The last matchup between these two teams saw the Comets win 17-10 in a game that was never really in doubt. The Silver Knights were determined not to let the Comets walk over them again and came out firing all night. The Comets were unable to solve the pressure and fall 13-7 for their first road loss of the season.
Although the Comets maintained most of the possession throughout the first part of the game, the Silver Knights weathered the storm. They sat back to pick their opportunities, finally converting with six minutes left in the quarter with a Slavisa Ubiparapovic goal. The Comets answered with twenty seconds left in the quarter. After a collision in front of the goal, Byron Alvarez was able to corral the ball and bury it in the back of the net.
The Silver Knights extinguished any momentum the Comets might have had twelve seconds into the second quarter. Dan Stevens collected a pass from Neto to put Syracuse up 4-2. Two minutes later the Comets tied it again when Will John scored off a restart from John Sosa. As the half wound down, the Silver Knights upped the pressure on the Comets defense. Neto and Ubiparapovic scored within 30 seconds of each other and suddenly the Comets went into the halftime break down 9-4.
The Comets had their chances in the second half. Leo Gibson and Vahid Assadpour connected 58 seconds into the quarter to put the team within two points of Syracuse. However, any chance they had after that seemed to sail high or go just wide of the goal. Goalkeeper Boris Pardo, making his season debut, made a great save in the fourth minute of the quarter, only to watch it bounce off his defender and into the goal. Newly acquired midfielder, Bryan Perez, scored his first goal as a Silver Knight in the fourth quarter and the home team walked away with the win, 13-7.
The Comets do not have time to dwell on this loss as they face the Rochester Lancers tomorrow night at 6:00pm central. This is the first matchup between these two teams this season. The team then returns home for Military Appreciation Day on December 9th against the Chicago Soul.
Friday, November 30, 2012
FC Kansas City Logo Unveiled
While there's been no announcement on the coaching staff that we thought would be announced today, FC Kansas City did get their website up as well as their logo.
My initial reaction is that the logo is fairly generic. There's nothing that overly stands out from the logo to really draw you in. I saw a few people make comments about it being made in MS Paint or the logo of a local youth club, not a professional women's team. As a whole though it is simple, which is more than I can say for many soccer logos, so it does have that going for itself.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
News on Juniors, Sporting, Comets, and FCKC
First, this week's podcast is up for your listening pleasure, Thad and I discuss Roger Espinoza, Sporting's end of season awards, Aurelien Collin, the State of the League address, MLS Cup, the Comets, and FC KC. Enjoy on Posterous and iTunes.
College Cup
Starting tomorrow night, the College Cup quarterfinals kick off with 9th seed North Carolina hosting 16th seed Indiana. This starts a weekend of games that will get us to the final four held next weekend in Alabama. There's the potential of a future Sporting player or two on the field for the teams playing. There's also two teams still alive that have former Sporting Juniors players on their roster. One of those games takes place on Saturday the 1st. San Diego travels to play 3rd seeded Georgetown in their quarterfinal match up. Christian Duke is the former Sporting Junior on the roster. The Toreros are the only unseeded team still remaining in the tournament and have knocked off two seeded teams to get this far. First beating 6th seed UCLA two weeks ago 5-2, and then beating 11th seeded Tulsa 2-1. Duke has played all but 5 minutes for the Toreros in their run.
The other Juniors team still alive is Creighton, which boasts two former Juniors players in Eric De Julio and Chris Tuso. The 12th seeded Blue Jays beat Washington in the tournaments second round and then pulled off a big upset in the 3rd round, beating 5th seeded Akron (who had been ranked number 1 in the polls before the tournament) on penalty kicks behind a great performance from Jeff Gal. The Blue Jays will look to score another upset on Sunday when they take on 4th seeded Connecticut. Neither De Julio or Tuso have played a part so far in the Blue Jays tournament run. The final quarterfinal match up is on Saturday and features 2nd seeded Maryland hosting 10th seeded Louisville.
