CHICAGO (Aug. 30, 2024) – Fans of the historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup live by its magic moments. And the Semifinal Round of the 2024 competition tossed up a good few of those on August 27th and 28th. Join usopencup.com for a look back at eight moments of note from two tension-fuelled games. Veterans Johnny Russell and Tim Melia led the way for MLS originals Sporting Kansas City as they stormed past Cinderella side Indy Eleven and into a fifth Open Cup Final. LAFC, among the flashy fresh new faces of Major League Soccer, booked their own place in a first Open Cup decider after another win in the piney Pacific Northwest.
We’ve got a Final now, folks. It’s a tasty one too. Sporting Kansas City, suffering through a poor campaign in Major League Soccer play, have history as their ally in our Cup. They've played in four Open Cup Finals since their first (then known as the Wizards) at Arrowhead Stadium in 2004 – and they’ve won them all. On the other side, in the flashy major-market glow of sunny Los Angeles, is LAFC. Born in 2018, owned in part by Magic Johnson and Will Ferrell, the sun-splashed LA-based club is one of the flashy flag-bearers of the latest iteration of MLS. While SKC can become the first team in the Open Cup’s Modern Era to win five titles, young LAFC can claim a first of their own to put alongside the MLS crown they earned in 2022 – in the very same BMO Stadium where this year’s Open Cup Final will be played.
Our Cup is often, and justly, concerned with the business of the underdog. But when the skies cleared and the first of our 2024 Semifinals kicked off after a two-hour-and-45-minute delay caused by electrical storms that lit up the arcing Kansas sky, we saw what a first-division team, and four-times an Open Cup Champion, could do. Sporting Kansas City, desperate for a silver-lining to a poor MLS season, struck the woodwork three times inside the first 35 minutes. And they scored twice. A near-three hour delay, wiled away in the locker room, did nothing to diminish the home team’s focus. The extra gear they found early on in the contest made it clear who the winner would be long before the halftime whistle went.
Aye, Captain Russell
There are a few old pros in Sporting KC’s orbit. They’ve seen and done much. We’ll have to imagine the words from coach Peter Vermes in the lead-up to action – but we can safely assume they were full of thunder to match what delayed the kick-off. The coach’s lieutenant on the field, Scottish-born Johnny Russell, exhorted his teammates in the days before the Semifinal. “Chances to win trophies don’t come around often,” the 34-year old skipper, who arrived the club the year after their last title (the 2017 Open Cup), reminded his younger colleagues. “You can’t waste them.” It was no surprise when the captain, his demeanor set to pure-intimidation and who’d been rested at the weekend for peak performances in the Cup, slammed home the opener from distance. The ball swirled inevitably away from Indy Eleven goalkeeper Hunter Sulte and inside the far post. In a pro career that’s spanned nearly two decades, Russell, the two-time SKC MVP, hasn’t lifted a trophy. Anyone else get the feeling that he’s ready to take his chance this year?
The other end of the field was manned by another SKC legend. Goalkeeper Tim Melia’s 38 now, and he only earned his first starting position in MLS at the age of 29. It came right here in Kansas City after years of struggles as an outsider looking in and wondering if it would ever happen for him. He’s the only surviving member of SKC’s 2017 Open Cup-winning side and an icon of Children’s Mercy Park. He was called on three times in the Semifinal – and he did what he’s become famous for without batting an eye. First, in the 26th minute, he dove away a chance from Indy striker ‘Augi’ Williams that would have made the score 1-1 and caused big concerns for those home fans who braved the rains. Later in the game, with Indy Eleven desperate, he produced even better efforts to deny Williams again and Jack Blake to make sure the underdogs headed for home without further incident.
Starfire Sports Complex is no Lumen Field – the Seattle Sounders’ massive home for big games. It’s tucked away amid the lodgepole pines of Tukwila, Washington – and its 5000 or so seats have been the scene of many an early-round Cup game (and many magic moments) for the Sounders. This year’s Semifinal against LAFC was the first time a Final Four game was played at the stadium since 2014 (due to a Metallica concert at Lumen). But instead of riding the small but noisy crowd into a Final like they did ten years ago (they went on to win that 2014 Open Cup) the visitors put a damper on Seattle’s Starfire Party. They resisted the home side’s efforts to make the game ugly and up the grittiness levels – and a late goal for LAFC sent the California side through to their first-ever Open Cup Final. They’ll host it at their BMO stadium, with the LA skyline visible over the grandstand.
Denis Bouanga is eager for trophies. His desire to be the man of the hour is undeniable too. And with Olivier Giroud in street clothes with a knee knock, but still in attendance at the Starfire Semifinal, it fell to the lesser-known Frenchman to be the hero on the day. It’s a role that suits last year’s MLS top-scorer right down to the ground. With the game played on a small pitch, with crashing limbs, no time to control the ball and very little space to run into, Bouanga never shrank from the demands of the night. He was there, dangerous and lurking, all the way until the 83rd minute when the game, tangled at zero-zero, needed something. Anything. When a penalty kick was awarded to LAFC for a handall, there was never any doubt as to who would take it. Bouanga stayed ice cool and found the back of the net, Giroud rising from his seat to applaud his countryman and teammate.
We at the Open Cup will always prefer magic to stats. But here’s two numbers we should ponder: 5 & 6. It’s the number of yards narrower and shorter (respectively) the playing field at Starfire in Tukwila is than Lumen Field in Seattle. The 2.5 yards on each touchline and 3 yards at each goalline helped turn the Semifinal on Wednesday into a festival of constant physical dispute. Seattle did all they could to turn those 11 missing yards into a fulcrum to turn their poor record this year against LAFC into a rare win. In the end, though, the Sounders were left with only these numbers. In their four meetings in 2024, LAFC have beaten Seattle all four times – and by a cumulative score of 9-1. Three of those four games were played in Seattle (or the Seattle area) and three of them ended in LAFC shutouts. And, finally, here’s a number for LAFC to ponder as they get set to face Sporting KC in the Final on September 25th. The Kansas side have never lost an Open Cup Final – a perfect four-for-four (three home and one away).
It’s always the hard part, saying goodbye to teams and players who gave so much to what makes the Open Cup special. Indy Eleven, you lit up our stage this year. In a 2024 full of challenges and threats, you dug deep and found a way to make us all believe in the glory and potential of the underdog. For that, we thank you. We’re confident we’ll see you again soon. Seattle Sounders, our four-time champions and long-time friends, we must bid an adieu to you too. How close you came to a first Final since your last Open Cup trophy-lift a decade ago. But you’ll have to wait to add that fifth one to your bulging cabinet of honors. We’ll be here to celebrate with you when you do.
So, that’s where we leave it. Let’s take a long, deep, cleansing breath after these chaotic (and damn fun) first seven rounds. We’ll gather ourselves and go again – one last time – for an LAFC-SKC Final on September 25th to find out who’ll lift our historic prize for the 109th time.
Fontela is editor-in-chief of usopencup.com. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.