Sporting Kansas City SC

Discussion in 'Americas' started by EPJr, Nov 17, 2010.

  1. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Falls 2-0 at LA Galaxy

    Sporting Kansas City fell 2-0 to the LA Galaxy on Saturday at the Home Depot Center. Marcelo Sarvas opened the scoring in the 27th minute and Landon Donovan followed suit in the 74th minute, scoring his first goal of the 2013 MLS regular season.

    The defeat ended Sporting Kansas City's shutout streak at 545 minutes, the fifth-longest in MLS history, and snapped a five-game unbeaten run. Sporting KC remains in first place in the Eastern Conference and returns home for a three-game homestand after playing two games in four days on opposite coasts.

    The first half was extremely energetic with an abundance of chances for both sides.Sporting KC opened the match strong, with their first chance coming in the 9th minute when Claudio Bieler played the ball through to C.J. Sapong. The third-year forward cut to the middle and shot from 18 yards out but his shot was denied by Galaxy goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

    Two minutes later, the Galaxy's leading goal-scorer Mike Magee sent in a half-volley from the left edge of the box but goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen punched the ball out to safety despite a deflection en route.

    The home team again threatened in the 17th minute when Robbie Keane slipped a through ball to Homegrown Player Jack McBean but Aurelien Collin deflected his potentially dangerous shot.

    In the 20th minute, Graham Zusi nearly gave Sporting Kansas City the lead only to see his free kick rattle the crossbar after lifting it over the wall and beating Cudicini.

    The Galaxy came close again in the 25th minute when Donovancrossed to Keane. The Ireland international evaded his mark and sent a shot on target but Oriol Rosell stopped the ball in its tracks and calmly cleared it.

    Two minutes later, the Galaxy took the lead, snapping Sporting KC's shutout streak that spanned seven games. Donovan drove the ball down the left flank on a counterattack and squared the ball to Sarvas, positioned perfectly to tap the ball past Nielsen from inside the six-yard box.

    The game was still 1-0 in the 61st minute when a free kick from Juninho hit the roof of the net. Two minutes later, Sapong had an attempt at an equalizer when he sent in an acrobatic volley from the right side of the penalty area that went just wide of the goal.

    The Galaxy doubled their lead in the 74th minute when Keane charged down the left flank on a counter, crossed to Donovan at the far post and watched his fellow Desginated Player slot the shot easily into the net from eight yards out.

    Donovan nearly notched a second goal in the 78th minute when he sliced a blazing shot from inside the area that sailed narrowly over the crossbar. Ten minutes later, Keane went one-on-one with Nielsen but couldn't work his way past the 2012 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year as Nielsen stood his ground before taking the ball from the foot of Keane.

    Sporting Kansas City will next host the Portland Timbers at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturda, April 27 at Sporting Park. Tickets, including recently released standing-room only tickets, are available in limited supply through Ticketmaster and at Sporting Park Box Offices.
     
  2. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Weekly Update

    Sporting Kansas City welcomes the Seattle Sounders FC to Sporting Park at 7:30 p.m. CT tonight in a rematch of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final. The two teams meet for the first time since Sporting Kansas City prevailed in a penalty kick shootout last August at Sporting Park to end the Sounders' three-year reign as U.S. Open Cup champions.

    Tickets for the match are available on Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Offices. KSMO-TV will begin coverage at 7 p.m. CT from Sporting Park and the game will be broadcast live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340 AM.

    KEI KAMARA RETURNS TO SPORTING KANSAS CITY

    Forward Kei Kamara has returned from his loan stint with English Premier League side Norwich City. Kamara is available to play for Sporting Kansas City tonight. The Sierra Leone international scored 11 goals for Sporting Kansas City last season.

    GRAHAM ZUSI NAMED MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

    Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week on Monday by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 10 of the 2013 MLS season. Zusi played a pivotal part in Sporting Kansas City's first three goals on Sunday in a 4-0 victory over Chivas USA at Sporting Park.

    The honor is Zusi's second career Player of the Week recognition and first for the team since he last won the award in Week 23 of the 2011 MLS season. The 26-year-old playmaker set up Claudio Bieler's goal in the 41st minute, earning his fourth assist of the season and third game-winning assist of the year (watch here ). Both marks are tied for the League lead in 2013. Zusi also moved into sole possession of fifth place on KC's all-time assist chart with 27 regular season assists in his MLS career, breaking a tie with Josh Wolff.

    DOM DWYER NAMED USL PRO PLAYER OF THE WEEK

    Dom Dwyer was named USL PRO Player of the Week for Week 7 on Tuesday. Dwyer -- one of four Sporting Kansas City players currently on loan to USL PRO affiliate Orlando City SC -- had a hat trick in Orlando City's 7-2 victory against Antigua Barracuda FC on Saturday to give him eight goals on the season, most in the league.

    The Lions are in first place in the 13-team USL PRO with a 5-1-1 record and a league-best 21 goals scored. They'll next face the Seattle Sounders FC reserves at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday. That match can be seen live on USLNation.com or follow @OrlandoCitySC for updates.

    C.J. SAPONG UP FOR MLS GOAL OF THE WEEK

    Sporting KC forward C.J. Sapong has been nominated for MLSSoccer.com Goal of the Week. Sapong's goal, his first of the season, was a clinical volley from a Mechack Jerome cross in the 87th minute of Sunday's 4-0 victory over Chivas USA. Vote for Sapong's goal by texting "G4" to 22442 or voting online.

    JIMMY NIELSEN SETS ALL-TIME CLUB SHU TOUT RECORD

    Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen moved atop the club's all-time shutout chart on Sunday in the team's 4-0 victory over Chivas USA at Sporting Park with the 38th regular season clean sheet of his MLS career.

    The 2012 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year breaks a tie with National Soccer Hall of Fame member and former KC goalkeeping great Tony Meola for the most regular season shutouts by a goalkeeper in club history. Nielsen is the 13th goalkeeper in MLS history to record at least 38 career regular season shutouts and he did so in the fewest regular season games played (104) amongst that group.

    SPORTING KC DEFEATS CHIVAS USA 4-0

    Sporting Kansas City defeated Chivas USA 4-0 on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd at Sporting Park. Claudio Bieler opened the scoring in the 41st minute with Graham Zusi claiming the assist. Bieler doubled Sporting KC's lead in the 57th minute after converting a penalty kick drawn by Paulo Nagamura. Zusi added a goal to his tab in the 65th minute while Josh Gardner, in his debut for Sporting Kansas City, provided the assist. C.J. Sapong secured Sporting Kansas City's victory in the 87th minute when he notched his first goal of the season.

    Jimmy Nielsen's clean sheet marked his 38th with the club, the most in team history. The win also marked Peter Vermes' 50th as manager for Sporting Kansas City. The victory improved Sporting Kansas City's record to 5-3-2 and puts them in a three-way tie for first place in the Eastern Conference.

    OFFICIAL LOGO UNVEILED FOR 2013 AT&T MLS ALL-STAR GAME

    The 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game logo was unveiled on Sunday at Sporting Park during halftime of Sporting Kansas City's nationally televised match against Chivas USA.

    In conjunction with the logo's launch, the first edition of 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game merchandise was made available to purchase in-stadium at Sporting Park on Sunday. The gear can also be purchased online at shop.sportingkc.com.

    The 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game logo, designed by Major League Soccer, features the colors of Sporting Kansas City - Sporting Blue and Dark Indigo - in celebration of the club's avid fan base and the vibrant soccer movement happening in greater Kansas City. Detail of the iconic canopy roof structure at Sporting Park highlights the world-class venue that will serve as the perfect setting for the League's 18th-annual summer showcase.

    PAULO NAGAMURA SUSPENDED FOR ONE GAME

    Sporting Kansas City midfielder Paulo Nagamura has been suspended by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for violent conduct in last Sunday's match against Chivas USA.

    Nagamura will not be available for tonight's match against the Seattle Sounders.

    SINGLE-DAY TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR FLATLANDS FESTIVAL

    Single-day tickets for the Flatlands Country Music Festival at Sporting Park from Sept. 12-14 are on sale to the general public, starting as low as $59 each. The new country music and camping festival, presented by Marquee Events and Sporting Club, will feature performances from several of the most popular artists in country music over three days.

    Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Rodney Atkins, Thompson Square and Kevin Fowler will perform on Friday, Sept. 13. Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Love and Theft, and JT Hodges will then take the stage on Sat., Sept. 14.

    The 24,000 expected to be in attendance will have the opportunity to camp in nearby areas and enjoy all amenities associated with the state-of-the-art venue. For more information visit flatlandsfestival.com or call 800-493-3378.

    SPORTING KC SEASON TICKETS SOLD OUT FOR 2013 SEASON

    Sporting Kansas City announced last week that the club's allotment of 14,000 season tickets for the 2013 season at Sporting Park are sold out. Prospective Season Ticket Members may join the club's Season Ticket Member waiting list by placing a $50 non-refundable deposit per season ticket request.

    The implementation of the Season Ticket Member waiting list does not affect current Season Ticket Members.

    Sporting Kansas City currently lead all MLS teams in the total number of new Season Ticket Members for 2013 and have averaged over a 90% Season Ticket Member renewal rate for the last three seasons.

    Sporting Kansas City have also begun sales for new five-game 'Pick Plans.' All plans include the team's match on July 3 against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC as well as four additional Sporting KC matches of the buyer's choice, including U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League or any of the remaining MLS regular season games.

    SPORTING PARK TO HOST U.S. MNT IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

    Sporting Park will host the U.S. Men's National Team on Oct. 11 in the team's final home qualifying match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The United States returns to Sporting Park to play Jamaica, live on the ESPN family, WatchESPN and UniMas. Kickoff time and ticket information will be released at a later date.

    Sporting Park, home to Major League Soccer's Sporting Kansas City, will host the U.S. Men's National Team for the third time since opening in June 2011. The state-of-the-art, $200+ million venue will also host the 2013 MLS All-Star Game on July 31.

    SPORTING CLUB LAUNCHES THE VICTORY PROJECT

    Sporting Club recently announced the launch of The Victory Project, a new community-driven foundation that will meaningfully and tangibly impact children with cancer in the Kansas City region. A key component of The Victory Project is to raise funds to address specific needs of individual children undergoing cancer treatment, where those needs are not supported by insurance. Donors will have the unique opportunity to know exactly how their funds are being used, and for whom. All funds raised will go directly to helping these children, who are here in Kansas City.

    In addition to raising money, the organization hopes to provide encouragement to children in their daily battles with cancer. At each Sporting Kansas City home match, Sporting Club welcomes a special guest affected by cancer, and their family, to the Victory Suite at Sporting Park and recognizes the individual in a special pre-match ceremony.

    For more information on The Victory Project, visit VictoryKC.org or contact Community Programs Manager Brandi Thomas at 913-235-2101.

    SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR NEXT FIVE MATCHES

    Tickets to Sporting Kansas City's next five regular season home MLS matches are on sale to the general public now via Ticketmaster.com. Fans have the opportunity to secure their seats for the next five regular season MLS matches at Sporting Park including the U.S. Open Cup rematch against the Seattle Sounders tonight and an MLS Cup Playoffs rematch versus the Houston Dynamo on May 26.

    FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE

    Sporting Kansas City fans looking to keep up with the club on the worldwide web now have a place to go. The social media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the club, its players as well as many staff members. Additionally, fans may take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage available online.

    Also, Sporting Kansas City's 2013 media guide is now available online and fans can find all the latest information for Sporting Kansas City matches at SportingKC.com/GameOn .

    Please note: Five-game 'Pick Plans' are now on sale for the 2013 MLS season at state-of-the-art Sporting Park, home of the 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game. Visit SportingKC.com or call 888-4KC-GOAL to reserve seats.
     
  3. truebluefan

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    Sporting KC Suffers 1-0 Loss to Seattle Sounders FC

    The Seattle Sounders FC defeated Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in front of a sold-out crowd on Wednesday night at Sporting Park.A 94th minute goal from Djimi Traore sent the Sounders home with three points.

    Kei Kamara made his first appearance for Sporting Kansas City since returning from his loan stint with Norwich City FC and Josh Gardner made his first start as a Sporting Kansas City player.

    Sporting Kansas City's first chance of the match came a mere 15 seconds in when Jacob Peterson dispossessed defender Zach Scott, sped down the left flank and fired a low shot that was saved by goalkeeper Michael Gspurning.

    In the 13th minute, Sporting came close on another chance when C.J. Sapong took an attempt from the top of the box that floated just wide of the far post.

    Seattle nearly went up a goal in the 20th minute of play when Mario Martinez played in a long ball that Brad Evans just barely clipped over the crossbar with a well-timed header.

    Five minutes later, the home side followed up with a chance of their own when U.S. international Graham Zusi boldly struck from 20 yards out but Gspurning made the save.

    Seattle were quick to respond in the form of a free kick from Martinez that evaded the wall and was goal-bound, but goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen made a sliding save.

    With two minutes remaining in the first half, Sporting had their final chance of the first half when Ike Opara neatly headed down the ball down to Chance Myers, whose 20-yard volley was blocked by Gspurning.