MLS MVP Vote
Today MLS announced their MVP and in a surprise to no one, it was Chris Wondolowski. It wasn't even close as Wondolowski won in a complete landslide taking 91.23% of the club vote, 96.97% of media vote, and 70.83% of player vote. Sporting's Graham Zusi finished 3rd in the voting, picking up 3.51% of the club vote, 0% of the media vote, and 3.13% of the player vote. Thierry Henry finished second with 0% of the club vote, 3.03% of the media vote, and 11.46% of the player vote.
Comets Add Another Forward
Ahead of a trip to upstate New York for games this weekend against Syracuse and Rochster, the Comets announced the signing of forward Stefan St. Louis. From Trinidad and Tobago, St. Louis is available for selection this weekend. To make room on the roster, the Comets did waive Danish forward, Kevin Jorgensen, who just was not getting the hang of the indoor game while trying to transition from futsal.
FC Kansas City Set to Announce Coaching Staff
In an interview with Equalizer Soccer, FCKC owner, Brian Budzinski stated that the team will be announcing their coaching staff on Friday. The team continues to move forward at a quick pace ahead of the start of the 2013 season. Also in the interview Budzinski states that venue selection is still a little ways off, but that the sites the team is looking at are all over 5,000 seats.
College Cup
Starting tomorrow night, the College Cup quarterfinals kick off with 9th seed North Carolina hosting 16th seed Indiana. This starts a weekend of games that will get us to the final four held next weekend in Alabama. There's the potential of a future Sporting player or two on the field for the teams playing. There's also two teams still alive that have former Sporting Juniors players on their roster. One of those games takes place on Saturday the 1st. San Diego travels to play 3rd seeded Georgetown in their quarterfinal match up. Christian Duke is the former Sporting Junior on the roster. The Toreros are the only unseeded team still remaining in the tournament and have knocked off two seeded teams to get this far. First beating 6th seed UCLA two weeks ago 5-2, and then beating 11th seeded Tulsa 2-1. Duke has played all but 5 minutes for the Toreros in their run.
The other Juniors team still alive is Creighton, which boasts two former Juniors players in Eric De Julio and Chris Tuso. The 12th seeded Blue Jays beat Washington in the tournaments second round and then pulled off a big upset in the 3rd round, beating 5th seeded Akron (who had been ranked number 1 in the polls before the tournament) on penalty kicks behind a great performance from Jeff Gal. The Blue Jays will look to score another upset on Sunday when they take on 4th seeded Connecticut. Neither De Julio or Tuso have played a part so far in the Blue Jays tournament run. The final quarterfinal match up is on Saturday and features 2nd seeded Maryland hosting 10th seeded Louisville.
MLS MVP Vote
Today MLS announced their MVP and in a surprise to no one, it was Chris Wondolowski. It wasn't even close as Wondolowski won in a complete landslide taking 91.23% of the club vote, 96.97% of media vote, and 70.83% of player vote. Sporting's Graham Zusi finished 3rd in the voting, picking up 3.51% of the club vote, 0% of the media vote, and 3.13% of the player vote. Thierry Henry finished second with 0% of the club vote, 3.03% of the media vote, and 11.46% of the player vote.
Comets Add Another Forward
Ahead of a trip to upstate New York for games this weekend against Syracuse and Rochster, the Comets announced the signing of forward Stefan St. Louis. From Trinidad and Tobago, St. Louis is available for selection this weekend. To make room on the roster, the Comets did waive Danish forward, Kevin Jorgensen, who just was not getting the hang of the indoor game while trying to transition from futsal.
