Sporting Kansas City will continue their defense of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 16 at Children's Mercy Park when the reigning champions host fellow MLS club FC Dallas in the Fifth Round of the knockout-style tournament, U.S. Soccer announced on Thursday.
Tickets for the Open Cup showdown are included in Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Member packages as Game A. Single-game tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. CT Friday via SeatGeek.com.
U.S. Soccer today unveiled all Fifth Round matchups for the 2018 U.S. Open Cup, which will see 13 MLS clubs and three second-division sides from the United Soccer League battle for a spot in the quarterfinals. Sporting KC earned a 2-0 road victory over rivals Real Salt Lake in Wednesday's Fourth Round, receiving second-half goals from Johnny Russell and Kharlton Belmar, while FC Dallas posted a 1-0 away win against USL side San Antonio FC.
Sporting KC and FC Dallas notably met in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals at Children's Mercy Park last July, an epic encounter that saw the hosts prevail 3-0 in extra time. After playing a man down for most of regulation, Sporting KC struck three times during a wild extra session to secure one of their most dramatic wins in recent memory. The emotional triumph came two days after the passing of Sporting KC co-owner Neal Patterson, Chairman and CEO of Cerner Corporation.
The Fifth Round battle at Children's Mercy Park will feature two teams who have enjoyed strong starts to their MLS campaigns. Sporting KC (8-2-4, 28 points) and FC Dallas (7-1-5, 26 points) occupy the top two spots in the Western Conference standings and will meet in the regular season on July 28 in Kansas City and on Oct. 21 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Sporting KC owns four Open Cup titles in team history, tied with the Chicago Fire and Seattle Sounders FC for the most among MLS clubs. Manager Peter Vermes has guided the team to three Open Cup championships over the last six seasons, hoisting the trophy in 2012, 2015 and 2017 to go with the club’s first title in 2004. Two-time Open Cup champion FC Dallas won the tournament in 1997 and 2016.
The 2018 U.S. Open Cup began May 6 with 97 teams from all levels of American soccer. The 105th edition of the storied tournament features a single-tiered bracket with eight rounds of single-elimination play until a champion is crowned in September.
2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match dates (subject to change)
- Fifth Round – June 16-20
- Quarterfinals – July 18
- Semifinals – Aug. 8
- Final – Sept. 26
The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup will receive $300,000 in prize money, up from $250,000 last year. The runner-up will receive $100,000 (up from $60,000) and the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will earn $25,000 (up from $15,000). The 2018 champion will also receive a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, a tournament Sporting KC has already qualified for as last year's winner.
The U.S. Open Cup, named in honor of the late soccer pioneer and former Kansas City Wizards owner Lamar Hunt since 1999, is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third-longest-running open soccer tournament. An Open Cup champion has been crowned every year dating back to 1914.
