Back on the Road

Record vs Chivas USA - 6-4-4
Record away - 2-3-2
Last game 7/9/2011 - 1-1 (LaBrocca 30, Bravo 93+)

Sporting KC heads back on the road this weekend, out to LA to take on Chivas USA, continuing their swing of 6 against the Western Conference. Chivas USA has created themselves a stingy defense so far this season. All 3 of their games so far have been 1 goal affairs. Goalkeeper, Dan Kennedy has been having himself a great season so far, coming up big multiple times for Chivas to keep them in games. He did it again last week in Salt Lake, when Chivas picked up their first win of the season against RSL. A surprising result on the road, Salt Lake controlled much of the game, but Chivas' defense stood strong. Former Wizards defender, Rauwshan McKenzie is helping to hold down the center of defense with Heath Pearce. They also have another former player, Ryan Smith on the wing providing, he sent in the cross that led to Chivas' winning goal vs Salt Lake last week.

KC sees the return of Teal Bunbury to the team after a disappointing Olympic qualifying cycle for not just the US, but Bunbury as well, who didn't impress against Cuba as a sub or Canada when he started. The great Teal vs CJ debate can start back up. Tomorrow against Chivas though I just have a feeling Bunbury will get the nod. McKenzie and Pearce are not exactly fast defenders and could definitely be exposed by Bunbury's speed. On the other hand, do you change up the lineup that has won you the last two games, and basically the same lineup that was on the field when KC got their other win this season? Again it's a good problem to have, having multiple options at forward.

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

Number to Remember - 3 - Number of road wins in a row KC has heading into this weekend's game in all competitions. The last time they failed to win on the road was 10/1/2011 at San Jose, a 1-1 draw. The last loss on the road was 9/17/2011 against Salt Lake.

Key Match Up - Chance Myers vs Ryan Smith - Myers is likely going to be matched up with Chivas' new winger, and it should be a familiar match up for Myers. Smith has a lot of good moves, but Myers continues to have some great form. And if Myers can continue to get up field and force Smith to track back more, much of his attacking ability will be nullified.

PREDICTION - On paper this should be a game that KC should win, a high powered offense against a strong defensive team, but one that can be broken. KC fans though should look no further than their own teams history to see how defensive teams can stand up against strong offensive teams, I'm looking at you MLS Cup 2000. Both teams are coming into this with momentum, Chivas on the backs of that big road win, and KC looking to have the best 4 game start in team history. I wanna say we'll be 4-0 after this weekend, but I'm calling a draw.

KC - 1 (Kamara)
CUSA - 1 (Townsend)

Teal vs CJ

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

With the US team out of Olympic qualifying, it means that some plans this summer are likely being changed. I think plenty of people were thinking/expecting Teal Bunbury to miss some time this coming season while in London. Now, Bunbury will stay in KC through the summer (barring him being sold this summer) and that means that we're going to be getting a much longer discussion on who should be the starter, Bunbury, or last year's rookie of the year, CJ Sapong.

There are people on both sides of the debate, although based off of what I've heard and seen, Sapong has many more fans than Bunbury has currently. The arguments for Sapong are that he's a more consistent player, he always seems to be doing the little things right. He didn't score as much as Bunbury did last year, but the counter to that is Sapong does a better job of playing back to goal and seems to be the better player for the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation that KC runs. The arguments for Bunbury is that his speed is able to exploit defenses, being able to get behind the defense. The argument against Bunbury is his lack of a consistent first touch.

Both players though have their place in the team right now. Both player's style of play compliments the other as a substitute. For example, in the season opener against DC, Bunbury started and spent 75 minutes running at DC's defense, wearing them out that way. Then Sapong came on and was able to physically go up against what was a tired back line. And Sapong took advantage of that in stoppage time, losing his defender on the corner kick.

The opposite could be done as well. You can have Sapong start and played 75ish minutes, physically wearing down the central defenders by doing what he does best, backing into them on long balls, knocking them around a bit. Then bring on Bunbury who can use his speed to get behind a defense that is worn out from being knocked around all game by Sapong.

Both of these ideas have merits and can be used in different positions, against different teams, depending on who the team is, the players that they have in their defense, and how that team plays defense. The other thing that needs to be looked at is form. Currently I'd probably start Sapong because he's in better form than Bunbury. On the other hand, Chivas central defense of Rauwshan McKenzie and Heath Pearce are not exactly fast defenders, which would seem to point to want to give Bunbury the nod.

In the end, this debate is a good one to have when you have two players of their caliber, on the team able to start.

Former SKC Wizards Update

This week's former SKC Wizards update is out. Herculez Gomez just continues to score goals, scoring two in the past week. In other news, Carlos Marinelli is looking for a new club. According to this article, Marinelli apparently is back in the US for some reason. So it'll be interesting to see if he turns up with a US club. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Michael Kraus
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Milos Stojcev
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-0 loss to Columbus.
Adam Cristman - LA - No game this week.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 71 minutes in RSL's 1-0 loss to Chivas.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 2-1 loss to KC.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 2-0 win over Montreal.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-0 loss to New England.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Did not play in Seattle's 2-0 win over Houston.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Did not dress in Philadelphia's 1-0 loss to Chicago.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 win over Salt Lake.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Recovering from surgery.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Did not play for Dallas
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Started and played 74 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 win over Salt Lake.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in San Jose's 3-0 win over Toronto.
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 2-0 loss to Columbus.
Tyson Wahl - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-0 loss to Columbus.
Josh Wolff - DC -Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in DC's 0-0 draw with Vancouver.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season hasn't started
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Season hasn't started
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - 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 - Wichita Wings - Season is over.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Season is over.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Season is over.
Mike Jones - Illinois Piasa - Season is over.
JT Murray - Louisville Lightning - Season is over.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Season is over.
Yomby William - Norfolk SharX - Season is over.
Paul Wright - Anaheim Bolts - Season is over.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Diosgyor's 1-0 win over Ujpest.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Started and played 59 minutes in Cruz Azul's 1-1 draw with Puebla.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bagan's 2-2 draw with Air India.
Eloy Colombano - Defensores de Cambaceres - Argentina - Beat Defensores Unidos 2-0 and tied JJ Urquiza.
Daneil Cyrus - 1st FC Santa Rosa - Started and played 90 minutes for Trinidad's U23 team in their 7-1 loss to Mexico, 1-1 draw with Panama, and 2-0 loss to Honduras in Olympic qualifying.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Lost 2-1 to Police
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Santos' 2-0 win over Queretaro. Started and played 69 minutes, scoring a goal in Santos' 1-1 draw with Toronto.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Vasas - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes in Vasas' 3-2 win over Zalaegerszegi TE.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Village United 0-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Defeated Itabuna 7-1.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Tied Rudes 2-2.
Mike Jones - Hjørring - Denmark - Season has not started back up.
Neal Kitson - Northampton Town - England - Dressed but did not play in Northampton's 0-0 draw with Plmouth Argyle.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Did not dress in Tiraspol's 3-1 loss to Iskra-Stal.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Started and played 90 minutes in Krasnodar's 1-0 loss to Amkar Perm.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Season has not started yet.
Craig Rocastle - Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC - Greece - Started and played 69 minutes in Thrasyvoulos' 1-1 draw with Platanias. Lost to Panthrakikos 3-1.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Paderborn's 2-1 loss to Duisburg.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Season is over.

Why I Still Plan to Attend the Olympic Qualifiers

A lot of the luster for the Olympic Qualifiers this weekend in KC wore off on Monday night, when the US drew 3-3 with El Salvador, knocking the Americans out of the tournament before they even got to Kansas City. Instead this weekend in KC we're going to see Mexico, Canada, El Salvador, and Honduras take the field in the semifinals on Saturday with the winners of those games meeting on Monday night.

Since the USA's exit I've seen a massive influx of people willing and wanting to dump their tickets that they've already purchased. I know that many of my friends are in this group, deciding instead to spend the weekend doing other things, including watching the Final 4 with KU since the US is out. Since I couldn't care less about KU, or college basketball in general, I personally still plan on being out there on Saturday, and I plan on having a good time.

Here's why I'm still planning to be out at Livestrong Sporting Park on Saturday (and probably Monday). Very rarely any more do I go to a game, sit, watch, and enjoy myself. Any more when I attend games they are Sporting KC games. And while I stand, sing, and enjoy myself at those games, they're not always the most relaxing experience in my life. I spend a lot of time over analyzing stuff that the players do on the field. Not to mention the anxiety of it being my team and always having that nagging feeling (no matter how well KC is playing) that we'll lose the game.

