Sporting Kansas City 1 (5), San Jose Earthquakes 1 (4) | USOC Match Recap

Andrew Tarbell's saves forced the penalty shootout. Tim Melia's won it.

Melia dove right to save Victor Bernardez in the sixth round of penalties to lift Sporting Kansas City into its fourth U.S. Open Cup Final with a 5-4 shootout win after playing the San Jose Earhquakes to a 1-1 draw in Wednesday night's semifinal at Children's Mercy Park.

Melia also denied Chris Wondolowski on San Jose's first penalty, moments after Tarbell became the first goalkeeper ever to save a penalty from Benny Feilhaber in a SKC uniform.

Matt Besler converted the final spot kick for Sporting, which will host either the New York Red Bulls or FC Cincinnati in the final as they attempt to win their third Open Cup crown this decade.

Tarbell made 11 saves during the game just to keep the Earthquakes in it on a night they were outshot 31-11 overall and 12-3 in terms of efforts on target. But he couldn't match Melia's well-known penalty stopping acumen.

Diego Rubio equalized for Kansas City in the 32nd minute after Danny Hoesen gave San Jose a 4th-minute lead.

Tim Melia has the last word in Open Cup GK battle with Andrew Tarbell

Goals

4' - SJ - Danny Hoesen Watch
32' - SKC - Diego Rubio Watch

Three Things

CLOCKWORK BLUE:
Rubio’s goal came at the end of an 18-pass sequence in which every SKC field player had at least one touch. It was a fitting goal for a first half in which the hosts had a 74%-26% edge in possession. The margin over 120 minutes was only slightly narrower, 68%-32%.

Diego Rubio's finish was just the tip of the iceberg. Every @SportingKC field player touched the ball. 18 passes in all. #USOC2017 #SKCvSJ pic.twitter.com/JR6baQ7AuO
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) August 10, 2017

TOO MUCH TOO SOON?: Both midfielder Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili and defender Francois Affolter went beyond 90 minutes in their debuts for San Jose. Vako contributed the assist on Hoesen’s opener but saw less of the ball as the match wore on, and Affolter exited in the 103rd minute limping with an apparent leg injury.

SPOT-TING A TREND: Since MLS teams began participating in the tournament, there have only been three Open Cup semifinals decided on penalties. And in both previous cases, the team that advanced lost in the final. The USL’s Charleston Battery fell 2-1 to D.C. United in the 2008 final after slipping past the Seattle Sounders on penalties. In 2014, the Philadelphia Union overcame FC Dallas on spot kicks, then lost to Seattle in the final.

They Said It

Before PKs, Melia told Tarbell he'd had an outstanding performance to get to that stage "and that it was my job to take that away from him."
— Steve Brisendine (@SteveBrisendine) August 10, 2017