FC Kansas City Set to Announce Coaching Staff
In an interview with Equalizer Soccer, FCKC owner, Brian Budzinski stated that the team will be announcing their coaching staff on Friday. The team continues to move forward at a quick pace ahead of the start of the 2013 season. Also in the interview Budzinski states that venue selection is still a little ways off, but that the sites the team is looking at are all over 5,000 seats.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Former SKC Wizards Update
Another week of former Wizards updates. Lots of news outside of games for former Wizards. Along with Roger Espinoza set to join the list of former Wizards, a number of former players are set to go into the reentry draft after being released from their MLS clubs. Shavar Thomas and Tyson Wahl were already going to be entering that, and 3 more players today joined that list. Will Hesmer, Khari Stephenson, and Kevin Hartman were all let go by their clubs. Stephenson and Hesmer were not overly surprising. Stephenson hadn't seen a lot of time for San Jose this year, while Hesmer was injured all last year and Andy Gruenebaum stepped up and proved to be a solid starter. Hartman though was surprising, but does give Dallas cap room to play with now. The other news regarding former Wizards is that Yura Movsisyan is being linked with a move to Spartak Moscow. Movsisyan has denied the rumors, but Movsisyan could possibly be on the move this winter. In other former Wizard news, Jamar Beasley has moved to Syracuse today, being traded by the Wichita Wings. Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Will Hesmer
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Ivan Trujillo
Tyson Wahl
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse Silver Knights - Played in Wichita's 15-8 loss to Baltimore.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 15-8 win over Wichita. Played in Baltimore's 12-4 win over Missouri.
Will John - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 14-4 win over Mexico.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Belgium - Did not dress in Charleroi's 1-0 loss to Club Brugge. Did not dress in Charleroi's 2-2 (4-2) PK loss to Zulte-Waregem in the cup.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Tied Feirense 2-2.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No gmae this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Scored a goal in Harbour View's 1-1 draw with Tivoli Gardens.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 1-1 draw with Nautico.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Did not dress in Hjorring's 5-0 win over Fyn.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Triaspol's 1-1 draw with Costuleni. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Tiraspol's 1-0 win over Academia UTM.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 68 minutes in San Martin's 2-0 win over Sport Huancayo.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not play in Krasnodar's 3-2 loss to Lokomotiv Moscow.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 3-2 loss to Volendam.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, picking up a red card in stoppage time of Munster's 1-0 loss to Babelsberg.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Will Hesmer
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Ivan Trujillo
Tyson Wahl
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse Silver Knights - Played in Wichita's 15-8 loss to Baltimore.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 15-8 win over Wichita. Played in Baltimore's 12-4 win over Missouri.
Will John - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 14-4 win over Mexico.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Belgium - Did not dress in Charleroi's 1-0 loss to Club Brugge. Did not dress in Charleroi's 2-2 (4-2) PK loss to Zulte-Waregem in the cup.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Tied Feirense 2-2.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No gmae this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Scored a goal in Harbour View's 1-1 draw with Tivoli Gardens.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 1-1 draw with Nautico.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Did not dress in Hjorring's 5-0 win over Fyn.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Triaspol's 1-1 draw with Costuleni. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Tiraspol's 1-0 win over Academia UTM.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 68 minutes in San Martin's 2-0 win over Sport Huancayo.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not play in Krasnodar's 3-2 loss to Lokomotiv Moscow.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 3-2 loss to Volendam.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, picking up a red card in stoppage time of Munster's 1-0 loss to Babelsberg.
Nielsen Named Goalkeeper of the Year
After the Best XI were announced on Monday, this award was pretty much a given, but today, Jimmy Nielsen was named MLS' Goalkeeper of the Year in a landslide victory. The player being touted as his biggest Michael Gspurning finished a distant third, much to the surprise I'm sure of Sigi Schmid who was calling for him to be named the goalkeeper of the year earlier this year. In fact even runner up, Dan Kennedy finished far behind Nielsen in the voting. Nielsen finished with 49.12% of the vote from clubs, Kennedy and Gspurning both finished with 12.28 percent of the vote. In the media vote it was even further, Nielsen finished with 70.77% of the vote while second place Kennedy had 3.08% and Gspurning finished with 4.61%. Fifth place Andy Gruenebaum was the closest of the top 5 with 9.23%. In player vote Nielsen again won easily getting 26.44% of the vote compared to Kennedy's 14.94% and Gspurning's 11.49%.