    The second half was relatively quiet until the 80th minute when Myers lofted in a pass headed for Kamara, but it was cleared out. Claudio Bieler settled the deflected ball and shot wide of the far post.

    Three minutes later, Kamara, in his first MLS appearance of 2013, took a low shot from deep in the right corner, but Gspurning wasn't phased and snuffed out the chance.

    The match appeared headed for a draw until the fourth minute of stoppage time when Zach Scott's throw-in fell to Traore, whoseshot sailed past Nielsen from close range.

    Sporting Kansas City will return to the road to face Eastern Conference rival the Houston Dynamo at 7 p.m. CT on Sunday at BBVA Compass Stadium. The match will be broadcast live on KSMO-TV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340 AM.

    FAST FACTS

    - With the loss, Sporting Kansas City falls to third in the Eastern Conference.

    - Sporting KC is now 5-4-2 in 2013 and 3-2-1 at home.

    - Sporting Kansas City is 217-210-111 all-time and 144-77-48 all-time at home.

    - Sporting Kansas City's record against the Seattle Sounders moves to 1-6-1 all-time and 0-4-0 at home in the series.

    - Sporting Kansas City beat the Sounders in the two clubs' first ever meeting and has not won a match since (seven straight matches without a victory).

    - Sporting KC made three changes to their starting lineup for Wednesday after their 4-0 triumph over Chivas USA on Sunday. Josh Gardner started in place of Seth Sinovic, Chance Myers started for Mechack Jerome and C.J. Sapong for Claudio Bieler.

    -The Seattle Sounders made four changes to their starting lineup from last weekend's 2-2 draw against the Philadelphia Union. Zach Scott came on for DeAndre Yedlin, Mario Roberto Martinez for Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso for Alex Caskey and David Estrada for Lamar Neagle.

    - Sporting Kansas City allowed only two shots on goal on Wednesday. Seattle's two shots on goal on Wednesday was a season low.

    - Kei Kamara made his first appearance for Sporting Kansas City during the 2013 season, re-joining the team late Sunday night after being on loan with Norwich City in the Barclays Premier League.

    - Since 2009, Seattle Sounders FC game-winning goals against Sporting KC have come in the 76th minute (2009), 92+ minute (2010), 78th minute (2010), 93+ minute (2011), 92+ minute (2011) and 94+ minute (2013).

    - Of Seattle's 11 goals scored all-time in the series, seven have come after the 76th minute. Seattle's 11 goals in the series have come from 11 different players.

    -Prior to Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City was 4-0-0 when leading in the 75th minute.

    -Wednesday's temperature was 75 degrees at kickoff, the hottest temperature for a Sporting KC game in 2013.

    -Wednesday marked Josh Gardner's first start since joining Sporting Kansas City. The start was his first in MLS since April 4, 2012.

    - Sporting Kansas City players Seth Sinovic, Paulo Nagamura and Claudio Bieler did not start for the first time during the 2013 season on Wednesday. Sinovic and Bieler entered the match as second-half substitutes.

    - Seattle has fielded 12 different lineups in 12 matches in all competition this year.

    -Seattle is unbeaten in 35-straight games when scoring first.

    - Seattle boasts a five-game unbeaten streak in all competition.

    - Attendance at Wednesday's match was 18,602, marking 22 consecutive sellouts at Sporting Park.

    - Ike Opara led all players on the field on Wednesday with 11 clearances and 11 interceptions. No other player had more than six in either category. Opara also led all players with eight aerial duels won on Wednesday.

    -Oriol Rosell was credited with 15 possessions gained on Wednesday, most amongst all players.

    - Jimmy Nielsen has appeared in 72 straight MLS matches, including postseason, for Sporting Kansas City, dating back to June 12, 2011. The streak covers a span of 6,480 straight minutes of MLS action.

    -Seattle Sounders FC backup goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was dismissed for foul or abusive language in the 24th minute of the match. Wednesday was the third straight match between Seattle and Sporting KC with a player ejected or dismissed.

    -Aurelien Collin committed six fouls in Wednesday's match, tying his single-game career high. The six fouls committed is a season-high for a Sporting Kansas City player.

    - Collin also committed six fouls in his last match against the Seattle Sounders FC on June 20, 2012.

    - C.J. Sapong suffered four fouls on Wednesday, the most by a Kansas City player in the all-time series.

    -Peterson Joseph's four fouls committed on Wednesday was a single-game career high.

    - Sporting Kansas City outshot the Seattle Sounders 11-9. Sporting KC is 4-3-2 when outshooting an opponent this season.

    -Sporting Kansas City was without Paulo Nagamura on Wednesday due to suspension.

    -The Seattle Sounders were without Lamar Neagle and DeAndre Yedlin on Wednesday. Both players were suspended for red cards received on Saturday against Philadelphia.

    - Sigi Schmid earned his 174th win on Wednesday, most all-time among MLS coaches.

    -Sporting KC leads MLS all-time in shots with 7,349.

    -Joseph Serati was the Victory Suite honoree at Wednesday's match.

    -Matt Besler missed Wednesday's match due to injury.

    - Graham Zusi started the 75th regular season match of his career on Wednesday and surpassed 7,000 regular season minutes played.

    QUOTES

    Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

    On giving up the late goal...

    It is a monumental mistake as we came out of the back to play that ball square. At that point we have C.J. Sapong and Kei Kamara up front and that ball needs to be played forward. Absolutely unacceptable that we played that ball the way it was played. That ball needs to go forward into those guys-that's why they are there running off the ball-we're now 18 yards from there goal. It was a monumental mistake on our part. There's nothing else to say. It's a simple one. We were coming up the field and we play the ball square across the field. For what reason? I have absolutely no idea. Monumental mistake. There's nothing I can say around the goal other than it was a major mistake on our part. We gifted that to them.

    On Sporting KC's recent results against Seattle...

    I don't buy into that stuff. That's a concentration mistake. It's a mistake on a player coming out of the back. Instead of playing that ball forward he plays it square and puts the other team in the game. He had 20-30 yards of space in front of him, but it's just a mistake unfortunately. The great thing is, we played very well. Again having to change the lineup based on a short turn around given that we played Sunday and they played Saturday. I thought we did a good job and we had good run of play. I thought the second half we got a little tired in the middle of the park it was hard to make subs based on what we needed. The first half I thought we created a lot of good chances in and around the box and I thought we dictated play. Look, they scored a late goal on us. We won the ball to Jimmy, to the ball being thrown out, to the ball played square, to the ball going out of bounds, and missing our mark, and all those things. It was just one mistake after another. So, just completely unacceptable.

    On Kei Kamara's return...

    I knew it was going to be one where he was going to be a little bit disconnected at times being the fact that he played a lot in a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 and playing in the middle. Now he's coming to the wide channel again which is what he plays for us. It was a good return for him, to get him out on the field for us, but he needs a little time with us for sure to get back to his form with us.

    On Seattle's tactics...

    They didn't step up and high press us in this game. They tried a couple times maybe, but we broke their pressure. We had 60-70 yards on the field ourselves. Especially in the first half. Second half, yeah they tried to make our center backs have the ball, but it wasn't like they posed some major problems for us and it wasn't like we weren't getting up the field.

    On the crowd at Sporting Park...

    The crowd was awesome tonight. They were loud. They were into it. For a Wednesday night it was a tremendous environment. It still is a fortress. It still is a great environment and it will continue to be that. It's a great place to play. For anybody. For both teams for sure.

    Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi

    On Sporting's recent results against Seattle...

    I don't know it might just be coincidence and a lack of concentration in the last few minutes.

    On Sporting's second half performance...

    For as well as we played in the first half, that's how bad we played in the second. A horrible second half for us. It's not anything they did. They didn't really have too many sniffs at our goal. Passing was off. Touches were off. Just a poor second half.

    I don't know. It could have been a lack of energy. I thought we were just dull the second half.

    Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen

    On giving up the late goal...

    That's not good enough to give up a goal in whatever minute. It's very very disappointing. We have to be more focused in that situation. That's too sloppy.

    There was a few actions before the goal too. It's just not good enough at that point. I think we should try to play the long ball up. We have CJ (Sapong) and Kei (Kamara) and we should try to play the long ball up there. That was a mistake and w made a mistake on the throw in too. Throw it to the near post and he flicked it in. The guy can't be that open in that area.

    On his thoughts during the play that lead to the Seattle goal...

    It went pretty fast so I'm not really sure what happened. In a split second I thought it was a handball but I'm not sure.

    On his reaction to the goal...

    Like jumping in an ice bath. It was like, "Jesus Christ, what's going on here?" I thought we played a pretty good game. It was an intense game. A lot of battles out there and I think everybody did a great job. We just got to be better to finish the game off. We can't give up a goal like that. Very disappointing.

    It can't knock us back. We have a game on Sunday. We have to bounce back from this here. It's something that we have to take with us. The last few minutes we have to be better to finish the game like this, if we don't win, at least get a point. That was too easy.

    On the crowd's reaction to Kei Kamara's return...

    It was unbelievable. What a welcome. Fantastic crowd and it was fantastic to have Kei back.

    On Sporting KC's recent results against Seattle...

    That's not the first time that's happened. There's definitely something we can learn from this. I'm sure that Coach will point that out to us tomorrow.

    Seattle Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid

    On Seattle's 1-0 win over Sporting KC...

    We've always had good success in this building. We thought we were a little hard done by in the U.S. Open Cup Final last year, but that's over with. We're happy to get the win because we needed the points. We've played well, and today we finally got some luck.

    On improving to 4-0-0 in Kansas City in MLS competition...

    It's sort of hard to figure out. Sometime you have a bogie team you can't seem to get past, and then you have a team where it always seems to fall into place. We've done it in different ways at this stadium. I was very pleased with our fitness because we weren't able to rest as many guys as (Sporting) Kansas City did before this match.

    On Seattle's defensive performance...

    I thought we were very good tonight defensively. We didn't give them time or very many looks. I didn't think Michael Gspurning was forced to make very many saves. He did well to hold onto a shot from Chance Myers in the first half.

    On Djimi Traore's goal in the 95th minute...

    It was a long throw, and I don't know if it was Brad Evans or one of their players who flicked it on, but Djimi (Traore) was in the right spot in the middle. He took a touch quickly and finished with his second.

    On earning a hard-fought road victory...

    It's important for our team. We have eight points over our last four games, so we're averaging two points a game, which is what we need to do to put ourselves back in the running. Now we've got a big Western Conference game, and we want to get points at home. Our fans see that we're fighting and clawing to get back to being the team we've been over the last four years.

    Seattle Sounders forward David Estrada

    On Seattle's 1-0 win over Sporting KC...

    It was nice to sneak away with a victory and all three points. One of the things we tried to do was drive the ball at (Sporting KC defender Ike) Opara. We're a little short-handed with injuries and suspensions, but anyone who steps onto the field for us can do well. Whatever the matchups are, I think we can always do a good job.

    On the importance of Seattle's victory...

    We didn't have a very good start to the season, and we knew we had to turn things around. One of the ways you can do that is by going on the road. It tests your character. A lot of guys have had to step up that normally don't play, which has helped us. Now we're looking forward to bringing this momentum home to get three more points.

    Seattle Sounders defender Djimi Traore

    On Seattle's 1-0 win over Sporting KC...

    It is a big victory for us away from home. We worked hard the whole game, and in the first half it was hard for us. But in the second half we found a way. I don't know if we deserved it, but it's important that we got the three points.

    On Seattle's defensive performance...

    We pressed them all over the pitch. It was good pressure from us to not let them be comfortable passing the ball. Everyone was involved. You can even thank our strikers for (applying) pressure. They didn't make it easy on us. They are a good team, but we did what we had to do.

    On his game-winning goal in the 95th minute...

    It was the last minute and I was happy to contribute. I was surprised to receive the ball in that area, but I just did my best. To score at that time is very important for us. It's great for showing our character and it was a fun match to play.
     
  4. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Draws 1-1 with Houston Dynamo

    Sporting Kansas City drew 1-1 with the Houston Dynamo in front of the third largest crowd in Sporting Park history on Sunday afternoon. Brad Davis put the Dynamo ahead with a stoppage time goal in the first half, but Sporting KC fought back and equalized in the 68th minute with Kei Kamara's first goal of the 2013 season.

    It was Sporting Kansas City with the first chance of the match, arriving in the fourth minute of play when Graham Zusi barreled through midfield and fired a low shot that was saved by goalkeeper Tally Hall.

    The next 30 minutes progressed without any clear cut chances for either side. In the 36th minute, Matt Besler sent in his signature long throw that found the head of Zusi, whose attempt was -->

    (May 26, 2013) - Sporting Kansas City drew 1-1 with the Houston Dynamo in front of the third largest crowd in Sporting Park history on Sunday afternoon. Brad Davis put the Dynamo ahead with a stoppage time goal in the first half, but Sporting KC fought back and equalized in the 68th minute with Kei Kamara's first goal of the 2013 season.

    It was Sporting Kansas City with the first chance of the match, arriving in the fourth minute of play when Graham Zusi barreled through midfield and fired a low shot that was saved by goalkeeper Tally Hall.