I'm looking forward to going to the games still hanging out with some people I know, and not having a care in the world about the teams on the field. Just going to a game and enjoying watching the game in person. The last time I did that was probably last year's Gold Cup game between Canada and Panama, and even that wasn't without some stress, especially since Canada led until late, and if the Canadians had held on and the US beat Guadeloupe, the US would have won the group. Before that, the last game I just went and watched was the Club America vs Chivas game at Arrowhead a few years back. Before that it was Charlton Athletic vs Aston Villa at The Valley back in 2004, so very rarely do I go and just watch games.

I'm going to enjoy getting out to Livestrong Sporting Park, maybe bringing a grill, cooking some food, having a beer, then going inside, finding a nice shady spot in the Members Stand, take a seat and enjoy some soccer. If you're still planning on going, feel free to join me. We can mock the other teams and commiserate the USA's exit while we watch.

Rangers Drop Game Vs Houston

The Swope Park Rangers suffered their first loss of the season today at Swope Park, as the reserves gave up 3 second half goals, falling to the Houston Dynamo 3-0. The first half was interrupted by lightning. In the second half, in a 21 minute stretch, Cam Weaver, Alex Dixon, and Colin Rolfe all scored for Houston to give them the win over the Rangers.

The reserves lineup featured 2 trialists get time, draft pick, Kyle Miller and Edvin Worley, who spent the winter with the Wichita Wings. The one player that was missing for the Rangers today, was Soony Saad who was not to be found in the lineup for KC. The team's next game is Tuesday April 10th at 7:30 pm against the Chicago Fire reserves at Livestrong Sporting Park.

Gyorio Turns Down Offer from Sporting KC

For a while it looked like Canadian trialist, Mozzi Gyorio was going to become a Sporting KC player. He'd spent plenty of the preseason with KC, getting time in the tournament in Orlando. He'd come back to KC with the team, but then headed off to join the Canadian U23 camp ahead of Olympic qualifying. Gyorio didn't make the final roster for qualifying for Canada and so thoughts turned back to whether he would sign with KC. Word out of Canada is that KC did offer Gyorio a contract, but the Canadian has turned down the offer. Gyorio is still looking for a new club, but is apparently also hoping to get an improved offer from Sporting KC. It'll be interesting to see if he does get one, it'll be a sign about how highly Peter Vermes thinks of the 22 year old.

US Collapse Out of Olympic Qualifying

Well Saturday and Monday in Kansas City at Livestrong Sporting Park just got a little less interesting for quite a few fans in KC. Tonight in Nashville, in epic fashion, the US U23 team drew with El Salvador 3-3 on a goal in the 95th minute of the game after some very poor clock management by the US team.

The US were handed a lifeline to avoid Mexico in Kansas City earlier in the night, when Cuba got a shocking draw with Canada, meaning with a win the US would win the group. The US grabbed the lead inside the first few minutes through Terrance Boyd and the US looked set for a good win to win their group. As with the rest of the tournament though, the US central defense and goalkeeping let the US down and in a matter of a few minutes in the middle of the half the US were down 2-1 to El Salvador.

In the second half the US looked better, and El Salvador sat back and started to bunker, a tactic that actually kept the USA's poor defense out of the eye. And finally the US was able to break down the El Salvador bunker, mainly through Freddy Adu. Adu set up Boyd for a second and shortly later set up Joe Corona to give the US the lead. The US tried to kill the game off and looked like they had. But as the 4 minute mark of stoppage time hit, Brek Shea won a ball in the US' end and instead of sending the ball into row Z at the opposite end of the field tried to play Boyd and gave the ball away. Then as El Salvador attacked, the US defense stepped back allowing space and a routine shot that Sean Johnson should have saved, hit off his hands and into the net giving El Salvador a draw, sending them to Kansas City and the US home in embarrassing fashion.

For those like me, that have already bought tickets for Saturday and Monday, good luck getting rid of them. With KU in the Final 4 that day, you're going to struggle to find someone willing to buy those tickets.

In Sporting KC related news, Teal Bunbury was an unused sub in the game and will now return to Kansas City to play with Sporting.

Home Attendance After 2 Games

photo courtesy Jarred Donalson

Continuing to take a look again this year, comparing the attendance from throughout KC's history. Here's the look through 2 home games after KC drew 15,161 last night against FC Dallas. That's the second lowest attendance for a KC game at Livestrong Sporting Park. Still before last season, that 15,161 would have been the 34th largest attended game in team history out of 229 home games before the 2011 season started. So it's funny to hear people now complaining about the number yesterday.

Am I happy with the number? Not overly, but I think the complaints that I've seen on attendance have been over blown. Here's a look at the second home game attendance and the average through 2 games.

UPDATE: I've added a little more information for each game, the date, day of the week, opponent and result. Also if there's something I remember specifically about the game that might have affected attendance.

1996 - Arrowhead
8,848
Wednesday 5/2/1996 vs Columbus Crew 6-4 win
Average - 14,995

1997 - Arrowhead
8,406
Saturday 4/5/1997 vs LA Galaxy 3-2 win
Average - 9,302

1998 - Arrowhead
4,130 (lowest attendance in team history)
Wednesday 4/8/1998 vs Chicago Fire 1-0 win
Average - 7,215

1999 - Arrowhead
8,313
Saturday 4/3/1999 vs New England Revolution 0-1 loss
Average - 11,911

2000 - Arrowhead
5,250
Saturday 4/1/2000 vs Colorado Rapids 3-0 win
Average - 6,395

2001 - Arrowhead
4,420
Wednesday 4/18/2001 vs Miami Fusion 2-1 win
Average - 8,731

2002 - Arrowhead
10,636
Saturday 4/13/2002 vs San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 win
Average - 11,203

2003 - Arrowhead
14,586
Saturday 4/26/2003 vs Chicago Fire 2-3 loss
Average - 18,495

2004 - Arrowhead
9,682
Saturday 4/17/2004 vs Columbus Crew 1-0 win
Average - 14,956

2005 - Arrowhead
12,008
Saturday 4/30/2005 vs DC United 0-0 draw
Average - 12,746

2006 - Arrowhead
8,436
Saturday 4/15/2005 vs New England Revolution 1-0 win
Average - 13,290

2007 - Arrowhead
7,426
Saturday 5/5/2007 vs Columbus Crew 1-0 win
Average - 7,432

2008 - Community America Ballpark
8,731
Saturday 4/5/2008 vs Colorado Rapids 3-2 win
game was moved from evening to afternoon to accommodate KU in the Final Four start time.
Average - 9,558

2009 - Community America Ballpark
6,922
Sunday 4/5/2009 vs San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 win
game best remembered for the Lopez banner almost flying away.
Average - 8,654

2010 - Community America Ballpark
10,228
Saturday 4/10/2010 vs Colorado Rapids 1-0 win
Average - 10,307

2011 - Livestrong Sporting Park
18,467
Friday 6/17/2011 vs San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 win
Average - 19,196

2012 - Livestrong Sporting Park
15,161
Sunday 3/25/2012 vs FC Dallas 2-1 win
Average - 17,469

And here's your rankings of the season based off their average attendance.

1. 2011 - 19,196
2. 2003 - 18,495
3. 2012 - 17,469
4. 1996 - 14,995
5. 2004 - 14,956
6. 2006 - 12,290
7. 2005 - 12,746
8. 1999 - 11,911
9. 2002 - 11,203
10. 2010 - 10,307
11. 2008 - 9,558
12. 1997 - 9,302
13. 2001 - 8,731
14. 2009 - 8,654
15. 2007 - 7,432
16. 1998 - 7,215
17. 2000 - 6,395

S.A.S. Monday Edition

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

Here are stats from last night's game, including a milestone goal from Aurelien Collin.

Aurelien Collin's goal was the 700th in league history for Sporting KC. KC is the 6th team to hit that mark.

In the 63rd minute, Kei Kamara hit the 10,000 minute mark in his MLS career.

Kamara's goal was his 6th game winner for KC in league play, that ties him with Mo Johnston, Miklos Molnar, Jose Burciaga, Eddie Johnson and Chris Brown for 7th place.

It's also his 6th game winner in all competitions for KC, tying him with Johnston, Francisco Gomez, Burciaga, Johnson, and Teal Bunbury for 10th place on that list.