That brings KC's awards total to 6 with Nielsen's goalkeeper of the year joining Matt Besler's defender of the year, and Nielsen and Besler being named to the Best XI with Aurelien Collin and Graham Zusi. KC also had Kei Kamara finish runner up in Humanitarian of the Year and Peter Vermes finishing runner up on the Coach of the Year ballot. The last award for KC is Zusi up against Chris Wondolowski and Thierry Henry for MVP.
That brings KC's awards total to 6 with Nielsen's goalkeeper of the year joining Matt Besler's defender of the year, and Nielsen and Besler being named to the Best XI with Aurelien Collin and Graham Zusi. KC also had Kei Kamara finish runner up in Humanitarian of the Year and Peter Vermes finishing runner up on the Coach of the Year ballot. The last award for KC is Zusi up against Chris Wondolowski and Thierry Henry for MVP.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Vermes and Collin News
Some news tonight involving Sporting KC's head coach Peter Vermes and central defender Aurelien Collin.
First KC's head coach. Today MLS announced the coach of the year award winner. Vermes finished second in the voting, but in a very distant second to winner Frank Yallop of the San Jose Earthquakes. Yallop finished with 74.14% of the club vote, 63.83% of the media vote, and 58.06% of the player vote. Compared to Vermes who finished with 10.34% of club vote, 10.61% of media vote, and 6.45% of player vote. Not incredibly surprising for that, Yallop took San Jose from not making the playoffs last year to the Supporters' Shield winner this year. While Vermes had a strong season, it couldn't really compete with Yallop's.
As for Sporting's French center back, it's good news. Collin announced the following on Twitter today:
More good news for KC as they have another open international spot with Collin having gotten his green card. Combine this with the release of Neven Markovic, and Sporting now have only 3 internationals on their roster, Korede Aiyegbusi, Peterson Joseph, and Oriol Rosell. Leaving Sporting with 5 open international spots (the spot that Sporting traded to San Jose for Bobby Convey was only for one year). With KC looking for a goal scorer have a number of international spots open isn't a bad thing.
First KC's head coach. Today MLS announced the coach of the year award winner. Vermes finished second in the voting, but in a very distant second to winner Frank Yallop of the San Jose Earthquakes. Yallop finished with 74.14% of the club vote, 63.83% of the media vote, and 58.06% of the player vote. Compared to Vermes who finished with 10.34% of club vote, 10.61% of media vote, and 6.45% of player vote. Not incredibly surprising for that, Yallop took San Jose from not making the playoffs last year to the Supporters' Shield winner this year. While Vermes had a strong season, it couldn't really compete with Yallop's.
As for Sporting's French center back, it's good news. Collin announced the following on Twitter today:
I have finally received at home my green card thank u very much for the hard work ofVersfeld & Hugo immigration services. Hello USA lol
— Aurelien COLLIN (@ampC2) November 27, 2012
More good news for KC as they have another open international spot with Collin having gotten his green card. Combine this with the release of Neven Markovic, and Sporting now have only 3 internationals on their roster, Korede Aiyegbusi, Peterson Joseph, and Oriol Rosell. Leaving Sporting with 5 open international spots (the spot that Sporting traded to San Jose for Bobby Convey was only for one year). With KC looking for a goal scorer have a number of international spots open isn't a bad thing.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Four Sporting Players Named to Best XI
Today during the State of the League address, Don Garber announced this year's Best XI team as voted on by teams, media, and players. Sporting KC ended up leading the way in players selected for the team with 4. San Jose and LA each had 2, while New York, DC, and Seattle all had 1. KC's four consisted of KC's goalkeeper of the year finalist, Jimmy Nielsen, their two defender of the year nominees, Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, and MVP finalist Graham Zusi.
Nielsen's selection likely means that he's also been selected as goalkeeper of the year this year. Nielsen played every minute this season for KC in league play. And played all but 90 minutes in all competitions, only missing KC's 3-2 win over Orlando in the US Open Cup. Nielsen had 15 shutouts, one short of a league and team record. He also set team records for non-shootout wins with 18 and goals against average with .79
Besler coming off winning defender of the year played in 31 of KC's 34 league games and plenty of Nielsen's stats can be seen as a helping hand for Nielsen as well. Collin is like Besler in that regard, while Collin helped to anchor the back like for 29 games this year.
