Getting Closer to Playoffs

Kansas City gets back to action again tomorrow night on the West Coast when they'll take on the Earthquakes in San Jose. While KC has a chance to qualify for the playoffs tomorrow with help, they need to take care of business themselves and win to even have a chance for that to happen. San Jose isn't going to be a push over, they aren't eliminated from the playoffs themselves and will be fighting for their playoff lives, and jobs next year as well. The Quakes just finished a 3 game road trip in Houston, Portland, and Colorado where they only picked up 2 out of a possible 9 on the road. They did win their last game at home, 2-0 over the streaking Chicago Fire. San Jose still has last year's Gold Boot Winner, Chris Wondolowski, but will be without Steven Lenhart due to person reasons, which means we won't get a repeat of the match up with Aurelien Collin from the home game earlier this year.

KC once again has Philadelphia breathing down their neck after the Union defeated DC last night, 3-2. The Union are one point back of KC and still have a game in hand on the Wizards. As for the team, I'm not sure if Davy Arnaud will be able to start two games in a row so close together. We could possibly see Roger Espinoza come back into the lineup, or potentially Jeferson. With a two weeks off before the team's next competitive game, there's plenty of time for guys to recover from tomorrow's game before KC takes on the Red Bulls on October 15th.

Nielsen
Myers - Collin - Besler - Sinovic
Zusi - Cesar - Espinoza
Kamara - Sapong - Bravo

Number to Remember - 3 - The number of games left in the season. While a win alone won't get KC into the playoffs tomorrow, the 3 points would put KC on 47 points. The record for most points and missing the playoffs is 45 set by the 2005 KC Wizards team, so for historical purposes 3 points should be enough to get KC into the playoffs.

Key Match Up - Matt Besler vs Chris Wondolowski - Wondolowski is a good scorer, a very good one, if Khari Stephenson is playing forward again like he has been lately, Besler is likely going to be the one that marks Wondolowski during the game with Collin marking Stephenson. Keeping Wondolowski off the board is going to be a key for Kansas City to get something out of this game.

PREDICTION - This isn't a MUST WIN for KC, but a win would be absolutely huge for KC. If they can pull out all 3 points in this road game they're likely into the playoffs no matter how the rest of the season turns out. But San Jose has been a tough place for Kansas City to play through the years. Since the Earthquakes came back into the league, the Wizards have been unable to win in San Jose. It's certainly possible that KC will be able to pull it off tomorrow, but it's not going to be easy, and KC has never seemed to do things the easy way this season.

SKC - 1 (Kamara)
SJ - 1 (Wondolowski)

KC Could Qualify for the Playoffs this Weekend

As surprising as it might seem, Sporting Kansas City can qualify for the playoffs this weekend. It requires a win over San Jose on Saturday and some help, but it can be done.

First obviously, KC needs to get a win on the road against San Jose. They also need help from DC, Houston, and Vancouver. KC also needs Houston to beat or tie Chicago in Houston on Saturday, DC to defeat Columbus on Sunday in Columbus, and Vancouver to tie Portland in Vancouver on Sunday.

That would put KC on 47 points and make Columbus and Portland (in a drew) only 47 points. In that situation, KC wins the tie breaker as their head to head record against those other two teams is 3-1 (Columbus 2-2, Portland 1-3). If Portland loses to Vancouver, KC wouldn't automatically qualify because head to head they're tied with Columbus 1-1, but have a far superior goal difference (+7 to -4), which is the second tie breaker, so they would be extremely close to qualification if Portland ends up losing in the opener at BC Place.

A tie in Houston would put Chicago's max points on 46, unable to catch KC and beat them on their head to head record (KC is 0-1-1 vs Chicago this year). That would mean that KC would be able to finish no lower than 10th in the league and would be back in the MLS playoffs after a 2 year absence.

Hat tip to YilmazOrhan on Bigsoccer for breaking this down.

Thursday After Stats

Yes I'm late, but there were lots of good stats from last night's game. The biggest of all was Davy Arnaud tying the club record for league appearances at 237, but Kei Kamara also had plenty of milestones as well.

Davy Arnaud made his 237th appearance in league play for KC, tying Kerry Zavagnin for the most appearances in team history.

Kei Kamara's goal was his 10th in all competitions this year, tying his career high that he hit last year.

It was also Kamara's 40th goal in all competitions in his MLS career. He's the 57th player in MLS history to hit that mark.

Kamara's goal was his 20th league goal for Sporting, he's only the 9th player to hit that mark for KC.

It also tied Kamara with Mark Chung for 8th place for the most league goals.

It was Kamara's 21st goal in all competitions, breaking his tie with Chris Brown and Igor Simutenkov and tying him with Mark Chugn for 8th on that list as well.

Kamara's goal was his 10th in all competitions this year, he becomes only the 4th player in team history to have 2 seasons with double digit goals, joining Preki (96, 97, 98, 02, 03), Josh Wolff (04, 05, 09), and Scott Sealy (05, 06).

Lawrence Olum became the 150th player to appear in a league game for KC all time.

Michael Harrington made his 157th appearance in all competitions, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 11th place on that list.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates, a day late due to last night's game. First, congratulations to Boris Pardo who has re-signed with the Comets. Here's the rest of the update.

Active without a club or unknown
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Nikos Kounenakis
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
JT Murray
Anthony Noriega
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ryan Smith
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Stephane Auvray - New York - Came off the bench and played 7 minutes in New York's 2-0 win over Portland.
Adam Cristman - LA - Started and played 84 minutes in LA's 1-0 win over Columbus. Started and played 67 minutes in LA's 2-1 win over Morelia.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in RSL's 4-1 loss to DC. Started and played 15 minutes in RSL's 3-0 loss to Chicago.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 3-1 win over Vancouver. Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 2-2 draw with Comunicaciones.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 1-0 loss to Houston. Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 5-3 loss to Tauro.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Started and played 90 minutes in LA's 1-0 win over Columbus. Started and played 72 minutes in LA's 2-1 win over Morelia.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 1-0 loss to LA. Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-1 loss to KC.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-0 loss to New York.
Mike Jones - New York - Did not dress in New York's 2-0 win over Portland.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Did not have a game this week.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Started and played 45 minutes in Vancouver's 3-1 loss to Seattle.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 4-1 loss to DC. Did not dress in RSL's 3-0 loss to Chicago.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Did not dress in DC's 4-1 win over RSL.
Ryan Pore - Portland - On loan to Montreal.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Dressed but did not play in San Jose's 1-1 draw with Colorado.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 90 minutes in San Jose's 1-1 draw with Colorado.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 3-1 win over Vancouver. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-2 draw with Comunicaciones.
Josh Wolff - DC - Started and played 74 minutes, recording an assist in DC's 4-1 win over RSL.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 2-1 win over Carolina.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Did not play in Fort Lauderdale's 2-0 loss to Tampa.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 4-0 win over Atlanta.
Ryan Pore - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 3 goals in Montreal's 4-0 win over Atlanta.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 2-0 loss to Tampa.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Out of season.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Out of season.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Out of season.
Yomby William - Richmond - Out of season.
John Wilson - Charleston - Out of season.

PDL
Byron Carmichael - Ocean City - Out of season.
Sergei Raad - FC Jax Destroyers - Out of season.

NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Out of season.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Comets - Out of season.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Out of season.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Out of season.
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Sockers - Out of Season
Boris Pardo - Comets - Out of season.
Paul Wright - San Diego Sockers - Out of season.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes in Diosgyor's 2-0 win over Gyori.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - Plays again in October.
Eloy Colombano - Ferro Carril Sud - Argentina - Beat Bella Vista 4-2.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play in either of Cali's games.
Herculez Gomez - Tecos - Mexico - Started and played 64 minutes, scoring a goal in Tecos' 2-1 loss to Pumas.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - Did not play in Honved's game.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Defeated Reno 2-0.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Defeated Medimurje 2-1.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Lost 1-0 to Sfintul Gheorghe.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 90 minutes in San Martin's 2-1 win over Sport Huancayo.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 4-2 loss to Spartak Moscow.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Dressed but did not play in Paderborn's 4-1 win over Ingolstadt.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Lost to Osotspa 4-0.

More International Call Ups for KC

To go along with Roger Espinoza's call up for Honduras, four more Wizards players have been called up to represent their respective national teams. Teal Bunbury, Peterson Joseph, Craig Rocastle, and Shavar Thomas have all been called up to the US, Haiti, Grenada, and Jamaica respectively.