    The next 30 minutes progressed without any clear cut chances for either side. In the 36th minute, Matt Besler sent in his signature long throw that found the head of Zusi, whose attempt was block by Hall with a terrific diving save to thwart a goal for the home side.

    The tide appeared to turn in Houston's favor in the 39th minute when Houston was awarded a penalty kick after Oriol Rosell's challenge on Davis in the box. However, after referee Drew Fischer conferred with assistant referee Kevin Duliba, the call was overturned.

    Four minutes later, Sporting KC nearly went up a goal when Claudio Bieler played a quick one-two ball to Paulo Nagamura. The Brazilian's ensuing left-footed shot skipped just wide of the far post.

    Houston struck just before halftime when Will Bruin played a through ball to Davis, who slipped the ball in past Nielsen for his third goal of the season.

    Down a goal, Sporting Kansas City began the second half pressuring the Dynamo. In the 53rd minute, Jacob Peterson came close to equalizing but his shot was deflected just wide of the goal.

    Peterson threatened again in the 65th minute when he drove the ball down the right flank and fired a low, angled shot that was just wide of the far post.

    Sporting KC drew even in the 68th minute when Bieler tipped the ball to Kamara and the Sierra Leone international shot from 22 yards out with a low drive past Hall. The goal marked Kamara's first goal of the season since returning from his loan to Norwich City FC and Bieler's first assist as a Sporting KC player. Peterson was also credited with an assist on the play, his first of the season.

    Eight minutes later, Kamara nearly bagged a second after he tipped a free kick from Zusi just over the crossbar.

    The third minute of stoppage time saw a stellar save from Nagamura who slid the block a goal-bound shot from second-half substitute Jason Johnson.

    Sporting Kansas City will host the Des Moines Menace in their first match in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at 7:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday at Sporting Park. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and at Sporting Park Box Offices.

    FAST FACTS

    With the draw, Sporting Kansas City sits in third place in the Eastern Conference behind the New York Red Bulls and the Montreal Impact. Sporting KC is now 6-4-4 in 2013 and 3-2-2 at home. Sporting Kansas City is 218-210-113 all-time and 144-77-48 all-time at home. Sporting Kansas City's record against the Houston Dynamo moves to 4-6-7 all-time and 2-3-4 at home in the series. Sporting Kansas City is unbeaten in their last three matches against the Houston Dynamo. Prior to Sunday's draw, Sporting Kansas City had won their last two matches in the series.

    Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes made one change to the starting lineup from last Sunday's 1-1 draw against D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Oriol Rosell started the match in place of Benny Feilhaber. The Houston Dynamo made two changes to their starting lineup from last weekend's 2-0 loss against the New England Revolution at BBVA Compass Stadium. Eric Brunner and Adam Moffat started in Bobby Boswell and Jermaine Taylor's absence.

    Brad Davis scored the first goal of the match assisted by Will Bruin and Giles Barnes. Davis has now scored six goals against Sporting Kansas City in his career, most among active Dynamo players. Five of his six career goals against Sporting KC have come in a Houston uniform. Sporting Kansas City's equalizer came in the 68th minute. Kamara finished a low driven shot past Tally Hall. Claudio Bieler and Jacob Peterson were credited with the assists. Kamara's goal was the first of the 16 goals scored by Sporting Kansas City in 2013 to have come from outside the penalty area. Sporting KC is 5-2-3 when wearing Sporting Blue and 5-1-4 versus the Eastern Conference in 2013. Jimmy Nielsen has appeared in 75 straight MLS matches, including postseason, for Sporting Kansas City, dating back to June 12, 2011. The streak covers a span of 6,750 straight minutes of MLS action. Sporting Kansas City outshot D.C. United 17-12. Sporting KC is 5-3-4 when outshooting an opponent this season. Sporting KC strung together 374 passes over the course of the game game on Sunday to the Houston Dynamo's 295 passes. Graham Zusi took six corner kicks today. Zusi leads the League in corner kicks with 66. Sporting KC leads MLS all-time in shots with 7,391 and ranks first in MLS this season with 199 shots. The Houston Dynamo only recorded one shot on goal in the match. The one shot resulted in a goal. Aurelien Collin, C.J. Sapong and Benny Feilhaber all missed Sunday's match due to injuries. Soony Saad was not available for Sunday's match as he is currently with the Lebanon Men's National Team. Sunday's attendance was 20,876, the third largest attendance at Sporting Park. The only two matches with a higher attendance were on September 28, 2012 versus the Chicago Fire (21,010) and November 7, 2012 versus the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup playoffs (20,894). Houston's Bobby Boswell missed Sunday's match as he served the first of a two-game suspension, after receiving a red card in the Dynamo's match against the New England Revolution last weekend. Sporting KC on-loan striker Dom Dwyer scored his 13th goal of the USL PRO season to lead Orlando City to a 4-1 victory over the Wilmington Hammerheads on Saturday. The goal ties the single-season scoring record for USL PRO. Fellow Sporting KC loanees Christian Duke and Yann Songo'o also started the match. All fans who attended the match on Sunday received a Sporting Kansas City scarf courtesy of Sprint. Jimmy Nielsen hosted a book signing in the Shield Club after Sunday's match. Fans were able to purchase a copy of Nielsen's new book "Welcome to the Blue Heaven: Don't B et A gainst the G oalkeeper." Roger Espinoza attended the match and participated in the first kick prior to the match. Espinoza and Robb Heineman visited the Boulevard Members Club to mingle with fans during the first half of the game. The match was nationally broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network. Sporting Kansas City boasts the best goal differential in the East, tied with the Montreal Impact (+6). Kamara's goal breaks a tie with Mo Johnston for sole possession of 5th place in club history with 32. Zusi's three shots break a tie with Matt McKeon for sole possession of 9th place in club history with 176. Zusi's seven total crosses were the most among all players on the field in Sunday's match. Houston have dropped 11 points from leading positions against Sporting KC in MLS since 2009 in the regular season. Oriol Rosell made five interceptions in today's match. Rosell has made a league-high 77 interceptions this season. Rosell completed 94.4% of passes on Sunday; most among all players with more than 10 passes completed.
     
  5. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Falls 2-1 to First Place Montreal Impact

    porting Kansas City fell 2-1 to the Montreal Impact in front of a sold-out crowd at Sporting Park on Saturday night.

    Sporting Kansas City opened the scoring from the penalty spot in first half stoppage time on Claudio Bieler's seventh goal of the season, third most in MLS. Sanna Nyassi equalized for Montreal in the 47th and Collen Warner earned the match-winner for the visitors in the 53rd minute of play.

    In the 17th minute, Marco Di Vaio, the League's second leading scorer, chipped the ball to an unmarked Felipe Martins. Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen was quick off his line and pushed the ball away from danger moments before the attacker arrived.

    Seven minutes later, Bieler settled a pass from Ike Opara and fired from 22 yards out, but it was just wide of the right post.

    Kei Kamara, in his first regular season start of the season for Sporting KC, had a chance of his own in the 33rd minute when Mechack Jerome tipped the ball to him deep in the right corner of the box. However, his ensuing angled shot was saved easily by goalkeeper Troy Perkins.

    Montreal's best chance of the first half came in the 39th minute when Felipe went one-on-one with Nielsen and fired a low shot that hit the near post. The rebound came to Di Vaio and was sent just wide of the left post.

    The tide turned in Sporting Kansas City's favor in the first minute of stoppage time when a penalty kick was granted to Sporting KC after Allesandro Nesta brought down Bieler at the top of the box. Bieler converted the penalty kick, sending the home side into halftime with the lead.

    The Montreal Impact wasted no time in the second half and found an equalizer in the 47th minute of play. Nyassi chested down the ball from a cleared corner and thumped in a low shot from outside the box that worked its way through traffic and settled into the back corner of the net.

    Six minutes later, Montreal took the lead when Warner capitalized on a failed clearance, collecting the loose ball and firing an angled shot past Nielsen for his first career MLS goal.

    Bieler nearly notched his second goal of the match in the 56th minute when he flicked in a corner kick from Oriol Rosell, but it fell just wide of the far post. Nine minutes later, the ball was pinballed around Montreal's box before finding Benny Feilhaber, whose bicycle kick was saved by Perkins.

    The Impact were reduced to 10 men in the 74th minute of play after Nesta was shown a red card for a confrontation with Bieler. In the dying minutes of the match, Sporting KC scrambled to find an equalizer and in the 90th minute, a chance fell to Peterson but his left-footed shot was wide of the far post.

    Two minutes later, Jerome nudged the ball to Bieler but his strike was right at Perkins' chest. Sporting KC's final chance came in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Bieler crossed a low ball from the left to Kamara, but his effort was just wide of the right post.

    Sporting Kansas City will next host Orlando City Soccer Club in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at 7:30 p.m. CT on June 12. Tickets are available in limited supply through Ticketmaster and at Sporting Park Box Offices.
     
  6. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Settles for 2-2 Draw at FC Dallas

    Sporting Kansas City settled for a 2-2 draw at FC Dallas on Saturday with their sixth result on the road in eight away matches this season. Kei Kamara's first half penalty kick and an own goal from Je-Vaughn Watson off a Graham Zusi corner kick had Sporting KC ahead 2-0, but FC Dallas rallied with goals in the 88th and 90th minutes to extend their home unbeaten streak to a club-record 13 matches.

    Sporting Kansas City remains in third place in the Eastern Conference and will play three of their next four matches at home, including each of the team's next two fixtures.

    Jimmy Nielsen made four saves on Saturday and was called into action in the second minute of the match, collecting a free kick taken by David Ferreira that missed its intended target but curled on frame.

    On the opposite end, Sporting KC started strong with three shots in the game's opening eight minutes. Claudio Bieler's side volley went wide at the six-minute mark and two minutes later, Graham Zusi settled with his chest but couldn't direct the volley on target.

    FC Dallas continued to be dangerous from set piece opportunities as Nielsen tipped Michel's free kick effort over the bar in the 11th minute. The home side threatened again in short succession with a well-struck service from Zach Loyd finding Kenny Cooper at the far post. The striker left his feet for a diving header which beat Nielsen but struck off the post.

    In the 27th minute, Sporting KC was saved by the woodwork again on a free kick from Ferreira. An alert Chance Myers was there to clear the ball from danger as it caromed off the post and crossed the goalmouth.

    Three minutes before halftime, Sporting KC won a penalty kick when Andrew Jacobson was whistled for pulling down Aurelien Collin during a scramble inside the box. Kamara stepped to the spot and converted the attempt in the 43rd minute to grab the 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season.

    George John's header in the second minute of first half stoppage time came close to equalizing but FC Dallas entered the locker room trailing for only the second time this season after 45 minutes.

    The second half started with little lull in the action as both teams exchanged scoring opportunities in the opening minute. Nielsen stopped Watson's attempt from outside the box and moments later Kamara shot wide.

    John proved to be a threat in the air again in the 55th minute, winning a header from Michel's corner and directing it narrowly above the crossbar. However, it was a Sporting Kansas City corner kick that led to the game's second goal.

    In the 57th minute, Zusi's well-struck service was inadvertently turned into the back of the net by Watson, who was stationed inside the six-yard box. The goal was Sporting Kansas City's third from a corner kick this season and the first allowed from a corner kick by FC Dallas.

    Despite going down two goals, FC Dallas signaled their intent to fight their way back into the match in the 65th minute with a well-struck shot from Cooper on the left side that was pushed away by Nielsen. The momentum in the match then turned in the 68th minute when referee Mark Geiger sent off C.J. Sapong after a collision with Jacobson.

    The FC Dallas midfielder remained on the ground and with the ball played back in his direction by a teammate, Sapong's foot made contact with the ball moments prior to it hitting Jacobson's right arm. Geiger -- who whistled 37 fouls on Saturday, second most in an MLS match this season -- immediately showed the red card.

    Sporting KC did well not to concede a shot in the ensuing 10 minutes and kept FC Dallas from flooding numbers forward as goalkeeper Raul Fernandez was forced into two saves; first on an effort from Kamara in the 77th minute and five minutes later on a shot from Lawrence Olum that earned a corner.

    Matt Besler came up big defensively for Sporting KC to deny Cooper, who threatened inside the area in the 78th minute, and second-half substitute Blas Perez sent his header high of goal on a cross from Ramon Nunez in the 79th minute.

    The game's late drama began in the 88th minute as FC Dallas cut the lead in half through Jacobson with his third goal of the season. WIth five FC Dallas players inside the box, Nunez sent in a cross from the left corner of the penalty area. Jacobson, with his back to goal, flicked a header that arched over the reach of Nielsen and inside the far post.

    FC Dallas then drew level in the 90th minute on Ferreira's free kick from the right sideline. Rookie Walker Zimmerman, a first round draft pick out of Furman, won the header six yards out and powered his header off Nielsen's head and across the line for his first professional goal in stunning fashion.

    The home side had two looks at a game-winning goal in stoppage time. Cooper's long-range strike skipped narrowly beyond the far post before Jackson's last-ditch effort went well wide in the game's final minute to leave the teams level at 2-2 in their only meeting of the 2013 regular season.