Graham Zusi's 2 assists for KC give him 12 in league play in his career, moving him int a tie for 18th place on that list with Paul Wright.

The two assists gave Zusi 15 in all competitions for KC, tying him with Diego Gutierrez and Chris Henderson for 15th place on that list.

The win was KC's 20th league win against Dallas. That's tied for the most wins against any one club with Colorado.

Kamara Scores Late Winner to Beat Dallas

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

Sporting KC's game against FC Dallas was expected to be much closer, and it paid up to that billing, but KC came from a goal down and was able to beat Dallas 2-1, thanks to a beautiful team goal that was finished by Kei Kamara. KC did well early on to create some chances, putting plenty of shots on target on Kevin Hartman. Dallas started to come into the game more created some chances of their own, but being unable to put the shots on goal. In the 25th minutes Dallas got the first goal of the game. Blas Perez had been "fouled" just outside the box by Aurelien Collin. I put fouled in quotes because I'd hardly call what happened to Perez a foul. Perez fell over with only a slight touch from the Frenchman. Ricardo Villar stepped up and buried the ensuing free kick past Jimmy Nielsen and into the net. Nielsen didn't even move, as KC allowed their first goal of the season. Villar though would have little else to do with much of the rest of the game, as he got cleared out by Chance Myers on a challenge and would end up subbing out at half time. KC tried to take control of the game after that, but had been unable to beat Hartman to get the game level. The injury to Villar though meant that there was plenty of stoppage time in the first half, and in the 4th minute of stoppage time, KC found an equalizer. After a foul about 40 yards out from goal, Graham Zusi played a lofted ball into the box for Collin. The Frenchman got a glancing header on the ball and beat Hartman to level the score at 1-1.

Early in the second half, KC looked set to take the lead after Chance Myers was brought down in the box, leading to a penalty kick. Kamara stepped up to take the PK. The Sierra Leone man struck it well, low to the corner, but Hartman got down well, knocking the ball away and keeping the game tied. KC was the much more aggressive team as the half continued, in fact, Dallas didn't record a shot on goal in the second half. KC looked set to have to settle for a draw, when Kamara struck in the 88th minute. The play started actually with Seth Sinovic and Jimmy Nielsen, but the real beauty of the goal came around midfield, where Kamara, Julio Cesar, Zusi, and Myers all combined in some great one touch passing that lead to a Myers cross being turned in by Kamara for the winning goal. KC had to hold on late though, as Cesar made a great tackle just outside the box. Then after that some frantic late defending in the box the referee blew the final whistle and KC moved to 3-0 on the season.

Check out the video of the final goal again, with Callum on the call.


WIZARDS Man of the Match - Roger Espinoza - Yes it's only 3 games into the season, but Espinoza so far has been amazing in the middle of the field for KC. He's been confident, strong, willing to shoot, and the only yellow he's picked up was a delaying a restart yellow late last night.

Honorable Mention - Aurelien Collin

Player Ratings - Nielsen 5, Sinovic 6, Collin 8, Besler 7, Myers 7, Cesar 5, Espinoza 8, Zusi 7, Convey 4, Sapong 6, Kamara 7. Subs Olum NR, Peterson NR

Diop Waived

The infectious smile is now gone from the locker room. Today, Sporting KC announced that they have waived midfielder, Birahim Diop. Diop hadn't been in camp at all this year, instead had been away from the team for personal reasons. The random speculation was that Diop was angling to try to go down to Colombia and join Octavio Zambrano, who Diop has followed around for quite a bit of his club career. In the 2010 season, Diop was pushed into an emergency forward role against the New England Revolution and responded with 2 goals in the game that became known as "The Diop Game". And like all good movies, there was a sequel. The sequel, the "Return of the Diop Game" or "The Diop Game Part Deux" saw Diop score a hattrick against San Jose to close out the season for KC. Last year, Diop saw his minutes reduced quite a bit and was moved back to the midfield.

Enjoy remembering the Diop games one last time below.

The original



Part Deux

Bunbury and Rest of US Team Poor in Loss to Canada

The talk from many US fans heading into Olympic qualifying was that this US team could potentially medal at the Olympics this summer in London. Now the team faces a real possibility of not even making it to the semifinals in Kansas City next weekend after the U23 team played very poorly losing 2-0 to Canada tonight.

With Juan Agudelo out for the tournament with a torn meniscus Teal Bunbury got the start at the center forward position for the US national team. Bunbury had an unimpressive 56 minutes before being subbed out for Terrance Boyd. Things didn't get better for the US though, as Canada scored a goal off a corner kick as Bill Hamid didn't jump to claim the corner instead staying on the ground waiting for the ball to come to him. The Canadian forward leaped and headed the ball into the net. The US then threw the kitchen sink at the Canadians but couldn't create many good chances against Canada. Late on, Canada scored a second, again off a corner, as Ike Opara and Hamid combined to make a mess of the second goal.

While Bunbury had a poor game, he certainly was not the worst of the US players. That honor has to fall to Hamid or Opara who both had really poor performances.

That loss leaves the US sitting in 3rd place in their group with 1 game left. Canada and El Salvador are tied for first on 4 points, and Cuba is 4th with 0 points. That means the US needs a win on Monday against El Salvador to just qualify for the semifinals in KC. With Canada playing Cuba, Canada is likely to win the group. What that means is that should the US defeat El Salvador on Monday, the US will likely get a semifinal match up against Mexico. A match up for qualification to get to London. The match up that the US likely didn't want at this point in the qualification process. A huge disappointment of a performance by the US tonight.

Now the Season Really Gets Going

Record vs Dallas - 19-19-8
Record at home - 10-8-5
at LSP - 0-1
Last game 8/27/11 - 2-3 (Kamara 22, Bravo 68, Hernandez 70, Santos 89, Warshaw 92+)

KC is getting into a meaty portion of their schedule starting tomorrow when they take on FC Dallas. It's the first of four in a row against the Western Conference for the Wizards. As of this typing, Houston is the only Eastern team to defeat a Western team in a game (and Houston defeated Chivas and San Jose, two teams that aren't considered to be the class of that conference, although as I type the Revolution are leading the Timbers.)

Dallas comes into this game a little undermanned right now, they'll be missing Brek Shea and Carlos Rodriguez due to their call ups to their national teams for Olympic qualifying (US and Panama respectively). It looks unlikely that both Fabian Castillo and former MVP David Ferreira. In the past that would be a cause for concern for KC fans as they never seemed to do well against a team that was missing key parts. But under Peter Vermes, KC has done a better of punishing teams that are at a disadvantage. KC though can't take Dallas lightly, they still have Ricardo Villar, and Panamanian striker Blas Perez, who will be a handful for Aurelien Collin or Matt Besler, depending on if the Frenchman plays or not.

Collin though is listed as probable for the game tomorrow for Kansas City. He's one of 3 starters from last week's game listed on the injury report, but Collin, Bobby Convey, and Graham Zusi are all listed as probable, so I'd expect all 3 to be in the lineup. As a whole there's really no reason to change the lineup that has won the first two games of the season if everyone is able to go.

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

Number to Remember - 6 - That's the number of games against the West that KC has in a row. The West is proving itself to be the better conference so far this season, as I mentioned earlier. If KC wants to seriously be considered a contender for a title this year, taking care of business in these games, especially at home is a must.

Key Match Up - Aurelien Collin vs Blas Perez - Both are physical players so this has the potential to be a very fun match to watch. Collin so far has avoided picking up a yellow card in his 147 minutes so far this season. Late on Collin seemed to have learned what he could and couldn't get away with in the league and avoided some of the silly cards he picked up earlier. Still this is going to be a match up where I expect both to leave with a yellow card.

PREDICTION - As I mentioned earlier, if KC wants to be seriously considered a contender for a title this year, and really does want to "paint the wall", then KC needs to win this game. Dallas is a good team, even without Shea, Castillo, and Ferreira, but KC is at home, and that's the key thing. If KC has ambitions of winning a title, these are the games you win to prove to the rest of the league that you are really a favorite and you're a team that has to be watched.

KC - 2 (Kamara, Zusi)
FCD - 1 (Perez)

Turner Called into US U18 Camp

The future certainly appears to be bright at the goalkeeper position for Sporting KC. Not only is KC's current back up, Jon Kempin, only 19 years old, but on the current Juniors team, Sporting KC also has another keeper that is going to spend time with a US youth national team. U18 goalkeeper, Jacole Turner has been invited to a camp with the US U18 team in Carson, CA. The camp is March 25th through April 1st. Turner is one of four goalkeepers named to the roster, 3 of which are based with MLS teams currently.