The biggest games of the international break are for Joseph and Rocastle whose national teams have two World Cup qualifiers. Joseph and Haiti go on the road to play the US Virgin Islands on the 7th then return to Port-au-Prince to take on Curaçao. Haiti is currently second in group F behind Antigua, but both teams are 2-0 in group play having both beat up on the two other teams in their group in the first two games.

For Rocastle, he'll likely get his first action since the Gold Cup when Grenada go to Belize on the 7th and then go home to take on St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Grenada really need to get results from those as they currently are at the bottom of group E with 0 points as Guatemala leads the group currently.

Bunbury and the United States have two friendlies during the window. They start with a game against Honduras in Miami before playing Ecuador at Red Bull Arena. Meanwhile, Thomas and Jamaica appear to only have one game during this window, the game against Honduras.

The five players will miss no competitive games for Kansas City during the time. The 5 though are likely to miss the friendly on October 12th against Chivas Guadalajara due to their national team commitments though.

The one name missing from the list this time is Kei Kamara, whose national team, Sierra Leone have a must win qualifier for the African Cup of Nations against South Africa. According to Kamara's Twitter he did receive an invitation to join the national team but then said "oh oh wait but that also mean "AM SUSPENDED SMH"". Not sure what exactly the meaning of the second half of his Tweet but it doesn't look like Kamara will be traveling for the game.

What We Want to Happen Tonight

Another MLS game tonight with playoff implications for Sporting KC when Philadelphia and DC meet up at PPL Park tonight. As of right now, Philadelphia is 4 points back with 2 games in hand while DC is 6 points back with 3 games in hand. So with the more games in hand for both teams, it's going to be hard for KC to hold onto that top spot.

What we want to happen tonight: TIE.

A win could move Philly within a point with them still having a game in hand while DC would be only 3 points back with a win. A draw still sees both teams gain a point, but it doesn't see one team pull even closer to KC than they would with a draw. That's especially scary to think since DC is currently outside the playoffs right now even though they're only 6 back of KC.

Moving to the Top

KC's games are really starting to get a deja vu felling to them, because so often the script is the same. Go at the opposing team, pressure early (some times get a goal, sometimes now), start to see back a little bit, defensive error gives opponent a great opportunity (that they may or may not put away). KC comes out for the second half and pushes again looking for a goal (or another). If they do find a goal and take the lead the final 20-25 minutes are totally nerve wracking as KC deals with overwhelming pressure and their previous defensive error only magnifies it. KC will either dramatically hold on or give up a late equalizer/winner. It's becoming almost routine for KC, and last night was no exception.

KC came out early and pressure Columbus from the start looking for the early goal. Omar Bravo in particular was extremely active throughout the first half. In the 6th minute off a long free kick, Bravo got behind the defense, took a touch and fired a shot from a tough angle that Will Hesmer blocked. Bravo created another good chance a little later, getting open and firing a cross across the face of goal, but no one was there to tap it in. One of these days someone is going to make that back post run and reward Bravo with an assist. KC's early pressure paid off in the 14th minute when KC won a penalty kick. Chance Myers stole the ball off an errant pass from Kevin Burns and played the ball to CJ Sapong. Sapong dribbled into the box at Chad Marshall, made a cut and was going by Marshall when a late challenge by the Crew captain brought down Sapong. The referee immediately pointed to the spot. After a quick discussion between Bravo and Kei Kamara, Kamara stepped up and buried the PK to Hesmer's right as the goalkeeper went left.

As the script goes though for KC, the Crew started coming back into the game, almost immediately after the goal they should have equalized when Andres Mendoza lost his marker at the back post, but his shot ended up going high of the goal. The Crew equalizer did come though in the 34th. Robbie Rogers collected the ball after a bit of a scrum in the middle of the field. He played the ball to Emilio Renteria who had made a run between Matt Besler and Seth Sinovic and fired a shot from just outside the box into the far corner beating Jimmy Nielsen. Besler looked to have gotten sucked more to the right while Sinovic had gotten caught up field a little bit leaving the space for Renteria to run into. Shortly after the goal, KC had a golden opportunity for a second. A Graham Zusi free kick was headed on goal, likely for an easy save by Hesmer. Besler had lost his marker and got a flick on the ball, but his flick put the ball over the bar. It was the second time that KC had tried that play last night and the best result of the two, but overall a good set play that would be nice to see pulled out again as both times Besler was wide open.

In the second half KC continued their renewed pressure and Chance Myers almost had a deflected shot squeeze past Hesmer at the near post, but the post came to the keeper's rescue after Zusi had played a ball towards Bravo that was poorly cleared right into the path of Myers' whose far post shot was deflected onto the post on the near side. KC found a second in the 74th minute off another of Besler's long throws, which have become one of the most dangerous weapons in the league. Besler's throw towards Kamara was cut out by Julius James, but James' header went backwards, looping over Hesmer and into the far corner of the net giving KC the 2-1 lead. It wasn't pretty, but KC was finally able to break down Columbus' defense on a set play to grab their second lead of the game when it was starting to look like they'd get only 1 point. The Crew themselves made the final 15 minutes nervy as they pressured and forced Nielsen into some good saves, the best of which came in the 85th after Mendoza was able to get past Besler after a dummy on a long ball by the Crew. The hard shot went into the chest of Nielsen and the rebound went over the goal. KC withstood the late pressure and moved into first place in the Eastern Conference.

WIZARDS Man of the Match - Davy Arnaud - In his return to the starting lineup, Arnaud brought energy and tenacity that KC had seemed to be lacking a bit. Not that Roger Espinoza doesn't provide those things, but Arnaud provides them in a different way and his fight last night helped KC to control the midfield in the game where Arnaud tied the regular season appearance mark for KC.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Sinovic 5, Collin 5, Besler 5, Myers 6, Cesar 6, Zusi 5, Arnaud 7, Kamara 6, Bravo 6, Sapong 6. Subs Olum 5, Harrington NR.

16th Home Game Attendance

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

Another game in the books, another decent night of attendance at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, 17,838. The 2011 season extends it's lead, and with the finale against New York already nearly a sell out, KC is very likely to pass the 18,000 attendance mark for this season. All seasons but the 2011 season finish up with this 16th game, but here's a look at after 15 games. And here's after 16 games.

1996 - Arrowhead 18,594
Average - 12,878

1997 - Arrowhead
12,485
Average - 9,367

1998 - Arrowhead
13,146
Average - 8,574

1999 - Arrowhead
14,845
Average - 8,183

2000 - Arrowhead
20,078
Average - 9,656

2001 - Arrowhead
Season over
Average - 10,954

2002 - Arrowhead
Season over
Average - 12,255

2003 - Arrowhead
Season over
Average - 15,573

2004 - Arrowhead
Season over
Average - 14,816

2005 - Arrowhead
12,546
Average - 9,691

2006 - Arrowhead
15,878
Average - 11,083

2007 - Arrowhead
Season over
Average - 11,586

2008 - Community America Ballpark
Season over
Average - 10,716

2009 - Community America Ballpark
Season over
Average - 10,053

2010 - Community America Ballpark
Season over
Average - 10,286

2011 - LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
17,838
Average - 17,678

Very little movement on the list with many of the seasons now over, but here it is.

1. 2011 - 17,678 - (-)(+10)
2. 2003 - 15,573 - (-)(-)
3. 2004 - 14,816 - (-)(-)
4. 1996 - 12,878 - (-)(+381)
5. 2002 - 12,255 - (-)(-)
6. 2007 - 11,586 - (-)(-)
7. 2006 - 11,083 - (+2)(+320)
8. 2001 - 10,954 - (-1)(-)
9. 2008 - 10,716 - (-1)(-)
10. 2010 - 10,286 - (-)(-)
11. 2009 - 10,053 - (-)(-)
12. 2005 - 9,691 - (-)(+190)
13. 2000 - 9,656 - (+1)(+695)
14. 1997 - 9,367 - (-1)(+208)
15. 1998 - 8,574 - (-)(+304)
16. 1999 - 8,183 - (-)(+444)

Espinoza Called Up for Honduras

There is another international break coming up on the weekend of October 10th and the list of players called up for games are starting to come out. One Sporting KC player has already been called up. Roger Espinoza has been called up by the Honduran team for their two friendlies on the 8th and the 11th. Honduras first plays the United States in Miami, Florida before playing Jamaica in La Ceiba, Honduras on the 11th. KC has no league games that weekend, so the only game that Espinoza will miss the friendly against Chivas Guadalajara on the 12th.

