Event | MLS Cup | ||||||
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After extra time Sporting Kansas City won 7–6 on penalties | |||||||
Date | December 7, 2013 | ||||||
Venue | Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas, US | ||||||
Most Valuable Player | Aurélien Collin (Sporting Kansas City) [1] | ||||||
Referee | Hilario Grajeda | ||||||
Attendance | 21,650 [2] | ||||||
Weather | Sunny, 20 °F (−7 °C) [3] | ||||||
MLS Cup 2013, the 18th edition of Major League Soccer's championship match, was a soccer match which took place on Saturday, December 7, 2013 between Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. The soccer match was to decide the winner of the 2013 season. Sporting KC were making their third appearance in the competition's final, having won in 2000 and losing in 2004. RSL were appearing in their second final, having won their only other in 2009.
It was the first MLS Cup final to be held at Sporting Park and the second time the championship match was not held at a predetermined neutral site. Sporting Kansas City won the right to host the match by besting Real Salt Lake in the regular season standings. This was the first time Kansas City hosted an MLS Cup final and the second final hosted at Sporting Park, the other being the 2012 U.S. Open Cup final.
The game was the coldest MLS match ever and was tied 1–1 after regulation time and extra time. [4] The penalty shootout was won 7–6 by Sporting Kansas City, ending with the longest shootout in MLS Cup history at ten rounds. [3]
Both teams qualified for the playoffs by finishing in the top five of their respective conferences at the end of the regular season. Sporting Kansas City then beat New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo to reach the final, while Real Salt Lake knocked out defending champions Los Angeles Galaxy and Portland Timbers.
Sporting Kansas City | Round | Real Salt Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Regular season |
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Opponent | Result | Legs | Playoffs | Opponent | Result | Legs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New England Revolution | 4–3 | 1–2 away; 3–1 home | Conf. Semifinals | Los Angeles Galaxy | 2–1 | 0–1 away; 2–0 home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Houston Dynamo | 2–1 | 0–0 away; 2–1 home | Conference Finals | Portland Timbers | 5–2 | 4–2 home; 1–0 away |
The 2013 Cup was the first-ever small media market cup, with both Kansas City and Salt Lake City outside of the Top 10 media markets in the US (Kansas City is #28 and Salt Lake City is #32). [5] The tickets for the match were the highest price for the MLS Cup in the past five years, coming in at an average of $302 on the secondary market. This made it the highest priced sports event in the Kansas City area in four years, with the exception of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. [6]
Sporting Kansas City | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Real Salt Lake |
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| Report |
|
Penalties | ||
7–6 |
Sporting Kansas City | Real Salt Lake |
|
|
MLS Cup MVP: Assistant referees: | Match rules
|
Sporting Kansas City | Real Salt Lake | |
---|---|---|
Goals scored | 1 | 1 |
Total shots | 24 | 12 |
Shots on target | 5 | 2 |
Saves | 1 | 4 |
Corner kicks | 9 | 1 |
Fouls committed | 19 | 21 |
Offsides | 4 | 3 |
Yellow cards | 2 | 3 |
Red cards | 0 | 0 |
As MLS Cup finalists, both teams were supposed to be qualified for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League. Sporting Kansas City (the champion) was to be placed in pot A, and Real Salt Lake (the runner-up) was to be placed in pot B. However, on December 13, 2013, CONCACAF accepted the US Soccer/MLS proposal to change the qualification rules, so that the spot reserved for the MLS Cup runner-up is instead awarded to the regular season conference winner that is not the Supporters' Shield champion, the Portland Timbers. Sporting Kansas City was not affected by this change. [7]
Sporting Kansas City is an American men's professional soccer club in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and practice facilities are located in Kansas City, Kansas. Home games have been played at Children's Mercy Park since 2011. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a part of the league's Western Conference.
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The 2014 Sporting Kansas City season was the nineteenth season of the team's existence in Major League Soccer and the fourth year played under the Sporting Kansas City moniker.
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The 2015 Portland Timbers season was the 5th season for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada this season resulted in the Timbers winning the 2015 MLS Cup.
The 2016 Sporting Kansas City season was the twenty-first season of the team's existence in Major League Soccer and the sixth year played under the Sporting Kansas City moniker.
The 2020 Real Salt Lake season was the team's 16th year of existence, and their 16th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid.
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The 2021 Real Salt Lake season was the team's 17th year of existence, and their 17th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid. RSL entered the 2021 season looking to rebound from a tumultuous 2020 season, having finished near the bottom of the table and endured the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic continued to have a significant impact on MLS in 2021, causing the season's start to be delayed to mid-April instead of the traditional first weekend in March, a reworked schedule that focused heavily on intra-conference play to reduce travel, and stadiums at reduced capacity. The state of Utah allowed RSL to open the season with Rio Tinto Stadium at 50% capacity. The 2021 Major League Soccer season began on April 16, 2021, though RSL did not begin their season until the following week, April 24, having had a bye in the opening weekend due to the odd number of teams in MLS in 2021.
The 2022 Real Salt Lake season was the team's 18th year of existence, and their 18th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid. On December 13, 2021, RSL hired Pablo Mastroeni to be the sixth manager in club history, removing the interim tag he had held since taking over for Freddy Juarez on August 27, 2021.