Turner will be going to Barton County Community College this coming fall, likely hoping to follow a similar path that saw Kevin Ellis earn a first team contract after a few years at the community college.

It'll be interesting to see how Turner develops. KC would be hard pressed to keep two goalkeepers so close in age to each other, so KC could be placed with a decision of keeping Kempin or Turner and having to let the other go. In the mean time it's at least a good thing to even dream about a competition like that for KC's goalkeeper position. Especially since KC has never been known as a team that has developed their own goalkeeper, usually picking up an older veteran to mind the net for the team (latest examples, Tony Meola, Kevin Hartman, and Jimmy Nielsen).

New Byline to Back Post

A new From the Byline to the Back Post for you this week. Thad and I discuss player news, the win over New England and the upcoming game against FC Dallas. In the second part, we talk some Comets news, former Wizards, and get off on a debate on just how good Lionel Messi really is. Enjoy on Posterous or iTunes.

U23's Beat Cuba

The US U23 team got their Olympic qualifying campaign started on the right foot with a 6-0 win over Cuba in their first group game. Joe Corona of Club Tijuana in Mexico scored a hattrick, while Juan Agudelo, Freddy Adu, and an own goal rounded out the scoring against the Cubans. Cuba spent a majority of the game down to 10 men after an early red card when Agudelo took an elbow to the face.

Sporting KC forward, Teal Bunbury came on as a half time sub for Agudelo. Bunbury had a few decent opportunities, all of which ended up being saved by the Cuban goalkeeper, including a fairly decent finger tip save. Bunbury's touch looked better than it had against DC, but Bunbury also had more space to work with. Hopefully he can use this as a way to boost his confidence.

The win for the US puts them on top of group A with 3 points, El Salvador and Canada played to a 0-0 draw earlier in the night sit tied for second on 1 point, and Cuba is 4th on 0 points. The US take the field again on Saturday when they'll take on Canada. A win would go a long way towards clinching qualification for the semifinals in Kansas City.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates. Congrats to Davy Arnaud for scoring the first goal in the history of the Montreal Impact in MLS play. Also congrats to Daneil Cyrus on being called up by the Trinidad U23 team for Olympic qualifying this weekend. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Mike Jones
Michael Kraus
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Milos Stojcev
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Chicago.
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 3-1 win over DC.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 62 minutes, scoring a goal in RSL's 2-0 win over New York.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 1-1 draw with Portland.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - No game this week.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-1 draw with Dallas.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 3-1 win over Toronto.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Did not dress in Philadelphia's 2-1 loss to Colorado.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss ot Vancouver.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Recovering from surgery.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Did not dress in Dallas' 1-1 draw with Portland.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Started and played 62 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Vancouver.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 63 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 loss to Houston.
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Chicago.
Tyson Wahl - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Chicago.
Josh Wolff - DC - Did not dress in DC's 3-1 loss to LA.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season hasn't started
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Season hasn't started
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - 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 - Wichita Wings - Season is over.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Did not play for the Magic.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in both of Baltimore's losses to Milwaukee.
Mike Jones - Illinois Piasa - Season is over.
JT Murray - Louisville Lightning - Season is over.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Season is over.
Yomby William - Norfolk SharX - Season is over.
Paul Wright - Anaheim Bolts - Season is over.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Came off the bench and played 37 minutes in Diosgyor's 2-1 win over Papa.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Started and played 63 minutes in Cruz Azul's 1-0 loss to Santos. Started and played 65 minutes in Cruz Azul's 1-0 loss to Corinthians.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - No game this week.
Eloy Colombano - Defensores de Cambaceres - Argentina - Tied Leandro Nicéforo Alem 0-0.
Daneil Cyrus - 1st FC Santa Rosa - Tied Petit Valley United 1-1.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Lost 4-1 to W. Connection.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Did not dress in Santos' 1-0 win over Cruz Azul.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Vasas - Hungary - Started and played 45 minutes in Vasas' 2-1 loss to Gyori.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Lost to Arnett Gardens 1-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Lost to Vitoria 3-2. Beat Vitoria Da Conquista 2-1.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - No game this week.
Neal Kitson - Northampton Town - England - Did not dress in Northampton's 2-1 loss to Accrington Stanley. Did not dress in Northampton's 1-0 win over Burton Albion.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Did not dress in Tiraspol's 2-2 draw with Zimbru. Tied Sfintul Gheorghe.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Game vs Inti Gas was postponed.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Krasnodar's 2-1 win over Volga.
Craig Rocastle - Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC - Greece - Started and played 90 minutes in Thrasyvoulos' 2-2 draw with Kallonis.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Came off the bench and played 23 minutes in Paderborn's 4-0 loss to Ingolstadt.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Season is over.

Bunbury News and Reserves Draw

US Soccer officially announced their 20 man roster for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers in Nashville, and potentially Kansas City. It's basically the same lineup that was named last week to the US camp. The only difference is that Joshua Gatt was recalled by his club team, and was replaced by Philadelphia defender, Sheanon Williams. Those 20 players will take on Cuba, Canada, and El Salvador in group play. Should they finish first or second, they'll advance to the semifinals and finals in Kansas City. The semifinal match is the important one, as winning that game clinches you a spot in the Olympics.

Out in Salt Lake today, some of Bunbury's teammates took the field against Real Salt Lake in the first game of the reserve league season for KC. Salt Lake grabbed a lead in the 58th minute, but late in the second half, Korede Aiyegbusi sprunk Dom Dwyer on a break away that Dwyer finished to give the Rangers a 1-1 draw.

Home Opener Attendance Comparison

photo courtesy Jarred Donalson

Bringing back another topic from last year, the attendance comparison of previous seasons and how it relates to KC. So here's a look at the attendance comparisons from KC's home openers throughout the years.

1996 - Arrowhead
21,141

1997 - Arrowhead
10,198

1998 - Arrowhead
10,299

1999 - Arrowhead
15,509

2000 - Arrowhead
7,540

2001 - Arrowhead
13,042

2002 - Arrowhead
11,769

2003 - Arrowhead
22,403

2004 - Arrowhead
20,229

2005 - Arrowhead
13,484

2006 - Arrowhead
18,143

2007 - Arrowhead
7,438

2008 - Community America Ballpark
10,385

2009 - Community America Ballpark
10,385

2010 - Community America Ballpark
10,385

2011 - Livestrong Sporting Park
19,925

2012 - Livestrong Sporting Park
19,777

Down a little bit from last year, but not much as a whole. The opener this past week is the 5th highest opener in team history behind 2003, 1996, 2004, and 2011. Now we'll see how the 2012 season stacks up to the 2011 season when the team hit the highest average attendance in their history.

Shawn Singh Signed

Sporting KC announced another signing today, officially agreeing to terms with 1st round Supplemental draft pick, Shawn Singh to a contract. The UCLA product makes 29 players currently under contract right now. Although with Eric Kronberg currently on IR, they have 28 filled roster spots at the moment. That means KC has 1-2 roster spots open, until Birahim Diop heads out of town, which is likely only a matter of time before it happens.

Singh will provide more depth at the outside back position, along with starters Chance Myers and Seth Sinvoic, and back ups, Korede Aiyegbusi, Kevin Ellis, and Michael Harrington.

Sporting KC and LSP Up for Sports Business Awards

Today, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily came out with their nominees for the 2012 Sports Business Awards, and it was a good day for Sporting KC and Livestrong Sporting Park, as both are up for their Sports Business Awards this year. Sporting KC is up for Sports Team of the Year against the Boston Bruins, Dayton Dragons, Stewart-Haas Racing, and the Texas Rangers.

Livestrong Sporting Park is up for Sports Facility of the Year. KC's home stadium is up against 2012 NBA All-Star Game (Amway Center) and 2013 Super Bowl (Mercedes Benz Superdome), and Major League Baseball spring training destination Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The winner's will be announced on May 23rd.

Sunday After Stats

Here are the stats from last night's game.

For the moment, Sporting KC is back to an even goal difference. The 3 goals last night gave KC 822 in all competitions. They've also conceded 822 in all competitions.

Kei Kamara's goal was his 16th at home in league play, breaking his tie with Digital Takawira for 7th on that list.

It was also Kamara's 17th in all competitions at home, breaking his tie with Takawira there as well.

