Sporting KC Suffers 1-0 Loss to Philadelphia Union Sporting Kansas City lost to the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Friday night at Sporting Park. Conor Casey grabbed a first half goal and the Union defense held firm to snap Sporting KC's three-game winning streak. Despite the loss, Sporting KC remains in second place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the New York Red Bulls. New York travels to Seattle on Sunday to take on Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders. Sporting KC controlled the tempo of the match Friday night, controlling 62% of the possession and outshooting the visitors 19-8. Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath made five saves on the night including three in the first half. MacMath's first save came on a Benny Feilhaber free kick in the 14th minute. The Sporting KC midfielder curled a ball that appeared destined for the upper corner. MacMath lunged to his right and knocked away the ball before crashing into the goalpost. The Maryland University product followed up that save with a point-blank save on Feilhaber in the 25th minute and one on Graham Zusi in the 28th minute. The Philadelphia Union broke through against the run of play in the 36th minute. Midfielder Danny Cruz burst down the right flank and curled a ball to the backpost. Jimmy Nielsen stopped the first attempt from Michael Farfan, but Casey was in good position to finish the rebound. Nielsen finished the match with two saves. His second came in the 63rd minute when Farfan one-timed a volley to the near post. The Danish goalkeeper reacted quickly to keep it a one-goal game. Sporting KC continued to throw numbers forward in the final minutes but were unable to penetrate a Union squad that won for first time since August 10. Sporting KC will have an extra day to prepare for their next MLS match. Peter Vermes' squad will hit the road for an Eastern Conference showdown Saturday night against the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. Fast Facts The Philadelphia Union defeated Sporting KC 1-0 on Friday night at Sporting Park.With the loss, Sporting KC is 226-216-115 overall all-time and 149-80-50 all-time at home.Sporting KC is 3-2-3 against Philadelphia since the Union joined MLS in 2010.Sporting KC moves to 2-1-1 against Philadelphia at home, with Friday night marking the first home loss to Philadelphia since the Union joined MLS.The loss snaps a three-match home winning streak in MLS play for Sporting KC. The Union goal in the 36th minute of the match snapped a 346-minute scoreless streak for Philadelphia, 7th longest in MLS this season.Conor Casey scored the goal for the Union. Casey is now tied with Jack McInerney for most goals by a Union player this season with 10.McInerney and Casey are tied for seventh in the League for goals scored.Philadelphia is one of two teams in MLS to have two players with 10 or more goals scored this season along with the Columbus Crew.Casey now has six goals in 10 career games against Kansas City.With 60 career goals, Casey is 25th all-time for goals scored in MLS ranking him 9th among active players. Philadelphia goalkeeper Zac MacMath leads all MLS goalkeepers with 11 shutouts. Nielsen is tied for second with Clint Irwin, Donovan Ricketts, Luis Robles and Michael Gspurning. Sporting KC has never beaten the Union more than once in a single-season.In the clubs' first meeting this year, Sporting KC earned the 3-1 victory at PPL Park.The clubs meet one more time during the MLS regular season, in Sporting KC's season finale on October 26 at PPL Park.For the second straight match against the Union, Sporting KC conceded the first goal of the match. Sporting KC is 2-8-1 when conceding the first goal in a match in 2013. Sporting KC has not won a match when trailing at halftime during the 2013 season. Sporting KC's record when trailing at the half moves to 0-4-1.Conversely, the Philadelphia Union is 7-0-2 when leading at the half in 2013.Sporting KC has conceded 15 goals at home this season, one more goal than they have conceded on the road this year.Sporting KC outshot the Philadelphia Union 19-8 on Friday. Sporting KC is 11-8-5 when outshooting an opponent.Oriol Rosell was shown a yellow card on Friday, his ninth this year. Rosell will serve a mandatory one-game suspension for Sporting KC's Oct. 5 match against the Columbus Crew due to caution accumulation. Jimmy Nielsen's next match played will tie New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis for second longest consecutive complete regular season games played in MLS history with 87.Sporting KC is 11-6-4 against Eastern Conference opponents in 2013 and 10-6-4 when playing in the Central Time Zone.Sporting KC is 12-8-5 when wearing Sporting Blue.Sporting KC has had the majority of possession in 14 consecutive home MLS matches this season.Sporting KC has won the majority of duels in 12 of 16 home MLS matches.Aurelien Collin led all players with 86 passes.Graham Zusi led all players with seven chances created. Chance Myers led all players with six tackles.Friday's match sponsor was Ivy Funds, the official investment management partner of Sporting Club and presenting jersey partner of Sporting Kansas City.Friday's match was nationally televised on the NBC Sports Network, one of three nationally televised games in the team's final five regular season matches.Sporting Park welcomed 19,243 fans on Friday, marking the 32nd consecutive sellout at Sporting Park including postseason matches dating back to the 2012 season.
Sporting KC Earns 1-0 Road Win at Columbus porting KC moved one step closer to their third consecutive playoff berth with a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Crew Stadium. Sporting KC now sits two points back of the New York Red Bulls in the race for the Supporters' Shield. Ike Opara's 17th-minute goal was enough as Sporting KC improved their League-best road record to 7-5-3. Sporting KC also remains one of two teams in MLS to have a positive road goal differential (+2). The Sporting KC central defender began the play when he headed a Graham Zusi corner kick across the penalty box. C.J. Sapong kept the play alive by tapping the ball back out to Zusi. The All-Star winger curled a ball to the back post where Opara directed his header past Matt Lampson. Despite controlling 65% of the possession, the Crew forced goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen to make only one save. The Danish goalkeeper calmly collected Federico Higuain's 30-yard free kick in the 77th minute to preserve his 11th shutout of 2013. Nielsen is now one back of the Philadelphia Union's Zac MacMath for most shutouts in the League. The Crew had a good opportunity to level the match in the 81st minute on a set piece. Higuain curled a corner kick into the box and Ryan Finley beat his mark to the ball. Finley directed his header on target but Seth Sinovic alertly headed the ball over the net. Lampson made four saves for the Crew including a reaction save on Sinovic in the 12th minute. The Crew goalkeeper also came up big to stop Dom Dwyer on a breakaway in the 83rd minute. Opara nearly added a second for the visitors when he headed a Zusi corner kick past Lampson in the 69th minute. The goal was disallowed, however, as the assistant whistled Opara for a foul. Sporting KC has a quick turnaround as they prepare for a mid-week match against Houston. The Dynamo currently sit four points behind Sporting KC in the Eastern Conference. Wednesday's match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT on KSMO-TV from BBVA Compass Stadium. FAST FACTS With the win, Sporting KC remains in second place in the Eastern Conference (51 points) and is now two points behind the New York Red Bulls (53 points) in the race for the Supporters' Shield. Sporting KC has won four of the team's last five MLS matches. Sporting KC is 227-216-115 overall all-time and 78-136-65 all-time on the road. Saturday's victory gives Sporting KC the all-time advantage in the series with Columbus. Sporting KC is 22-21-6 against the Crew all-time and 10-12-4 on the road. Saturday marks the third match between Sporting KC and the Columbus Crew during the 2013 regular season. Sporting KC earned victories in all three matches. The last time Sporting KC won every match in the season series against the Crew was in 2006 when they won four consecutive matches. The previous meetings this year resulted in a 3-2 win for Sporting KC on June 29 and a 3-0 win on September 7. Columbus is coached by interim head coach Brian Bliss. The Crew has won four of six matches played with Bliss at the helm. The two losses in that span have both been against Sporting KC. Columbus scored 11 goals in the six-game span, but was held scoreless against Sporting KC in both meetings. Ike Opara scored the lone goal of the match in the 17th minute, finishing a Graham Zusi cross at the back post. The goal is Opara's third in MLS this season, tying his single-season career high, and sixth of his career. The assist is Zusi's eighth this season, most among all Sporting KC players, and 31st in his MLS career, which ranks him 4th in club history. Zusi is tied for the the League lead with five game-winning assists in 2013 and with 14 game-winning assists in his career, Zusi is third on the club's all-time chart. Zusi ranks 20th among active MLS players with 31 assists and moves into a tie for sixth among active MLS players with 14 game-winning assists. Sporting KC leads MLS with 13 headed goals this season. Sporting KC 10-1-1 and has won seven straight when leading at the half in 2013. Sporting KC is 11-0-1 when leading at the 75-minute mark in 2013. Sporting KC is 13-2-3 and has won seven straight when scoring first in 2013. Sporting KC outshot the Columbus Crew 13-12 on Saturday. Sporting KC is 12-8-5 when outshooting their opponent this year. Sporting KC is 9-0-2 and has nine straight wins when recording a shutout this season. Columbus has lost 12 straight when being held scoreless. Sporting KC has held opponents to one goal or fewer in 24 of the team's 31 games this season. Jimmy Nielsen is second in MLS with 11 shutouts in 2013 and is tied for the League lead with 15 victories. Nielsen played his 88th complete consecutive regular season game on Saturday, tying Matt Reis' streak (2005-2008) for the second longest in MLS history. Nielsen has played and started 125 regular season matches in his Sporting KC career, tying Tony Meola for most in club history. Nielsen holds Sporting KC's all-time records for wins (55) and shutouts (43) by a goalkeeper. Nielsen's 1.00 career goals