Sunday, February 26, 2012

Sporting Tie Montreal

In a game that featured reserves, Sporting KC kept their undefeated start to preseason alive with a 1-1 draw with the Montreal Impact in the second game of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic. Only 3 players that saw the field in the opener against the Houston Dynamo were even dressed for the game today against the expansion Impact. Paulo Nagamura, Jacob Peterson, and Soony Saad, who all 3 came on as subs against the Dynamo started against the Impact. The Wizards did a good job of forcing the game early, but couldn't find a goal to capitalize on their efforts. In the 30th minute, Sporting got a chance to take the lead, as Saad was brought down from behind in the box for a penalty kick. Saad took the duties himself and promptly struck the post keeping the scores level.

Only a few minutes after Saad's miss, the Impact took the lead. Number 1 draft pick, Andrew Wenger, turned Cyprian Hedrick in defense and then fed Mike Fucito, who beat Jon Kempin in Sporting's net.

The second half saw Sporting push the game, looking for an equalizer. They finally got it in the 70th minute, with Saad making amends for his earlier miss, taking a pass from Michael Thomas and beating Evan Bush in the Impact net to tie the game at 1-1. That's where the game finished as both teams settled for a point.

The draw, combined with the Vancouver Whitecaps win over the Dynamo sees Vancouver head to the championship game of the tournament. The spot in the consolation game is still up for grabs heading into the final game day. A win by Sporting over the Whitecaps would see Sporting advance to that game. A draw could also see them go into the consolation game if the Dynamo and Impact also draw in their game.

With all the reserves on the field, a few trialists got a run out still trying to make the roster. Sacir Hot was the only one to start the game, but draft picks Shawn Singh and Kyle Miller both entered the game as late subs, as did former Canadian U20, Mozzi Gyorio, another trialist. The game against the Whitecaps is Wednesday the 29th at 5pm CST.

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