On a night when MLS teams were falling left and right, Sporting Kansas City managed to avoid the upset and put away 10-man Orlando City 3-2 in front of 12,217 fans at Livestrong Sporting Park in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Sporting KC were led by a pair of teenagers. 19-year-old goalkeeper Jon Kempin, making the first competitive start of his young career, made six saves, including at least one that would be a candidate for MLS Save of the Week in league play.

During the postgame press conference I attended, manager Peter Vermes said:

He’s grown a lot and I thought he was very good tonight. He made some really good saves that kept us in the game and also didn’t lose his cool. There are a lot of things we’ve been talking about—managing the game, building out of the back and being confident—and I thought he was pretty good. For his debut, that was a big-time game.

In the locker room after the game, I asked Kempin if he'd thought he'd be in a position to make his first start in tonight's game in only his second full year as a pro. He said:

It probably wasn't in my mind. You know, when we sat down with Peter, it was patience and we're looking at three to five years for you. So, to get into a game before and to keep improving, get another 90 minutes in a game like that, it's definitely great.

Forward Soony Saad, also 19, had two goals in a four-minute span in the second half, including the game winner. Saad was playing in his first competitive match of 2012.

Sporting KC played several backups with a few starters mixed in due to the quick turnaround after the 2-1 win over San Jose on Sunday.

Konrad Warzycha, another player in his first competitive match for Sporting KC, chased a ball down in the 10th minute to prevent an Orlando scoring chance.

Six minutes later, the Sporting KC defense clamped down again. Defender Chance Myers forced Dennis Chin outside on the right. Chin tried to put a cross in for Charlie Campbell, but Warzycha recovered well to intercept.

In the 23rd minute, Aurelien Collin was given a yellow card for a tactical foul. During the ensuing free kick, Campbell took a shot on net that was saved by a diving Kempin.

The rest of the half was dotted with missed chances on both sides, some due to unlucky shots and others through defensive efforts.

Sporting KC opened the scoring deep in first-half stoppage time. Peterson Joseph played a good ball to Nagamura about 30 yards out. Nagamura took the shot from distance and rifled it into the back of the net. It was the kind of goal that would have a chance to win Goal of the Week in league play.

After the game, Vermes said:

I keep joking with him every day almost about it that he can hit it from far, hit it from far. So, today we're walking out here, I said, "You know, remember, I keep telling you  shoot from distance.' Obviously, the game's over and he scored and his comment was, 'I keep telling you I can shoot from distance.'

Orlando City equalized 10 minutes after the restart. St. Louis native Erik Ustruck crossed the ball into the box for Kevin Molino, who headed it past Kempin into the net.

Two minutes later, Vermes signaled his intention to substitute forward Teal Bunbury in for Saad, wanting to spark some offense after giving up the tying goal.

However, before the sub could be made, Joseph picked up an injury and had to come off for Graham Zusi instead. Luck, it seemed, was on Sporting KC's side.

In the 65th minute, Saad gave Sporting KC the lead back. Halftime sub C.J. Sapong lofted the ball out to the left side of the penalty area. Nagamura ran on to the ball and cut it back toward the top of the box for Saad. Instead of his powerful shot, Saad placed the ball inside the far post to make the score 2-1.

Saad completed the brace just four minutes later. On a corner kick from Zusi, goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo swatted the ball out of the air, where it fell directly to Saad. Shots from distance being, as he put it after the game, his bread and butter, Saad shot the ball through four or five players and past Gallardo for a two-goal lead.

Just before Orlando City was allowed to restart play after the goal, midfielder Anthony Pulis was sent off for violent conduct, having elbowed Sporting KC's Lawrence Olum, a former Orlando City player.

Despite being down a man, Orlando City still managed to create some chances, even a three-on-one break they failed to capitalize on. They pulled a goal back in the 84th minute on a 15-yard blast from Chin but just couldn't find an equalizer.

With the win, Sporting KC moves on to the Round of 16 and will host a fellow MLS club, the Colorado Rapids, on Tuesday, June 5th, at Livestrong Sporting Park. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here