MLS Cup final 2013: Sporting Kansas City win after epic shootout

If Collin placed a shot to either post or hit a powerful drive down the middle, it would have been a great effort and just about the most anyone could have wanted from him. Instead, he scored by far the best penalty of the entire 20-try shootout.

The Cauldron erupted as Sporting KC lifted their first MLS Cup since 2000. Collin -- who also scored the equalizer to force extra time, was fittingly named MVP.

The final was billed as a a matchup of two of MLS’s best teams and they certainly lived up to the hype, even if it wasn’t always the prettiest soccer. The match was physical from the start, which was only egged on by Hilario Grajeda, who deemed anything short of a drive-by unworthy of a foul. That Uri Rossel went down with an injury in the eighth minute and had to be substituted off didn’t help, but in between all of the hellacious fouls, there were chances, drama and plenty of entertainment.

Neither side was able to find a goal in the final 14 minutes so the match went to extra time, where Sporting dominated. Rimando was called upon time and time again to keep RSL in the match and every time, he did. He had to repeatedly rescue RSL and Sporting could have had a penalty to boot. Schuler took down C.J. Sapong, but Grajeda waved play on and replays showed it was the right call. It was a clean shoulder-to-shoulder play and in no way a foul.

While the first 15 minutes of extra time were a bit wild, both teams were more measured in the second half of extra time. There were no real scoring chances as both teams looked more worried about conceding than they were willing to take risks to score.

The penalty shootout will be updated live below.

Minutes later, Sporting had themselves a chance thanks to Jimmy Nielsen. The SKC goalkeeper made a meal of an attempted punch and put the ball on Robbie Findley’s foot from three yards, but the RSL forward missed the open net. He hit the post and Nielsen jumped on the rebound to save the home side.

The final chance of the half came just before the whistle when Dwyer snuck in behind the Real Salt Lake defense, but Rimando came storming off his line to make things tough on the Englishman. Dwyer, under pressure, couldn’t do better than shoot right at Rimando and once again RSL had been saved by their goalkeeper.

KANSAS CITY -- Is there an underdog in today’s MLS Cup final at Sporting Park? Perhaps the best answer slightly changes the meaning of the question. What has become evident, even after just a few days in Kansas City, is that despite the rapid gains made by the local club within the local market, even the league’s showpiece game is just one game in one sport among many.

The timing of the playoffs have been a topic of conversation since the conclusion of the regular season with a compressed schedule leading to just three games over the past month. While there are certainly reasons to explain it, what was lost in the early weeks of the postseason was the overlap between final MLS Cup preparations and the World Cup draw. Major media outlets sent journalists to Brazil to cover the event and the accompanying reaction -- journalists who would otherwise be at the MLS Cup final.