Kansas City, Kansas – Indy Eleven’s magical run to its first-ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semi-final ended at Sporting Kansas City with a 2-0 setback. The Boys in Blue were the only USL Championship side to advance to the final four of the 109th annual event.
The start of the match was delayed for more than 2 1/2 hours with kickoff pushed back to 10:44 pm ET. The hosts started quickly with captain Johnny Russell giving his team a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute with a left-footed shot from the right half-space outside the box to the middle-left zone off assists by Jake Davis and Erik Thommy.
Sporting Kansas City scored the final goal of the night in the 35th minute on a Dany Rosero (Sporting Kansas City) header from outside the left post to the bottom left corner, assisted by Rémi Walter and Jake Davis. SKC extended its home winning streak in US Open Cup matches to 16 dating back to 2015.
The best chance for the Eleven in the first half came on Augi Williams’ strike from the center of the box off a feed from Logan Neidlinger that was saved by Tim Melia.
The Boys in Blue came out strong after halftime, registering eight of their 10 shots in the final 45 minutes.
Boys in Blue midfielder Jack Blake continued his fine play, generating five scoring chances in the second half. His first came in the 52nd minute on a shot from the central position outside the box saved by Melia. Just five minutes later,
his strike outside the box just missed wide left. In the 71st minute, Blake had another strong chance that was saved by Melia. Three minutes later, his shot from the center of the box just missed to the right. In the 81st minute, Blake delivered another blast from outside the box that Melia stopped. The rebound went directly to Augi Williams, whose shot from the right side of the box struck the right post.
Forward Douglas Martinez had a good opportunity on a header in the 61st minute that missed to the left, while defender Aedan Stanley’s had a strong scoring chance in the 70th minute that just missed right.
Goalie Hunter Sulte made his second penalty kick save this season in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, diving to his right to deflect Alan Pulido’s strike outside the post. Sulte finished with five saves.
Indy Eleven returns home for their next USLC match on Saturday, August 31 at 7 pm vs. the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on “Pups at the Pitch” Night at Carroll Stadium.
Single-game tickets for home matches are available at Ticketmaster. For information on all ticket options visit the Indy Eleven Ticket Central. For questions, please email tickets@indyeleven.com or call (317) 685-1100.
Sporting Kansas City 2:0 Indy Eleven
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 – 10:44 p.m. ET
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
2024 US Open Cup Records
Indy Eleven: 4-1
Sporting Kansas City: 4-0
Weather: 74 degrees
| Score | 1 | 2 | F |
| Indy Eleven | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Scoring Summary
SKC – Johnny Russell (Jake Davis, Erik Thommy) 14’
SKC – Dany Rosero (Remi Walter, Jake Davis) 35’
Discipline Summary
IND – Aodhan Quinn (caution) 19’
SKC – Daniel Salloi (caution) 69’
Indy Eleven line-up: Hunter Sulte, Josh O’Brien (Sebastian Guenzatti 88’), Aedan Stanley, Callum Chapman-Page (James Musa 17’), Cam Lindley (Laurence Wootton 77’), Jack Blake, Augi Williams (Elliot Collier 89’), Aodhan Quinn (captain), Benjamin Ofeimu, Logan Neidlinger (Maalique Foster 77’), Douglas Martinez
Indy Eleven Subs Not Used: Yannik Oettl, Ben Mines
Sporting Kansas City line-up: Andreu Fontas, Dany Rosero, Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell (captain) (Stephen Afrifa 88’), Daniel Salloi, Khiry Shelton, Jake Davis, Logan Ndenbe, Erik Thommy (William Agada 75’), Tim Melia, Remi Walter (Zorhan Bassong 75’)
Sporting Kansas City Subs Not Used: John Pulskamp, Robert Voloder, Memo Rodriguez, Tim Leibold
Match Statistics
| Stat | SKC | IND |
| Shots | 18 | 10 |
| Shots on Goal | 7 | 5 |
| Saves | 5 | 5 |
| Fouls | 9 | 11 |
| Offsides | 3 | 4 |
| Corner Kicks | 5 | 4 |