It was also Kamara's 21st league goal, breaking his tie with Mark Chung for 8th place on that list.

And his 22nd in all comeptitions, again breaking his tie with Chung for 8th on that list as well.

Kamara's assist on Graham Zusi's goal was Kamara's 11th in league play for KC, putting him in a tie with Frank Klopas and Chris Brown for 19th on that list.

KC has won more games in league play against the Revolution than any other MLS team. KC has defeated New England 22 times. Next closest is Colorado who KC has beaten 20 times.

Living Up to the Hype

Before last night in Sporting KC's home opener against New England there was a little worry of a let down in a big atmosphere game, similar to last year's stadium opener against the Chicago Fire. That turned out to not be a problem though, as Sporting came out from the start last night and took the game to the Revolution, controlling the game and getting the 3-0 win. KC was helped by an early red card, but even before that KC seemed well on it's way to all 3 points.

In fact in just the 9th minute Roger Espinoza likely should have given KC the lead, but was denied by the post. Graham Zusi was looking to play the ball wide to Bobby Convey, but his pass got deflected the opposite direction deep into the Revs territory. Matt Reis made a move to come and get the ball, but CJ Sapong out raced the goalkeeper and the two players collided outside the box. The ball ended up on the foot of Espinoza who took a few touches and then lofted a shot towards the empty net as Reis tried to get back. The ball beat Reis, but banged off the post and back into play. KC continued to be the more aggressive side, and in the 14th minute, things got bad for the Revolution. Jimmy Nielsen played a ball up field towards Kei Kamara. Kamara flicked the ball on to CJ Sapong. Sapong tried to race past his marker, Stephen McCarthy. McCarthy though pulled back on Sapong as he raced by him and was whistled for the foul. The referee deemed the foul to be a denial of a goal scoring opportunity and gave McCarthy a straight red and putting the Revs down to 10 men. The call did seem a little harsh as Sapong was still well away from goal, but I can totally understand why the card was given.

From the red card on, it wasn't a matter of if KC would score, but a matter of when. New England just didn't look as being able to cope with the man disadvantage, and the game was KC's for the taking. In the 28th minute, KC got their goal. After a good string of possession, the ball found Seth Sinovic on the left hand side. Sinovic crossed a ball into the box towards Sapong, but Sharlie Joseph got his head on it, flicking the header to the back post. Kamara picked the ball up there and fired a cross into the middle of the box towards Zusi. Zusi, Joseph, and Reis all went down while going for the ball. Zusi was the first to react while on the ground, knocking the ball into the net. KC continued to press, looking for a second goal. It took about 10 minutes, but Kamara did finally make it 2-0. Bobby Convey and Sinovic played a give and go down the left hand side. Sinovic then played in a cross. Reis got a hand on the cross, knocking it into the path of Kamara. Reis did well to get back up and save Kamara's initial shot, but the rebound went right back to Kamara who beat Reis on the second offering to make it 2-0. And you can't not love the celebration.

KC continued the strong performance at the beginning of the second half and only 2 minutes in had made it 3-0. Once again the play started with Sinovic as he got played in down the line again. Instead of a cross this time, Sinovic laid the ball back to an on running Sapong who made no mistake, giving KC another goal. After that goal, KC seemed to sit back and seemed content to just possess and kill the game off. In the end, KC finished with close to 65% possession against the 10 man Revs, a huge amount of possession, even if it was against 10 men. The one worrisome thing was that KC couldn't make it 4, 5, or 6, as some poor finishing kept them at 3-0. Chance Myers had a chance hit the cross bar, Kamara almost got a second, but Reis came up with a good save off a corner. Sapong had the best of the opportunities as he got played in behind the defense and was 1v1 against Reis, but the forward couldn't round Reis to get his second. Late on, Convey flubbed a shot well wide of the net. In the end it wasn't needed as KC strolled to the win.

Wizards Man of the Match - Seth Sinovic - Even though he only recorded one assist last night, Sinovic played a role in all 3 of KC's goals against his former team. With New England's struggles at left back since they waived Sinovic it's just another slap in the face for the team that Sinovic did this against them after they waived him last season.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 7, Sinovic 9, Collin 7, Besler 7, Myers 7, Cesar 7, Espinoza 7, Zusi 8, Kamara 8, Sapong 8, Convey 7. Subs Nagamura 6, Olum 6, Sassano 6.

The Home Opener

Record vs New England - 21-12-9 (W-L-D)
At home - 10-7-4
At LSP - 0-0-1
Last game - 7/30/11 1-1 (Lekic 38, Bunbury 89)

After a 1-0 win in the season opener in DC, KC return home to open their home portion of their season against the New England Revolution. The Revolution come into KC after a 1-0 result of their own, only this one went the wrong way for them as they fell 1-0 in San Jose against the Earthquakes. In the game against the Earthquakes, they also looked fairly poor, especially in the attack. That could change this week though, as they have French striker, Saer Sene former of Bayern Munich II available for selection. Their makeshift back line also has received a boost, as AJ Soares is no longer on the injury report after suffering a knee sprain against San Jose. And of course they still have Benny Feilhaber and Sharlie Joseph.

Kansas City will need to do better finishing their chances and better with creating chances from all their possession than they did against DC last weekend. While on paper New England is weaker than DC, the big thing that KC needs to avoid is complacency against what is perceived to be an inferior opponent. That is the big thing to worry about for KC tomorrow. The ground is expected to be a large, very intense crowd, especially with it being St. Patrick's Day. The worry is that in a big game, with a big atmosphere like on opening day last year, or against Houston in the Eastern Conference finals could lead to a let down on the field. The players appear like they're up for the big crowd this time, like they know exactly what's coming, and that will hopefully allow them to step up in this atmosphere tomorrow. The only player expected to be out is Eric Kronberg due to his back issue, Paulo Nagamura and Bobby Convey are both probable tomorrow. The only other player missing from the team for Sporting KC will be Teal Bunbury who is away with the US U23 team. That should put CJ Sapong into the starting lineup for Kansas City in Bunbury's place. Other than that I expect the same lineup as opening day in DC.

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

Number to Remember - 1 - Since 2000 KC has lost just one time in their home opener, a 3-2 loss to Toronto FC in 2009. Since 2000, KC is 8-1-3 in home openers. Two of the three draws have come against the Chicago Fire. History is on KC's side.

Key Match up - Roger Espinoza/Julio Cesar vs Benny Feilhaber - Shutting down Feilhaber is going to be a big key for KC tomorrow night. Espinoza and Cesar will have the main responsibility for shutting down the Revs attacker. If they perform at the level they did in helping shut down Dwayne DeRosario then KC should be fine.

PREDICTION - This is not a game that KC can look past. New England appears to be in a bit of disarray after their opening weekend, but KC can't play down to the level of competition. The past few years under Vermes though, KC hasn't done so as much as the team did under Onalfo. I don't expect KC to allow New England into the game. This is a game I expect KC to step up and own from the start.

KC - 2 (Zusi, Kamara)
NE - 0

New Contract for Sapong

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

The new contract signing that Robb Heineman mentioned on Twitter the other day has finally been announced. Last year's rookie of the year, CJ Sapong has earned himself a new contract. Last year, Sapong made $42,000 as a rookie. Sapong is likely getting himself a nice raise, although we won't know how much until the MLS players' union releases this year's salary figures.

The length of the contract was not announced either. Usually though, MLS deals are 4 year deals. Generally they're 2 years and then 2 1 year option deals that the club holds. The deal not only rewards Sapong for the role that he's played with the team by giving him more money, but it also locks him up long term for KC should a foreign club come calling. Sapong in the past has talked about his interest to eventually play abroad, but in a great interview on Talkin' Touches with Andy Edwards, Sapong sounds content right now to meet the challenges in front of him in MLS. Sapong says he's happy where he's at, but did say: "down the road, when I'm not getting the challenges I need here, when I need to go overseas and take my game to that next level then I'll exercise those options."

Sapong looks set to get plenty of minutes, at least over the next few weeks with Teal Bunbury gone with the US U23 team for Olympic qualifying.

New Byline to Back Post

A new podcast for you ahead of this weekend's home opener. This week, Thad and I discuss the 2013 Gold Cup, player news, including Teal Bunbury and trialist Mozzi Gyorio being called up. We also go into the Teal vs CJ debate. We also review the DC game and preview the New England game. In the second segment we discuss the end of the Comets and Magic seasons. Enjoy on Posterous and iTunes.

