2015 US Open Cup Semifinals Preview: Which teams will advance to 102nd Final? (video)

Chicago Fire Open Cup records
Overall: 37-12-3 (2-1 PKs) | Away: 13-11-1 (1-0 PKs) | vs. MLS: 19-7-1 (1-0 PKs)
Last entry: 2014 (Lost 6-0 at Seattle Sounders of MLS in Semifinals)
Best finish: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006 US Open Cup champions

Philadelphia Union Open Cup records
Overall: 8-3-3 (3-0 PKs) | Home: 7-2-1 (1-0 PKs) | vs. MLS: 3-3-2 (2-0 PKs)
Last entry: 2014 (Lost 3-1 in OT vs. Seattle Sounders of MLS in Final)
Best finish: 2014 Runner-up

BROADCAST: ONLINE VIDEO (YouTube.com)

If Chicago wins … they will host winner of Real Salt Lake or Sporting KC (Sept. 30)
If Philadelphia wins … they will host Sporting KC or play at Real Salt Lake (Sept. 30)

STAT LEADERS

GOALS
Chicago: Kennedy Igboananike 2 goals, Mike Magee 2 goals
Philadelphia: Eric Ayuk 2 goals

ASSISTS
Chicago: Jon Busch 1 assist, Patrick Nyarko 1 assist, Lovel Palmer 1 assist, Guly Do Prado 1 assist
Philadelphia: Cristian Maidana 1 assist, Vincent Nogueira 1 assist, Sheanon Williams 1 assist

HOW THEY GOT HERE …

Chicago Fire
Round 4: 1-0 OT win vs. Louisville City (USL)
Round 5: 3-1 win vs. Charlotte Independence (USL)
Quarterfinals: 3-1 win vs. Orlando City SC (MLS)

Philadelphia Union
Round 4: 0-0 draw (3-1 PK win) vs. Rochester Rhinos (USL)
Round 5: 2-1 win vs. DC United (MLS)
Quarterfinals: 1-1 draw (4-3 PK win) at New York Red Bulls (MLS)

By Michael Berton

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup results rarely adhere to a predictable script. Results often don’t correspond to a team’s league, a team’s form, or even how a team is playing in the game in question.

Such is the case on Aug. 12, when the Philadelphia Union host the Chicago Fire in the Open Cup Semifinals.

The two MLS teams shared an opening round scare to a lower division team. In the Fourth Round, the Union were pushed to penalty kicks by the USL’s Rochester Rhinos. After a scoreless draw, Philadelphia pulled out a 3-1 penalty kick shootout victory thanks to goalkeeper John McCarthy becoming just the fifth player in the Modern Era to make three saves in a shootout. Chicago was held scoreless after 90 minutes by Louisville City of the USL and needed a goal in the 116th minute by Quincy Amarikwa to punch their ticket to Round 5.

After narrowly escaping Louisville, Chicago drew another USL team in the Charlotte Independence. They fell behind in the 5th minute before storming back to win 3-1 on the strength of a pair of goals from Mike Magee. In the Quarterfinals, the four-time Open Cup champions beat MLS newcomers Orlando City 3-1 on two goals in the final three minutes by Kennedy Igboananike. All three victories came on their home field, a place they are 23-1-1 all-time in Open Cup play.

The Union’s path to the Semifinals had a few more bumps in the road. After eliminating Rochester in penalty kicks, the Union hosted DC United in the Round of 16. The home side went down a man in the 24th minute, then down a goal in the 27th. After a 45-minute weather delay, Philadelphia managed to mount a shorthanded comeback to win 2-1 over the MLS Eastern Conference leaders.

Things got even stranger in the Quarterfinals, which pitted the Union against the New York Red Bulls. Scheduling conflicts caused the game to be played at 4 p.m. on a Tuesday. Then, yet again, the Union picked up a first-half red card. This time the Union scored first, but the Red Bulls equalized in the final seconds of second-half injury time. The game went to penalties, and Philadelphia, again thanks to McCarthy’s TheCup.us Player of the Round performance were on their way to the final four.

