Can Sporting KC salvage its season with a trophy? The U.S. Open Cup final awaits

Sporting KC’s tumultuous 2024 season has the opportunity for a silver lining — emphasis on the silver.

Sporting KC and LAFC will meet Wednesday night for the 109th U.S. Open Cup championship. A Sporting win would bring silverware and a fifth U.S. Open Cup title to the franchise, a record for most U.S. Open Cup wins by an MLS team.

Sporting would also tie Bethlehem Steel and Maccabee Los Angeles for the most championships in the more-than-century-old tournament.

So what would it mean?

“Everything, really,” Sporting KC captain Johnny Russell said during a news conference on Tuesday.

Sporting’s season has been a struggle. The club suffered through a 10-game winless stretch for the second year in a row, sandwiched by better-but-not-good-enough play.

As William Agada’s penalty kick clanged off the crossbar on Saturday night, the chance of working the same magic as last season was officially stripped away. Sporting was eliminated from MLS playoff contention.

And yet, four days later, Sporting could still win a trophy. Here’s how.

The U.S. Open Cup final awaits

Under Peter Vermes, Sporting KC has won every final it has played in. Only once has that been on the road.

Walking into BMO Stadium on Wednesday will be walking into the lion’s den. The home support will always be loud and fervent, doing what it can to bring LAFC a trophy. Sporting will have to cut through the noise with poise and composure.

Vermes said he’s not going to sugarcoat anything for his team.

“They’re LAFC,” the Sporting manager said.

LAFC’s roster is arguably the deepest in the league, filled with international stars such as Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris and league MVP candidates like Denis Bouanga.

“It’s not a knock against us or anything, but they’re at home,” Vermes added.

LAFC enters the match as the favorite. Tim Melia, who played in Sporting’s lone road final in Philadelphia in 2015, said his club has to grind out the game.

“Going back to that Philly game, we defended for long, long stretches of that game, and that’s perfectly OK,” Melia said. “We don’t need to drive the game. Everyone’s got to be in whatever position we need them in that moment.”

It will also require Sporting to be efficient when opportunities present themselves.

“It’s going to be one of those situations where we have to be really good on the day defensively, and whatever opportunities we get, we’re going to have to be clinical,” Vermes said in a Monday news conference. “We can’t be in a position where we’re lamenting at halftime or the end of the game: ‘With all the chances we had, we should have scored.’”

How Sporting is preparing for this moment

Save for the frustrating match on Saturday night, Sporting’s play has been markedly better since June. According to midfielder Erik Thommy, one area the club has improved is in finding the “right balance.”

“... Between composure and the aggressiveness on the pitch,” Thommy continued. “Of course, there are a few games where we expected more. But in general, I can say the last games, our performances were not that bad.”

Much of that improvement has come defensively. Alan Pulido has started to look like himself, and Johnny Russell has found his form. The midfield looks revitalized with the presence of Jake Davis, Memo Rodriguez, and Zorhan Bassong.

Things are trending in the right direction for Sporting, once again. But here’s the kicker...

“Everything that has happened up until now actually does matter,” Vermes said. “But actually, nothing matters.”

Soccer is a funny sport in that way.

Competitions like the Open Cup, which draw upon the same principles as the FA Cup in England and Copa Del Rey in Spain, provide “Davids” and “Goliaths” the chance to win a trophy. The magic of a tournament like “The Cup,” as it is referred to worldwide, is unmatched.

A one-off, sometimes in precarious places (like the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s stadium) and against seemingly overmatched opponents, turns into a match loaded with tension and excitement. But when it comes to the final, usually it’s two of the better teams in the league that survive the war of attrition.

Occasionally, a “David” will make its way to the final. Sporting is no “David” in the grand scheme of the competition, but it will be on Wednesday night.

Upsets have happened plenty of times before. Some of the worst teams in MLS history have won the U.S. Open Cup. DC United’s 2013 team lifted the trophy while only claiming three wins during the regular season.

Sporting is far above the futility levels that DC United team showed. But it lends to the conversation that anything can happen.

Just ask Wigan Athletic (and Roger Espinoza), who won the FA Cup in 2013, defeating Manchester City just days before being relegated from the Premier League.

Everything that has happened up until now actually does matter. But, actually, nothing matters.

It’s an odd comment to make just the day before the final, but here’s what Vermes means:

“The reason why is because you could have done everything to get here and then not do anything when you’re in the final,” Vermes said. “Then you could have been fortunate in some situations, gotten to the final, and now you’re going to take advantage of it.

“The bottom line is, you can hope, and you can want to win. But at the end of the day, you gotta go make it happen.”

Sporting KC and LAFC will kick off from BMO Stadium in Los Angeles at 9:50 p.m. Central. The game can be found free on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.