against average is best in MLS history among goalkeepers with a minimum of 4,500 minutes played. He leads all eligible MLS goalkeepers with a 0.94 goals against average in 2013. Jacob Peterson appeared in his 175th regular season MLS match on Saturday, second most among active KC players (behind only Paulo Nagamura). Sporting KC has the best road record in MLS (7-5-3) and has conceded the fewest goals away from home among all 19 MLS teams, conceding only 14 goals in 15 matches on the road. Peter Vermes .553 winning percentage is best among KC head coaches all-time. Sporting KC is 15-10-12 in the month of October all-time. Sporting KC is 12-6-4 against Eastern Conference opponents in 2013. Dom Dwyer led all players with five shots on Saturday. C.J. Sapong battled a Columbus Crew player in 19 aerial duels, most among all players on Saturday. Prior to Saturday, the Crew had kept a clean sheet in four of their last five matches at home, letting in just one goal against the Seattle Sounders FC. Claudio Bieler missed Saturday's match due to a groin strain suffered in training on Friday. Oriol Rosell missed Saturday's match while serving a mandatory one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. Sporting KC's next match is against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Wednesday. QUOTES SPORTING KANSAS CITY MANAGER PETER VERMES On limiting Crew opportunities: We had a specific game plan going into the game and the guys were very efficient with how they played tonight. I would say the only flaw tonight - if I had to pick one - was that we gave up a few too many set pieces on our end. Outside of that I thought we were really good. If we were a little bit more clinical we probably would have caught them on the break two or three times. When someone would run a play and they would kick some balls off, we would run at them and could have been a little bit better in our decisions, but other than that it was an excellent performance for us. On playoff atmosphere: With the way everything is bunched up in both the East and West at the moment, all of these games coming down the stretch are playoff games. In a way it's good because everyone is having to keep their game up. So if you get into the playoffs you will be at that same level. For us, it was a good performance and a great result coming here because it is not an easy place to play. On success on the road: We have been pretty good on the road. It's been a big test for us and we got to continue our same ways. SPORTING KANSAS CITY GOALKEEPER JIMMY NIELSEN On Sporting Kansas City's defense: I've got to give them a lot of credit. All 10 guys in front of me worked very hard and had huge discipline in the performance today. We know Columbus have very dangerous guys up front and we kind of wanted to avoid giving them any room to play in. I think we were pretty successful with that today. I think we did a hell of a good job. On how his team defended set pieces: We defended very well. We were quick back in positions, got organized very fast, and when you do that, very often you will win those headers. You will win those set pieces. On whether it felt like a playoff atmosphere: For some reason I've felt that for a while now. I think both divisions have been extremely tight. If you win a game you're in, if you lose you're out. So, it's been very exciting. As I said before the game to some of the reporters, this is the most exciting league in the world. There are probably still 12 teams with three games left that can win the championship. I know the playoff comes afterwards, but you don't see that anywhere else. That's pretty amazing and it's super exciting. SPORTING KANSAS CITY DEFENDER IKE OPARA On bouncing back with three big points: After the loss last week, we wanted to try to get back with three points and we came in here and fought. Columbus played very well. We knew they would, pushing the game. We battled all game and we broke out with some good soccer movements and got a goal that we needed to get the win. On key to shutting down the Columbus attack: We just wanted to stay compact. We know they have some good players: Higuain, Arrieta, the young midfielders in the middle were very good at keeping the ball. For us it was all about being in the correct starting positions and if they did break us down at times being able to recover and just working all game. On his goal and Crew defender Agustin Viana going down prior: I don't know if I could fault a team if they did it against us. He was out of a dangerous area. I don't think the ball was near him when he was on the ground and I'm not even sure [Graham] Zusi knew he was on the ground before he crossed the ball in. It was just one of those that we won. I'm not sure how, it just kind of dribbled out and we somehow got to the second ball and we recycled our runs and just put in a good ball. It was tough, because I saw the goalie coming and I saw the post and I knew I had to hit the ball. I knew something may have happened but it was just one of those you've got to lay yourself out and whatever happens happens and luckily I scored without any implications of the post or a goalie collision. COLUMBUS CREW INTERIM HEAD COACH BRIAN BLISS On the club's offense tonight: In the second half, we had the ball and they laid off a little bit as normally a team would do leading on the road, which led to a lot of our possession. We had very few answers: whether it was the final pass, the final dribble for somebody to step around somebody, maybe the run was off sides, whatever it was we came up short in having an answer in the final third. They're a good team, Peter [Vermes] has them organized and I'm sure he's watched us play and knows what our strengths are and the space in behind was very limited for our guys to get into and we couldn't execute a play and not because we were poor, I have to give Kansas City credit. On [Federico] Higuain's play: We saw something happen to him early in the first half, we shouted to him, he said he was fine, he'd take off in a sprint and cast any doubt away. We asked him again at halftime how was, he said I'm good to go but my guess is he was carrying something because he kept putting his hand to hip flexor/hip pointer, wherever and certainly something was hampering him. I'm not laying it on him but it wasn't his best outing, along with some of our other guys. Sometimes a best outing comes from another team negating what we do best. On the Sporting Kansas City defense: We just had to play the way we've been playing in the past. I don't want to say they were sitting in because I don't necessarily know if that was tactic from Peter but when they were conceding the midfield, up to midfield, it's tough to get in behind anybody, they're block of eight is pretty robust, it was pretty difficult to break them down. On the upcoming matches: I don't know the results of the other games off the top of my head, but obviously we know we need help somewhere along the line but we have to help ourselves. If we get six points I'm not even sure that does it, really I don't know because I don't know what the other results are. But we have to play like we're still in it and keep going at it we have to show improvement as a group for that set of eight games. On keeping the team focused: Everybody is going to motivate themselves in a different way, but if we're looking at the standings and there's a mathematical chance then there is no reason why you should throw in the towel. We won three in a row at one point, we've won four of six, we've won on the road, so there's a possibility. So mathematically if we're out of it that's a different story, but I don't think mathematically we're out of it but I'm sure we're going to need some help though. On the team's effort and level of play: I told the guys as we wrapped-up, I can't fault anyone for lack of effort. It was just good defense of Kansas City and us having a lack of ability to execute a play in the final third. Came close on a couple of restarts and that one that Ben [Speas] clipped into Bernardo [Anor] and he had to get himself turned around, it got deflected. So there were a couple of half chances that just didn't come our way. COLUMBUS CREW MIDFIELDER DOMINIC ODURO On what the Crew struggled with during the game: I do not think we struggled. Like I said, the biggest was the goal that came off of the set piece. They are a good team defensively and that is exactly what they did. I did not see them try to go up the whole time because they knew that it could not be done with the offense we had. They relied on the experience they have defensively, and sat back and won the game. I thought we did everything right. We kept the ball really well, tried to go forward, but could not get anything out of it. On the impact of the game going forward into the future: It was positive, at the end of the day, but we have to go back to the drawing board, go back to the basics, see what we did right to win those games [referring to three-match winning streak coming into tonight's games], and do it again. New England is really beatable at the end of the day. We are a good team. We can make that happen. We have to give ourselves that chance. Hopefully the other games go the way we want them to go. We have to stay positive, focus on the next two games at hand. On the team moral after this game: We have to stay positive at the end of the day. There is nothing else we can do right now. The only thing that is there for us is to win the next two games. Like I said, hopefully we get some help from other teams. We just have to keep looking. COLUMBUS CREW DEFENDER TYSON WAHL On his overall thoughts on the goal allowed: I think we let a sloppy goal in in the first half. Kind of a fluky think with one of our players was down and then they did a pretty good job of sitting back and defending pretty well. They were pretty organized. I thought we kept possession well; we just weren't able to penetrate and get more chances. On the goal, whether he thought there should have been a whistle: [Agustin] Viana and I, we challenged for the same ball and we hit heads. He was on the ground and then they kind of recycled through their runs and because we were a man down there was a man open. On if Ike Opara collided with Agustin Viana before going on to score the goal: On the first ball I challenged with Opara and Viana was behind me and we hit heads, and then after they made their runs again I shifted over because there was another man open that was more dangerous in the middle. My man Opara was on the far post with our man down on the ground.