    Sporting Kansas City returns home to host the Columbus Crew at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 29th at Sporting Park. Tickets, including standing-room only tickets, are available online at Ticketmaster.com and at the Sporting Park Box Offices.
     
  7. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Moves into 2nd in East with 3-2 Win over Columbus

    Sporting Kansas City moved into second place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night. Kei Kamara scored twice and Claudio Bieler added a third in front of more than 20,000 fans for the 25th straight MLS sell-out at Sporting Park.

    Sporting KC controlled the run of play early and had the better of the scoring opportunities in the first half. Soony Saad, making his first League appearance since April 20, was in the thick of the action and tested Andy Gruenebaum once and set up two other opportunities.

    In the fifth minute, Saad curled in a ball from the left side of the box toward a streaking Kamara. The Sierra Leone international beat his man to the penalty spot but pushed a header just wide of the far post.

    Saad was at it again in the 10th minute, testing Gruenebaum with a knuckling strike from the top of the box. The Crew goalkeeper and Overland Park, Kan. native was up to the task and deflected the ball away for a corner kick.

    Sporting KC broke through in the 34th minute with the Saad-to-Kamara connection paying dividends. Center back Aurelien Collin intercepted an errant chest pass and found Saad in Crew territory. Saad turned and found Kamara at the top of the 18-yard box. Kamara took one touch and fired a left-footed strike past Gruenebaum to put the home side ahead at halftime.

    The second half featured a flurry of goals including three in the first eight minutes.

    Columbus Crew forward Jairo Arrieta opened the second-half scoring in the 48th minute. The Costa Rican international dribbled 60 yards before slotting the ball past Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen to level the match.

    The tie did not last long, however, as Bieler added his team-leading eighth goal of the year two minutes later. The play began on the right flank when Kamara played the ball back to Chance Myers. The veteran defender's cross deflected off the head of Crew defender Tyson Wahl and landed at the top of the penalty box. Bieler wasted no time, hammering the ball into the far corner to give Sporting KC a 2-1 lead.

    Sporting KC's lead lasted only three minutes as Dominic Oduro pounced on a back pass and dribbled around Nielsen to pull Columbus even for the second time in five minutes.

    The back-and-forth affair turned in Sporting KC's favor in the 80th minute. Homegrown defender Kevin Ellis, who entered the match in the 63rd minute for his MLS debut, sent in a long ball from the left sideline. Wahl won the bouncing ball but headed the ball directly to Bieler. The Argentine striker headed the ball to an open Kamara who beat Gruenebaum to the near post for the game-winning goal.

    Sporting KC nearly found a fourth goal but Gruenebaum's double-save in the 84th minute kept the visitors in the match. His first stop came on a point-blank attempt from Graham Zusi 12 yards from goal. The ball caromed to Saad who laced a shot from the top of the box, but Gruenebaum recovered to throw his body in the way and preserve the one-goal deficit.

    Dom Dwyer made his 2013 MLS debut for Sporting KC after he entered the match for Bieler in the 83rd minute.

    Sporting KC will face a short turnaround as they prepare for Wednesday's match against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Sporting Park. Limited tickets are still available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park box offices.
     
  8. EPJr

    EPJr Producer Staff Member Producer

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    SKC Schedule Set For 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League
    [​IMG]

    Kansas City in Group 2:

    * Sporting Kansas City at Real Estelí FC on Wednesday, August 7 at 9 p.m. CT at Estadio Independencia in Estelí, Nicaragua

    * Sporting Kansas City at CD Olimpia on Tuesday, August 27 at 9 p.m. CT at Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

    * Sporting Kansas City vs Real Estelí FC on Tuesday, September 17 at 7 p.m. CT at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

    * Sporting Kansas City vs CD Olimpia on Wednesday, October 23 at 7 p.m. CT at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

    http://www.wibw.com/sports/headline...CACAF-Champions-League-213890351.html?ref=351
     
  9. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Earns 1-1 Draw with Whitecaps FC

    Sporting Kansas City increased their unbeaten run to six out of their past seven games with a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday night at Sporting Park. In front of a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000 fans, Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin put the home side ahead 1-0 before Camilo Sanvezzo's free kick minutes before halftime earned the visitors the road point.

    Sporting KC dominated the run of play, controlling 56% of the possession and out-shooting Vancouver 25 to 10.

    The home side's first opportunity came in the fifth minute when Graham Zusi picked up a pass 30 yards from goal, dribbled around two defenders and laced a shot to the near post. Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Brad Knighton lunged to his left to parry away the attempt.

    Knighton made two saves on the night, including one off an Uri Rosell laser in the 24th minute. Rosell picked up a loose ball from 25 yards and laced a shot on target. Knighton reacted quickly to knock it away and Soony Saad's rebound attempt hit the side-netting.

    Sporting KC broke through in the 35th minute. Matt Besler played a short throw-in that found its way to Rosell. The Spanish midfielder lofted a ball to the back post that Chance Myers headed back toward Aurelien Collin at the six-yard box. Collin's first strike hit the back of center back Johnny Leveron, but he connected cleanly on his second attempt and drilled it past a helpless Knighton.

    The Whitecaps FC snatched the lead from Sporting KC only seconds before halftime. Leveron earned a free kick at the top of Sporting KC's penalty box and Camilo curled the ball into the upper-corner of the net to level the match in the 45th minute with his 10th goal of the season.

    Sporting KC attempted 16 shots in the second half but was unable to test Knighton. Kei Kamara had two attempts on frame but his headers in the 60th minute, off a Matt Besler long throw-in, and in the 66th minute, off a Zusi corner kick, sailed over the crossbar.

    Sporting KC's best opportunity to take three points came in the 76th minute when second-half sub Benny Feilhaber picked up a Rosell header and sprinter toward the Whitecaps FC goal. The U.S. international's pass deflected off a Vancouver defender and landed at the foot of Zusi who found himself alone at the top of the 18-yard box. Zusi took a touch and fired a low shot that ricocheted off the far post and was subsequently cleared from danger.

    Kamara had one final chance to give the home side three points, but his 25-yard strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time missed the near post.

    Sporting KC will hit the road this weekend for a nationally televised match against the Chicago Fire. Sunday's match kicks off at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN. The match can also be heard locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB.

    FAST FACTS - Sporting KC's record moves to 7-5-6 this season and 4-3-3 at home. - The Whitecaps are now 7-5-5 on the season and 2-5-2 on the road. - Sporting KC is unbeaten against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC since the 'Caps entered Major League Soccer in 2011. Sporting KC is 2-0-2 in four all-time regular season meetings and 1-0-1 at home in the series. - Both teams have netted in all four meetings between the two sides in MLS with a total of 15 goals being scored.

    - Three of Sporting Kansas City's next four MLS matches will come on the road, including visits to Eastern Conference leaders Montreal and Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake. - Aurelien Collin scored the lone goal for Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday. - Sporting Kansas City is 8-0-2 when Aurelien Collin scores a goal for the club. - Wednesday marks the first time in 2013 that Sporting KC has allowed a goal directly from a free kick in 2013. - Camilo's goal marks the first time that Sporting KC has allowed a goal from outside the penalty area in 2013. - Sporting KC has scored 23 of the team's 24 goals from inside the penalty area this season. - Wednesday's draw ended Vancouver's three-game winning streak. - Sporting KC has only one loss in the team's last seven MLS matches. - Sporting KC was without defender Mechack Jerome and midfielder Peterson Joseph on Wednesday. Both players are with the Haiti Men's National Team in advance of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. - Vancouver was without midfielder Russell Teibert and goalkeeper Simon Thomas on Wednesday. Both players are with the Canada Men's National Team in advance of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. - Carlyle Mitchell also missed Wednesday's match. Mitchell is with Trinidad & Tobago in advance of 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup matches. - Vancouver has been held scoreless in only two of the team's 17 games in 2013. Conversely, Vancouver has only two shutouts in the team's 17 games this season.

    - Camilo Sanvezzo has four career goals against Sporting KC. He is the only Whitecaps FC active player to have scored against Sporting KC in their career. - Attendance at Wednesday's match was 20,137 marking Sporting Kansas City's 26th straight MLS shutout at Sporting Park dating back to March 2011. - Matt Besler and Jimmy Nielsen surpassed 10,000 regular season minutes played in their Sporting KC careers on Wednesday. They become the only two active players to do so in a KC uniform. - Only 12 players in club history have logged 10,000 regular season minutes for the club. - Only three other active MLS goalkeepers have played 10,000 minutes for their current club: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Matt Reis (New England Revolution) and Matt Pickens (Colorado Rapids). - Nielsen has started and played the full 90 minutes in 74 straight MLS matches (including postseason). That's the longest active streak among MLS players. - Nielsen has the best career goals against average (1.03) in League history among MLS goalkeepers with a minimum of 4,500 minutes played. - Sporting KC is 3-2-4 when tied at halftime in 2013.

    - The draw marks the 50th regular season draw at home in club history. - After making his MLS debut on Saturday, Kevin Ellis made his first career MLS start on Wednesday. Ellis becomes the first Sporting KC Homegrown player to start an MLS match. - With tonight's appearance, Graham Zusi has played 8,000 minutes in his MLS career (including playoffs). - Claudio Bieler is the only Sporting KC player to have played in every competitive match this season. - Sporting Kansas City's +6 goal differential is tied with the Montreal Impact for the best in the Eastern Conference. - Graham Zusi leads all MLS players with 80 corner kicks this season. - Kei Kamara led all players with eight aerial duels won on Wednesday.

    - Aurelien Collin led all players with 11 clearances in Wednesday's match.

    - Kei Kamara led all Sporting KC players with possession gained on Wednesday with 10. - Aurelien Collin was tied for the most tackles on Wednesday with four. - Oriol Rosell and Kei Kamara led all players with 44 passes completed on Wednesday. - Oriol Rosell led all players in passing accuracy with 88.6 percent. - Graham Zusi led all players with five key passes and three good crosses. - Aurelien Collin led all players with 13 duels won. - Sporting Kansas City's 25 shots on Wednesday is a season high, one more than the 24 the team attempted on Saturday.

    - Sporting Kansas City's 276 shots are second most in MLS this season behind only Real Salt Lake's 277. - Sporting Kansas City has allowed the fewest shots in MLS this season, conceding just 163 shots in 2013. - Prior to Wednesday's match, Sporting Park hosted a naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens. - The first 5,000 fans at Wednesday's match received a Sporting KC cooler bag courtesy of match sponsor Providence Medical Center. - John Luke Kern was a special guest in the Victory Suite on Wednesday and met Sporting KC players postgame on the field. John was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in January 2013 called DIPG and he underwent radiation treatment which ended in March. QUOTES

    Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

    Overall thoughts on the game... I think it was a pretty even match to be honest with you. I thought that maybe at the outset, when we first started, I thought we had some good chances. I thought we had some good runs at them. The second half obviously I thought that we went after the goal quite a bit more than they did against us.

    Unfortunately we give up a very poor foul. Credit to Sanvezzo, it's a fantastic shot. It's a great shot. I don't think Jimmy gets to the ball ever. It's just one of those shots, it's a great ball. You have to applaud that but we just shouldn't have given up such an easy set piece.

    The effort is good. The only other thing I have to say, we had a lot of good actions going towards goal but I thought we were a little impatient. We could have moved the ball around just a little bit more at times and found some guys who were clearly open, who had better chances and had better percentage shots if you will.

    Outside of that, the effort was good. We tried to give everything we had. The crowd was fantastic tonight. I wish we could have given them more because they were great.

    On losing the lead... I'm not going to say that we're bad at it by any means. That goal tonight, I would agree with Collin. I don't think it's a foul, it's called, it is what it is. You know we could have maybe managed the situation a little differently but that's not as if somebody missed their mark and the guy flicks it in or heads it in. The guy hit a great shot so that's the way it goes sometimes. The key factor is that we gave up two fouls consecutively on that play that we didn't deal with well and we could have easily dealt with either of them much better and I think that's the part that's probably the most frustrating is that we could have dealt with those situations much differently.

    Thoughts on Kevin Ellis in his first MLS start... I think he actually was very good, I really do, especially because he's a right footed guy being asked to play on the left side. I actually think he did a very, very good job. The more difficult thing for him maybe is going forward because he's not used to playing with his left but you know I thought he was good. I thought he was good on the defensive side. I thought that even when he was called upon to go forward he was good on the ball. I thought he did an excellent job.

    On the team's second half subs... We changed our formation with Benny first because we were playing two holding midfielders. We went to two attacking so we put Oriol as a holding in that position. I think we started to get more run of the play at that point or higher pressed up the field. We're playing three games in nine days, sometimes you need fresh legs. In regards to Claudio, I just wanted to get fresh legs and I think Dom has been in form so that was the decision there. And the final one, with Kevin not being able to go forward as much and not having as good a left foot as Josh Gardner, it was to try to get service into the game. We saw a couple times as he got down there, he actually had some good balls in. I think if maybe he would have chipped one like he should've I think we maybe would've gotten something more out of it but that was really the idea there.

    Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin

    On losing the lead... When we concede a goal in the last five (minutes of the half). As many games that have been happening like that, we really have to work on that and remain focus. We talk about the last five, I scream 'Last five! Be careful, be careful!' and we were not focused enough. After seeing the replay, maybe it was an amazing shot. For me there was no foul on the free kick because Kei and Soony came and he fell on the floor by himself but you know it's part of the game. The referee is part of the game so I respect that. We just need to be more focused the last five of each half.

    On his goal... I don't remember that much. I'm glad I could help the team. I was very blessed, very lucky on that play and I scored. In the second half, we had a lot of opportunities. Coach said we did a great job, he was impressed with the way the team played. Maybe we could have been a little more patient, that's true. We have the opportunity next game. We just have to maintain this focus that we had the full game and go on to Chicago and try to win.

    Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer

    On the team's offensive pressure... We are going forward, but if the final pass isn't there we aren't going to score. We're having a few long shots here and there, which is okay, but we need to go down and play and have some quality in the final third and we didn't have that tonight.

    On his performance... I was pleased with it. I kept the ball well and I was trying...I felt I was getting myself into the right positions. I was just trying to be moving off the ball and being an option and our last bit of quality wasn't quite there and we didn't get a goal at the end of the day.

    His thoughts on the team's shot quality... It's not good enough. You look at the percentage, whatever it is, and you know that it's too low. I'm sure we'll work on that, but they just weren't falling the right way tonight. I felt that we started to rush it a bit at the end. We had a few times where we pushed it and took some long shots. We've just got to work on our final balls and clean it up.

    On what needs to change before the next game... We just need better quality in the final third and to keep working. We're a good team and if we play to our strengths, we'll win the game.

    Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen

    On Vancouver's goal... Of course there's always something you want to do. You have to give him credit. It was a good shot. That's just part of the game.

    On what the team needs to do different for Chicago... I think we just need to continue what we're doing. We put in a great effort today. We kept chasing and chasing for the three points and it just wasn't our day to get the three points. A little unlucky in a few situations, but overall it was a decent performance.

    On the team giving up a lead... It's happened a few times. We want to play some offensive and some attractive soccer and sometimes it costs us a goal on the other end.

    Sporting KC defender Kevin Ellis

    On getting the start against Vancouver... I found out on Tuesday, but I think I was more excited than nervous to play and do what I can to help the team.

    On his performance in his first career start... I've told quite a few people that I still think I have a lot to work on. I feel that I left everything I had on the field and I take pride in that attitude. But like I said, I have a lot of things to work on and I learned a lot of things this game.

    On playing on the left side of the field compared to playing on the right... It was difficult. At the end of the day though, when it comes down to it, it's still just playing soccer and your instincts take over. Not saying that it's easy by any means, but it's just the same position on the opposite side of the field. It's just trying to reverse everything.

    On starting compared to coming off the bench... You definitely prepare different, but even when you're just one of the 18 subs, you always prepare yourself as if something is going to happen and you'll have to start. It's definitely different knowing that you're going to play. It gives you a little more confidence and a little bit more focus and it feels good to get the confidence from your coaching staff to start in a big game like that.

    On assuming an important role for Sporting KC... It feels good that they have confidence in me to do that and I just try to do the best with the opportunities that I'm given. I appreciate it and I just feel that I left everything I had out there tonight.

    Vancouver Whitecaps FC Manager Martin Rennie

    Thoughts on Camilo's goal...

    It was fantastic. That's his 13th goal in the past 14 competitions, which is an incredible rate. He works a lot on his free kicks and that was a fantastic hit. It was a great goal and I don't think there are many people that are going to save that.

    On the team's recent road performances...

    In recent games we have been a lot more forward thinking and a lot more dominant in the opposition's half. We have had players scoring goals and we are doing a good job putting them in positions to get chances and again, tonight, we did that. I just think the team is rolling in belief, but I also think earlier in the season we were playing well and not getting the results we deserved. But the players realized we are a good team and we have a good chance against anybody.

    On Johnny Leveron's recent performances...

    He is another one of our younger players. He is an exciting player. We think he can get a lot better but he is already very good. He is still learning the language and getting acclimatized to the league, but he already at 22 years old, he has played more than 20 times for Honduras. He is a very talented player and he looked fantastic tonight. I thought he and Brad Rusin showed a good partnership and that is encouraging for us moving forward.

    Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Kenny Miller

    On Vancouver's 1-1 draw with Sporting KC...

    Did we do enough to win the game? Probably not. A draw was a fair result I'd say. But the way we started the second half, it was disappointing that we never really stepped on it and tried to push them a little more. We started sitting deep to try to hang on. So we're probably happy with one point.

    On Vancouver's successful road trip and recent unbeaten streak...

    We've got four point from two away games. It's always tough with these Eastern Conference double headers. It takes a lot out of you with the traveling, but to get four points out of six on this trip is pleasing. This was probably a game that we could have won, so we're disappointed in that sense. But in the end we're okay with it.

    On battling from behind to avoid defeat...

    Our resilience is becoming a habit, not just on the road but at home. We had to come back in our last two home games to get a win as well. That's something we're pleased about. We've got that character and resilience to come back, but we'd much rather be going two goals up than having to come back all the time.

    On his free kick goal...

    It was fantastic from Camilo (Sanvezzo) to draw is level just before the half. That took the pressure off us a little bit. 1-0 down would have been tough for us to get back in the game, but it was a delightful finish from him.

    Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Camilo Sanvezzo

    On Vancouver's 1-1 draw with Sporting KC...

    I thought this was a game we could win and take all three points. But we didn't lose (either). We are happy with one point.

    On his free kick goal...

    Yes, I knew I was going to take it when the foul (was called). This is my position. I am comfortable taking those shots-it is what I can do for the team.

    On his recent goal scoring hot streak...

    I feel very good, but it's not just me-its our team. Our team is playing very strong. When the team is playing well, that gives me confidence. We are a little tired from this trip, but we have a big game Saturday. Tomorrow and Friday we will do everything we can to get fresh and continue to play well for our supporters.
     
  10. truebluefan

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    Sporting KC Moves Atop East with 2-1 Win at Chicago

    Sporting Kansas City moved into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 road win over the Chicago Fire Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi provided the goals as Sporting KC ran their unbeaten streak to four consecutive games and seven out of their past eight.

    The visitors put the home side on the back foot early, tallying two goals in the game's first eight minutes. Sporting KC opened the scoring in the fifth minute off a long throw-in from Matt Besler. The All-Star center back hit a streaking Kei Kamara who flicked the ball off Fire defender Bakary Soumare. Feilhaber pounced on the loose ball and fired a rocket past goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi for his first goal of the year.

    Sporting KC wasted little time doubling their lead as left back Seth Sinovic intercepted an errant Fire clearance in the eighth minute. The fourth-year defender found Zusi, who curled a ball to the far post. Kamara's presence inside the box caught Tornaghi off his line as Zusi's ball curled into the corner of the net.

    Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen tied a season-high with four saves in the match. His first came in the 10th minute off a laser strike from Chris Rolfe. The Fire midfielder picked up a headed clearance at the top of Sporting KC's penalty box and unleashed a strike on target. Nielsen reacted quickly to knock the ball over the crossbar and keep the home side off the board.

    Rolfe was in the thick of the action again a minute later, finding himself one-on-one with Nielsen in the 17th minute. The former U.S. international found space behind the Sporting KC back line, but Nielsen did well to cut off his angle and force Rolfe's attempt wide of the far post.

    Chicago was able to pull one back prior to halftime with Mike Magee tallying his fifth goal in his past six games and League-leading 11th of the season. Jeff Larentowicz's header freed Magee behind the Sporting KC defense and the wily veteran slotted the ball past Nielsen to cut Sporting KC's lead in half.

    The second half featured few quality chances on goal for either side. Sporting KC attempted seven shots, but were unable to test Tornaghi. Kamara and Rosell - who turned 21 on Sunday - each had quality chances in the 58th minute, but Fire defenders deflected both attempts.

    Chicago's best opportunity at an equalizer came in the 87th minute. Magee found Joel Lindpere with a throw-in near the Sporting KC touchline. The Estonian international slotted the ball to Dilly Duka, but Nielsen dropped to his left to preserve the Sporting KC win.

    Sporting KC will return home this week to take on Toronto FC Saturday night at Sporting Park. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on KSMO-TV. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park box office.

    FAST FACTS - With the win, Sporting Kansas City moves into a tie with the Montreal Impact for first place of the Eastern Conference with 30 points. Montreal plays Chivas USA at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday. - Sporting KC's record moves to 8-5-6 this season and 4-2-3 away from home. The team's 15 road points are the most in the League this season.

    - Sporting KC's four road victories and .611 winning percentage on the road are tied for the best in the League this season away from home.

    - Sporting KC is now 12-23-10 against the Fire all-time and 4-15-2 on the road in the series.

    - Sporting KC and the Chicago Fire meet three times during the 2013 MLS regular season. The first match took place on March 16 and ended in a 0-0 draw at Sporting Park. The final match will be on August 23 at Toyota Park. - Benny Feilhaber opened the scoring for Sporting Kansas City in the 6th minute of the match. The goal is his first since joining Sporting Kansas City and the sixth goal of his MLS career. - Feilhaber's goal came off a Matt Besler throw-in, marking the third time in 2013 that Sporting Kansas City has scored off a throw-in.

    - Feilhaber's last MLS goal prior to Sunday came on June 12, 2012 against Chicago while playing for the New England Revolution.

    - Graham Zusi scored Sporting KC's second goal two minutes later. The goal was Zusi's fourth of the season and 15th of his MLS career. - Zusi's goal was his sixth career game-winning goal, which ties him for eighth in club history. - Sporting Kansas City is 11-0-1 all-time when Zusi scores in an MLS match.

    - Sporting Kansas City is the only team with a positive goal difference on the road in the Eastern Conference (+2) and second in the League behind only the Portland Timbers (+3). - Seth Sinovic earned his second assist of the season and fourth of his MLS career on Sunday. Both of Sinovic's assist this season have come on game-winning goals. - Seth Sinovic did not receive a yellow card in Sunday's match. Due to the good behavior incentive, Sinovic will have his caution accumulation total reduced to three. - Sunday marks the second time all season that Sporting KC has scored two goals during the first half. - Sporting KC has scored five goals in the opening 15 minutes of games in 2013, tied for the second most during that span in MLS this season. - Sunday marked Sporting Kansas City's seventh multi-goal game this season.

    - Zusi's goal in Sunday's match marks just the second time that Sporting KC has scored a goal from outside the penalty area this season. - Zusi's goal on Sunday was his third career goal against Chicago which is tied with Kei Kamara for most among active Sporting KC players.

    - Sporting KC has scored 24 of the team's 26 goals from inside the penalty area this season. - Sporting KC was outshot 12-11 on Sunday. Sporting KC is 2-1-1 when getting outshot by their opponent in 2013.

    - Sporting KC is 7-3-5 when wearing Sporting Blue in 2013.

    - Sunday's victory ended the Chicago Fire's five-game winning streak and eight-game unbeaten streak in all-competition. - Sporting KC has only one loss in the team's last eight MLS matches. - Sporting KC was without defender Mechack Jerome and midfielder Peterson Joseph on Sunday. Both players are with the Haiti Men's National Team in advance of their 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup opener on Monday against Honduras at Red Bull Arena.

    - Sean Johnson missed Sunday's match while with the U.S. Men's National Team for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. - Sporting KC's scored on their only two shots on goal on Sunday. - Graham Zusi, Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin were announced as fan selections for the Fan XI for the AT&T MLS All-Star Game at halftime of Sporting Kansas City's nationally televised match against the Chicago Fire. - Zusi's 82 corner kicks in 2013 are the most in MLS.

    - Sporting Kansas City is unbeaten in their last four matches on the road. - Sporting Kansas City has conceded nine goals on the road this season, fewest in MLS. - Chicago's Mike Magee scored the lone goal for the Fire moving into a tie for most goals scored in the League this season with 11. - Magee's goal was his third career goal against Sporting KC which is most among active Chicago players.

    - Sporting Kansas City's +7 goal differential is tied with the New England Revolution for the best in the Eastern Conference. - Nielsen has started and played the full 90 minutes in 75 straight MLS matches (including postseason). That's the longest active streak among MLS players. - Nielsen has the best career goals against average (1.02) in League history among MLS goalkeepers with a minimum of 4,500 minutes played. - Nielsen matched his season high with four saves on Sunday.

    - Sporting KC is 5-1-1 when leading at halftime in 2013. - Sporting KC is 7-2-3 when scoring the first goal in a match. - Sporting KC is 6-0-1 when leading at the 75-minute mark in 2013.

    - Claudio Bieler is the only Sporting KC player to have played in every competitive match this season. - Sporting Kansas City's 287 shots are most in MLS this season. - The Chicago Fire's Gonzalo Segares will miss the Fire's next match after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season on Sunday. - Daniel Paladini will also miss Chicago's next match after being ejected for a dangerous tackle on Dom Dwyer in the 93rd minute on Sunday. - Paladini's ejection was the fourth red card by a Sporting KC opponent this season.