What We Want to Happen Tonight

A new feature that I'm going to do on each MLS game day as the season begins to wind down. I'm going to look at the other MLS games that are occurring on that match day and see what the better result for Sporting KC would be in that game to assist in their chances of making the playoffs.

The only other league game tonight besides Sporting KC vs Columbus is Real Salt Lake hosting the Chicago Fire. RSL is currently 10 points up on KC, with a game in hand, while Chicago is 8 points behind the Wizards, also with a game in hand.

What we want to happen tonight: Real Salt Lake Win

RSL is likely to get one of the Western Conferences 3 automatic qualifying spots as they are 5 points clear of Dallas and have a game in hand on them as well. So the potential worry of KC having to travel to Rio Tinto for a wild card qualifying game seems extremely small. On the other hand, the Chicago Fire have recently been one of the hotter teams in MLS. They've won 4 of their last 5 regular season games that have helped them move into the playoff chase. With them 8 points back and a game in hand, a win by RSL is important for KC to keep Chicago from being able to potentially close the gap.

The good news is that the Fire's 4 wins during their stretch have all come at home. They lost their only road game during that stretch, to San Jose 2-0. Combine that with Chicago's 1-6-7 away record vs RSL's stellar 10-2-3 home record and RSL should be able to pull off the win. Combine that with a potential home win by KC tonight and that would put the Wizards 11 clear of the Fire with them having 4 games to play, meaning they'd have to win out and KC would only be able to pick up a point in the final 3 games to force a tie on points, which the Fire would win on the head-to-head tiebreaker (KC has a loss and a draw vs Chicago this year).

Bigger Than Friday

With the 1-1 draw against Philadelphia on Friday and the way other results went this past weekend for Sporting KC, the Wizards face a game that's become even bigger than Friday's game. The team the Wizards are tied with for second place, the Columbus Crew come to KC for a Wednesday night league game. The Crew arrive in KC after losing 1-0 late to the LA Galaxy, on the weekend. The Crew haven't won since August 20th when they beat the Union 2-1. Since then they've lost 4 and tied 1. The game is a chance for Sporting KC to negate the loss earlier in the year and even the head to head tie breaker should that be needed in the playoff chase. The Crew also have two of their best players listed as questionable on the latest injury report, Eddie Gaven who has already missed a bit of time lately, and captain, Chad Marshall, who has also missed a few games, but not as much as Gaven.

Sporting need to get 3 points out of this game plain and simple. A loss or a point will definitely start to hurt KC as other teams start to catch up on those games in hand on KC that Philly and DC have. Dropping more points at home is not an option. A win would see KC jump back up to the top of the Eastern conference, this time all on their own. KC could have an injury issue of their as midfielder, Roger Espinoza could possibly miss out due to a quad strain. Him missing out could cause some changes to the potential lineup. I figure we'd probably see the same lineup that started the second half against Philadelphia except for CJ Sapong starting over Teal Bunbury, but if Espinoza can't go, I could see Jeferson back into the midfield with Graham Zusi dropping into the box-to-box role again.

Nielsen
Myers - Collin - Besler - Sinovic
Jeferson - Cesar - Zusi
Kamara - Sapong - Bravo

Number to Remember - 3 - That's the number of points that separate KC from DC United, currently DC United is outside the playoffs looking in. If you needed a bigger point to think this is a must win for KC, it's right there. Also with the number 3, after tomorrow, DC will have 3 games in hand on Sporting KC, 3 games to pick up the 3 to 6 points KC could be ahead of DC after tomorrow's game. Again tomorrow is HUGE.

Key Match Up - CJ Sapong vs Chad Marshall - If the Crew has their captain available tomorrow, Sapong is going to have to be on his game tomorrow against the former defender of the year. Sapong though should be a handful for Marshall and will be an interesting match up to watch.

PREDICTION - As said earlier, this is a must win for KC if they had designs of being one of the top 3 teams in the East. DC is peaking at the right time while Philadelphia and Houston are starting to see their form improve. KC is going to need to get their points at home and that needs to start tomorrow. The Crew haven't been playing too well of late, but are likely going to play a defensive line similar to Philadelphia's last Friday. The Crew will try to contain KC's early pressure. It'll be important for KC to try to get an early goal and force the Crew out of that defensive shell.

SKC - 2 (Bravo, Kamara)
Cbus - 0

Sporting Club Creating Sporting Innovations

On Wednesday, Sporting KC's owners, Sporting Club will announce the creation of a new company, Sporting Innovations. The creation of the company is designed to be a consulting company that will use the experiences that the team has learned from the opening of LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Specifically it seems to be directed with regards to the set up of the stadium, the partnership between KCK and Google along with the team's partnership with Cisco out at the stadium that has helped have some very fast internet speeds inside LSP. It shouldn't affect the team at all, but an interesting "side project" for Sporting Club. It will be interesting to hear more of the specifics of the company.

This Could Come Back to Bite Us

Sporting KC had the control of the game last night at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, but were unable to take advantage of the possession and were only able to grab a point as they tied Philadelphia 1-1. The point only tied Sporting KC with the Columbus Crew at the top of the Eastern Conference. With the way results have already gone today, the tie has seen KC fall into a tie for second as Houston as beaten Dallas to hop over KC, Philly, and Columbus into first place. Philadelphia actually had the first chance, as Sebastian Le Toux got played in behind KC's defense but ended up firing his shot just wide of Jimmy Nielsen's net with a small touch by Julio Cesar that wasn't called. KC started to control the game but really didn't create many good chances as the half went on. The best chance in the first half for Kansas City came in the 40th minute off a KC corner. Jeferson played in a good ball into the box for Kei Kamara. Kamara beat his defender and and goalkeeper Zac MacMath to the ball but his header hit the cross bar and bounced out of play for KC. KC couldn't capitalize on all the possession in the first half and the two teams went into the half tied at 0-0.

KC made one half time change looking to change things up, pulling Brazilian designated player Jeferson and inserting Aurelien Collin. Peter Vermes pushed Cesar into the midfield. KC took the lead in the 56th minute through Omar Bravo. Plenty of credit for the goal has to go to Kei Kamara who danced around a few Philadelphia defenders before playing a fantastic ball into the middle that Bravo fired into the roof of the net. After the goal Philadelphia started to press the game quite a bit more. Almost immediately Jack McInerney got in behind KC's defense, but Nielsen came up with a big save knocking the ball over the bar for a corner. Philly kept up the pressure and got an equalizer in the 63rd minute. Roger Torres fired a shot that was going wide of the net. Seth Sinovic was racing in and then seemed to slow up as the ball appeared to be going out. This bit of slowing up allowed Michael Farfan to beat Sinovic to the ball. Farfan played a ball back into the middle for Le Toux who slotted the ball into the net tying the game at 1-1. After the tying goal, Philadelphia sat back seemingly content to ditch town with the point. KC threw numbers forward looking for a winning goal, but MacMath came up big in net for Philly, making big saves on CJ Sapong, Roger Espinoza, and others. The Philly defense shut down the rest of KC's attempts, getting 10 behind the ball with only Le Toux being up the field a bit.

A disappointing result that got even more disappointing today for KC. Houston jumped over KC, Philly, and Columbus. New York and DC closed the gap on KC as well with wins tonight against Portland and RSL respectively. It makes the final 4 games of the season incredibly difficult for KC with all of those games against teams fighting for playoff spots.

WIZARDS Man of the Match - Kei Kamara - Kamara had a strong game for Kansas City last night, causing problems for Philadelphia's back line all night. His ball into the box for Bravo's goal, and his movement before that was absolutely first class.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 5, Myers 6, Cesar 6, Besler 6, Sinovic 5, Espinoza 6, Zusi 5, Jeferson 4, Kamara 7, Bunbury 4, Bravo 5. Subs Collin 5, Sapong 5, Saad NR.

15th Home Game Attendance

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

With just 2 home game left in the season, Sporting KC has set a record for average attendance. No one could show up for the team's final two matches against Columbus and New York, and KC would still set an attendance record this season. KC's average if no one shows up the final two games of the season would be 15,589, topping the 15,573 that was set in the 2003 season. With two more games, the 2011 season should finish somewhere over 17,000 for the season. Here's a look at how the 15th game of the season stacked up through the years. Here's a look at the 14th game.