Geison Named MVP

Another year end award for the Missouri Comets. For the second year in a row, the Missouri Comets have the MISL MVP after Byron Alvarez won the award last year. Geison becomes the second player for the Comets to win both the scoring title and be named MVP. Geison finished the season with 90 points, including 38 goals to win the scoring title.

That was the only award that the Comets won this year, as Leo Gibson, Danny Waltman and Kim Roentved didn't win their awards they were up for.

Here are the voting results from the MISL, Comets players in bold.

Most Valuable Player – Geison 32, Mauricio Salles 18, Marcio Leite 17, Sagu 14, Danny Waltman 14

Rookie of the Year – Slavisa Ubiparipovic 32, Nicolas Perera 11, Kevin Ten Eyck 10, Cory Elenio 10

Goalkeeper of the Year – Sagu 27, Danny Waltman 25, Marcel Feenstra 3

Defender of the Year – Mike Lookingland 28, Nelson Santana 21, Leo Gibson 18, Joe Hammes 16

Coach of the Year – Keith Tozer 20, Danny Kelly 14, Kim Roentved 13

Former SKC Wizards Update

A new former SKC Wizards season has started with the start of the MLS season. Some quick stats, Kevin Hartman led all players in games played in all competitions, and minutes played with 45 games and 4050 minutes. Herculez Gomez led in league games with 37. Gomez also led in league goals scored with 14 in the past year. In all competitions this year, it was Sunil Chhetri scoring 23.

For this week's update, more goals scored this week for Gomez as he picked up 4 more in two games this week. Also, it appears that Mike Jones will continue playing. According to his Twitter he's heading to Denmark to play for FC Hjorring. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Mike Jones
Michael Kraus
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Milos Stojcev
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-0 loss to Vancouver.
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 3-1 loss to Salt Lake. Not dressing for LA tonight.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 67 minutes in RSL's 3-1 win over LA.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 2-1 win over New York.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 2-0 loss to Colorado.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes, recording 2 assists in Portland's 3-1 win over Philadelphia.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Seattle's 6-1 loss to Santos.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Did not dress in Philadelphia's 3-1 loss to Portland.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Houston.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Recovering from surgery.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Did not dress in Dallas' 2-1 win over New York.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Houston.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 win over New England.
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 2-0 loss to Vancouver.
Tyson Wahl - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-0 loss to Vancouver.
Josh Wolff - DC - Came off the bench and played 24 minutes in DC's 1-0 loss to KC.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season hasn't started
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Season hasn't started
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - 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 - Wichita Wings - Season is over.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Did not play for the Magic.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in Baltimore's 8-2 win over Rochester. Scored 2 goals and had an assist in Baltimore's 14-8 win over Rochester.
Mike Jones - Illinois Piasa - Season is over.
JT Murray - Louisville Lightning - Season is over.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in either of the Comets games.
Yomby William - Norfolk SharX - Season is over.
Paul Wright - Anaheim Bolts - Season is over.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Diosgyor's 2-0 loss to Videoton.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Cruz Azul's 2-1 loss to Chivas. Came off the bench and played 30 minutes in Cruz Azul's 0-0 draw with Corinthians in the Copa Libertadores.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - no game this week.
Eloy Colombano - Defensores de Cambaceres - Argentina - No game this week.
Daneil Cyrus - 1st FC Santa Rosa - Beat Harlem Strikers FC
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Played 63 minutes in North East Stars 0-0 draw with Police FC.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Santos' 3-1 win over Puebla. Started and played 70 minutes, scoring 2 goals for Santos in their 6-1 win over Seattle.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Vasas - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes in Vasas' 3-0 loss to Szombathelyi Haladas.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Waterhouse 1-1.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in Bahia's 1-1 draw with Juazeiro BA.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Tied Marsonia 1-1.
Neal Kitson - Northampton Town - England - Dressed but id not play in Northampton's 3-1 win over Aldershot. Dressed but did not play in Northampton's 1-0 win over Dagenham & Redbridge.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Did not dress in Tiraspol's 3-1 win over Costuleni.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Game vs Alianza Lima postponed.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Started and played 90 minutes in Krasnodar's 3-1 loss to Terek Grozny.
Craig Rocastle - Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC - Greece - Started and played 86 minutes in Thrasyvoulos' 0-0 draw with Anagennisi Giannitsa. Game vs Diagoras was canceled.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Paderborn's 0-0 draw with Bochum.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Season is over.

Post Season Awards for Comets

Three Missouri Comets players were named to the all league team today. The same 3 players are up for other awards later this week. Geison, Danny Waltman, Leo Gibson and Byron Alvarez were all named to the all league team. Geison was named to the first team, while Waltman, Gibson, and Alvarez were named to the second team.

Geison is also up for the MVP award that will be announced soon. Waltman is up for goalkeeper of the year while Gibson is up for defender of the year. The fact that Waltman and Gibson are on the second team very likely means that neither of them is going to win their individual award. The Comets coach, Kim Rontved is up for coach of the year as well. Congrats to the 5.

Heineman Confirms Livestrong Sporting Park Bid to Host 2013 Gold Cup

During half time of tonight's game between KC and Rockhurst, I was looking around Twitter and found this article regarding the 2013 Gold Cup. Apparently, hosting the Gold Cup has become a fairly popular endeavor for cities to fill some dates. Today 30 perspective stadium sites started the process of bidding to host the 2013 event in the US.

After finishing looking at the article I ended up seeing Robb Heineman standing near by. I asked if Sporting KC/Sporting Club/Livestrong Sporting Park would be entering the bidding. Heineman answered me in the affirmative that they were definitely in the process of bidding to host 2013 Gold Cup games again at Livestrong.

As a whole this shouldn't be surprising. It would probably be more surprising if they were not bidding on the process. But wanted to confirm that LSP is in the bid process to once again host Gold Cup games.

Rangers Defeat Rockhurst

In the first game of the season at Livestrong Sporting Park, the Swope Park Rangers defeated Rockhurst University 2-0 on goals by Luke Sassano and Dom Dwyer. KC started the game with a lineup that featured only two players that defeated DC on Saturday 1-0. Jacob Peterson and goal scorer, CJ Sapong both started for the Rangers against Rockhurst.

As expected, Sporting KC dominated play from the start. For much of the half, Rockhurst was lucky to combine 3 passes before their build up broke down. KC attacked in waves, but had trouble beating Rockhurst's defense as they came up with numerous blocks. Finally in the 22nd minute KC broke through. Michael Harrington laid back a pass to Luke Sassano to the right of the goal. Sassano fired a shot that went into the side netting making it 1-0 KC. After the goal, Rockhurst had some of their best build up, as the Rangers defensive pairing of Lawrence Olum and Cyprian Hedrick seemed to struggle at times to stay organized. After the short flurry from Rockhurst though, KC was back down the field and scored again in the 34th minute. Sassano played a cross into the box that took a big deflection off a Rockhurst defender. Dwyer reacted first to the ball and headed it into the net to make it 2-0 KC. After the goal, KC subbed out Sapong for Michael Thomas. Earlier in the half, Sapong had come to the sidelines to have Chet North check him out. It is likely nothing, and he was probably subbed out as a precaution ahead of Saturday's game against New England.

In the second half, the Rangers continued to dominate play. They were especially working down the right hand side, first through Michael Harrington and Peterson, then with Kevin Ellis and Kyle Miller as the two subs came on later in the half. KC created numerous chances but were unable to add to their lead. The best came when Miller played a ball back to Olum whose shot towards the far corner was well saved by the Rockhurst goalkeeper.

Bunbury Called Into Olympic Camp and Silly Rumors

Caleb Porter announced a 19 man training camp roster for the US U23 team ahead of Olympic qualifying in 10 days. Porter will add a 20th player after he is cleared by his club. Sporting KC forward, Teal Bunbury has been included as one of 5 forwards on the roster. Bunbury joins Juan Agudelo, Terrence Boyd, Joe Gyau, and Brek Shea as the forward line for the US team.

The training camp begins tomorrow for the US team and goes through their opener in group play in Nashville against Cuba. Bunbury could miss up to 3 games while with the Olympic team. If he reports this week, he'll miss the home opener against New England. He'll also miss next weekend's game against FC Dallas, and if the US advance to the semifinals and finals, the 4/1 game against Chivas USA. Fans can argue the blow this causes to the team, especially after Bunbury's less than stellar performance against DC this past weekend. Bunbury's call up puts CJ Sapong into the starting lineup, and could open playing time up for Soony Saad and Dom Dwyer.