    - Sporting Kansas City has allowed the fewest shots in MLS this season, conceding just 175 shots in 2013. - Matt Besler led all players on Sunday with nine clearances. - Kei Kamara led all players on Sunday with eight aerial duels, winning seven of them. - Kei Kamara led all players in duels (22) and duels won (10) on Sunday. - Approximately 400 Sporting Kansas City supporters traveled to Chicago on Sunday for the match. QUOTES Post-game reaction from Sunday's match, including comments from players and coaches, will be available later tonight on SportingKC.com.
     
  11. truebluefan

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    Sporting KC Atop East After 3-0 Win over Toronto

    Sporting Kansas City extended their unbeaten run to five consecutive games with a 3-0 win over Toronto FC Saturday night at Sporting Park. Soony Saad scored twice and Claudio Bieler tallied once as Sporting KC moved into first place in the Eastern Conference.

    Playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,126 - the largest crowd in Sporting Park history - Sporting KC took the game to the visitors early and opened up the scoring in the 21st minute. The play started on the left flank when Seth Sinovic pushed the ball up the field and split a pair of defenders with a pass to Saad. The Lebanese international took one touch and pulled a quick strike to the near post past a lunging Joe Bendik.

    Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen recorded two saves Saturday night for his League-leading eighth shutout in 2013 and 40th in his MLS career, most in club history. The victory also moves Nielsen in a tie with Tony Meola for most career wins by a KC goalkeeper with 49 in the regular season.

    The Danish goalkeeper's only action came in the 18th minute when Robert Earnshaw charged up the field and passed to an open Bobby Convey. The former Sporting KC midfielder cut to the middle of the pitch and found Jeremy Brockie inside Sporting KC's penalty box. Nielsen parried Brockie's first attempt and smothered the rebound with his body to keep the visitors off the board.

    Toronto FC goalkeeper Joe Bendik made seven saves on the night, including one-on-one stops against Benny Feilhaber in the 32nd minute and Bieler in the 49th minute.

    Saad increased Sporting KC's lead in the 51st minute for his second career multi-goal game in all competition, after scoring a brace in last year's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The 20-yeard-old winger dribbled into Toronto's attacking third and found Graham Zusi at the top of the penalty box. Zusi took a touch and fired a low shot on goal. Bendik stopped the initial attempt, but Saad followed up the play and found the open net to extend Sporting KC's lead.

    Down a goal, Toronto FC was forced to play down a man for the final 34 minutes after Reggie Lambe was ejected for a late tackle on Saad.

    Sporting KC took advantage of the extra man and found a third goal in the 63rd minute. The goal resulted from a 12-pass sequence that saw nine different Sporting KC players touch the ball. The ball came to Saad, who faked a shot and fed Kei Kamara on the left side of the penalty box. Kamara one-touched the ball to Feilhaber, who looked off Bendik and Richard Eckersley and found an open Bieler eight yards from goal. The Argentine international wasted no time tapping the ball into the empty net for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

    Aurelien Collin nearly added a fourth goal for Sporting KC but his headed goal in the 76th minute was waived off for an offside call on Kamara.

    Sporting KC will resume league play next Saturday when they travel to Sandy, Utah to take on Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. The match will kick off at 9 p.m. CT and can be seen on KSMO-TV.
     
  12. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Earns Dramatic 2-1 Win at Real Salt Lake

    Sporting Kansas City earned a come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Real Salt Lake on Saturday night to extend the team's unbeaten streak to six games and increase their lead in the Eastern Conference race to four points. Ike Opara's stoppage-time goal gave the visitors three points in a tightly-contested battle of first-place teams at Rio Tinto Stadium.

    Opara's goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time tied Josh Wolff (9/22/10) for the latest goal in franchise history. The Wake Forest University product started in place of All-Star defender Matt Besler, who is with the U.S. Men's National Team ahead of Sunday's Gold Cup quarterfinal match against El Salvador.

    Sparks flared in Utah early as Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert ran through Sporting Kansas City winger Kei Kamara only 20 seconds into the match and RSL striker Joao Plata undercut Sporting KC defender Chance Myers minutes later. The visitors nearly took advantage of the foul on Kamara, but Graham Zusi's free kick hit off the foot of Opara and was scooped up by Real Salt Lake's third-string goalkeeper Jeff Attinella.

    The home side threatened the visitors in the 16th minute off a ball from Plata. The Ecuadoran striker played a long ball into Sporting KC's 18-yard box to Luis Gil, who rounded goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen. Gil played a ball across the box to Robbie Findley, who headed the ball to the top of the six-yard box but Nielsen recovered to grab the ball and end the scoring threat.

    Nielsen was called into action two minutes later when Findley found Plata streaking to the back post. The Danish goalkeeper got a touch on the cross to slow down the attempt and Myers followed up the play to knock the ball out for a corner kick before Plata could connect.

    Sporting KC winger Soony Saad, who recorded a brace in last week's win over Toronto FC, was in the thick of the action in the 49th minute when he turned defender Aaron Maund and sent a low, hard strike to the far corner. Attinella, who made four saves on the night in his first MLS start, dropped to his left and knocked the ball away for a corner kick. On the ensuing set piece, Zusi found Opara free at the back post, but Plata was in position to clear the header off the line.

    Real Salt Lake broke through in the 56th minute when a Javier Morales free kick slipped through the hands of Nielsen and landed on the head of Findley. The veteran striker directed the ball into the empty net to give the home side the 1-0 lead.

    The feisty affair turned in Sporting KC's favor in the 66th minute when Wingert was issued a second yellow card after pulling down Saad on the right flank. Sporting KC took advantage of the extra man, leveling the match on the ensuing free kick. Zusi's ball ping-ponged around the RSL penalty box before Claudio Bieler headed it to Saad. The third-year striker side-volleyed the ball past Attinella to level the match.

    Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes inserted Benny Feilhaber into the match in the 79th minute as his squad continued to search for the game-winner. Sporting KC nearly found it in the 89th minute but Feilhaber's strike from 15 yards sailed into the chest of Attinella.

    Real Salt Lake almost stole the victory a minute later but Nielsen made a leaping save to deny a 20-yard strike from second-half sub Olmes Garcia.

    The action continued into the final seconds of the match and lasted into the seventh minute of stoppage time where Sporting Kansas City found the eventual game-winner. Opara out-leaped his defender and headed home a Zusi corner kick for his fifth career goal and second of the season. Zusi upped his assist total to six on the year, four of which have come on game-winning goals to move him into a tie for the League-lead in that category.

    With the win, Sporting Kansas City improved their road record to 5-2-3, best in MLS, and improved their road goal differential to +3, best in the Eastern Conference.

    Sporting KC will play their final match before the MLS All-Star Game next Saturday against the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo. Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin picked up a yellow card Saturday night and will miss the Montreal match due to yellow card accumulation.
     
  13. truebluefan

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    Peter Vermes' contract extended

    Every once in a while, Robb Heineman will pick up a ringing phone and listen to the director of some club or national team ask for permission to speak with Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes.

    If he was ever nervous about them luring Vermes away, Heineman can rest even easier now.

    The CEO of the Major League Soccer club announced Tuesday that Vermes agreed to a contract extension with Sporting KC, keeping him in charge of the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions as both coach and technical director through the 2017 season.

    "It's been a fun couple of years," Heineman said. "I don't think we've done everything we wanted to do, but we just really appreciate the progress that Peter has made and the progress that his leadership has made to the organization."

    Read more http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1505051/sporting-kansas-city-gives-peter-vermes-extension?cc=5901
     
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    Sporting KC Suffers Late 1-0 Loss at Montreal Impact

    Sporting Kansas City saw their six-game unbeaten streak end with a late 1-0 loss to the Montreal Impact on Saturday night at Stade Saputo. Despite the defeat, Sporting KC maintains a one-point lead atop the Eastern Conference and trail Real Salt Lake by a single point in the Supporters' Shield race.

    Saturday's clash between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference saw a combined 38 fouls whistled, second most in an MLS match this season, and five yellow cards handed out. Sporting Kansas City was without central defenders Matt Besler (international duty) and Aurelien Collin (suspension), starting an MLS match without either All-Star in the lineup for the first time since 2010.

    Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen made three saves on the night, including a stop on a Sanna Nyassi breakaway in the 20th minute. The play began when Justin Mapp picked the ball up deep in Montreal territory and pushed forward toward Sporting KC's defensive third. The veteran midfielder picked out Nyassi behind the defense, but Nielsen stood tall and swatted away the Gambian winger's attempt.

    Montreal goalkeeper Troy Perkins re-paid the favor in the 52nd minute when he got his finger tips on a Claudio Bieler attempt that appeared destined for the upper corner. Bieler's attempt resulted from a Graham Zusi free kick that Ike Opara headed toward the penalty spot. The Argentine striker nearly bounced the ball into the right-hand corner of the net but Perkins reacted quickly to knock the ball away for a corner kick.

    Bieler was in the thick of the action again in the 63rd minute when he got on the end of a Benny Feilhaber cross into the box. Center back Hassoun Camara was positioned well, however and deflected Bieler's strike. Moments later, Soony Saad tested Perkins with a 30-yard strike but the goalkeeper tipped the ball away from the near post to keep the visitors off the board.

    In a game that appeared destined to end in a scoreless draw, the Montreal Impact found the game-winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Marco Di Vaio picked out Blake Smith on the left side of the penalty box and the rookie midfielder slotted the ball past Nielsen to give the home side three points.

    One week after Sporting Kansas City scored the latest goal in club history to win 2-1 on the road at Real Salt Lake with Ike Opara's header in the 97th minute, the team conceded the latest goal in team history on Saturday with Smith's 96th minute game-winner. Sporting Kansas City was held scoreless for the first time in 11 MLS matches and lost on the road for the first time since April 20th, ending a five-game unbeaten streak away from home.

    Sporting Kansas City returns home for a busy week starting with the 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday night at Sporting Park. Sporting KC's Graham Zusi, Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin will participate in the match and Manager Peter Vermes will lead the squad against Italy's AS Roma.

    The team will then return to league play with a nationally televised match against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night at Sporting Park. A limited number of tickets, including standing-room only tickets, are available online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Offices.
     
  15. truebluefan

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    Sporting KC Drops 3-2 Decision to New York

    Despite a frantic stoppage-time rally, Sporting Kansas City fell to the New York Red Bulls 3-2 on Saturday evening at Sporting Park. Dom Dwyer's first career goal in the second minute of stoppage-time was not enough as the visitors scored twice in the second half to take three points and move into first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of second place Sporting KC.

    Sporting KC came out of the gate strong, playing the majority of the first half in New York's defensive side and tallying a season-high 15 shot attempts in the first 45 minutes.

    The home side nearly opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Aurelien Collin lofted a long ball over the New York defense. Kei Kamara controlled the pass, cut to the inside and swung a ball to the 12-yard box. Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles reacted quickly to save the first attempt and Soony Saad was first to the rebound but couldn't direct his follow-up effort on frame.

    Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen equaled Robles' effort minutes later when he found himself one-on-one with Johnny Steele. The Red Bulls countered off a Sporting KC corner kick and Thierry Henry picked out Steele streaking down the left flank. Nielsen stayed big and used his body to parry away Steele's attempt.

    The Red Bulls broke through in the 27th minute when Dax McCarty found himself unmarked in the middle of the pitch and split a pair of Sporting KC defenders. Steele ran on to the through-ball and placed his shot past Nielsen to put New York ahead.

    Kamara leveled the match for Sporting KC minutes before halftime with his 50th regular season goal. The play began when Chance Myers curled a ball in from the wing to Saad at the six-yard box. The third-year winger headed it on target, but Robles blocked the first attempt. The Sierra Leone international was in good position and cleaned up the rebound to level the match.

    The Red Bulls scored twice in the second half on the counter attack to take a 3-1 lead. The first goal came in the 63rd minute when Lloyd Sam slid the ball to Fabian Espindola, who beat Nielsen to the far post. Sam, who entered the match in the 60th minute, was in the thick of the action again, scoring in the 70th minute. Robles began the play with a long throw from inside his 18-yard box. Steele picked up the pass down the left wing and played a perfect ball behind the defense to Sam. The English winger cut once and fired past Nielsen for his second career goal.

    Down two goals, Peter Vermes brought on forwards Dwyer and Teal Bunbury. Dwyer made an immediate impact, nearly tallying a goal in the 82nd minute. After a short corner kick, Saad played a cross to the six-yard box. Dwyer connected with a header but his attempt ricocheted off the crossbar and away from danger.

    With time running out, Sporting KC continued to throw numbers forward and pulled one back in the second minute of stoppage time. Dwyer found his first career MLS goal when he headed a Kamara cross past a helpless Robles from close range.

    Despite 10 minutes of stoppage time due to an injury to New York's Kosuke Kimura, Sporting KC could not find the equalizer and fell by a one-goal margin for the second consecutive week.