Sporting KC Goes Top of MLS Table with 2-1 Win at Philadelphia Sporting Kansas City moved back into the Supporters' Shield lead with a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday afternoon at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Sporting KC will claim their first regular season title since 2000 if the New York Red Bulls lose or draw to the Chicago Fire on Sunday at Red Bull Arena (4 p.m. CT on UniMas). Lawrence Olum's game-winning goal in the second minute of stoppage-time gave Sporting KC three points in their regular season finale. Sporting KC improved their League-best road record to 8-5-4 and remain one of two teams in MLS with a positive goal differential away from home (+3). Sporting KC finished the season with 30 goals allowed, the second consecutive year the team has led MLS in that category. Saturday's match featured a flurry of chances for both teams. Sporting KC had two good looks on goal in the first half, but Dom Dwyer pulled his 14th-minute shot just wide of the post and goalkeeper Zac MacMath did well to thwart Jacob Peterson in the 23rd minute. The visitors broke the deadlock minutes after halftime. Matt Besler's long throw-in found Olum at the near post. The Kenyan midfielder out-jumped his defender and headed the ball to the back post. Graham Zusi snuck past Antoine Hoppenot and headed the ball into the net for his sixth goal of the season and the first headed goal of his MLS career. Needing a win to keep their playoffs hopes alive, Philadelphia brought on MLS All-Star Jack McInerney in the second half and the move nearly paid immediate dividends. In the 76th minute, Sheanon Williams' long throw-in dropped inside the Sporting KC penalty box. The young striker put his attempt on target but Seth Sinovic alertly stayed on his line to head the ball away from danger. Philadelphia was not to be denied, however, and found their equalizer in the 88th minute. After the ball ping-ponged inside the Sporting KC penalty box, Jeff Parke headed the ball between two Sporting KC defenders. McInerney darted through the box and slotted past goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen for his 12th goal of the season. The drama was not over at PPL Park, however. In the 91st minute, second-half sub Teal Bunbury slotted a ball across the penalty box to Jacob Peterson. The speedy winger fired a shot on target but goalkeeper Zac MacMath did well to parry it away. Less than a minute later, though, Sporting KC found the game-winning goal. The play began when Nielsen sent a long punt down the right flank to Peterson. The Indiana University product's cross took a deflection and landed at the foot of Bunbury. The young striker played the ball back to Olum and his one-time finish beat MacMath for the game-winning goal. Depending on results from other matches in MLS this weekend, Sporting KC can play any of four teams in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Final seeding will be determined at the conclusion of the New York / Chicago game on Sunday afternoon. Regardless of results, if Sporting KC reaches MLS Cup then Sporting Park will host the championship match. Sporting KC playoff tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster.com. Sporting KC will host the Eastern Conference Semifinals second leg on either Nov. 6 or Nov. 7. FAST FACTS - Sporting Kansas City defeated the Philadelphia Union 2-1 at PPL Park on Saturday in their final match of the MLS regular season. With the win, Sporting KC moves into first place in the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield standings with 58 points. - If the New York Red Bulls draw or lose on Sunday against the Chicago Fire, Sporting KC will claim the Supporters' Shield and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. - Sporting KC has finished in first place in the Eastern Conference each of the last two years. The team won the Supporters' Shield in 2000. - Regardless of results, Sporting Park will host MLS Cup if Sporting Kansas City reaches the championship match. - Sporting KC finishes the MLS regular season with a 17-10-7 record, including a 14-6-5 mark against teams in the Eastern Conference. - Sporting KC's 17 wins are most in MLS this year. The team's +17 goal difference is also best among all teams in the league. - Sporting KC leads MLS with just 30 goals allowed in 34 games, a 0.88 goals per game average. - Sporting KC has the most away wins in Major League Soccer in 2013 with eight, matching last year's total and tying the team record. Sporting KC also has the fewest goals allowed on the road in MLS with 15 and best goal difference on the road at +3. - Sporting KC's 15 road goals conceded are the fewest in a season in team history, tying the mark set in 2000 and 2012. - Graham Zusi's goal is the first headed goal of his MLS career and second in as many weeks, after scoring on a header with the U.S. Men's National Team. Prior to these two goals, Zusi's last headed goal came in his junior year of college while attending Maryland. - Sporting Kansas City's 14 headed goals are most in MLS this season. Sporting Kansas City leads MLS with 92 headed shots this year. - The goal is Zusi's sixth of 2013, a new single season career high, and 17th in his Major League Soccer career. - Sporting KC is 13-0-1 in MLS competition when Zusi scores. Zusi's last goal for Sporting KC in an MLS match was on Aug. 31, 2013. - Zusi has three goals in his career against Philadelphia, most among all active Sporting KC players. - Sporting KC has scored four goals from throw-in's in 2013. - Zusi leads MLS with 128 corners and 47 successful corners into the box. His 80 successful crosses/corners are also most in MLS. - Zusi led all players on Saturday with six crosses. - Zusi's 128 corners are second most in a season in KC history, behind his 2012 season with 150 corners. - Zusi leads MLS in chances created from set play with 52. - The assist on Zusi's goal was Lawrence Olum's first since joining MLS in 2011. - Prior to 2013, Sporting KC had not won an MLS match at PPL Park. The team won both games in Philadelphia this season, winning the first and last match of the 2013 regular season at PPL Park. - Graham Zusi has played a direct role in four of the team's five goals scored in Philadelphia this year, scoring two goals and adding two assists at PPL Park. - Zusi is the only MLS player with 5 or more goals and seven or more assists in each of the last three seasons. - Sporting KC is 4-2-3 against the Union all-time and 2-1-2 on the road in the series. - Philadelphia's Jack McInerney scored his 12th goal of 2013 to