1996 - Arrowhead 12,141
Average - 12,497

1997 - Arrowhead
8,761
Average - 9,159

1998 - Arrowhead
6,755
Average - 8,270

1999 - Arrowhead
9,592
Average - 7,739

2000 - Arrowhead
8,485
Average - 8,961

2001 - Arrowhead
Season over
Average - 10,954

2002 - Arrowhead
Season over
Average - 12,255

2003 - Arrowhead
14,923
Average - 15,573

2004 - Arrowhead
20,435
Average - 14,816

2005 - Arrowhead
7,207
Average - 9,501

2006 - Arrowhead
15,038
Average - 10,763

2007 - Arrowhead
14,353
Average - 11,586

2008 - Community America Ballpark
9,841
Average - 10,716

2009 - Community America Ballpark
10,385
Average - 10,053

2010 - Community America Ballpark
11,518
Average - 10,286

2011 - LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
18,778
Average - 17,668

As stated above, the 2011 season clinched the top spot for KC's overall attendance. At this point in the season, half of Sporting KC's seasons are finished up at this time. So not many more changes will occur over Sporting KC's last two home games. But here's how the seasons stack up.

1. 2011 - 17,668 - (-)(+79)
2. 2003 - 15,573 - (-)(-46)
3. 2004 - 14,816 - (-)(+402)
4. 1996 - 12,497 - (-)(-25)
5. 2002 - 12,255 - (-)(0)
6. 2007 - 11,586 - (-)(+198)
7. 2001 - 10,954 - (-)(0)
8. 2006 - 10,763 - (+1)(+305)
9. 2008 - 10,716 - (-1) (-62)
10. 2010 - 10,286 - (-)(+87)
11. 2009 - 10,053 - (-)(+23)
12. 2005 - 9,501 - (-)(-164)
13. 1997 - 9,159 - (-)(-28)
14. 2000 - 8,961 - (-)(-34)
15. 1998 - 8,270 - (-)(-107)
16. 1999 - 7,739 - (-)(+133)

This Game is Kind of Big

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

KC has probably their biggest game of the season to date tomorrow when they take on the Philadelphia Union at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. One point separate KC and Philadelphia, with the Union having a game in hand on KC. The Union are coming off of a big home win over the East leading Columbus Crew 1-0 last weekend. A big win for them in closing the gap against the Crew. The Union will still be without their starting goalkeeper and captain, Faryd Mondragon who is still out with a broken finger, so 20 year old Zac MacMath will once start in goal for the Union. The rookie has picked up shutouts in Philly's last two games, a win and a draw. Philadelphia has spent most of the month at home so it'll be interesting to see them back on the road.

The Wizards are back at home after the 1-0 loss out in Utah against Salt Lake. The team continues to get healthier as Davy Arnaud continues to get match fitness back, and Luke Sassano has gotten back into full training. Back at home the question becomes how KC changes their game plan. While KC had some high pressure against Salt Lake on the road, it wasn't to the extent of their pressure at home. I expect that KC will come out with the high pressure that has become a staple of their home performance. The question with that is whether we'll see changes to the lineup that took the field against RSL. Does Peter Vermes re-insert someone like Jeferson, dropping Aurelien Collin to the bench and have Julio Cesar drop back to the center of defense with Matt Besler again? That seems possible, Collin was less than impressive against Salt Lake. Or Vermes could leave the lineup the same with Roger Espinoza playing more in Graham Zusi's box-to-box role with Zusi playing in the attacking midfield spot.

Nielsen
Myers - Collin - Besler - Sinovic
Espinoza - Cesar - Zusi
Kamara - Bunbury - Bravo

Number to Remember - 1 - Number of points KC is in front of Philadelphia, number of points that KC is behind Columbus for first place. With the Crew hosting the best team in the league, LA, KC has a chance to be able to jump to the top of the East with a win over Philadelphia.

Key Match Up - Aurelien Collin/Matt Besler vs Sebastien Le Toux - An MVP finalist last year, Le Toux is starting to find his form, as he now has 7 goals on the season for the Union, scoring 4 of those in the last 4 games for the Union. Shutting him down is going to be a big key for KC.

PREDICTION - Another big game at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, the 2nd of 3 straight big games with Columbus visiting on Wednesday. KC can make a statement heading into the final games of the season, if they want to be considered a true playoff caliber team and one able to do something once there, they need to get three points out of this game. A loss here makes things extremely interesting for KC's playoff hopes, especially getting one of the top 3 seeds. Philadelphia is likely to come out a bit more defensive, but KC's pressure has been able to break down stingy defensive teams already this season and should be able to get a few tomorrow to bring home the 3 points.

SKC - 2 (Kamara, Bravo)
PHI - 1 (Mwanga)

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former Wizards updates. Here is this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Nikos Kounenakis
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
JT Murray
Anthony Noriega
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ryan Smith
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Stephane Auvray - New York - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in New York's 1-0 win over Dallas. Dressed but did not play in New York's 3-1 loss to RSL.
Adam Cristman - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 3-0 win over Vancouver. Play Alajuelense tonight.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 59 minutes in RSL's 1-0 win over KC. Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in RSL's 3-1 win over New York.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 3-0 win over DC. Did not dress in Seattle's 1-0 loss to Herediano.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 1-0 loss to New York. Started and played 90 mintues in Dallas' 2-0 loss to Pumas.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 3-0 win over Vancouver. Play Alajuelense tonight.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 1-0 loss to Philadelphia.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 3-0 win over New England.
Mike Jones - New York - Did not dress in New York's 1-0 win over Dallas. Did not dress in New York's 3-1 loss to RSL.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Did not have a game this week.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 3-0 loss to LA.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 1-0 win over KC. Did not dress in RSL's 3-1 win over New York.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Dressed but did not play in DC's 3-0 loss to Seattle. Did not dress in DC's 2-2 draw with Chivas.
Ryan Pore - Portland - On loan to Montreal.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 2-1 loss to Houston.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in San Jose's 2-1 loss to Houston.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 3-0 win over DC. Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 1-0 loss to Herediano.
Josh Wolff - DC - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in DC's 3-0 loss to DC. Started and played 59 minutes in DC's 2-2 draw with Chivas.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 1-1 draw with Tampa.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 1-1 draw with Atlanta.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-0 win over Edmonton.
Ryan Pore - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Montreal's 2-0 win over Edmonton.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 77 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 1-1 draw with Atlanta.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Started and played 84 minutes, scoring a goal in Diosgyor's 2-1 over Kaposvari Rakoczi. Defeated Egri FC on penalties.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - Lost 2-1 to Royal Wahingdoh. Lost 3-1 to Shillong Lajong. Scored a goal in Bagan's 2-2 draw with Churchill Brothers.
Eloy Colombano - Ferro Carril Sud - Argentina - Lost 3-0 to Once Tigres.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not appear in either of Cali's games.
Herculez Gomez - Tecos - Mexico - Came off the benchc and played 21 minutes, scoring a goal in Tecos' 2-1 win over Tijuana.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - Did not play for Honved this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Highgate 2-2.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Lost 2-1 to Rudes. Deafeted Konavljanin 1-0.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 72 minutes in Tiraspol's 4-0 win over Costuleni. Tied Zimbru 0-0.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not play in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Leon De Huanuco.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Came off the bench and played 26 minutes, scoring a goal in Krasnodar's 4-0 win over Tom' Tomsk.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Dressed but did not play in Paderborn's 4-0 win over Bochum.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Defeated Thai Port 1-0.

Reserves Defeat RSL

It may not make up for the loss last night between the first teams, but the Swope Park Rangers earn a bit of revenge today defeating the Salt Lake reserves 1-0 thanks to an 88th minute penalty by Davy Arnaud. Both teams created some chances in the first half, the best was probably CJ Sapong hitting the post. In the second half, Arturo Alvarez hit the post for Salt Lake. The penalty kick came after Soony Saad was played in behind the defense by Peterson Joseph. Saad got brought down by goalkeeper Tim Melia. Arnaud stepped up and buried the PK even though Melia guessed the right direction. KC is now 3-2-2 with 11 points in the Central/Mountain division of the reserve league. KC still has 3 reserve games left, two of which are scheduled to be in KC. Eric Kronberg recorded the shutout in net for the Rangers in the victory.

Women Draw at LSP

While Sporting KC was on the road in Salt Lake, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park was in use by the US women's national team. In their first game since the World Cup this summer, the women drew over 16,000 fans to LSP last night for the first game of their celebration series. The US got the first goal of the game off of an Abby Wambach penalty after a hand ball in the box on Canada. The Canadians equalized later in the first half Melissa Tancredi of Canada was played in behind the US defense and beat Hope Solo low and to the far post to tie the game at one. Both teams had chances as the game continued, the US with more, Alex Morgan had a few chances well saved by Erin McLeod. But the best chance fell to Canada late in the game when a ball was squared to an unmarked Lauren Sesselmann inside the box, but Sesselmann skied the chance over the bar and the game ended up in a 1-1 draw.

