KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The stage is set for Dom Dwyer's return to Sporting Park. But will he – and Sporting Kansas City's other loanees to Orlando City SC – get to play their parts?
“I don't know,” manager Peter Vermes said on Tuesday night, after Sporting and Orlando City both won their third-round matches in the US Open Cup to set up a fourth-round meeting in Kansas City. “We were playing this game, and I wanted to focus on this game, and decide after we know what the results are.
"We'll have to think about it as we move into this next phase, because I think the league will have something to say.”
On the bracket, Tuesday's results point to a drama-laden match – because since his loan from Sporting to their new USL PRO affiliates, Dwyer has been tearing up the third-tier league and is lighting up the Open Cup as well.
The young English striker, Sporting's first-round pick in the 2012 MLS Superdraft, had two goals on Tuesday night in a 3-1 third-round win over the Colorado Rapids, giving him three in Cup play to go along with his 13 in USL PRO action.
READ: MLS on Loan: Dwyer, Orlando City keep dominating
That victory, followed by Sporting's 2-0 defeat of the PDL's Des Moines Menace 2-0, immediately set into motion speculation that Dwyer and Sporting's other loanees might not get to play in that June 12 match.
Dwyer, goalkeeper Jon Kempin and defender Yann Songo'o are all Cup-tied to Orlando City – but Sporting have the right to recall them and midfielder Christian Duke at any time during the season.
Vermes said Tuesday night that he doesn't know what will happen between now and the fourth round, and reiterated that the decision isn't entirely his.
“I think it's going to be more from the league, but we'll know more over the next couple of days,” Vermes said during his postmatch news conference. “That's something the league has to be involved in, for sure.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