Their league form is almost exactly the same as the Union and Fire sport the two worst records in MLS. Philadelphia is 6-13-5, and Chicago has a record of 6-12-4. Both teams come into Wednesday’s contest with just one win (1-3-1) in their last five league games.

And so the two worst teams in MLS unpredictably made it to the Open Cup Semifinals, each just two wins away from a season-salvaging trophy. Neither team will be all that confident heading into the game. Chicago is coming off a 1-0 loss to the Timbers, and Philadelphia just snapped a three-game losing streak with a scoreless draw against Orlando City.

Both squads know that league form means nothing in this tournament and both know that if they win on Wednesday, they have a chance to host the Final. If Philadelphia wins, they would host Sporting Kansas City in the championship game, but if Real Salt Lake emerges from the other semifinal, the Union will play the Final at Rio Tinto Stadium. If the Fire win, they will host the 102nd edition of the Open Cup Final at Toyota Park regardles of who wins the other game.

Chicago Fire preview

Philadelphia Union preview

Real Salt Lake Open Cup records
Overall: 9-6-0 | Away: 0-3-0 | vs. MLS: 3-3-0
Last entry: 2014 (Lost 2-1 at Atlanta Silverbacks of NASL in Round 4)
Best finish: 2013 Runner-up (Lost 1-0 vs. DC United in Final)

Sporting Kansas City Open Cup records
Overall: 20-12-4 (2-2 PKs) | Home: 15-7-1 (1-0 PKs) | vs. MLS: 7-7-1 (1-0 PKs)
Last entry: 2014 (Lost 3-1 vs. Portland Timbers of MLS in Round 5)
Best finish: 2004, 2012 US Open Cup champions

BROADCAST: LIVE VIDEO (YouTube.com)

If RSL wins … they will host Chicago Fire OR play at Philadelphia Union (Sept. 30)
If Sporting KC wins … they will play at winner of Chicago or Philadelphia (Sept. 30)

STAT LEADERS

GOALS
SKC: Dom Dwyer 5 goals (No. 1 in tournament)
RSL: Javier Moraless 2 goals

ASSISTS
SKC: Benny Feilhaber 3 assists (No. 2 in tournament)
RSL: Olmes Garcia 2 assists

HOW THEY GOT HERE …

Chicago Fire
Round 4: 1-0 OT win vs. Louisville City (USL)
Round 5: 3-1 win vs. Charlotte Independence (USL)
Quarterfinals: 3-1 win vs. Orlando City SC (MLS)

Philadelphia Union
Round 4: 0-0 draw (3-1 PK win) vs. Rochester Rhinos (USL)
Round 5: 2-1 win vs. DC United (MLS)
Quarterfinals: 1-1 draw (4-3 PK win) at New York Red Bulls

By Shawn Blymiller

The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Semifinal match between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night (8:30 p.m. ET) can only be seen in person at Sporting Park, or on YouTube. However, the game that will determine who will play in the 102nd US Open Cup Final on Sept. 30 has plenty of made-for-TV drama.

Many believe RSL’s Javier Morales and Sporting’s Benny Feilhaber are in the running for league MVP honors, while RSL’s Joao Plata and Sporting’s Dom Dwyer are two of the top up-and-coming young players in MLS. The two teams met in the 2013 MLS Cup Final at a frigid Sporting Park, but one might trace the rivalry back to a bench-clearing brawl in the 2011 preseason that saw Morales receive a kick to the head. Another chapter of the rivalry will be written on Wednesday and the gravity of the game is not lost on the players.

“Absolutely it’s the most important game so far.” Tony Beltran recently told RSL beat writer Chris Kamrani of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Real Salt Lake are playing their first road game of the tournament after three straight wins, with the last two by shutout. Morales scored the game-winner in the 71st minute in a 2-1 opening round win over the Seattle Sounders 2 (USL), followed by a penalty kick and a Sebastian Jaime goal in a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers in Round 5. Last round, they became just the second Utah-based club to reach the Semifinals with a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. Steve Gerrard’s competitive debut for the Galaxy was spoiled by an 87th minute goal by defender Aaron Maund.

