Five Things presented by Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine Center: Sporting faces Sacramento Republic FC in Open Cup semis | June 22, 2022

Sporting KC will take the pitch against Sacramento for the first time in first-team history. Sporting KC II, then the Swope Park Rangers, have locked horns with Sacramento on seven occasions in USL Championship play, posting a 3-2-2 record. Current Sporting KC players Daniel Salloi and Felipe Hernandez have started matches at Heart Health Park for SPR.

Founded in 2012, and beginning play in 2014, Sacramento Republic FC hails from the USL Championship. In their first year of play, Sporting Legend Preki was named USL Coach of the Year after leading Sacramento to a USL Cup title win in their inaugural season. Presently, Sacramento is in seventh in the USL Championship Western Conference with an 8-5-6 record. They are led by Mark Briggs after he helped lead now MLS NEXT Pro club Real Monarchs to the playoffs in USL. Although their leading goal scorer Maalique Foster has four goals scored this season, they have 11 goal scorers and seven players with multiple goals.

The journey to the semifinals for Sporting KC began back on Tuesday, May 10 at Children’s Mercy Park. After falling behind 2-0 to FC Dallas, a second half goal from Nikola Vujnovic had Sporting down a goal in stoppage time. With the final kick of regulation in the 97th minute, Remi Walter sent a corner towards the area. Marinos Tzionis squared his shoulders and redirected the ball with his head over the Dallas keeper and into the goal for the latest regulation goal in Sporting KC history. Khiry Shelton then forced an own goal and scored one for himself in extra time to lift Sporting past FC Dallas and into the Round of 16.

In the next round, Sporting came face to face with one of their rivals, the Houston Dynamo on May 25. After conceding right before halftime, captain Johnny Russell kicked it into high gear in the second. He scored an incredible goal, fighting through multiple tackles to fire the leveler home in the 52nd, before giving Sporting the lead in the 73rd with a perfect penalty. Sporting would hold on to win 2-1 and punch their ticket to the quarterfinals. In the next round, Union Omaha of USL League One came down I29 for a cup clash. Sporting sent the Owls home with a 6-0 thrashing with braces from Hernandez and Salloi, and goals from Kortne Ford and Khiry Shelton. Now, Sporting will travel for the first time in the 2022 Open Cup with that spot in the finals hanging in the balance.

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