Sporting Kansas City rookie forward CJ Sapong broke the scoreless stalemate in the third minute of extra time to beat the Houston Dynamo, 1-0, in the semifinal qualifier of the US Open Cup.
Sapong’s goal came off an impressive curling right-footed shot into the upper right corner, just out of Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric’s reach.
Kansas City will face the winner of the DC-NE matchup in the Eastern Conference championship qualifying round.
Tyler Deric // Photo courtesy: mlssoccer.com
The Dynamo tried to answer back. Jason Garey got free in the box in the 116th minute but the ball ended up in KC goalkeeper Eric Kronberg hands.
Although Houston controlled possession for most of extra time, they couldn’t find the equalizer.
A big reason for the 0-0 regular time score was the team’s goalkeepers. Deric and Kronberg commanded their areas and stopped 10 shots total – Deric with 4 and Kronberg with 6 – including making some top-shelf saves.
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