Kei Kamara and LAFC write new chapter with U.S. Open Cup victory

Los Angeles FC striker Kei Kamara was all smiles during his postgame news conference following his team's 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City in the U.S. Open Cup final.

His goal — a gorgeous, flying header in the 109th minute of extra time — sealed the win for LAFC. It's LAFC's first time lifting the U.S. Open Cup.

But the media wondered: with Kamara, a former Kansas City player, scoring against his old team, was the moment bittersweet?

Not at all, as it turns out. Kamara just laughed . "Every goal I score is against my old team in this league!"

He's not wrong there. Kamara, a 40-year-old MLS veteran, has played for more MLS clubs than anyone: in his 18-year professional history, he's suited up for 11 scores for every single one.

Despite playing on both sides of multiple rivalries, Kamara remains beloved in the American soccer fandom. The reason is simple: no one in American soccer is loved more than Kamara because no one loves American soccer more than he does.

Kamara is the definition of a journeyman, but with LAFC, it feels like he's finally come home. Part of that is literal; Kamara grew up in the city after arriving as a child from Sierra Leone. But part of it is figurative and built around Kamara's role in coach Steven Cherundolo's LAFC.

It's a team designed to make the most of tall, imposing strikers, with fullbacks and wingers like Ryan Hollingshead, Sergi Palencia and Denis Bouanga pinging perfect crosses into the box for them to convert. Kamara fits perfectly into the system, and his stats prove it: he's created three goals and three assists for LAFC in the league this season in just 873 minutes of play.

But LAFC needed Kamara's killer instincts, too. When the team won the MLS Cup in 2022, it looked primed for years of dominance in North American Soccer. Cherundolo's men have lived up to that expectation — they've qualified for five finals since that MLS Cup victory — but before Wednesday night, they'd failed to win a single one. Kamara's late efforts and goals from Omar Campos and newcomer Olivier Giroud broke LAFC's streak of losing four straight trophies at the last possible moment.

"This one is special. This one is big," Kamara said after the win with his young son next to him. "I get to have my babies around me. To be able to come home to my hometown of Los Angeles and be a part of the young, rich history of this club is awesome."

There's plenty more to come this season for Kamara and LAFC. After a solid start to the 2024 season, the club hit a rough patch in MLS and is tumbling down the Western Conference rankings. This victory in the U.S. Open Cup — the nation's oldest soccer competition and one Kamara rightfully called "our history" when he won — should give LAFC the momentum it needs to stop the skid.

For all of Kamara's club-hopping in MLS, he's never managed to win the MLS Cup. If this LAFC team can regain its early-season form, this year may finally be his best shot to make it happen. But for now, he's celebrating the victory he already achieved... with a club that finally feels like home.

Kamara and LAFC will return to MLS play this weekend when they face FC Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 28.