Sunday After Stats

Here are some stats from last night's game against Real Salt Lake.

In the 51st minute, Michael Harrington moved past Diego Gutierrez and into 12th place for the most minutes played in Wizards history, Harrington finished the game with 12,285 mintues played.

Harrington also made his 156 appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 11th place on that list.

Kei Kamara started his 50th league game for Sporting KC. He's the 37th player to hit that mark.

KC Lose on Road

In their first away game in about two months, Sporting KC looked strong against one of the strongest home teams in the league, but couldn't capitalize on their possession and ended up falling to RSL 1-0 at Rio Tinto. KC tried to set the tempo for the game early on wiht much of the early play taking place in RSL's half of the field. KC struggled to create much from that early possession though, really only testing Nick Rimando once when Aurelien Collin forced a good save off of a long throw from Matt Besler. Rimando tipped the header over the bar for a corner kick. While KC controlled early, the other thing that became apparent about the early part of the game was that it was very physical. Both teams were being whistled for fouls, disrupting the flow of the game. On the majority of the free kicks that KC got, RSL's height advantage kept KC from doing much with the chances, when they did Rimando ended up coming up with a nice save. He did it again on Collin in the 24th minute after a Graham Zusi free kick ended up at the feet of Collin, but Rimando made a nice kick save knocking the ball away. Late in the half Rimando made another good save on a cross from Roger Espinoza. Espinoza had raced down the line with the ball and cut inside. He fired in a cross on the ground hoping to hit either Teal Bunbury at the near post, Kei Kamara at the far post, or possibly get a deflection into the net off an RSL defender, but Rimando laid out and grabbed the ball before it made it's way through.

The rough play continued in the second half, throughout the game the two teams combined for 34 fouls, 17 each. A needless foul in the 53rd minute by Collin on Andy Williams gave RSL a free kick from about 35 yards out. Kyle Beckerman lofted a ball into the area for Nat Borchers, who had gotten away from Collin, who had a horrible 2 minute stretch after committing the foul. And while Collin's defending on the play was poor at best, KC got no help from the referee as the photo below shows Borchers about as far offside as Collin was when his goal was ruled out against LA back on Labor Day.

After the goal, KC continued to be the one pushing the game, Bunbury tried to respond immediately but fired his shot just wide of Rimando's goal. Julio Cesar forced another strong save from Rimando, firing a shot from 35-40 yards out on a frozen rope that Rimando could only tip over the bar for a throw in. Espinoza had another decent opportunity, getting around his markers and firing a shot in that was wide of the goal, but found Omar Bravo, who had overrun the ball and was in an offside position anyway. RSL's chances in the second seemed to be few and far between, they had one chance off a free kick after a Collin hand ball, but on the ensuing free kick a foul on RSL called the play back. Trying for a quick restart Jimmy Nielsen and Jamison Olave collided, Olave's shoulder hitting Nielsen in the chip. Nothing malicious in the bump, but Nielsen went down almost like he'd been shot. I don't believe that Nielsen was totally acting, I think taking the shoulder in the chip probably hurt a little bit since he never saw it coming, but I also think Nielsen tried to play the contact up just a little bit, which is extremely unfortunate. Nielsen was called on to make a big save in the 75th as Alvaro Saborio got played in to Nielsen's left, but Nielsen made a big save on a powerful blast by the Costa Rican.

In the 84th there was a bit of confusion after Rimando collected a cross as Rimando was getting ready to distribute up field when he seemed to drop the ball. The ball fell to Davy Arnaud who fired the ball into the empty net. But referee Ricardo Salazar called the play back saying that Seth Sinovic had interfered with Rimando distributing the ball. Replays seemed to show KC's left back making no contact with RSL's goalie. RSL should have doubled their lead in the 87th when Fabian Espindola got played in behind KC's defense, but 1v1 with Nielsen, the Dane made the foot save. KC's continued pressure created some chances for Bunbury and Jeferson, but they were unable to beat Rimando. RSL had one good chance to find a second as some comedic defending by KC saw them give the ball away in their own end. Nielsen tried to chase down an errant back pass from going out for a corner and gave the ball away to Jean Alexandre. Nielsen though showed well defensively to keep Alexandre wide and Besler was able to head the cross away without a goal given up. KC couldn't find a goal at the very end and their return to the road ended with a loss.

KC seemed to do enough to at least get a draw last night, especially with the possession that they had. But they didn't do enough with that possession. They forced Rimando into making three or four big saves, but those are basically all the saves that Rimando had to make all night. With the amount of time that KC spent in RSL's offensive third Rimando should have been forced into more work than he was.

WIZARDS Man of the Match - Julio Cesar - Both sides of the midfield were physical, and while Roger Espinoza was doing some on KC's side, Cesar was the one that was doing more of it. He helped to shut down the middle of RSL's attack in his return to the midfield.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 5, Harrington 5, Collin 4, Besler 5, Sinovic 5, Cesar 6, Espinoza 5, Zusi 4, Kamara 5, Bunbury 4, Bravo 3. Sapong 4, Arnaud NR, Jeferson NR.

Back on the Road

After spending the last two months at home, Sporting KC goes back onto the road where they'll take on the surging Real Salt Lake. RSL has won their last 3 games, two of which were on the road. Last week they defeated Seattle in Seattle 2-1 thanks to an own goal and a goal by Alvaro Saborio. Salt Lake is currently ranked 4th in the very strong West and in place to have to play a wild card game in the playoffs if they started tomorrow. So Salt Lake will be looking to push themselves into one of the West's top 3 spots. With a few games in hand on the rest of the West RSL should be able to bridge that gap fairly well.

KC comes into the game looking to move themselves back into a tie for first, or into first place outright with a win over RSL. The team is probably the healthiest they've been in a long time, but they could be without one of their key players for the game tomorrow. Right back, Chance Myers is listed on the latest injury report as doubtful with a foot contusion. If Myers can't go, it's a big hit for KC, especially with how Myers has played for the Wizards so far this season. In his place KC has some options, the team could play Michael Harrington or Aurelien Collin there. Harrington hasn't had the best season, after a breakout year last year, but I'd prefer him in that position compared to Collin. Collin looked out of place on the right wing for Sporting KC. While Collin played there with previous teams I think the dynamics of MLS make it a harder position for him to play in MLS.

The bigger overall question, is how Peter Vermes is going to play this game. Is he going to continue the high pressure that has become a staple of KC's game for most of the home stand. Or does he switch to a bit more conservative approach that KC has played their last few road games? If they want to go more conservative I could see Collin dropping in at center back with Julio Cesar moving to the midfield with Jeferson dropping to the bench. There are plenty of other questions to ask about the lineup, like who, if anyone, moves to the bench for Kei Kamara to come back into the starting lineup?

Nielsen
Collin - Cesar - Besler - Sinovic
Espinoza - Zusi - Arnaud
Kamara - Bunbury - Bravo

Number to Remember - 3 - Currently the playoff line looks like it will be 43 points, that is 3 points more than the team currently has. If that line holds KC would only need 1 more win to be able to make it's way back to the playoffs. If the team doesn't want a wild card spot, they'll obviously need more than that, but 3 would be big in getting KC closer to the playoffs.

Key Match Up - Kei Kamara and Omar Bravo vs RSL wingbacks - Potential starters, Chris Wingert and Tony Beltran are not going to be playing tomorrow due to injury and suspension respectively. That leaves Robbie Russell as the main wingback. Against Seattle center back Chris Schuler filled in after Beltran was red carded. So it would seem that KC would do well to attack the wings of RSL tomorrow night.

But that is only 1 of many potential key match ups. Another one is Graham Zusi vs Kyle Beckerman as well as Teal Bunbury/CJ Sapong vs Borchers and Olave, I think RSL could be susceptible to the same type of balls that saw Bunbury get a brace against Houston.

PREDICTION - This game isn't a must win, but it's a huge game for both teams heading into the final few games of the season. Both teams are playing extremely well right now. The key is how KC will adjust to playing on the road again after spending so much time at home. This game is going to be extremely tight I think both teams are going to try to open the game, neither team is going to be able to pull away in this one.