    Sporting Kansas City face a quick turnaround as they kick off the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. The squad will travel to Nicaragua to face Real Esteli on Wednesday before returning home for next Saturday's match against the New England Revolution at Sporting Park.

    FAST FACTS

    Sporting Kansas City is 10-7-6 in 2013 and currently in second place in the East with a +9 goal differential. Sporting Kansas City is 5-4-3 at home in 2013 with a +7 goal differential. Sporting Kansas City is 19-18-11 all-time against New York, including a 14-8-3 record at home in the series. Sporting Kansas City earned a 1-0 victory in the previous 2013 meeting at Red Bull Arena. Saturday's loss snapped Sporting Kansas City's five-game unbeaten streak against New York (3-0-2). Prior to Saturday, Sporting Kansas City had kept clean sheets in four of the previous five meetings. Saturday's attendance of 21,304 was the Largest crowd in stadium history, surpassing the mark set on Wednesday for the 2013 MLS All-Star Game. Sporting Kansas City has sold out 28 straight MLS matches at Sporting Park. Sporting Kansas City ranks second in Major League Soccer in overall home attendance in 2013. Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen has started and played every minute in 79 consecutive MLS matches dating back to 2011, the fourth longest streak in MLS history. Sporting Kansas City is 0-5-0 when trailing at the 75-minute mark in 2013. Sporting Kansas City is 8-4-4 against Eastern Conference opponents in 2013. Sporting Kansas City is 222-213-115 all-time, 146-79-50 at home and 34-40-13 in August. Sporting KC leads MLS in shots taken (364) and shots against (198) in 2013. Sporting KC forward Kei Kamara scored his fifth goal of the season, second most on the team, and 50th career MLS regular season goal on Saturday. Kamara now has the 11th most goals among active MLS players. Kamara has four goals in his career against New York, most among all active Sporting KC players. Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer scored his first career MLS goal on Saturday, striking in second-half stoppage time. Kamara earned the assist on Dwyer's goal, his second assist of the season and 23rd of his MLS career goal. New York has conceded 12 goals in the final 15 minutes of MLS matches in 2013, the third most in MLS this season. Sporting Kansas City's 15 shots in the first half on Saturday was the second most by a team in the first half of an MLS match this season.

    Sporting Kansas City's 27 shots on Saturday ties the team's all-time single-game mark. Kamara surpassed 14,000 minutes in his MLS career (including postseason) on Saturday, becoming the second player on Sporting KC's roster to reach the milestone. Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic surpassed 8,000 minutes played in his MLS career (including postseason) on Saturday. New York Red Bulls midfielder Jonny Steele scored his third goal of the season and fifth of his MLS career on Saturday. Jonny Steele's goal snapped a 545-streak in which a New York Red Bulls player had not scored against Sporting KC. The only goal allowed by Sporting KC in that span during the series came on an own goal. New York Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty recorded the assist on the goal, his second of the season and 28th of his MLS career. He now has two or more assists in seven straight MLS seasons. McCarty has three career assists against Sporting KC, most among all active Red Bull players. New York Red Bulls forward Fabian Espindola scored his seventh goal of the season, tied for the team lead, and 42nd of his MLS career on Saturday. Fabian Espindola has three goals in his last two matches, after scoring twice from the penalty spot in a 4-3 win over Real Salt Lake last week. New York Red Bulls forward Fabian Espindola has three goals in his career against Sporting KC, most among all active New York players. Lloyd Sam recorded his first assist of the season and second of his MLS career, coming three minutes after entering the match as a second-half substitute. He added a goal six minutes later, his second of the season and his MLS career. Steele's assist on Sam's goal was his fourth of the season and sixth of his MLS career. Goalkeeper Luis Robles also earned a secondary assist on the play. New York has scored one of the team's 36 goals from outside the penalty area in 2013. Saturday marked only the second time this season that Sporting KC has allowed three goals. Sporting KC has lost four straight matches when allowing three goals, dating back to the 2011 season. Sporting Kansas City has held New York Red Bulls Designated Player Thierry Henry without a goal in seven career matches. New York scored on three of their five shots in the match. All five shots were on target for the Red Bulls. The Red Bulls have scored 17 first half goals in MLS 2013, the most of any team in the League. Sporting KC forward Soony Saad recorded eight shots, most among all players on Saturday and second most for an MLS match in his career. His three shots on goal were also most among all players on Saturday and ties his single-game career high. Saad also led all players on Saturday with 18 duels. Sporting KC defender Chance Myers recorded four key passes and seven total crosses on Saturday, most among all players. Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin recorded seven interceptions on Saturday, most among all players. Sporting KC forward Kei Kamara recorded seven aerial duels, winning five, on Saturday. Both marks are the most among all players for the match. Sporting KC midfielder Oriol Rosell's 91 touches and 80 passes (completing 72) on Saturday were the most among all players. Sporting Kansas City's 10 fouls committed on Saturday were second fewest in an MLS match this season. Peterson Joseph recorded his first career shot on goal on Saturday. Seth Sinovic's 12 shots in 2013 ties his single-season career high. His three shots on goal are also a single-season career high. New York Red Bulls defender Kosuke Kimura was injured in second-half stoppage time and left the field on a stretcher. New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke was dismissed in second-half stoppage time for foul or abusive language. Sporting Kansas City was without Graham Zusi, Paulo Nagamura and Josh Gardner on Saturday due to injury. New York was without Santiago Castano and Armando Moreno on Saturday due to international duty. Both players are currently with the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team. New York was also missing Tim Cahill, Connor Lade and Heath Pearce on Saturday due to injury. New York Red Bulls midfielder Ibrahim Sekagya made his MLS debut on Saturday. He joined the club from Red Bull Salzburg last month. The inaugural class of Sporting Legends was honored at Sporting Park on Saturday with inductees Preki and Tony Meola in attendance. Both players were recognized on the field at halftime during an unveiling of their names above the championship wall in the southeast corner of Sporting Park. Meola and Preki both addressed supporters in the Boulevard Members Club after the match. Fellow inductee Bob Gansler will be honored in October while at Sporting Park for the U.S. Men's National Team's FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Jamaica. The NBC Sports Network nationally televised Saturday's match live from Sporting Park with the commentary team of Robbie Earle, Steve Cangelosi and Russ Thaler. Sporting Kansas City is 0-2-2 in games televised nationally by the NBC Sports Network. Saturday's match was sponsored by Panasonic. Midfielder Christian Duke and forward C.J. Sapong - on loan to Sporting KC's USL PRO affiliate Orlando City SC -- saw minutes on Saturday for the Lions. Duke started and played 45 minutes, while Sapong entered in the 53rd minute of the match.
     
  16. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Moves Atop East with 3-0 Win over Revolution

    Sporting Kansas City regained first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday night at Sporting Park. Kei Kamara scored once in each half and Benny Feilhaber scored in stoppage time as Sporting KC remains two points behind Real Salt Lake in the Supporters' Shield race.

    In front of the 29th consecutive sell-out at Sporting Park, Sporting Kansas City continued their dominance over New England and extended their shutout streak against the Revolution for the fifth consecutive match.

    Kamara tallied his sixth career multi-goal game and fifth as a member of Sporting KC. His first goal came off a Soony Saad cross in the 27th minute. Saad curled in a cross from the left flank to the penalty spot and Kamara elevated over Revolution defender Kevin Alston to head the ball into the far corner of the net.

    Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen made four saves for his ninth shutout of the season, tied for most in MLS this season. The Danish goalkeeper made point-blank saves on Dimitry Imbongo in the 40th minute and Chad Barrett in the 80th minute to preserve the shutout.

    Kamara doubled Sporting KC's lead minutes after halftime. Saad picked up the ball on the left flank, cut to the middle and curled in a ball between the six-yard box and penalty spot. Kamara darted past Alston and headed to the near post past goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.

    The Revolution ended the match with only nine men as both Imbongo and Andy Dorman were issued red cards. Imbongo's ejection came in the 64th minute after referee Baldomero Toledo issued a second yellow card to the Revs forward for an elbow to the throat of Oriol Rosell. Dorman picked up a straight red card in the 86th minute for a dangerous tackle on Kamara. The Sierra Leone international was taken to the locker room and Sporting KC was forced to play the remaining few minutes with 10 men after having used all three substitutions.

    Feilhaber, who Sporting KC acquired from the Revolution in the offseason, sealed the match with a free kick goal in the second minute of stoppage-time. The U.S. international curled the set piece over the wall and inside the near post for his second goal of the season.

    Sporting KC hits the road next weekend for their first of three consecutive road matches. Peter Vermes' squad will take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday night at Buck Shaw Stadium. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. on KSMO-TV and Univision Deportes Network.
     
  17. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Falls 1-0 at Chicago Fire

    Sporting Kansas City fell to the Chicago Fire 1-0 on Friday night at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Despite the loss, Sporting KC (11-9-6, 39 points) remains tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with the New York Red Bulls.

    Sporting KC and U.S. Men's National Team winger Graham Zusi started his first match since injuring his right quad in the MLS All-Star Game on July 31. Teal Bunbury also recorded his first start for Sporting KC since August 26, 2012, when he tore his ACL against the New York Red Bulls.

    The Chicago Fire took the early lead when Jalil Anibaba drove a ball from the right flank through the Sporting KC penalty box. Mike Magee broke free and slid toward the endline to keep the ball in play. His redirection popped back to the six-yard box where Hunter Jumper's diving header beat Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen.

    Nielsen made four saves on the night including a kick save on Jeff Larentowicz in the 54th minute and a finger-tip save off the crossbar from a Juan Luis AnangonÃ" strike in the 73rd minute.

    Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes made three second-half substitutions as his squad continued to push for the equalizer. The elusive goal nearly came in the 75th minute when Soony Saad's long cross found the head of C.J. Sapong. The third-year striker, making his first start since June 22, soared over his defender to win the header, but Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson scooped up the bouncing attempt.

    In the 83rd minute, second-half sub Dom Dwyer sent a looping header to the back post that clipped the crossbar. Minutes later, Dwyer found Zusi on the right side of the penalty box, but his side-volley missed the target.

    Sporting KC's best opportunity to equalize came in the 86th minute when Haitian international Peterson Joseph found a surging Seth Sinovic deep in Fire territory. The Sporting KC defender took one touch but Johnson stayed big to block his near-post attempt.

    Sporting KC will continue their three-game road trip across nine days when they travel to Honduras next week for their CONCACAF Champions League match against CD Olimpia on Tuesday. The squad will then return home to host the Colorado Rapids next Saturday at Sporting Park.
     
  18. EPJr

    EPJr Producer Staff Member Producer

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    It's official:
    Sporting Kansas City's Kei Kamara sold to English Championship side Middlesbrough

    [​IMG]

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kei Kamara is headed back to England, this time with both eyes on staying there for good.

    Sporting Kansas City announced Monday that they have transfered their prized forward to Championship side Middlesbrough FC, ending a run that saw Kamara become one of the most recognizable and reliable players during Kansas City's impressive franchise rebirth.

    "Over the last four-plus years Kei's progression as a player has been tremendous," Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said in a statement. "We appreciate his service to the team and to the club and we wish nothing but the best for him and his next challenge as a player."

    Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, Sporting Kansas City called the transfer fee "substantial" in their press release Monday evening and confirmed they will receive two-thirds of the fee to use as allocation money, per MLS rules.

    http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ty-attacker-kei-kamara-sold-middlesbrough-eng
     
  19. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Leads East After 3-0 Victory

    Sporting Kansas City moved into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Sporting Park. Claudio Bieler, Soony Saad and C.J. Sapong provided the goals as Sporting KC won in front of the 31st consecutive sellout crowd at Sporting Park.

    Bieler opened the scoring for Sporting KC with a penalty kick in the seventh minute. Benny Feilhaber earned the PK off a short corner kick. The veteran midfielder dribbled past one defender before Wil Trapp tripped him 12 yards from goal and referee Jose Carlos Rivero pointed to the penalty spot. Bieler converted the spot kick past goalkeeper Matt Lampson for his tenth goal of the season.

    Sporting KC doubled their lead in the 41st minute behind Soony Saad's fourth goal of the season. Paulo Nagamura intercepted an errant Columbus pass and found Bieler deep in the Crew's defensive third. The Argentine striker dribbled twice and found Saad streaking into the penalty box. The third-year striker cut to the inside and ripped his shot to the far post past Lampson.

    Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen made one save on the night, a low shot from Jairo Arrieta in the 78th minute. The shutout was Nielsen's tenth of the season, tied for the most in MLS, as the Danish goalkeeper improved his goals against average to a league-best 0.96.

    The home side scored their third goal just minutes after halftime. Spanish midfielder Oriol Rosell received the ball from Seth Sinovic and lofted a 30-yard pass to the penalty spot. Lampson came off his line but Sapong deftly headed it past the onrushing goalkeeper for his first goal since May 5.

    Sporting KC entered the match missing six players, including Dom Dwyer who was loaned to USL PRO affiliate Orlando City SC for their championship match. Dwyer tallied four goals and one assist as the Lions defeated Charlotte 7-4 to win the USL PRO championship.