Sporting Kansas City has enjoyed playing in front of their home fans in the US Open Cup since Sporting Park opened in 2011. Since those doors opened, Sporting has played 13 of their 14 Open Cup matches in front of their home fans and this year it has paid off on the field, and at the box office. They opened in the Fourth Round with a 1-0 shutout of Saint Louis FC (USL) on a Graham Zusi goal. In Round 5, Sporting crushed FC Dallas 6-2 as Dom Dwyer won TheCup.us Player of the Round for his four-goal performance. It was the first Open Cup hat trick in Sporting Kansas City history, and he followed that up with a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo in the Quarterfinals.

These two teams last met when Sporting Kansas City traveled to Sandy, Utah on July 24 for their most recent matchup. Javier Morales scored in the 34th minute, with Benny Feilhaber scoring a stunning strike in the 50th minute from about 35 yards out to knot things back up at 1-1. Joao Plata scored the eventual winner in the 73rd minute to seal the victory from the penalty spot.

They also met up back on April 11 at Sporting Park and had a defensive stalemate that finished scoreless.

If recent form were the sole dictator of how Real Salt Lake will perform against Sporting Kansas City, we could be in for a rollercoaster of emotions. The Claret and Cobalt have given up 10 goals in their last 3 matches over the last week and a half. They lost in the nation’s capitol to D.C. United on August 1, 6-4.

This after they took an early 2-0 lead against the frontrunners for the Supporters’ Shield. They followed that loss up with a meaningful win in the CONCACAF Champions League with a 1-0 win over CSD Municipal in Guatemala, thanks to a Plata goal. Then, on Aug. 8, they fielded a younger squad, resting the traditional starters and veterans for the buildup to Wednesday’s Open Cup Semifinal. Vancouver, currently the second best team in MLS made them pay with a 4-0 win over backup goalkeeper Jeff Attinella. Keep in mind that Real Salt Lake had just flown over 11,000 miles within the last 12 days, which led to the starting lineup with an average age of 22.7 years.

Sporting Kansas City is coming off a very significant win in Toronto thanks to another strong performance from Feilhaber. The U.S. international scored a goal and added his league-leading 12th assist. In recent interviews Feilhaber has talked about this being the best he has ever played in his 10-year career. He turned pro in 2005 with Hamburg’s reserve squad in Germany. He will be required to carry a heavy load in the midfield as Honduran international Roger Espinoza is out for 10 weeks for suffering a fracture to his left sesamoid. He suffered this injury in a tackle with Nathan Sturgis on Aug. 1. Sporting tied that match 1-1 with a goal by Dom Dwyer, which was also assisted by Feilhaber.

Feilhaber is a favorite for Major League Soccer’s MVP award with 8 goals and 12 assists. He has made no secrets about not liking Real Salt Lake.

“I’ve never liked Salt Lake,” Feilhaber replied with a smile during the club’s conference on Thursday. “I think they’re – yeah, I don’t like them. I like playing against them. I like beating them, even though we haven’t been able to the last two years, but this year, we get to play them a couple more times.

“Salt Lake, I don’t know if it’s the game that I look forward to the most, but it’s the team that, like you said, I hate the most, I guess.”

“Some individuals, I don’t hate,” he said with a laugh, when prodded for more. “Some guys on the team, I like. But I guess, as a whole, I don’t like them too much … I just think they’re – snobby, almost. They think they’re something special, when they’re not. So, that’s pretty much it.”

Dom Dwyer added his own thoughts on the matter: “I hate them very much”

MORE: The history of this budding rivalry by MLSSoccer.com’ Sam Stejskal

If Real Salt Lake are able to come up with the victory at Sporting Park it will not only be the club’s first Open Cup road win (0-3-0) and will host their second tournament championship game in three years. They will hope to overcome their 2013 Final performance where they were upset by lowly DC United, 1-0.

If Sporting Kansas City emerges victorious they will have to travel to the winner of the Chicago Fire and Philadelphia Union match.

SPORTING KC PREVIEW
REAL SALT LAKE PREVIEW