SKC - 1 (Bunbury)
RSL - 1 (Saborio)

New Byline to Back Post

Earlier this week, Thad and I got together and recorded a new edition of From the Byline to the Back Post. This week Thad and I discussed player news, including Scott Lorenz's return and new players salaries. We also discussed the games against Houston and Real Salt Lake as well as this weekend's women's game between the US and Canada, with a sprinkle of Comets news at the end. Available on Posterous and iTunes. Thanks as always to The Vandon Arms for the music.

Better to Finish Second?

After last Saturday when Sporting Kansas City beat Houston and Toronto defeated Columbus, Kansas City was tied for first place in the Eastern Conference. That ended last night when Columbus tied Houston and the Crew moved one point back in front of KC, dropping the Wizards into second place. With that drop to second, the argument of finishing first has really started to pick up.

Now the question is, why would a team want to finish in second place instead of first? Well the argument could be made that it's better for Sporting KC to finish second in the East. The way that MLS' playoffs are set up this year is that the top 3 teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. The next 4 highest teams square off in a 1 game series with the 1 seed playing the 4 and the 2 playing the 3. Then the lowest seeded team remaining will play the Supporters' Shield winner, which is very likely going to go to the Western Conference, while the highest seed to win will play the Eastern Conference champion. Right now that match up would see RSL host DC while Colorado hosts Houston. Should both higher seeds win it would see Colorado play LA currently and RSL face the top team in the East.

The other conference semifinal match up sees the 2nd seed play the 3rd seed. Currently that would see the Wizards take on the Philadelphia Union. So right now who would you rather face, a team currently on 45 points, which is more than any team in the East currently has, or a team on 36 points?

Arguments can be made for either side. On the finish first side, you can argue that to be the best you need to beat the best, which is absolutely true. Even if KC were to finish second, there's still a possibility that KC would have to play RSL to get to MLS Cup anyway. The other good side of finishing first is that you're guaranteed to have home field for the conference finals should you advance. That's not guaranteed in the 2nd vs 3rd match up.

As for the finish second side of the argument, finishing second you get what would be perceived as an easier opponent in the semifinals. Then if you can defeat them you don't have to travel to play a team that possibly has more points than you do. Instead in the current scenario, if KC beats Philadelphia and RSL "upsets" Columbus, KC would play RSL at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in a one game conference final. The draw back to this is that if Columbus beats RSL you find yourself traveling to Columbus for the conference final in a single game elimination.

I wouldn't think that a team would willingly throw games to get a worse playoff position, but it wouldn't be surprising either. And it might not be an Eastern team that would look on this as better to finish second. A team in the West could see it better to finish 4th than to finish 2nd or 3rd. You finish fourth in the West, you win your playoff game, you go to the "weaker" Eastern Conference for the playoffs as long as you win your playoff game. Definitely not the best playoff system conceived, but could certainly make for an interesting run up to the end of the season.

KC Make Deadline Move for Defender

Sporting Kansas City made one move today before the roster freeze at 4pm Central time today. Today KC announced that they'd acquired Kenyan defender, Lawrence Olum. Olum spent most of the year with Orlando City SC of the USL Pro division. The 27 year old Olum played in 21 games for Orlando City in league play, recording only 1 assist. Olum had one goal in the playoffs, in the championship game against Harrisburg. The goal in the 89th minute looked like it'd be a winner before a late equalizer by the Islanders forced extra time.

Peter Vermes called Olum a very versatile player that can play multiple positions. Olum seemed to mainly play as a central defender, but has also been listed as a midfielder and could possibly be an outside back as well. Throughout his career Olum has played in the lower divisions in the US since graduating from Missouri Baptist. After playing with the St. Louis Lions of the PDL, he's since played with the Portland Timbers and Minnesota Thunder. He then played with the Austin Aztex who moved to Orlando before this season. Olum seems set to provide depth at the center back position though, if Julio Cesar moves back to the defensive midfield position KC will want depth to cover in case Aurelien Collin or Matt Besler goes down.

According to Vermes, KC was also interested in trying to sign former draft pick Nick Cardenas, but apparently a deal couldn't be reached apparently due to MLS roster rules. Cardenas likely would have been on the list of players not on the senior roster, and there was likely some roster regulations that KC couldn't get around to sign the 6'5" defender.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Here's your weekly Former SKC Wizards update. No really big former player news this week.

Active without a club or unknown
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Nikos Kounenakis
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
JT Murray
Anthony Noriega
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ryan Smith
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Stephane Auvray - New York - Started and played 61 minutes in New York's 1-1 draw with Vancouver.
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 1-0 win over Colorado. Started and played 64 minutes in LA's 2-1 loss to Morelia.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 45 minutes in RSL's 2-1 win over Seattle.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 2-1 loss to RSL. Not on the bench for Seattle tonight against Herediano.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 2-0 loss to New England. Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 1-1 draw with Tauro.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 1-0 win over Colorado. Started and played 90 minutes in LA's 2-1 loss to Morelia.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 4-2 loss to Toronto. Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-2 draw with Houston.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Mike Jones - New York - Did not dress in New York's 1-1 draw with Vancouver.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Did not have a game this week.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Vancouver's 1-1 draw with New York.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 2-1 win over Seattle.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Dressed but did not play in DC's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Ryan Pore - Portland - On loan to Montreal.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 2-0 win over Chicago.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in San Jose's 2-0 win over Chicago.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 loss to RSL. On the bench for Seattle tonight vs Herediano.
Josh Wolff - DC - Dressed but did not play in DC's 3-0 win over Chivas.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 2-0 win over Atlanta.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Edmonton.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 1-0 win over Carolina.
Scott Lorenz - Minnesota - Returned to KC.
Ryan Pore - Montreal - Started and played 79 minutes in Montreal's 1-0 win over Carolina.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 89 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Edmonton.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Out of season.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Out of season.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Out of season.
Yomby William - Richmond - Out of season.
John Wilson - Charleston - Out of season.

PDL
Byron Carmichael - Ocean City - Out of season.
Sergei Raad - FC Jax Destroyers - Out of season.

NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Out of season.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Comets - Out of season.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Out of season.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Out of season.
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Sockers - Out of Season
Paul Wright - San Diego Sockers - Out of season.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes in Diosgyor's 1-1 draw with Paksi SE.
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Season kicks off 9/18.
Eloy Colombano - Ferro Carril Sud - Argentina - Tied Independiente Tandil.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play in either of Cali's games.
Herculez Gomez - Tecos - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 29 minutes in Tecos' 2-0 loss to Jaguares.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - Did not play in Honved's 3-1 loss to Papa.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - No game this week.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - No game this week.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Tiraspol's 1-0 win over CSCA-Rapid.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 83 minutes and scored a goal in San Martin's 5-1 win over Union Comercio.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Started and played 80 minutes, scoring a goal in Krasnodar's 3-1 win over Rubin Kazan.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Started and played 67 minutes in Paderborn's 0-0 draw with Alemannia Aachen.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Defeated Bangkok Glass 3-1.

Updated Salaries

The MLS Players' Union released updated player salaries today. Five players have been added to the list for Kansas City while 3 players are gone from the list. One other player has seen their salary increase.

Added to KC's salary list are Daneil Cyrus, Jeferson, Joseph Peterson, Soony Saad, and Seth Sinovic. Jeferson, KC's third ever designated player is the highest paid of the 5, with a $429,996 base salary ($484,996 guaranteed) that is prorated for the rest of this season, as are the other salaries. Cyrus and Joseph are both making $42,000 in base, although Cyrus makes $44,991.56 in guaranteed money. Saad and Sinovic both bring up the end of the scale, making $32,604. For the amount of playing time that Sinovic has played this season, he's an absolutely steal for the league minimum. Once again it just begs the question of why the Revolution waived a guy that's become an important part of the team.

Gone from the list are Stephane Auvray ($170,000.00 base, $208,125.00 guaranteed), Mike Jones ($32,604.00 base and guaranteed) and Nikos Kounenakis ( $110,004.00 base $120,004.00 guaranteed) who was a surprise to be on the list to begin with. The other interesting thing is that Ryan Smith, whose season is over, and his $140,000 base salary is still on KC's list.

Luke Sassano is the one player to see an in-season pay raise this year, increasing his salary from $42,000 to $51,600 base, $55,025 guaranteed. This game from Sassano's short term deal being extended by Sporting KC earlier this year.

With only a few games left in the season, it's interesting to look at who is underpaid/overpaid at this point. The two most obvious underpaid players on the team are CJ Sapong and Graham Zusi who both make $42,000. Zusi seems set to get a raise, possibly a new contract with one year left to go on his current deal. Sapong could also possibly see himself get a new deal with his play this season. As mentioned above Sinovic is another player that is playing well above his pay scale. Matt Besler is another that is underpaid currently making under $60,000 guaranteed.

