No one takes the Open Cup as seriously as Sporting Kansas City. The club, founded in MLS’ inaugural year of 1996 by our tournament’s namesake and soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt, spun the historic Cup’s magic into its own identity in a major way.
From the early days of 2004 – and legends like Jimmy Conrad, Tony Meola, Preki and Josh Wolff – through those glory years of 2012 and 2015, Sporting Kansas City built their reputation as winners around the historic U.S. Open Cup.
With two veteran members of their 2017 Open Cup-winning side still in the mix, in Daniel Salloi and Tim Melia, the connections from past to present are too clear to miss.
So join usopencup.com for a look back at a wild ride through two decades – that leaves Sporting Kansas City now on the verge of making history as the first team from MLS to win five Open Cups.
2004 – Beginning of Something Big
They were still the Kansas City Wizards back in 2004 and among the ten original members of MLS when the league launched in 1996. The main names of the day were Preki and Tony Meola.
The 2004 Open Cup took place through the summer, starting in June, with the Final played at Arrowhead Stadium on September 22nd. The Wizards opened against noted giant-killers, the Atlanta Silverbacks. The Division II side hung on in the first half at De Kalb Memorial Stadium in Georgia before Davy Arnaud scored twice and Francisco Gomez and Diego Guttierez helped make the final score 4-1 for KC.