tie the score in the 88th minute of the match. McInerney's goal was assisted by Jeff Parke, his first assist of the year. - The goal was the first second half goal that Sporting KC has allowed in seven MLS matches. McInerney's goal ended a 411-minute shutout streak for Sporting KC, fourth longest in MLS this season. The streak started with a Philadelphia Union goal on Sept. 27. - Sporting KC has held opponents to a goal or fewer in 27 of the team's 34 games this season. - Sporting KC allowed only six goals in the final 15 minutes of MLS matches in 34 games this year. Sporting KC is 13-0-1 when leading at the 75-minute mark in 2013. - Sporting KC has not conceded multiple goals in any of the team's last 11 MLS matches. - Lawrence Olum scored the game-winner in second half stoppage time, his first goal since joining Major League Soccer. He had gone 41 games without a goal or assist prior to Saturday. - Olum's game-winner in the 92nd minute is Sporting KC's second latest game-winner of the season, only behind Ike Opara's 97th minute match winner at Real Salt Lake. - The goal was Sporting Kansas City's fifth game-winning goal in the 80th minute or later in 2013. - Teal Bunbury tallied the assist, his first since Aug. 26, 2012 when he suffered a season ending-knee injury on the play. - Sporting KC is 15-2-3 when scoring first in 2013 and has won nine straight games when scoring first. - Sporting KC is 11-9-0 in one-goal games and 6-5-5 when tied at halftime in 2013. - Sporting KC is 6-2-1 when scoring two goals and 6-5-3 when allowing one goal in 2013. - Sporting KC went 15-8-6 when wearing Sporting Blue and 2-4-2 on NBCSN in 2013. - Sporting KC is 5-1-4 in games before 5 p.m. CT and 9-3-3 when the temperature is below 75 degrees in 2013. - At the conclusion of the first half, Aurelien Collin led all players with four interceptions and eight duels. Collin was subbed off at halftime after receiving a yellow card in the first half. - Collin's 13 yellow cards are most in MLS this year and rank second most by an MLS player in a single season in MLS history. - Collin has received 29 cautions in three seasons with Sporting KC, good for sixth most in team history. - Sporting Kansas City's 67 cautions are a single-season club record. - Sporting KC set a new team record with 511 fouls committed in 2013. - Collin ranks second in MLS with 206 aerials, 136 aerials won and 198 headed clearances. - Collin leads all MLS defenders with 28 shots (21 of them headers, third most among all MLS players) and nine shots on goal this season. Both marks are single-season career highs for Collin. - The Philadelphia Union were without captain Brian Carroll on Saturday for caution accumulation, snapping a streak of 59 straight starts -- a Union team record and second longest among active MLS players. - Sporting KC has lost only once in the team's last nine matches. The lone loss came against the Philadelphia Union at Sporting Park on September 27. - Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes surpasses Fernando Clavijo and moves into a tie with Schellas Hyndman for 17th most wins in MLS history (62). - Vermes winning percentage (.559) is best for a Sporting KC coach all-time. - Vermes becomes the fifth coach in MLS history to record back-to-back seasons with a winning percentage above .600 (.662 in 2012 and .603 in 2013). The feat was done previously by: Bob Bradley (2000, 2001), Sigi Schmid (2001, 2002 and 2011, 2012), Dominic Kinnear (2007, 2008), and Bruce Arena (1997, 1998 and 2010, 2011). - Sporting KC is only the second team in MLS history to win 17 or more regular season games in back-to-back seasons in the non-shootout era (along with LA Galaxy in 2010 and 2011). - Jimmy Nielsen has played every minute in 90 straight MLS regular season matches. That streak ranks second longest in MLS history, behind only Kevin Hartman (112). - Nielsen's 0.88 goals against average is best in MLS this year among goalkeepers with a minimum of 1,000 minutes played. His 13 shutouts lead the league and are fourth most in a single season in MLS history. - Nielsen's 0.88 goals against average is second best in team history for a single season, behind only his 2012 campaign (0.79). - Nielsen's career goals against average (0.99), shutouts (45), wins (57), matches (128) minutes (11,497), and winning percentage (.575) are best for goalkeepers in club history. - Nielsen's 17 wins and 13 shutouts are third most in a season in team history by a goalkeeper. - Nielsen's 0.99 career goals against average is best in MLS history among goalkeepers with a minimum of 700 minutes played. - Seth Sinovic has started and played the full 90 minutes in each of the team's last 16 MLS matches, the longest active games played streak on the team. Sinovic leads all players with 3,223 minutes played in all competition this season. - Sinovic and Oriol Rosell are tied for the team lead for most games played (37) and games started (36) in all competition this season. - Rosell is tied for the MLS lead with 128 interceptions. - Rosell's 66 fouls committed are fifth most in a season in club history and most since Matt McKeon committed 76 fouls in 2001. His 10 yellow cards are tied for second most in a season in KC history behind Aurelien Collin (13). - C.J. Sapong traveled to Philadelphia but did not dress as a precautionary measure due to a neck strain. - Sporting Kansas City's 50 offside infractions in 2013 are an all-time single-season low. - Sporting KC leads MLS in 2013 with 383 shots, crosses/corners accuracy (29.9), chances created from set play (87), duels (4029), duels won (2029), aerials won (706), interceptions (792), headed clearances (674) and tackles (712). - Sporting Kansas City's defense has conceded the fewest shots (301) and shots on goal (101) of all MLS teams in 2013. - Sporting KC is 8-1-5 in regular season finales in the non-shootout era (since 2000). Philadelphia is 0-4-0. - Soony Saad led all players with four shots on Saturday. - Matt Besler led all players with 17 clearances on Saturday. - Lawrence Olum was four for four on aerial duels on Saturday, the most aerials won of any player. Olum also led all players with 49 passes. - Graham Zusi led all players with 17 duels on Saturday, winning a game-high 10 of those duels. Zusi suffered six fouls on Saturday, a single-game career high. - Sporting KC is 229-216-116 all-time and 79-136-66 on the road in team history. - Jacob Peterson surpassed 9,000 regular season minutes played in his MLS career on Saturday. Only three other current players have hit the mark: Matt Besler, Paulo Nagamura and Jimmy Nielsen.