On opposite teams, KC is getting a bit of a boost next weekend, as Shea will not be available for Dallas when they take their trip to KC. Chance Myers is likely breathing a bit of a sigh of relief while at the same time wishing he could get revenge for last year when Shea ran over Myers. The following weekend, Chivas will be without Jorge Villafaña in their game against KC.

Rumor of Sporting KC after former Madrid defender?

File this under totally baseless and extremely unlikely. Mirror Football (h/t The Daily Wiz) is reporting that KC is interested in Michel Salgado. Salgado, a right back is currently frozen out at relegation threatened Blackburn Rovers, even though he claims that he's recovered from an injury. The Mirror is reporting that KC and Toronto after after the 36 year old's services.

With Chance Myers firmly planted in the starting role, and Sporting paying Michael Harrington over $100K while sitting on the bench it seems unlikely KC would look to bring in another right back. And that's not including Kevin Ellis in the conversation.

Salgado, a former Spanish international that appeared over 200 times for Real Madrid just doesn't seem to fit with the younger team that Sporting is putting out. He'd automatically become the oldest player on the team, and would be the 3rd oldest player to ever appear for KC should he actually play.

Comets Season Ends with Loss in Milwaukee

The Comets came up short to Milwaukee 9-7 Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Arena, ending their 2011-2012 season in the Central Division Finals.
As in Game 1 of the series, the Wave’s second-half defense was spectacular, allowing just one
Comets goal.

Both teams seemed reluctant to take early risks as most of the first quarter went by with no
scoring and few chances. Milwaukee finally struck first 12:17 into the game with a Marco
Terminesi goal, his third of the series.

Cristiano tied it with 18 seconds left in the quarter when Vahid Assadpour fed it to him for a shot
from straight away right at the 3-point line. The close call did not go the Comets way as it was
ruled a 2-point goal.

The teams traded 3-point goals in the second quarter. Milwaukee’s Joe Hammes gave the
Wave the lead with a shot that, like Cristiano’s, was right at the line but his was ruled a triple.
Byron Alvarez answered for the Comets with a no-doubt three from beyond 60 feet straight
away. The game was tied 5-5 at the half.

The third quarter started well for the Comets as Leo Gibson scored just 18 seconds into the half.
The Comets got a corner restart and Geison chipped it to the opposite side where Gibson
powerfully volleyed it into the net.

The Wave would score the next two goals on shots from Bennett and Terminesi, his second of
the game. Milwaukee led 9-7 at the end of three quarters.

The Comets never could come up with the equalizer in a fourth quarter full of great action. The
Wave narrowly missed out on a two-goal lead with several chances midway through the quarter
as Comets goalkeeper Danny Waltman came up with two great saves to keep his team within
striking distance.

Waltman headed to the bench in favor of sixth attacker Vahid Assadpour with 2:29 left in the
game and the Comets set for a restart in the Milwaukee zone. The Comets were unable to get
off many shots with the advantage until the final minute. Leo Gibson fired a desperation three
as time expired that was on goal but deflected away by Wave keeper Marcel Feenstra.

Milwaukee will advance to the MISL Championship Series to play the winner of the Eastern
Division Finals. Baltimore beat Rochester 8-2 Saturday night for a one-game lead in that series.

The Comets finished the season with a record of 15-11.

For more information about the Comets, please call Nick McCabe at 855.522.7362 or email at
nmccabe@kcarenasports.com.

Comets Indoor Soccer: The Major Indoor Soccer League returned to Kansas City in 2010 as
the Comets, one of the most storied & iconic sports franchises in Kansas City’s history, began a
new era at the Independence Events Center in Independence, MO.

Sunday After Stats

Jacob Peterson was the 30th player for Sporting KC to make their league debut against DC United.

At 34 years, 217 days, Jimmy Nielsen becomes the 9th oldest player to appear in a league games and in all competitions for KC.

The win for Jimmy Nielsen was his 25th for KC, he's the 5th keeper to hit that mark for KC.

Roger Espinoza made his 100th appearance in all competitions for KC last night. He's the 25th player to hit that mark for KC.

CJ Sapong scored the 25th goal against DC United at RFK stadium in KC's history.

Sapong's goal was his 10th goal in all competitions, he's the 25th player to score that many goals for KC.

The goal was also Sapong's 3rd game winning goal in all competitions, tying him with Diego Gutierrez, Carey Talley, Onandi Lowe, Chris Henderson, Frank Klopas, and Aurelein Collin for 19th place on that list.

The assist for Graham Zusi was his 12th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Eric Quill for 20th on the all time list for KC.

Sporting KC is now 11-4-2 all-time in season openers, the best mark among all MLS teams. KC has lost only one season opener in the last 11 seasons.

Sapong Goal Gives KC All 3 Points

Sporting KC looked like a team that for the most part finished last season together, while DC looked like a team that had many new parts. But it took a late winner from Sporting KC to pull off a 1-0 win over DC United. The game though was not that close, as KC controlled the majority of play and totally shut down the DC United attack. Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin shut down Dwayne DeRosario and Hamdi Salihi, while Roger Espinoza and Julio Cesar did a good job of shutting out United's midfield including Branko Boskovic.

The first half of the game saw few chances for either side, but KC was the team that controlled the play for the most part. The best chances of the half both fell to Kansas City, and both of them fell to Kei Kamara. The first opportunity came in the 36th on a counter. After being played in by Graham Zusi, Kamara tried to curl a shot into the net from the corner of the box, but the shot curled wide of the goal. Then in first half stoppage time Kamara almost opened the scoring again. On a cross from Espinoza on the left, Kamara got over Daniel Woolard and headed a ball on goal. Bill Hamid in the DC net though had drug his back foot and hot just enough on Kamara's header to knock it wide of the goal.

In the second half, KC continued to control the pace of the game, but the final ball and shot was lacking quite often. On a few other opportunities, Hamid would spill the shot, but no one KC was able to get into the box to capitalize on the rebound. At other times, Hamid did well to hold the shots, specifically a shot from Zusi in the 67th that hopped right in front of the US international. KC continued to press and in stoppage time earned a corner. Zusi played a nice corner into the box, where substitute, CJ Sapong beat Woolard and headed the ball to the far post, where Hamid had no one covering. Sapong did a great job eluding his mark on the play giving him an open header. KC brings all 3 points back to KC ahead of the home opener against New England next week.

Wizards Man of the Match - Roger Espinoza - Espinoza was extremely good yesterday for Sporting. He did well to get into the attack, creating some good opportunities for KC. On the defensive side he did well to help shut down DC's attack along with the two center backs and Julio Cesar.

Honorable Mention - Julio Cesar, Aurelien Collin

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Myers 6, Collin 8, Besler 7, Sinovic 6, Cesar 7, Espinoza 8, Zusi 7, Kamara 6, Bunbury 5, Convey 5. Sapong 6, Peterson NR.

To the Players of Sporting KC

Fair warning, this post is 100% with my fan boy hat on, it's fairly corny as well. No impartiality here, 100% homer for Sporting KC. You have been warned.

To the players of Sporting KC,

Here we are at the start of the 2012 season. Here is your opportunity to finish what you started last year. To take that next step, to, as Robb has put it, "paint the wall."

I have a message for you as a fan of this team for 17 years, and I'm sure this sentiment is shared by many, if not all fans, the old ones that have been here forever, and the new ones who have only started to come out to games.

You are the legends of the present and the future. You are the players that fans will talk about for years in conversations at tailgates, watch parties, and casual conversations. We'll share the stories of your success with those that weren't there, enjoying the reminiscing of the moments that are about to happen this year. We want to sing your praises, we want to brag about what happens this year, and that we were there to see it when it happened. Make it happen, give us reasons to cheer your names, to heap praises upon you. You lift us up and we will be right there to do the same to you. To lift you up, to fill you with pride to play in this team's colors.

To take some creative license with a quote from the movie Troy, "Do you know what's waiting for you this season? Immortality! Take it! It's yours!"

C'MON SKC!

Time to Kick the Season Off

Record overall vs DC in MLS - 16-18-9 (W-L-T)
Record at RFK vs DC - 5-12-4
Last meeting, 10/22/11, 1-0 (Besler 54)

Sporting KC kick off the 2012 season tomorrow night at RFK Stadium against DC United, the same team KC ended the regular season against last year. This is the 7th time that these two teams have met with in the first game of the season. In the previous 6 meetings, KC is 4-2, and have won the last 4 meetings against DC, scoring 17 goals, while conceding 10.

