Opara have started together in 21 matches this season across all competitions, including two U.S. Open Cup fixtures. In those 21 games, Sporting Kansas City boasts the following statistics.
SPORTING KC WHEN BESLER AND OPARA START IN 2017
(21 games in all competitions)
- 11-2-8 record
- 11 shutouts
- 0.57 goals against average
- 12 goals conceded
Factoring in matches played only at Children's Mercy Park, the site of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Final, Besler and Opara have been even better.
SKC AT HOME WHEN BESLER AND OPARA START IN 2017
(12 games in all competitions)
- 9-0-3 record
- 7 shutouts
- 0.50 goals against average
- 6 goals conceded
Sporting Kansas City will hope that success carries into Sept. 20, when prolific striker Bradley Wright-Phillips and the Red Bulls visit Kansas City for a highly anticipated Open Cup championship between MLS charter members.
Besler started in the 2012 and 2015 finals of the tournament, playing 120 minutes on both occasions as Sporting KC prevailed in dramatic shootouts following 1-1 draws against Seattle Sounders FC and Philadelphia Union, respectively.
Opara, on the other hand, is hoping to play his first major part in lifting an Open Cup title. He was a member of the San Jose Earthquakes in 2012 and was nursing a long-term Achilles injury in 2015.