    Colombian midfielder Jimmy Medranda made his MLS debut when he entered the match in the 90th minute for Feilhaber and the 19-year-old directed a long-range attempt on frame one minute later.

    Sporting KC has the week off as they prepare for their CONCACAF Champions League match against Real Esteli on September 17 at Sporting Park. Sporting KC will return to MLS action on September 21 with a road match against Toronto FC.
     
  20. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Sporting KC Claims Share of First Place with 2-1 Win in Toronto

    Sporting Kansas City moved back into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field. C.J. Sapong scored twice as Sporting KC won their third consecutive League match.

    Sapong scored a goal in each half for the first multi-goal game of his career. Sporting KC improved to 16-0-2 when Sapong scores in MLS competition.

    The third-year striker opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Graham Zusi lofted a cross into the Toronto FC penalty box. Dom Dwyer headed the ball back across the middle and Sapong buried the header past goalkeeper Joe Bendik from the top of the six-yard box. Sapong has recorded a goal or an assist in three consecutive league matches.

    Toronto FC settled down after the goal and found their equalizer in the 44th minute. Alvaro Rey picked up an errant pass deep in Sporting KC territory. The Spanish midfielder found an open Darel Russell who pulled his shot between goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen and the near post.

    Nielsen made one save on the day, a stop on Toronto FC's Andrew Wiedeman in the first half. The Danish goalkeeper started his 85th consecutive MLS match, the third-longest streak in MLS history.

    Sapong scored the eventual game-winner for Sporting KC in the 53rd minute. Zusi played a quick throw-in to Chance Myers. The right back took one touch and curled a perfectly placed ball to the penalty spot. Sapong beat right back Mark Bloom to the spot and headed the ball to the far corner past Bendik.

    Toronto FC played the final four minutes of the match with 10 men after Steven Caldwell was issued a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Josh Gardner.

    Sporting KC is now tied with the New York Red Bulls with 48 points atop the Eastern Conference. The Red Bulls host FC Dallas on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.

    Sporting KC has a short week as they prepare for Friday night's match against the Philadelphia Union. The nationally-televised contest (NBC Sports Network) will kick off at 7 p.m. CT at Sporting Park. Limited tickets are available, including standing room only tickets, and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.

    FAST FACTS

    With the win, Sporting Kansas City moves into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with 48 points (14-9-6). Sporting KC is 10-4-4 against Toronto FC all-time and 3-3-3 on the road in the series. Peter Vermes is 7-1-2 all-time against Toronto FC as a manager. His 0.554 winning percentage as a manager is best in club history.

    Sporting KC is 226-215-115 all-time and 77-136-65 on the road all-time. Sporting KC has the best road record in MLS this season (6-5-3) and is the only team in Major League Soccer with a positive goal difference on the road (+1) in 2013. Sporting KC's +15 goal difference is tied for the best in MLS this season.

    Sporting Kansas City has the best goals against average in MLS with 28 goals allowed in 29 games (0.97). Sporting KC has conceded one or fewer goals in 22 of the team's 29 matches this season.

    Allowing one goal in Saturday's match, Sporting KC has conceded the fewest goals on the road among all MLS teams this season with 14. With the loss, Toronto FC extended their number of consecutive matches without a victory to eight. It has been nine MLS matches since Toronto last scored more than one goal in a game.

    Sporting KC completed the season series with Toronto FC on Saturday, going 2-1-0 against the Reds this season. Toronto FC beat Sporting KC 2-1 on March 9 in both teams second match of the season. Sporting KC earned the convincing 3-0 victory against Toronto FC on July 13 courtesy of a Soony Saad brace and a goal from Claudio Bieler. Bieler missed Saturday's match along with Oriol Rosell and Paulo Nagamura. Sporting KC scored first on Saturday when C.J. Sapong directed a header past Joe Bendik in the 18th minute. The goal was scored on Sporting KC's lone shot on goal in the first half. Graham Zusi and Dom Dwyer each earned an assist on the play. Zusi has a team-high seven assists in 2013. The assist is Dwyer's second of his MLS career, both coming in his last two appearances. The assist is Zusi's 30th in his MLS regular season career, ranking him fourth on the club's all-time chart. Saturday's assist was his first since July 20.

    Zusi led MLS in assists in 2012 with 15 during the regular season. Dwyer set a single-game career high with four shots and two shots on goal on Saturday. Lawrence Olum set a single-game career high with three shots on Saturday. He led all players on Saturday with 42 passes. Ike Opara led all players with 10 clearances on Saturday.

    Darel Russell leveled the score in the 39th minute with his second goal of the season. Alvaro Rey earned his first assist of the season on the goal. Sapong then scored Sporting KC's second goal of the match. With two goals on Saturday, Sapong now has four goals this season and 18 during his MLS career in the regular season. Sporting KC is 16-0-2 when Sapong scores in MLS competition (including playoffs). Sporting KC leads MLS with 12 headed goals in 2013. Chance Myers earned the assist on Sapong's second goal. The assist is Myers third during the 2013 MLS regular season and 12th of his career. The assist is Myers second game-winning assist of the year and sixth of his career. Sapong recorded his first career multi-goal game on Saturday and becomes the fifth KC player to score two goals in a game against Toronto FC all-time. Sapong now has three career goals against Toronto, most among all active KC players. Toronto FC has the second worst home record in MLS this season (2-5-8) behind only D.C. United (3-8-3). Sporting KC is 10-0-1 when leading in the 75th minute this season. Sporting KC is 5-4-3 when allowing one goal and 5-2-1 when scoring two goals. Sporting KC is 11-2-3 when scoring first. Sporting KC has won six straight when scoring first.

    Sporting KC is 12-7-5 when wearing Sporting Blue. Sporting KC is 8-8-0 in one-goal games.

    Sporting KC is 5-5-4 when tied at halftime. Sporting KC outshot Toronto FC 11-9 on Saturday. Sporting KC is 11-7-5 when outshooting their opponent. Sporting KC is 12-5-4 when the game is broadcast on KSMO-TV. Sporting KC is 11-5-4 against Eastern Conference opponents. Sporting KC is 2-0-0 during September of 2013 and 27-31-13 in the month of September all-time. Former Sporting KC midfielder Bobby Convey had the most crosses on the field on Saturday with seven. C.J. Sapong went up for nine aerial duels and won six, most among all players on Saturday. His 19 total duels also led all players. Sapong set a single-game career high with five fouls committed on Saturday. He ties Aurelien Collin (8/18/12) for the most fouls committed by a KC player against Toronto FC all-time. Collin received his 11th yellow card of the season on Saturday, most in MLS and fifth most by a player in a single season in MLS history. Collin leads MLS with 179 headed clearances in 2013. He ranks second in MLS with 246 clearances, 217 duels won and 123 aerial duels won.

    Sporting KC has lost just one of their last 10 MLS games against Toronto FC. Toronto FC was reduced to 10-men in the 86th minute of the match when Toronto FC captain Steven Caldwell was shown a red card for a reckless tackle on Josh Gardner. Sporting KC is 7-1-0 in games when an opponent receives a red card. Caldwell was the ninth Sporting KC opponent to be ejected this season.

    Toronto FC's Mark Bloom made his first home start for Toronto FC on Saturday after playing his first 90 minutes for Toronto against the New York Red Bulls last weekend. Toronto FC head coach Ryan Nelsen and another member of the Toronto FC technical staff were ejected from the match in second half stoppage time. Toronto FC leads all MLS clubs with 59 cautions in 2013.

    Sporting Kansas City's two corner kicks on Saturday tied the team's season low. Graham Zusi leads MLS with 111 corner kicks this season. Saturday marked the fourth Sporting Kansas City match in 2013 in which no Sporting KC player was caught offside. Sporting KC's 292 total passes on Saturday was the second fewest for an MLS match this season. Sporting KC narrowly lost the possession percentage (49.3 to 50.7), marking the first time to not have controlled the majority of possession since June 22nd. Sporting Kansas City are second in MLS in chances created (including assists) with 325 and in possession with 56.43%. Sporting Kansas City leads MLS with 3,421 duels, 1,718 duels won, 677 interceptions, 560 headed clearances and 441 shots this season. Sporting Kansas City leads MLS all-time with 7,632 shots.

    Sporting Kansas City has conceded the fewest corners (111), shots (252) and shots on goal (88) in MLS this season. Sporting KC held Toronto without a shot on goal in the second half on Saturday.

    Toronto FC leads MLS with 601 tackles. Sporting KC ranks second with 588 tackles.

    Jimmy Nielsen played his 85th consecutive complete MLS regular season game on Saturday, the third longest streak in MLS history. His 1.01 career goals against average is best in MLS history. His 54 wins are most by a Sporting KC goalkeeper all-time. Nielsen is now tied with Luis Robles for the League lead in wins by a goalkeeper with 14.

    Sporting KC returns to Sporting Park on Friday, September 27 to face the Philadelphia Union at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network.

    QUOTES

    Peter Vermes - Manager, Sporting KC

    Comments on the game...

    Based on the weather and the field conditions I knew it was not going to be a pretty game. I thought that for the most part other than the goal we gave up we managed the game pretty well. The first twenty five minutes we were pretty good and then the last fifteen they were in our half of the field way too much. Second half I thought we were much better, we played most of that half until the very end in their half of the field which is what we wanted to do from the outset. Scoring first and getting the second one to go ahead again shows a lot of grit and desire by the group at this time of year which is what you are looking for and it keeps us in the running. Winning points like this on the road are not easy. I say this all the time; I don't think that there is a team in the league that you can say that any game is going to be a lay-up. There is nobody in the league that way, there is too much parity and so this was big for us to get the points away from home.

    Thoughts on getting a victory away from home...

    You have to keep getting in form, stay in form and make sure that you are at your peak when you get to that point. Obviously we want to get into the playoffs and the best positions we can to give ourselves home field advantage. That's really what we are fighting for at the moment.

    On the performance of C.J. Sapong...

    The first thing I would say that the last three or four games he has started to really up his game. His commitment in desire for training and playing both sides of the ball has increased from game to game and today he got rewarded based on his great movement off the ball on both goals that he scored. But you have to credit the other guys for the service they gave him as well. I thought our service was actually really good today and our movement around the box was good as well.

    Seth Sinovic - Defender, Sporting KC

    Comments on the match...

    It was some difficult conditions and we knew it was going to be a battle and not the prettiest of games. I thought we fought hard, gave up a soft goal but bounced back from it so we are pretty satisfied with the result.

    On the defensive performance...

    I thought we were really organized and that started with communication from Jimmy Nielsen in the back. It was great, we always found ourselves in the right spots and we pressed well from the midfield and all the way up top which makes our life a lot easier. I think we were organized and were talking a lot and I felt we did a really good job with that.

    On the postseason push...

    I think we got a favorable result with Montreal losing today so it's kind of a three team race to the top right now and we've been on a little bit of a run so hopefully we can keep that going.

    C.J. Sapong - Forward, Sporting KC

    Comments on the match...

    It was a straight battle. It wasn't technical, it was wet, muddy, it was just a game that tested heart and spirit.

    On scoring twice...

    Everybody else is doing their job and I'm just doing mine. The first one, we had a corner, we got it out and had a break. It was a great counter with a great ball right back in and I just had to finish it. The second one Chance Myers hung up a ball and the defender was a little late in attacking it so I attacked it and put it in the goal.

    Ryan Nelsen - Head Coach, Toronto FC

    On being dismissed...

    No. I think it was the linesmen. He was under a bit of pressure, the crowd was on him. He had made some obvious errors. He was just under a bit of pressure. It was nothing directed. We just said you're under a bit of pressure now. You got to concentrate. I feel for these referees they are under a lot of pressure. Especially when all the critical decisions really didn't go our way. Which kind of caused a bit of tension from our bench as well and from our players. I felt for the referee.

    On conceding the two goals...

    It's always going to be, look at their goal. It was even softer than our two. The ball comes in our guys about to score and it hits the guys hand. It's a battened penalty and it's a goal. When Justin Braun's about to hit the ball, Aurelien Collin isn't even looking at the ball and grabs him and throws him over the end line. That's another goal and we would have won the game. They're just errors, they're soft errors, they're soft goals, but I should be talking about having two penalties, two clear penalties, stone cold penalties and we would have won the game and there coach is talking about the soft goals that we gave up. But then again that's what probably caused the frustration in the crowd and frustration on the bench. Again it was a tough game in those conditions for everybody including the referee and the linesmen.

    Steven Caldwell - Defender, Toronto FC

    On receiving a red card...

    I haven't had a chance to see it. I think he comes with in with his foot high and I sort of had to go with my foot high. There was no intent or anything malicious about it.

    Mark Bloom - Defender, Toronto FC

    Comments on the match...

    I feel like we gave up two soft goals. We're not thrilled about that. But ultimately it was a tough game against a tough side. We got a goal and we equalized but we need to capitalize on that. We gotta finish the game off.

    On transitioning to MLS...

    I feel like I'm adjusting well. Obviously it was a good step for me. Something I've been looking forward to for a while. I'm very fortunate to be here and I'm trying to make best of this opportunity.
     

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