Ike Opara Wins MLS Cup with Sporting Kansas City
12/9/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 9, 2013
By Steven Wright, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMSoccer)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Former Wake Forest All-American Ike Opara and his Sporting Kansas City team won the 2013 MLS Cup on Saturday, taking down Real Salt Lake 7-6 in penalty kicks at Sporting Park.
Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake were tied 1-1 through 90 minutes of regulation and an additional 30 minutes of overtime. The two teams also had to go into extra PKs to decide a winner before SKC was able to win 7-6 in 10 rounds.
Opara did not appear in the championship match but did play in three of the team's five MLS Cup playoff games. During the regular season, Opara played in 18 games and made 15 starts while scoring three goals.
Opara is now the fourth former Demon Deacon to claim the MLS Cup, as Brian Carroll, William Hesmer and Wells Thompson have also won the title.
Carroll was the first Deac to win the trophy, doing so in 2004 with D.C. United. He also became the only Deacon to have two MLS Cups to his name when his Columbus Crew won the championship in 2008. Hesmer was a member of that 2008 Crew team, as well, while Thompson won the MLS Cup with the Colorado Rapids in 2010.
While at Wake Forest, Opara was a two-time ACC Defender of the Year and two-time First Team All-ACC member. He also earned First Team All-America honors from College Soccer News, Top Drawer Soccer, NSCAA and Soccer America.