Philadelphia Union vs. Sporting Kansas City 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final PPL Park - Chester, Pennsylvania Wednesday, September 30 6 p.m. CT - ESPN2 MATCH PREVIEW: Sporting Kansas City and the Philadelphia Union square off Wednesday in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. Led by Manager Peter Vermes, Sporting KC is looking for its third Open Cup title in team history, having previously won the tournament in 2004 and 2012. Meanwhile, head coach Jim Curtin will hope to deliver the Philadelphia Union its first major trophy since joining MLS in 2010. The Union came close in 2014, losing the U.S. Open Cup Final on home soil to Seattle Sounders FC. No team has lost consecutive Open Cup finals since 1975-76.
Louis FC on June 16, then picked up steam with an emphatic 6-2 romp over FC Dallas - a match in which Dom Dwyer scored a club-record four goals. Sporting KC then notched two rivalry wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The team came from behind on both occasions, defeating the Houston Dynamo 3-1 on July 21 before topping Real Salt Lake by the same score line on Aug. 12. Dwyer is currently the 2015 tournament’s top scorer with five goals, while Krisztian Nemeth is close behind with four. Benny Feilhaber has added a tournament-best five assists.
Sporting KC has stormed to the 2015 championship game in style, scoring 13 combined goals in four earlier rounds at Sporting Park. The run began with a 1-0 decision over Saint
The Philadelpha Union have endured a dramatic and daunting journey to the 2015 final, prevailing in penalty kick shootouts in the fourth round and quarterfinals and notching one-goal wins
philadelphia union
12-9-9 (44 pts.) RECORD 30 GAMES PLAYED 5th in West CONFERENCE POSITION 45 GOALS 1.50 GOALS/GAME 50 ASSISTS 41 GOALS ALLOWED 1.37 ALLOWED/GAME +4 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL 355 (124) SHOTS (ON GOAL) 34.9% ON GOAL % 397 FOULS COMMITTED 355 FOULS SUFFERED 57 CAUTIONS 3 EJECTIONS
9-15-7 (34 pts.) 31 9th in East 39 1.26 41 37 1.55 –9
356 (134) 37.6% 338 400 49 5
2015 Regular Season INDIVIDUAL LEADERs SPORTING KANSAS CITY
philadelphia union
Dom Dwyer Benny Feilhaber Dom Dwyer Dom Dwyer Krisztian Nemeth
11 9 C.J. Sapong GOALS 14 ASSISTS 14 Cristian Maidana 86 SHOTS 47 Fernando Aristeguieta 35 11 Sebastien Le Toux SHOTS ON GOAL 4 GAME-WINNING GOALS 2 Sapong/Nogueira Benny Feilhaber 4 GAME-WINNING ASSISTS 3 Cristian Maidana Dom Dwyer 51 FOULS COMMITTED 37 Maurice Edu Dom Dwyer 72 FOULS SUFFERED 49 Sapong/Ayuk Mbu Dwyer/Feilhaber 6 CAUTIONS 8 Maurice Edu three players tied 1 EJECTIONS 1 five players tied Tim Melia 1710 GK MINUTES PLAYED 1080 Brian Sylvestre Tim Melia 1.26 GOALS AGAINST AVG. 0.67 Andre Blake Tim Melia 9 5 Brian Sylvestre WINS Tim Melia 7 SHUTOUTS 5 Brian Sylvestre Tim Melia 63 SAVES 30 Brian Sylvestre
SPORTING KANSAS CITY INJURY REPORT As of Monday, Sept. 28
OUT: • Roger Espinoza (tibial sesamoid fracture) • Ike Opara (ruptured Achilles) QUESTIONABLE: • Krisztian Nemeth (left foot contusion)
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Sporting KC enters Wednesday fifth in the Western Conference with 45 points (12-9-9). Philadelphia, meanwhile, appears destined to miss the MLS postseason as they sit ninth in the East with 34 points (9-15-7).
SPORTING KC IN LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
2015 REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS SPORTING KANSAS CITY
in the fifth round and semifinals. The Union first dispatched the Rochester Rhinos in penalties after a 0-0 draw on June 16. Then came a remarkable 2-1 win over D.C. United on June 30 that saw the club erase a one-goal deficit while down a man in the second half. Another penalty kick win ensued on July 21 after the Union, again playing down a man for most of the match, held the New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena. Philadelphia clinched their spot in the championship with a 1-0 semifinal win over the Chicago Fire on Aug. 12.
YEAR 1996: 1997: 1998: 2000: 2001: 2002: 2003: 2004:
2005: 2006: 2007: 2008: 2009: 2010: 2011:
2012:
2013: 2014: 2015:
OPPONENT vs. Colorado Rapids at San Francisco Bay Seals at Nashville Metros at Chicago Sockers vs. Seattle Sounders vs. Chicago Fire at Rochester Rhinos at Milwaukee Rampage at Columbus Crew at Colorado Rapids at Atlanta Silverbacks vs. Dallas Burn vs. San Jose Earthquakes vs. Chicago Fire vs. Des Moines Menace vs. Minnesota Thunder vs. Des Moines Menace at Chicago Fire at Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids at Carolina RailHawks at Seattle Sounders at Minnesota Thunder at Seattle Sounders vs. Colorado Rapids at Houston Dynamo vs. New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire PDL vs. Richmond Kickers vs. Orlando City SC vs. Colorado Rapids vs. Dayton Dutch Lions at Philadelphia Union vs. Seattle Sounders vs. Des Moines Menace vs. Orlando City SC vs. Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers vs. Saint Louis FC vs. FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake
RESULT CUP ROUND L 2-3 Quarterfinals L 1-2 Round of 16 L 1-3 Round of 16 T 0-0 (L 6-7 PK) Round of 32 W 4-0 Round of 32 L 0-1 Round of 16 W 3-2 (ET) Round of 16 W 2-0 Quarterfinals L 2-3 (ET) Semifinals L 2-3 Round of 16 W 4-1 Round of 16 W 4-0 Quarterfinals W 1-0 Semifinals W 1-0 (ET) Championship W 6-1 Round of 16 L 1-3 Quarterfinals W 2-1 Round of 32 L 0-2 Round of 16 L 1-2 (ET) Qualifying T 2-2 (W 5-3 PK) Qualifying W 4-2 (ET) Round of 16 T 0-0 (L 5-6 PK) Quarterfinals T3-3 (W 4-2 PK) Round of 16 L 0-1 Quarterfinals L 1-2 Qualifying W 1-0 (ET) Qualifying W 5-0 Qualifying W 3-0 Round of 16 L 0-2 Quarterfinals W 3-2 Round of 32 W 2-0 Round of 16 W 3-0 Quarterfinals W 2-0 Semifinals T 1-1 (W 3-2 PK) Championship W 2-0 Round of 32 L 0-1 Round of 16 W 2-0 Round of 32 L 1-3 Round of 16 W 1-0 Round of 32 W 6-2 Round of 16 W 3-1 Quarterfinals W 3-1 Semifinals
Record by Round
Record Breakdown
Other Open Cup Stats
Qualifying: Round of 32: Round of 16: Quarterfinals: Semifinals: Finals:
vs MLS: vs non-MLS: Home: Away: Overtime: Shootouts:
All-time: 23-14-5 Goals for: 85 Goals against: 50 Shutouts: 16 Been shutout: 7 Champs: 2004 & 2012
2-2-1 6-0-1 7-7-1 4-4-1 3-1-0 1-0-1
SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
10-9-2 13-5-3 17-7-2 6-7-3 4-2-5 3-2-0
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