Jimmy Nielsen announces retirement Jimmy Nielsen is going out on top Two days after coming up huge for Sporting Kansas City in their MLS Cup victory, the veteran goalkeeper has decided to hang up his gloves after a 19-year professional career, announcing his retirement on Monday. "I want to thank the ownership group, my teammates, my coaches and the entire organization for the opportunity to have four of the best years of my life, not only mine but my family as well here in Kansas City," Nielsen said in a club statement. "I will remember these years forever. To the best soccer fans: Since Day 1, they have always been behind me and I want to thank them for all the support. I made the final decision to retire today and to end this part of my life and it was the perfect timing, finishing with a great championship that the entire city deserves." http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...-jimmy-nielsen-announces-retirement-after-mls
Sporting KC trades for goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum Overland Park, Kan. native is an eight-year MLS veteran Sporting Kansas City has acquired goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum from the Columbus Crew in exchange for Sporting KC’s second round pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, the club announced on Monday. Gruenebaum has been added to Sporting Kansas City’s roster and will occupy a senior roster spot. “Andy is a very capable goalkeeper, someone who has been successful in Major League Soccer and has had a lot of games in the league,” Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said. “He is a great addition to our team and a complement to our goalkeepers. We needed someone with a lot of experience because we're in multiple major competitions in 2014.” “I could not be more excited to come back home and play in front of family and friends,” Gruenebaum said. “The ownership, coaching staff, players and fans associated with Sporting KC are first class, and I look forward to working with two amazing goalkeepers to help win another championship. I would like to thank Peter and the rest of the organization for giving me this opportunity. My wife and I are ecstatic to be able to call Kansas City home once again.” http://www.reddit.com/tb/1t1bpw
Sporting Kansas City mulling options for new USL PRO affiliation KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sporting Kansas City are gaining a friendly rival – and losing an affiliation that helped several of their young players gain valuable match experience this year. But even before Tuesday's announcement that Orlando City SC will be moving up from USL PRO to become MLS' 21st club in 2015, Sporting were already looking at plans for life after the Lions – plans that could involve owning their own lower-tier affiliate club. “We knew that they were going to be a part of [expansion],” manager and technical director Peter Vermes told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “We had a two-year setup, knowing this was pretty much going to be the case. We have a few other ideas in mind of what we're doing.” http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...-city-mulling-options-new-usl-pro-affiliation
OKC Energy FC Adds to Orlando/Sporting Kansas City affiliation for 2014 ORLANDO, Fla.— Orlando City SC announced on Friday that USL PRO expansion club OKC Energy FC will join the Lions as affiliates of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Sporting Kansas City for the 2014 season. A minimum of two Sporting Kansas City players will be loaned to each USL PRO team throughout the season as part of the agreements. “As we head into our final USL PRO season in 2014, Orlando City is pleased to continue our affiliation with Sporting KC,” Orlando City President Phil Rawlins said. “’I firmly believe this partnership was an important part of both clubs’ on-field success in winning its respective league championships last season. Orlando City is proud to be part of this terrific player development initiative jointly established by Major League Soccer and USL PRO.” http://www.reddit.com/tb/1tbyc1
Energy Announce Pair Of Tryouts Set to be held in Oklahoma City, Kansas City OKC Energy FC News Release -- www.energyfc.com Monday, January 13, 2014 OKLAHOMA CITY – OKC Energy FC has scheduled its Oklahoma City open tryouts for February 15-16, the team announced today. Registration is available only online at EnergyFC.com. Cost to participate is $125 for registration prior to February 7 and $200 following that date. No refunds will be issued once a participant is registered and paid. Participants are responsible for travel and lodging and receive and evaluation and two training shirts. The open tryout consists of two workout sessions on February 15 and 11v11 games on February 16. In addition to the Oklahoma City open tryout, the team is conducting an open tryout at the Sporting KC training grounds in Kansas City, February 28-March 1. Sporting KC is the MLS affiliate of the Energy. Registration for this tryout is also available online at EnergyFC.com. Cost to participate is $75 for registration prior to February 14 and $125 following that date. No refunds will be issued once a participant is registered and paid. http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/780244.html
2014 Sporting Kansas City Preview: No holes and great expectations Replacing the Puma: Jimmy Nielsen looked like an extra from the Walking Dead in last year's MLS Cup, shuffling along and barely able to move. He played through broken ribs and still led his team to a title, which tells you quite a bit about his leadership and presence in goal. Eric Kronberg, who's been with KC since the Arrowhead Stadium days, will finally get his chance to be the No. 1. He's got a lot to live up to. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...at-expectations-armchair-a?module=from_footer
Sporting KC Earns 1-1 Draw with FC Dallas Sporting Kansas City settled for a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas in the team's MLS home opener at Sporting Park on Saturday. Aurelien Collin scored in the 81st minute on a corner kick from Benny Feilhaber, however Matt Hedges headed home a free kick from Michel in the 90th minute to split the points. Playing the team's third match during a stretch of five games in 15 days, Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes made five changes from the lineups that started the team's season opener in Seattle and mid-week match in the CONCACAF Champions League. Jimmy Medranda made his first MLS start and second career appearance, while rookie midfielder Alex Martinez replaced the Colombian in the second half for his MLS debut. Sporting Kansas City created the game's first chance in the fourth minute. Collin's service over the top of the FC Dallas backline drew Chris Seitz off his line, but the goalkeeper was beaten to the ball by Sal Zizzo on the right flank. The fifth-year forward sent his chip over Seitz from a tight angle and found C.J. Sapong at the backpost but his shot was blocked away by Hedges. Eight minutes later, Sal Zizzo did well to turn Jair Benitez inside the penalty area and direct his shot on frame from 15 yards out. Chris Seitz dove to his left to push away the attempt for his first of five saves on the night. FC Dallas would not record their first shot of the game until the 33rd minute when Blas Perez couldn't connect fully on a lunging shot at the edge of the six-yard box. The Panamian would try twice more in the first half -- registering the visitors only three shots of the half -- including a header in the 39th minute and a left-footed drive from 20 yards out that sailed just wide on the final play of the half. Sporting Kansas City controlled 70 percent of the possession in the final 45 minutes while searching for the breakthrough goal. Feilhaber tested Seitz with a half-volley but the FC Dallas backup, starting in place of the injured Raul Fernandez, was well-positioned to smother the shot. FC Dallas inserted young Designated Players Andres Escobar and David Texeria in the second half and it was Escobar's corner kick in the 79th minute that fell to fellow Colombian Fabian Castillo outside the penalty box. The 21-year-old did well to strike a first-time side volley but it carried narrowly over the crossbar. With under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Sporting Kansas City finally found the game's opening goal from one of the club's 12 corner kicks on Saaturday. Seth Sinovic stuttered his way past Je-Vaughn Watson and forced a sprawling save by Seitz at the near post to earn the set piece. Collin then found space between Andrew Jacobson and Hedges to direct his header inside the far post for his 14th career goal in MLS competition, tying him with Jose Burciaga, Jr. for second most by a defender in team history behind Jimmy Conrad. The lead would be short-lived as FC Dallas responded nine minutes later through a free kick, awarded by referee Abbey Okulaja when Texeira went to ground as Oriol Rosell closed in for a challenge. Michel, who had entered less than three minutes earlier, curled the set piece toward the back post where it was met by Hedges with a powerful header from six yards out. The goal came on FC Dallas' only shot on goal of the game and marked the second straight year FC Dallas came from behind to equalize in the 90th minute against Sporting KC. Sporting Kansas City would have three chances to grab a late game-winning goal in stoppage time, none better than from the foot of Martinez after a quickly taken free kick by Sinovic. The 2014 MLS SuperDraft pick snuck into the left side of the penalty area and placed his shot past Seitz only to see it cleared in the goalmouth by Hedges. The draw see Sporting Kansas City move to 11-2-6 all-time in MLS home openers with just one loss to open the team's regular season home schedule in the last 15 years. Up next for Sporting Kansas City is the decisive second leg in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals at Cruz Azul on Wednesday. Sporting KC holds a 1-0 lead on aggregate heading to Estadio Azul in a match that will be nationally televised on FOX Sports 2 (English) and Galavision (Spanish). Press release from Sporting Kansas City