On the other end of the spectrum, Shavar Thomas is the prototypical overpaid player on KC's roster, getting paid $160,000, that's $53,333 a game for his 3 appearances this season, or $4,571.43 per minute for his 35 minutes. One would hope that Philadelphia is still covering a portion of his salary. While Julio Cesar has done much better than I think anyone thought he would earlier this season, I'm not positive that he's worth his $210,000 base salary. That's not to say Cesar hasn't been good, I just don't think he's been THAT good.

Sunday After Stats

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

Teal Bunbury dominated Sunday after stats this week.

Teal Bunbury became the all time leading scorer vs Houston with his 2 goals. He now has 3 all time vs the Dynamo.

Bunbury's first goal was the 50th of the season in all competitions for KC, it's the first time they've hit 50 goals in a season since 2005.

Bunbury's second goal was his 12th in league play for KC, tying him with Igor Simutenkov, Miklos Molnar, and Chris Henderson for 18th place on that list.

Bunbury also made his 50th league appearance for KC, he's the 43rd player to hit that mark for KC.

The red card to Carlo Costly was the 12th red card in a Sporting KC game this season, tying this year with the 1998 season for the second most red cards in a season (record is 16 in 2009).

It was also the 12th red card in all competitions, tying it with the 1998, 2001, and 2002 seasons for the second most in all competitions (2009 had 21 red cards in all competitions).

On Top of the East

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

Sporting Kansas City had a big opportunity to get themselves into a more favorable playoff position on Saturday when the 3rd place Houston Dynamo came to town. The Wizards grabbed the opportunity and took full advantage of it defeating the Dynamo 3-0 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. KC set out from the offset and took the game to the Dynamo, controlling play extremely well early on. There was a potential moment of controversy for KC early on in the game as Jimmy Nielsen appeared he may have controlled the ball outside the box with his hand, but no call was made. Shortly after that KC likely should have taken the lead through Omar Bravo in the 7th. Julio Cesar played a great ball over the top to Bravo, it appeared Bravo may have controlled the ball with his hand, but no call was made. Bravo though had his shot well saved by Tally Hall in the Dynamo net. KC continued to dominate play, Jeferson had a good chance but shot right at Hall. In the 9th minute though KC grabbed the lead. Graham Zusi played a long ball over the top, more so to clear the ball and keep it in play. Teal Bunbury though out raced Dynamo defender, Andre Hainault. Hainault caught Bunbury's heal, but Bunbury stayed on his feet and fired a shot that Hall got a hand too, but he couldn't keep out as it rolled into the net giving KC the lead.

KC continued to come at the Dynamo and had a few really good chances to grab a second goal. In the 17th minute Omar Bravo got played in down the wing by Chance Myers, no one got into the box quick enough though and Bravo's cross went through untouched. Jeferson had another good chance to a second firing a blast from 25 yards out that missed going in by inches. The Dynamo finally seemed to wake up and got into the game a bit finally around the 25th minute, Brad Davis had a good shot blocked by the KC back line. At this point the game really started to become more of a back and forth game as KC themselves once again almost found a second. Myers played a nice cross into the box to CJ Sapong at the back post. Sapong laid out vertically almost getting the ball into the net, but it pushed just wide of the post. Right after Sapong's chance, the Dynamo had their best chance of the half as Carlos Costly was able to turn Cesar just outside the box. Costly dribbled into the box and fired a shot that beat Jimmy Nielsen, but not his post as the ball bounced back into play.

The game started to get a little chippy in the 33rd minute ahead of a free kick. Sapong matched up with Hainault, as the two were tussling, Sapong got away and Hainault stuck out a leg and tripped the Wizards forward. Referee Mark Geiger pulled both players aside and had a talk with them as fans booed the replay on the big screen. The teams continued to trade chances, as Zusi fired a shot just over the bar right before Costly flicked a header just ovr the bar at the back post off a Davis free kick. In the 40th KC had their best chance to grab a second and probably should have as Roger Espinoza played a great ball over the top again to Bravo. This time he had Seth Sinovic making a back post run. But Sinovic put the ball over the bar from about 5 yards out as the ball seemed to bounce up on him a bit on the turf.

Early on in the second half the Dynamo were controlling the ball and again Costly had a good chance, this time turning Matt Besler and firing a shot just wide of Nielsen's post. The game continued to be back and forth as it had been in the late going of the first half. That changed in the 64th minute when Costly picked up a red card for a stupid tackle on Myers. Myers received a ball all alone on the wing deep in KC's end. Costly came sliding in and caught Myers leg after Myers had cleared the ball up field. Geiger made no hesitation going for his back pocket and sending off the Honduran. It was a poor challenge, that rightly deserved the sending off it got, the third for Houston this season against KC.

It took almost 10 minute, but KC finally took advantage of the man advantage. After Cesar and Myers collided in their defensive third going for the ball. Myers was able to recover well and tried to clear the ball, the ball ended up coming back to Cesar. Cesar played a long ball over the top towards ESpinoza and Bunbury. Espinoza slipped but the ball made it through as he raced past his defender. Bunbury raced into the box and once again beat Hall who could only get a hand on it as KC doubled the lead. With the two goal lead KC really started to bring the game looking for a third. Bravo almost got the third off of a Zusi free kick. Instead of taking the shot, Zusi slotted the ball to the outside of the wall for Bravo who turned and fired a shot that Hall could only knock away for a corner.

The third goal came shortly after that though, as Zusi played a great through ball to substitute, Kei Kamara. Kamara looked up and instead of taking a shot from a tough angle with Hall in a good position, squared the ball across goal to Sapong who fired the ball into the net making it 3-0. KC sat back a little after that absorbing the pressure, but being down to 10 men, the Dynamo didn't offer much in the form of pressure. Nielsen was forced to make one save, tipping a cross from Corey Ashe over the bar for a corner. Other than that, the final 10 minutes of the game were fairly uneventful as KC closed out their long home stand in style with the 3-0 win putting them into first place.

WIZARDS Man of the Match - Teal Bunbury - Really this award could go to any number of players, Graham Zusi, Chance Myers, Julio Cesar could also have easily gotten the man of the match for the game today. But Bunbury's two goals were both well taken finishes and the type of goals that Bunbury's known for. If Bunbury's form is on the up and up, the rest of the league was put on notice yesterday, because KC has a legitimate shot at having 3 different goal scorers this year hit double digits, Bunbury's now on 7, while Bravo and Kamara are both currently on 8 goals. Definitely an offense that is hard to plan for.

Honorable Mention - Graham Zusi, Chance Myers, Julio Cesar

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Sinovic 6, Besler 6, Cesar 8, Myers 8, Espinoza 7, Jeferson 6, Zusi 8, Bravo 6, Bunbury 8, Sapong 7. Subs Arnaud 7, Kamara 7, Harrington 6.

14th Home Game Attendance

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

The home stand is over, and it looked like the run had finally gotten to a lot of people, as the team had their lowest attendance of the season, 14,791 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park yesterday for the game. Still, the 2011 season leads the way in attendance. Here's through 13 games. Here's a look at the break down for the 14th home game.

1996 - Arrowhead 11,139
Average - 12,522

1997 - Arrowhead
12,548
Average - 9,187

1998 - Arrowhead
8,621
Average - 8,378

1999 - Arrowhead
6,096
Average - 7,606

2000 - Arrowhead
10,503
Average - 8,995

2001 - Arrowhead
Season over last home game canceled due to 9/11
Average - 10,954

2002 - Arrowhead
19,270
Average - 12,255

2003 - Arrowhead
9,360
Average - 15,619

2004 - Arrowhead
18,074
Average - 14,414

2005 - Arrowhead
12,368
Average - 9,665

2006 - Arrowhead
12,337
Average - 10,458

2007 - Arrowhead
32,867
Average - 11,388

2008 - Community America Ballpark
9,488
Average - 10,778

2009 - Community America Ballpark
10,135
Average - 10,030

2010 - Community America Ballpark
11,522
Average - 10,199

2011 - LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
14,791
Average - 17,589

The 2001 season is the first season to end, with the events of September 11, 2001 canceling the last home game of the year that season. The 2002 season had it's last game this week as the 14 game home season ended. Here's how the seasons look.

