USL Feature
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Former Orlando City loanee Dom Dwyer scored the winning goal as Sporting Kansas City earned the opportunity to host the MLS Cup final, their first trip to the championship game since 2004, as SKC took a 2-1 victory against the Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Championship on Saturday night at Sporting Park.
Dwyer’s fellow loanee, C.J. Sapong, also found the back of the net as Sporting rallied from an early deficit to claim victory. The win on the night was enough for SKC to advance after the two teams had played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Houston.
“It’s been a crazy season,” Dwyer said during the postmatch news conference. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m just pleased, and I’m excited, but we’ve got two weeks' time so I’m trying to calm down right now.”
The Dynamo, who were looking for a third consecutive appearance at MLS Cup, took a surprise lead in the third minute as Boniek Garcia found the back of the net, but the goal didn’t appear to faze Sporting, and the hosts pressed forward in search of an equalizer. The tying goal didn’t take long to arrive as Sapong, also a former standout in the PDL for Reading United, buried a finish in the 14th minute to leave the game tied at the halftime break.
Dwyer, who was an All-USL PRO First Team selection this summer after scoring 15 regular-season goals for Orlando, took advantage of a clever lifted pass from Benny Feilhaber that slipped the English striker in behind the Dynamo defense just past the hour mark to give Sporting the lead. The former All-American coolly cut back onto his left foot to elude his defender, and slid a low shot past Tally Hall into the left corner of the net.
After leading Orlando to the 2013 USL PRO Championship in September with a four-goal performance in the Lions' 7-4 win against the Charlotte Eagles, Dwyer will now get a chance to contribute to a second championship this season as Sporting hosts MLS Cup on December 7. SKC will await the winner between Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers, who conclude the Western Conference Championship on Sunday night (9 p.m. ET, ESPN). RSL leads 4-2 following the first leg, with the Timbers looking to come back in front of their home fans at Jeld-Wen Field.