Sporting KC Settles for Scoreless Draw against Real Salt Lake Sporting Kansas City was held to a scoreless draw on Saturday in an MLS Cup rematch with Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park. Jeff Attinella, making his fifth MLS start in place of the injured Nick Rimando, made a career-high eight saves as Sporting Kansas City outshot Real Salt Lake 20-5 with a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal. Chance Myers returned to the lineup for Sporting Kansas City, making his 2014 debut following his recovery from a groin strain, and the Sporting KC defense lowered their season goals against average to 0.80 -- tied for best in Major League Soccer with Real Salt Lake. Also making his debut was Spanish midfielder Antonio Dovale, a second-half substitute, and Sporting KC has now used 22 different players through five weeks of the the regular season. Real Salt Lake attempted the first (2nd minute) and last (95th minute) shots of Saturday's match, but were limited to only three other opportunities throughout the run of play. Second-year striker Olmes Garcia sent his effort high of the crossbar from 20 yards out in the game's opening moments while central defender Chris Schuler led the visitors with two shots on Saturday. His left-footed attempt in the 24th minute was smothered by Eric Kronberg, as was his header on the game's final play. The lone shot on goal of the game for Real Salt Lake came from the foot of captain Kyle Beckerman on a 45-yard strike that was on target and into the arms of Kronberg, who recorded his second clean sheet of the season and third of his MLS career. The majority of Saturday's action came in front of Attinella, beginning in the eighth minute with his save on Graham Zusi and then three minutes later when he did well to deny Dom Dwyer on a breakaway. Attinella added a superb stop to his highlight reel in the 27th minute, pushing Seth Sinovic's dipping shot from outside the penalty area over the bar. Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber forced another reaction save seven minutes later as Attinella dove to his right to keep out the well-struck volley. His final save of the first half came in the 42nd minute, darting 15 yards off his line to make a sliding stop on Paulo Nagamura near the right edge of the penalty area. The second half started with signs of the same frustration for Sporting KC when Aurelien Collin's header was straight at Attinella and easily held. Zusi then came close to putting Sporting KC ahead in the 51st minute however his left-footed strike carried inches beyond the far post. Sporting Kansas City finally found a way past Attinella in the 63rd minute only to see Dwyer's tightly-angled attempt hit the post and the follow-up from Sal Zizzo blocked in front of the goalline by Nat Borchers. The reigning MLS Cup champions were reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute as referee Armando Villarreal sent off Oriol Rosell for his late challenge on Devon Sandoval. Sporting KC had one last chance to claim the full three points in stoppage time as Zusi unleashed a skipping shot from 25 yards out that earned Attinella his eighth save of the match, third most by a goalkeeper in MLS this season. With the draw, Sporting Kansas City moves within one point of first place in the Eastern Conference while Real Salt Lake keeps their unbeaten record (2-0-3) under new head coach Jeff Cassar intact. After five straight matches against Western Conference opponents to open the 2014 season, Sporting Kansas City will enjoy a bye in MLS Week 6 before hosting the Montreal Impact on Saturday, April 19 at Sporting Park. A limited number of tickets are available online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL. Press release from the Sporting Kansas City
Sporting KC Suffers Stoppage-Time Loss in New England Sporting Kansas City suffered a 2-0 loss at the New England Revolution on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, conceding twice in second half stoppage time while playing shorthanded. The defeat is the team's first by a two-goal margin in MLS play in over a year and the second loss of the season, both coming on the road with goals in stoppage time. The Revolution saw their best chance of the first half come in the 14th minute as Lee Nguyen's chip played Jerry Bengtson behind the Sporting Kansas City backline. The Honduran Designated Player brought the ball down with his chest but sent his left-footed shot wide of the right post. New England striker Teal Bunbury, acquired from Sporting KC in a trade earlier this year, had a pair of opportunities to score against his former club in the opening 45 minutes and both came from nearly the same spot eight yards out from goal. His first, a well-taken shot in the 21st minute, was blocked in the goalmouth by Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler and the second was tipped over the crossbar by goalkeeper Eric Kronberg in the 32nd minute in what proved to be the only shot on goal of the half for either side. Sporting Kansas City's defense held its opponent without a goal in the first half for the seventh straight MLS match to start the 2014 season and the team's attack outshot the Revolution 10-5 in the first half, though failed to challenge New England goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. Sal Zizzo came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 26th minute but fired high from the right side of the penalty area after receiving a pass from Benny Feilhaber. Shuttleworth was called into action in the 59th minute, diving low to his left to palm away the attempt from Alex Martinez. The rookie, making his third appearance of the year for Sporting KC, then collected the ensuing corner kick and placed his shot inches wide of the near post. Sporting Kansas City were reduced to 10 players in the 74th minute with the ejection of centerback Aurelien Collin for his challenge on Diego ***undez. Nevertheless, the shorthanded visitors nearly grabbed the lead three minutes later as Chance Myers led the counter and found Dom Dwyer on the right flank. His service into the area fell to Feilhaber, whose shot was off target from close range. The visitors had done well to hold the Revolution without a shot on goal in the second half until stoppage time struck and the Revolution converted on two separate scoring sequences. The game-winning goal came off a cross from ***undez, initially touched by Darrius Barnes and then re-directed by Bunbury inside the six-yard box. Bunbury's goal, his first in a Revolution uniform and first since August of 2012, snapped Sporting Kansas City's 282-minute shutout streak and was the first for the Revolution in the regular season series in a span of 591 minutes dating back to 2011. Bunbury now has 22 goals in his MLS career (including postseason). Two minutes later, New England doubled the lead with a penalty kick converted by Lee Nguyen. ***undez earned the PK, forcing a save by Kronberg on the breakaway and then heading the rebound into the arm of Oriol Rosell. Nguyen calmly slotted his shot to Kronberg's right for his third goal of the season and 12th of his three-year MLS career. With the loss, Sporting Kansas City slips to second place in the Eastern Conference and sits one point back of the Columbus Crew. The two sides will meet next Sunday at Sporting Park in a nationally televised match-up on NBC Sports. A limited number of tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL and all fans are encouraged to arrive early for the team's MLS Cup ring presentation ceremony at 2 p.m. CT. Press release from the Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City 1, Manchester City FC 4 International Friendly Match KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Sporting Kansas City's defending MLS Cup champions hung in with Manchester City for nearly all of the first half. After that, Wednesday night's “Champions Shield” friendly belonged to the Premiership titlists. City pulled away from a 1-1 deadlock with a goal in the dying minutes of the first half and two more – one of those from the penalty spot – after the break, cruising to a 4-1 victory at Sporting Park in the opening match of their North American summer tour. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...er-city-fc-4-international-friendly-match-rec
Sporting Kansas City opened the 2015 Major League Soccer season on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls at Sporting Park. Ike Opara, who missed most of 2014 after suffering a season-ending ankle injury last March, scored on his return before Lloyd Sam equalized four minutes later to split the points in the lone meeting between the two sides this regular season. Manager Peter Vermes went with first round SuperDraft pick Amadou Dia to make his professional debut at right back, while also inserting newcomers Bernardo Anor, Krisztian Nemeth and Luis Marin into his opening match lineup. Sporting KC was further bolstered by the return of World Cup veteran Roger Espinoza, making the 100th start of his MLS career (including postseason), after being re-acquired in the offseason from Wigan Athletic. On the opposite side of the field, the Red Bulls played their first MLS match under new head coach Jesse Marsch and welcomed midfielder Sacha Kljestan into the fold. The two teams - who met in the 2014 regular season finale and again in the 2014 Eastern Conference Knockout Round - featured the top two goal scorers from a year ago in Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer and New York's Bradley Wright-Phillips, however it was Opara that broke the deadlock in the 50th minute with his first goal in over 17 months. Benny Feilhaber earned the assist with a pinpoint cross after working his way past Damien Perrinelle on the right flank. His delivery was met by Opara inside the six-yard box and headed past Luis Robles for his seventh career MLS goal. It marked the second straight season in which Sporting KC's first goal of the regular season was scored by a defender after having never happened in the team's first 18 seasons. The Red Bulls wasted no time in pulling level on an individual effort from Sam. The Englishman found space between Sporting Kansas City's defensive and midfield lines, dribbling toward the top of the penalty arc and cutting back before curling a shot inside the post from 22 yards out for his 10th career goal in four MLS seasons. Sporting Kansas City was reduced to 10 men in the 70th minute when captain Matt Besler was sent off upon receiving his second caution of the match for a tackle on Wright-Phillips near midfield. Nevertheless, the home side - playing in front