1. 2011 - 17,589 - (-)(-215)
2. 2003 - 15,619 - (-)(-482)
3. 2004 - 14,414 - (-)(+281)
4. 1996 - 12,522 - (-)(-106)
5. 2002 - 12,255 - (-)(+540)
6. 2007 - 11,388 - (+5)(+1,652)
7. 2001 - 10,954 - (-1)(-)
8. 2008 - 10,778 - (-1)(-100)
9. 2006 - 10,458 - (-1)(+145)
10. 2010 - 10,199 - (-1)(+102)
11. 2009 - 10,030 - (-1)(+8)
12. 2005 - 9,665 - (-)(+208)
13. 1997 - 9,187 - (-)(+259)
14. 2000 - 8,995 - (-)(+116)
15. 1998 - 8,377 - (-)(+18)
16. 1999 - 7,606 - (-)(-116)

Top of the East

I'd been asked this question both via text and on Twitter, so I figured I'd add it here for those of you that A) don't have Twitter, and B) don't have my phone number.

With the way that results went today, Sporting KC sits tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with the Columbus Crew. While the Crew have a game in hand over the Wizards, KC is currently in first place thanks to their superior goal difference. For Kansas city it's been a long time since KC has been in first place (even tied) this late in the season. The last time that this happened for Kansas City this late in the season was back on October 16th, 2004. The last date of the 2004 MLS regular season when they beat LA 1-0 at Arrowhead. KC had been in first place since a 1-0 win over San Jose on September 18th. So it's been almost 7 years since KC has been in first place after the first of September, last time that happened, KC missed out on the Supporters' Shield on goal difference to the same Columbus Crew, lost in the MLS Cup final, but did come home with some silverware that season. Hopefully KC gets a repeat and brings something home again this season.

A 6 Pointer

Sporting Kansas City closes out their home stand tomorrow afternoon against the Houston Dynamo. At this moment, KC is only 2 points clear of the third place Dynamo. The two teams have played the same number of games, and with 7 games still left on the season, now is the time to really start picking up the form level getting ready to head into the playoffs. Houston comes into the game without a win on the road this season, going 0-5-8 away from Robertson Stadium this season. The Dynamo though have been tough for Kansas City to beat though. Since the Dynamo started in Houston, Kansas City have only beaten the Dynamo once at home, and that was last year's dramatic come from behind 4-3 win.

Kansas City really needs to get their form going in the right direction again. They've gotten 1 point out of their last two games against two of the best teams in the West. If KC wants to have a legitimate shot at the title, they need to start picking up points against the top level teams. KC has the chance to start that tomorrow against the 3rd place Dynamo and continue that as 3 of their next 4 are against top 4 teams in the East. Against the Dynamo tomorrow afternoon though KC will face them without the man who drew two red cards in the game down in Houston. Aurelien Collin is suspended for the game due to yellow card accumulation after picking up a yellow vs LA on Monday. KC will also probably be without Kei Kamara, at least as a starter. Kamara only today got back to KC from Sierra Leone after their African Cup of Nations victory over Egypt. With his body still about half a world away maybe he's on the bench, but I don't think that he'll be starting tomorrow.

Nielsen
Myers - Cesar - Besler - Sinovic
Jeferson - Espinoza - Zusi
Bravo - Bunbury - Sapong

Number to Remember - 2 - That's the number of games KC is now winless at home, something they need to reverse if they want to do anything in the playoffs this season. It's also the number of league wins that KC has all time vs Houston, not the best record either.

Key Match Up - Matt Besler and Julio Cesar vs Brian Ching and Carlo Costly - Houston's two target strikers are going to be difficult for Besler and Cesar to deal with. Without Collin to get in either's head it's going to take some very strong defending from KC's center back pairing to shut down the two.

PREDICTION - KC knows that this is a game that need to win if they want to A) avoid a wild card play in game and B) prove that they're one of the best in the East. With the Dynamo's poor record on the road this game should be one that KC is able to take. Still the big X factor in this game is going to be the field at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. With there being a chance of storms tomorrow the field could take a huge beating and really be in bad shape during the game. Still KC should have enough to win this game tomorrow.

SKC - 2 (Bravo, Zusi)
HOU - 1 (Ching)

New From the Byline to the Back Post

New podcast is up this week with me and Thad. This week Thad and I discuss national team call ups for Sporting KC, the US national team, Sporting's KC games, and the Missouri Comets. Check it out on Posterous and iTunes.

August Player of the Month

I am a little late to this, got distracted at the end of the month and forgot to post my player of the month for August. In August KC went 3-2, scoring 9 while allowing 6 goals in the 5 games, all held at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. The leading scorer in the month was Kei Kamara, who scored 3 goals in the month. One of which was a game winner against DC United. Graham Zusi also added two goals in the month. Teal Bunbury added a goal and assist. While Roger Espinoza, Soony Saad, and Omar Bravo all scored a single goal. Matt Besler added in an assist. Jimmy Nielsen and the KC back line also recorded 2 shutouts in the month against RSL and DC.

For the month of August, the award goes to, Kei Kamara.
Kamara has hit a good patch of form for KC. After an early part of the season where he was on the bench, Kamara has become again almost indispensable for KC. He scored goals against Seattle, DC, and Dallas in August and has continued to be a threat through the games.

Lorenz Returning to KC

Outside back, Scott Lorenz was supposed to be on loan to the NSC Minnesota Stars for the rest of the season. The Stars today though announced that they have terminated the loan deal and that Lorenz is returning to Kansas City. KC coach, Peter Vermes confirmed that Lorenz was returning today. In his last appearance on Wednesday with the Stars, Lorenz played only 42 minutes before being subbed out in the first half by Minnesota coach, Manny Lagos, against FC Tampa. The Stars have struggled recently, going winless in their last 7 games, 0-6-1 that has them now fighting for their playoff lives. Lorenz made 8 starts for the Stars during his time with the team. It would seem that Lagos is trying to stir things up as they try to qualify for the playoffs, and it would seem either Lorenz had gotten on Lagos' bad side or he just wasn't impressing with his play. Lorenz returns to KC just before the roster freeze on September 15th.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Here's this week's former SKC Wizards update. Not many matches this week as lots of teams were off for the international break. Here's the rest of the update.

Active without a club or unknown
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Nikos Kounenakis
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
JT Murray
Anthony Noriega
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ryan Smith
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Stephane Auvray - New York - No game this week.
Adam Cristman - LA - Started and played 90 minutes in LA's 2-2 draw with KC.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - No game this week.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - No game this week.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Started and played 90 minutes in LA's 2-2 draw with KC.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - No game this week.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - No game this week.
Mike Jones - New York - No game this week.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Did not have a game this week.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - No game this week.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in RSL's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.
Kurt Morsink - DC - No game this week.
Ryan Pore - Portland - On loan to Montreal.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - No game this week.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - No game this week.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - No game this week.
Josh Wolff - DC - No game this week.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Dressed but did not play in either of Minnesota's games this week.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 1-0 win over Montreal. Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 1-0 win over Carolina.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Monteal's 1-0 loss to Fort Lauderdale. Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Puerto Rico.
Scott Lorenz - Minnesota - Started and played 90 minutes in Minnesota's 3-1 loss to Edmonton. Started and played 42 minutes in Minnesota's 2-1 loss to Tampa.
Ryan Pore - Montreal - Started and played 57 minutes in Montreal's 1-0 loss to Fort Lauderdale. Came off the bench and played 18 minutes, scoring a goal in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Puerto Rico.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 1-0 win over Montreal. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Fort Lauderdale's 1-0 win over Carolina.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Season is over.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Season is over.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Season is over.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Season is over.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Season is over.
Yomby William - Richmond - Season is over.
John Wilson - Charleston - Season is over.

PDL
Byron Carmichael - Ocean City - Out of season.
Sergei Raad - FC Jax Destroyers - Out of season.

NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Out of season.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Comets - Out of season.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Out of season.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Out of season.
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Sockers - Out of Season
Paul Wright - San Diego Sockers - Out of season.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Scored two goals in Diosgyor's 4-0 win over Mezokovesd-Zsory in the league cup.
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Season kicks off 9/18.
Eloy Colombano - Ferro Carril Sud - Argentina - Season kicks off 9/10
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play in Cali's 3-0 loss to Medellin.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Season kicks off 9/9
Herculez Gomez - Tecos - Mexico - Did not have a game this week.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - Lost to MTK in the league cup.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - No game this week.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Beat Marsonia 2-1.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Did not have a game this week.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not have a game this week.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not play in Armenia's 3-0 win over Andorra. Started and played 85 minutes, scoring a goal in Armenia's 4-0 win over Slovakia.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Did not have a game this week.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Off until 9/10