DC has set out to improve their team during the offseason after missing the playoffs in 2011, Robbie Russell was picked up from RSL in the re-entry draft, and the team brought in Emiliano Dudar from BSC Young Boys. On the offensive end they added more fire power, bringing in Maicon Santos from Dallas, and more specifically getting Hamdi Salihi from Rapid Vienna. And the biggest news of all was the re-signing of Dwayne DeRosario, the former MVP is back with DC and is not a DP in name only. United is an improved squad, but KC getting them early may be a very good thing for KC.

On the other end, KC has stood pat with much of it's roster, only making a few minor changes to the team. When it comes to being a cohesion team, KC is probably a step ahead of their hosts for opening day. Graham Zusi has been declared fit for action and I don't' see any reason why the midfielder doesn't start tomorrow night. The same goes for Julio Cesar, who I also expect to be starting tomorrow night. Really I only see KC having one new player in who didn't start the last game of the 2011 season against Houston. Bobby Convey will enter the lineup for either CJ Sapong or Teal Bunbury, depending on how Peter Vermes wants to line up tomorrow.

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

Key Match Up - Aurelein Collin vs Hamdi Salihi - the Albanian international has a good scoring record everywhere he plays. While DeRosario is still going to be a focal point of DC's attack, shutting down DC's new DP is going to be a key for KC. That job is likely to fall to KC's Frenchman, Collin. His physicality against other players last season should make for an interesting match up this weekend.

PREDICTION - KC hasn't always been a very successful team on the road, but they have been successful in season openers, going 10-4-2. The openers also seem to not lack for goals, only once has less than 2 goals been scored in one of KC's opening games. This year will likely not be any different. KC will have the experience factor together between their players, but DC is likely to have the best player on the field in DeRosario. KC should be able to exploit DC's defense, which is still less than impressive on paper, especially with their offensive power. It's a matter of KC being able to shut DC down at the other end.

KC - 2 (Bunbury, Sapong)
DC - 2 (DeRosario, Pontius)

Comets Don't Show Up in Second Half Fall to Wave

The Missouri Comets went into the half against the Milwaukee Wave on top, but a poor second half saw the Comets get played off the field as the Comets lost 27-10, and now have themselves a big hill to climb on Sunday needing to win both the game and the mini game to advance to the finals.

The first quarter though saw both teams come out incredibly fast, the game started at a break neck speed, the game was end to end. The Comets were the first ones to take advantage of it, as Leo Gibson scored to make it 2-0 after getting a ball laid off to him from Lucas Rodriguez. Around the half way point of the quarter, the Comets doubled the lead, again through Gibson, this time off of an assist from Neto. Both teams pressured but neither team could grab another goal.

The Wave came firing back in the second quarter. In just over 3 minutes, the Wave were tied at 4-4. First Marco Terminesi beat Danny Waltman after cutting by two defenders. Joe Hammes tied the game shortly after that. Around the midpoint of the half, the Comets had a chance to grab the lead again, this time on the power play as Tom Oatley went to the box for a trip. Right off the free kick, Geison found Rodriguez, who fed Bato, Bato, from no angle beat Marcel Feenstra and made it 6-4 Comets. The Wave grabbed their first lead of the game with just under 5 minutes left, as Evan McNeley got off a 3 point shot that squeezed under Waltman and into the net to make it 7-6 Wave. A minute later though, the Comets had a chance to take the lead again after Oatley was once again sent to the box for a trip, this time in the box, giving the Comets a penalty kick. Byron Alvarez stepped up and buried the penalty, restoring the lead at 8-7. It would be the Comets last lead of the game.

Very early in the second half, Neto found himself in the penalty box for holding. On the ensuing power player, the ball got knocked into the box, where Terminesi headed the ball towards goal. Cristiano appeared to get the ball headed off the line and the two officials continued play, but then consulted with the person that was controlling the goal line and changed their decision. Based off of comments from Thad, who was behind the goal, the ball didn't totally cross the line.

The Comets though didn't work past the bad call though and things only got worse. The Wave scored five more goals in the third quarter, with Guiliano Oliveiro scoring twice, and Hewerton, Ian Bennett, and Josh Rife each added a goal each to make it 19-8 after 3 quarters. The Comets spent a good portion of the early 4th quarter with the 6th attacker on the field. But another 3 point goal by McNeley made it 22-8 and brought Waltman back onto the field for the rest of the game. The Comets controlled much of the 4th quarter, but that was mainly because the Wave were content to sit back and counter. The Comets created some chances but were unable to get it past Feenstra. On the counter Hewerton got his second of the game off an assist from Marcio Leite. Shortly after Hewerton's goal, Bato scored his second of the game, but it was much too little too late. In fact as Missouri continued to push, Waltman got caught too far up field and JP Rodrigues lofted a 3 point goal into the net to make it 27-10.

The Comets now have a tough ask in Milwaukee on Sunday. The Comets will have to win the game there, then win the mini game as well to make their way into the MISL finals.

Missouri Comets vs Milwaukee Wave playoff game

New Byline to Back Post

For those of you that aren't subscribed to From the Byline to the Back Post, first why aren't you already? Second there's a new one out for you. Some quick news on the Boulevard sponsorship and KC's new captain. The majority of the first segment is focused on the Sporting KC preview. Segment two has a preview of the Missouri Comets playoff series and former Wizards update. Check it out on Posterous and iTunes.

Former SKC Wizards Update

MLS is almost back, MLS teams have kicked off play tonight in the final week of the former Wizards season. The next will start up next week and I'll have some final stats from this past year then. This week, plenty of leagues are coming back from their winter break now, and players are wakening from goal scoring slumps, including Herculez Gomez and Matt Taylor. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Mike Jones
Michael Kraus
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Milos Stojcev
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Season hasn't started
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 2-2 draw with Toronto.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Season hasn't started
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Season hasn't started
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Season hasn't started.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Season hasn't started.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 win over Santos.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Season hasn't started
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Season hasn't started
Kurt Morsink - DC - Season hasn't started
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Season hasn't started
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Season hasn't started
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Season hasn't started
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Season hasn't started
Tyson Wahl - Montreal - Season hasn't started
Josh Wolff - DC - Season hasn't started

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season hasn't started
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Season hasn't started
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Season hasn't started

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - 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 - Wichita Wings - Played in Wichita's 18-12 loss to Baltimore. Had a goal and two assists in Wichita's 13-11 win over Norfolk.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Did not play in Kansas' game.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had an assist in Baltimore's 18-12 win over Wichita. Had an assist in Baltimore's 15-13 win over Syracuse.
Mike Jones - Illinois Piasa - Did not play in Illinois' 7-6 loss to Detroit.
JT Murray - Louisville Lightning - Did not play in Louisville's 9-5 loss to Kansas.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not have a game this week.
Yomby William - Norfolk SharX - Played in Norfolk's 13-11 loss to Wichita.
Paul Wright - Anaheim Bolts - Season is over.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Diosgyor's 1-0 loss to Kecskemeti TE. Lost 2-0 to Videoton in the cup.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Cruz Azul's 4-3 win over Monterrey.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - No game this week.
Eloy Colombano - Defensores de Cambaceres - Argentina - Game vs Excursionistas was postponed.
Daneil Cyrus - 1st FC Santa Rosa - Lost 1-0 to Maloney FC.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Started and played 69 minutes in North East's 3-2 loss to Caledonia.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 79 minutes, scoring a goal in Santos' 5-2 win over San Luis. Playing tonight against Seattle. Started and played 84 minutes, scoring a goal in Santos' 2-1 loss to Seattle.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Vasas - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes in Vasas' 2-1 loss to Honved.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Lost 2-0 to Boys' Town.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Won 2-0 over Fluminense. Beat Auto Esporte 3-0.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Drew 0-0 with Gorica.
Neal Kitson - Northampton Town - England - Dressed but did not play in either of Northampton's games.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Tiraspol's 1-0 loss to CSCA-Rapid.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Game against Sport Huancayo was postponed.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Started and played 90 minutes in Krasnodar's 1-0 win over Rostov.
Craig Rocastle - Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC - Greece - Started and played 90 minutes in Thrasyvoulos' 2-1 win over Anagennisi Epanomis.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Came off the bench and played 72 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Paderborn's 3-0 win over Alemannia Aachen.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Season is over.