of the 54th consecutive MLS sell-out crowd at Sporting Park and debuting the team's new primary kit - nearly netted a late game-winner on two occasions. In the 88th minute, Jacob Peterson - making his 200th regular season appearance - split the defense with a through ball for Feilhaber, who sent a first-time pass into the path of Dwyer. The MLS All-Star stretched at full-extension but his left-footed shot rolled wide of the target. Dwyer came close again in the first minute of second half stoppage time, racing onto a punt from Marin and holding off a challenge from Perrinelle. Robles made an important foot save to deny Dwyer and Paulo Nagamura's follow-up on the rebound was blocked by a pair of New York players. As a result of the four shots on goal in Sunday's draw, Sporting Kansas City supporters can enjoy 44-cent Monster Tacos at local Jack-in-the-Box locations on Monday. Sporting KC improves to 12-5-3 all-time in regular season openers and 12-2-6 in regular season home openers, remaining unbeaten at Sporting Park in the team's five all-time home openers at the state-of-the-art venue. Sporting Kansas City will next face fellow Western Conference foes FC Dallas at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 14 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The match will air live locally on KMCI-TV 38 the Spot and across the Midwest on SKCTV. FAST FACTS Sporting KC faced the New York Red Bulls on Sunday night to open their 20th season in Major League Soccer. Sunday was the MLS debut for defender Amadou Dia, who started and played the full 90 minutes at right back for Sporting Kansas City. The start marked the first time a SuperDraft selection has played for Sporting Kansas City in a season opening match since C.J. Sapong in 2011. Sporting KC selected Dia 20th overall in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft in January. Sporting KC is 12-5-3 all-time in regular season openers. Sporting KC is 12-2-6 in regular season home openers, with their only losses coming in 1999 and 2009. Sporting KC acquired 13 new players since last facing the New York Red Bulls in the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs. The New York Red Bulls signed 15 players since that match. Sporting KC is undefeated in five MLS home openers at Sporting Park, scoring five goals and conceding two. Sporting Kansas City had 39 interceptions on Sunday, tying a team high for home matches at Sporting Park which was previously set on May 5, 2013. Sporting KC is 9-3-4 in the month of March over the last six seasons, including a 5-0-3 record at home. Sporting KC is 12-8-5 during the month of March all-time. Sporting KC and the New York Red Bulls are two of five teams (LA, RSL, SEA) to make the MLS Cup Playoffs each of the last four seasons. Bernardo Anor, Krisztian Nemeth and Luis Marin also made their debuts in Sporting KC uniforms on Sunday. Marin became the 14th keeper to start an MLS regular season match in Sporting KC history. Ike Opara returned to the pitch for the first time since March 29, 2014, when he suffered a season ending ankle injury. Roger Espinoza also started for Sporting Kansas City on Sunday after spending the last two seasons with Wigan Athletic. Prior to Wigan, Espinoza played five MLS seasons in Kansas City. Sunday marked Espinoza's 100 MLS start of his KC career (including postseason). With the start, Benny Feilhaber made his 75th appearance for Sporting KC in all competitions. The match was nationally televised on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes. Sporting Kansas City opened the scoring in the 50th minute. Ike Opara headed a Benny Feilhaber cross past Luis Robles. The goal was Opara's seventh in MLS regular season play and first since October 5, 2013. The assist was Feilhaber's 20th MLS assist during the regular season and 11th in a Sporting KC uniform. Sunday marked the second time in team history that the first goal of the season was scored by a defender. The other occasion was Aurelien Collin's goal in a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas on March 15, 2014. Sporting KC conceded their first goal of the 2015 season in the 54th minute. Lloyd Sam scored from distance, assisted by Felipe. Sporting Kansas City center back Matt Besler was ejected in the 70th minute after receiving a second yellow card. The ejection was Besler's second of his career. With Sunday's appearance, Jacob Peterson has now played 200 regular season games in MLS. Dom Dwyer and Graham Zusi led all players with five chances created on Sunday. Amadou Dia led all players with eight interceptions. Opara was second with seven. Opara was tied with New York's Damien Perrinelle with the most duels won (11). Roger Espinoza, Opara and Seth Sinovic led all players in aerial duels won. Sinovic was 6 for 6 Graham Zusi led all players in successful crosses/corners with four. Sporting Park welcomed 19,784 fans on Sunday, marking the 54th consecutive MLS sellout. Sporting KC returns to action on Saturday at FC Dallas with kickoff scheduled at 7:30 p.m. CT. QUOTES Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes Thoughts on the game... You´re playing your first game of the season. Very rarely is everybody 90 minutes fit, let alone able to play 10 men for 90-plus minutes. It showed a lot of determination and courage from the guys to be able to fight the way they did. What they did really well was they were actually smart. They were really disciplined defensively but they picked and chose some really good moments. We could have stolen the game at the end a couple of times. There were great opportunities. Dom had two of them, but in the end, I think a tie is probably a fair result. On rookie Amadou Dia making his debut with a start at right back...He did very well. I give the kid a lot of credit. He has got some cojones. He can step out there and he can play at this level for sure. He is playing out of position. He is really a left back, not a right back, so I give him a really high mark in regards to the way he played today. Never got out of shape, made some very good individual plays, recovered really well. He was very good tonight. On the performance of Benny Feilhaber...I put him back to central defender and I thought he was excellent there. He was actually very, very good so I was pretty pleased with the way I saw him play. Like I said, at the end we could have won the game. His service he gave to Dom at the back post off the right side was tremendous. He had a good performance. On Ike Opara scoring a goal in his first MLS match in nearly a year... Ike has a tendency, especially off of set pieces, and that is where that started. It started off of a set piece and we got the rebound. Somebody opened it up wide and the service was fantastic. Great ball in and obviously a great finish for him. On the team's current form... I think first games are always tough. There are quite a few guys that on Friday we came in here and trained in the stadium, and there were quite a few new guys that came into the stadium and looked around and were like, "holy cow." They were wide eyed. Obviously that was with nobody in the stadium. I can imagine what it must have been like for some of them today when they walked in and saw the full environment that our crowds present. I think for all of our players at the end, it was a good first performance. Do you want it to bo better? Sure, you always want certain things. There are pieces of what we did today which I think eventually will put a full game together. On Sporting KC's overall performance...I think at times we were really good. We broke a couple of times. We were very good going forward, but we were more like a one hit wonder. We didn't maybe possess the ball enough at times in the other team´s half. The other thing is I think at times we gave up too many second balls in the middle of the midfield. I think as the game went on, we got a little better with it. We felt more comfortable. On Matt Besler's ejection in the 70th minute... There is no doubt the second call is a yellow card. The first one I don't think it is a yellow card at all. What happens is Matt never hits the guy. If he hits the guy, then it is a really harsh challenge and he deserves one. He never touches the guy. They guy jumps out of it and doesn´t get hit. I don´t think it is one of those things where the guy is coming in with a straight leg. You got a guy who is kind of sliding his leg and whipping his leg across. It is a little bit different. But sometimes it happens. On the team's cohesion...It was okay. It wasn´t great, but I don't expect it to be at the moment just because it is so new and we are just starting. As I said before, when you play exhibition matches in preseason, they don't present the same environment and intensity as an MLS game does. We have games ahead of us that will help us get into the form we need to be in and I like that. There is one thing I see and I see a tremendous amount of potential with the group of guys that we have. On the status of new signings Marcel de Jong and Soni Mustivar...Marcel was actually available to play today and so was Mustivar, but neither guys has been here long enough. They need to get some rhythm at training before they become guys that are considered for the starting lineup or the A team. Sporting KC defender Ike Opara On playing in his first MLS match since March 2014...It was really good to get back on the field. I wish we had gotten all three points for the fans. Everyone worked their tails off. We fought, went down a man, and kept fighting. We had a couple good opportunities to take the lead and get the win, but all in all, we're happy with our performance on opening week. On scoring in his first MLS match in nearly a year... I kind of envisioned it all day, except I envisioned a win as well. It was a great ball from Benny , and I was lucky to get in the right spot and put in the goal. It was a great moment for the team. On defending Bradley Wright-Phillips throughout the match... He's obviously a top striker in this league. He's very good with his movements, he's pacy, he's strong. He's got a lot of good qualities to him. I thought everyone did well battling him. I don't know if he got any shots or clean looks for sure, but I thought we all did well. It's always nice to play well against a top striker. On how he felt after playing 90 minutes...It's been a long time since I felt this (tired). I'll just ice it and get ready for next game. Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber Thoughts on the game... We came out really well. Both teams tried to press in the first half and it wasn't really a pretty game. Everyone was trying to feel each other out in the first game of the year. There wasn't as much technical play, but more physical. Then it opened up in the second half. Obviously we were able to get a goal and they were able to get a goal. The red card changed the game for us a little bit. Having said that, I still think we did a good job in the last 20 to 25 minutes, not only preserving the 1-1 draw but also creating opportunities to try to win the game. On assisting Ike Opara's goal...It's great to see him get on the score sheet. Ike and I were roommates for a long time, and it's always nice to be able to assist and get your roomie a goal. It was big time for him. It was incredible for him to make this recovery, be able to play 90 minutes in his first game of the year and get a goal for us. We know how strong he is in the air, so if you put it anywhere close to him, he's probably going to get one. On moving to centerback after Sporting KC was reduced to 10 men... It was definitely Peter Vermes' choice, but maybe I forced his hand with some of the things I've said in the past year or so, saying I'm a great centerback. We always have a laugh about it, but sometimes in small-sided games in training I'll play centerback. I convinced him a little bit, I guess, and he gave me the opportunity. It wasn't the easiest of circumstances to go in there when you're down a man, but thankfully Ike helped me a lot and told me where to go as much as he could. I was just listening to him and Seth as best as I could. We got it done in the end. On the current state of the team... There's no doubt about it that we need to improve. When you have the turnover that we did, when you have a lot of new starters and new guys on the bench, it's obviously going to make a big difference for us. It's going to take time-it's not just going to take one preseason and we're suddenly off with a bang. I think we're in a good spot to compete in each and every game right now, but we want to be in a much better spot three, four, five or six months from now. We'll be improving each and every day in training and games. It's not going to be the final product until further in the season, which is probably the way we'd like it anyways. There's a long ways to go, but we're content with where we're at right now. Just got to keep improving. New York Red Bulls Manager Jesse Marsch Thoughts on the match...For us, it wasn't a perfect game by any means but I thought overall to come into a tough place to play on opening night and come away with a draw, was all-in-all a pretty good result and a pretty good performance for us. On the difficulties players had with footing...Maybe a little of both . Early in the year, the fields aren't going to be perfect, that's for sure. There's going to be elements; we've been training in snow. I didn't think it impacted the game too much. On Sporting KC's late push after Erik Palmer-Brown's substitution into the match.. I actually thought that putting Palmer-Brown in was a little bit of a defensive move because then we put in an extra forward. In the end, it would have felt pretty awful if we had given up that last goal, if Dom would have been able to stick that one. A lot of little things to still work on and the way I look at this is we're kind of shifting the way we're playing and there's a lot of new concepts going on the field and it's about building layers. So we're only starting with some of the initial layers and we have a lot more layers to go but overall, again, the mentality of the group to compete and play and press was really good tonight. On Bradley Wright-Phillips' performance...We would like to get Bradley more involved, that's for sure. He did have a couple advantages that didn't come his way or the way that we would want them to. Not sure about some of the offside calls, I'll have to take another look at that again but I continue to feel strongly that Bradley will find his chances and we have a good midfield behind him. New York Red Bulls winger Lloyd Sam On scoring the equalizer in the 54th minute...I think Felipe turned and I dropped into midfield. I turned and had a run across the middle. I did a little chop and then whipped it into the corner. It felt great to score. This place is always difficult to play in, so to keep the crowd quiet and all that was very important. New York Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan Thoughts on the game...It's 50-50 for me. I think if you had told me before the game that we would come away with one point in our opening game, at Kansas City, I think we would have taken it. After going through the game, I think we all came out disappointed and that's a good sign. On the team's performance... I think our mentality was good tonight. We could have been a little better on the ball and had more patience, but overall a good first step. On the team's attack...I think our confidence in the final third and the final pass let us down tonight. I think us attacking guys come away disappointed because we could have done better. We should have had a little more patience, especially when we were up a man. On his first game with New York...It was nice to play 90 minutes. It was nice to be on the field with my teammates, who I love. We fought for each other and had a great mentality, so all that felt good. Personally, i think I can do a lot better so I'm hopeful for the future. New York Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty Thoughts on the game... I think before the game if you had asked us if we would have taken this result, coming into a new season with a new system, new coach and new players, we probably would have taken the result. If you ask me now, I'll tell you we are disappointed. I thought it was a pretty even game for the most part. I thought a lot of feeling out in the beginning and once we settled down, we were pretty good with the ball and had a little more of the game. But we went down 1-0. I thought our reaction was great. Obviously, Lloyd Sam scored a fantastic goal and the disappointment comes with not doing more when we were a man up. I thought the game was there for the taking for us. We weren't good enough. We weren't sharp enough and when we went a man up, we almost got too content. We thought it was going to be a walk in the park, but in reality it galvanized them and they started taking it to us a little more. I think the overall feeling is disappointment. On the team's attack... We had a lot of chances. We had a lot of opportunities to get the ball in the box from wide positions. When we did get in those positions, I don't think we picked out runners enough. When you put together a team with new coaches and a couple new players, the last thing to come is always the attacking part. It's always a little bit easier to defend and to stop goals, but it's very hard to create goals. We have really good attacking players, we have a great goalscorer and very dangerous attacking players, so I'm not worried about it. I think those connections will come with time. But you can see that all the guys were trying do the right things. Takeaways from the match... I think we did a lot of the things we had talked about. We did a lot of the things that will make us successful as a team. We want to press teams high and make them uncomfortable. Kansas City is a team that when you play them here at Sporting Park, they are always going to try and dictate the game. They always play on their terms and I thought for the most part we took them out of their comfort zone. I think we flipped the game on them a bit. That was a plan of ours going into the game. That being said, they are a good team and whenever you come here, if you can get out of here with a point it is always a positive. The disappointment is because we could have played better when we were a man up. Please note: When discussing our team, please refer to the club on first reference as Sporting Kansas City or Sporting KC. A charter member of Major League Soccer since 1996, Sporting KC has twice won MLS Cup (2000, 2013) and the U.S. Open Cup (2004, 2012) to go along with a Supporters' Shield (2000) title. Press release from Sporting Kansas City
Portland Timbers 0, Sporting Kansas City 1 Sporting Kansas City shut down the league's highest-scoring team and recorded their fourth shutout in six matches, beating the Western Conference-leading Portland Timbers 1-0 on Saturday night on Dom Dwyer's 53rd-minute goal. read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...ortland-timbers-vs-sporting-kansas-city/recap
Sporting Kansas City 3, Real Salt Lake 0 Sporting Kansas City was all business in a convincing 3-0 win over Real Salt Lake on a cold, rainy Saturday night at Children's Mercy Park. Read more http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2017-04-29-sporting-kansas-city-vs-real-salt-lake/recap
Orlando City SC 2, Sporting Kansas City 2 Sporting Kansas City played spoilers at Orlando City Stadium on Saturday night, as Latif Blessing scored a brace in his first MLS start to earn a 2-2 draw for the visitors and force Orlando City SC to drop points at home for the first time since their new stadium opened. Read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...orlando-city-sc-vs-sporting-kansas-city/recap
Sporting Kansas City 3, Minnesota United 0 It took Sporting Kansas City a bit to find the back of the net, but Saturday nonetheless proved to be a comfortable day at the office. Sporting KC posted a comprehensive 3-0 home win over a flat Minnesota United side at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday evening. Ike Opara scored the winner for Kansas City in first-half stoppage time, and Jimmy Medranda and Saad Abdul-Salaam got in on the fun with second-half tallies. read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...ting-kansas-city-vs-minnesota-united-fc/recap
LA Galaxy 1, Sporting Kansas City 2 One howler, one stunner, and the LA Galaxy's long unbeaten run is over. Sporting Kansas City's 2-1 victory on Saturday night snapped the Galaxy's streak at nine matches across all competitions, and widened Sporting's lead in the Western Conference to five points over Houston and FC Dallas. Read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2017-06-24-la-galaxy-vs-sporting-kansas-city/preview