Zusi led MLS in assists this year with 15 and added in 5 goals to his total as well. Zusi also established himself as a regular call up for the national team this year as well. A very strong season for Zusi.
The rest of the roster saw Victor Bernardez and Chris Wondolowski from San Jose, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane from LA, Thierry Henry from New York, Chris Pontius from DC, and Osvaldo Alonso from Seattle.
Nielsen's selection likely means that he's also been selected as goalkeeper of the year this year. Nielsen played every minute this season for KC in league play. And played all but 90 minutes in all competitions, only missing KC's 3-2 win over Orlando in the US Open Cup. Nielsen had 15 shutouts, one short of a league and team record. He also set team records for non-shootout wins with 18 and goals against average with .79
Besler coming off winning defender of the year played in 31 of KC's 34 league games and plenty of Nielsen's stats can be seen as a helping hand for Nielsen as well. Collin is like Besler in that regard, while Collin helped to anchor the back like for 29 games this year.
Zusi led MLS in assists this year with 15 and added in 5 goals to his total as well. Zusi also established himself as a regular call up for the national team this year as well. A very strong season for Zusi.
The rest of the roster saw Victor Bernardez and Chris Wondolowski from San Jose, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane from LA, Thierry Henry from New York, Chris Pontius from DC, and Osvaldo Alonso from Seattle.
Espinoza Headed to Wigan
Word earlier tonight from Grant Wahl on Twitter is that Roger Espinoza is one step closer to leaving Kansas City for England and Wigan Athletic. Wahl posted that Espinoza is on his way to England for a physical with the Greater Manchester club. The news is confirmed by his agent in this article from Honduran sports site, Diez. Comments from Robb Heineman and Peter Vermes confirm the departure of Espinoza from Kansas City. For those that don't know, the physical is usually the last step in the process before signing a contract with a club. With Espinoza on a free he can sign at any time, but will not be eligible to play until the January transfer window opens up.
This move was coming, especially after his solid performance in the Olympics. He was already a target of teams abroad before hand, but his play in the London games catapulted him into the eyes of English teams more so. It'll certainly be a sad moment for lots of KC fans who have gone from calling him "Roger the Red" and "Red Card Roger" after he picked up two red cards in back to back appearances to seeing him as one of the most important pieces of the team. One thing is that since Espinoza is leaving on a free and Sporting KC made a "bona fide" offer on him, KC will retain his MLS rights should he return to the league in the future.
Espinoza is set to become the third former KC player to play for an English Premier League side, joining Richard Gough and Eddie Johnson. He'll be only the second (after Johnson) to not start his career outside the US.
Espinoza will finish his Sporting KC career having scored 2 goals, and 11 assists in league play (he added another assist in all competitions). He played in 130 games in all competitions for KC, good for a tie for 16th all time with Jose Burciaga and Uche Okafor. Of those 106 of them were starts, good for 18th all time. In league play he finished with 113 appearances, good for 18th and 93 starts, tying him with Mark Chung for 20th. Espinoza finished with 8,250 minutes in league play and 9,602 in all competitions, good for 19th on that list. He'll finish his KC career with 4 red cards in league play, 5 in all competitions tying him with Davy Arnaud on both lists behind Nick Garcia.
Espinoza also leaves KC as the most capped foreign international while playing with KC. He finishes his KC career with 25 caps and 3 goals for his national team while playing for KC. Only Josh Wolff, Jimmy Conrad, and Preki appeared more for their national team while representing Kansas City.
This move was coming, especially after his solid performance in the Olympics. He was already a target of teams abroad before hand, but his play in the London games catapulted him into the eyes of English teams more so. It'll certainly be a sad moment for lots of KC fans who have gone from calling him "Roger the Red" and "Red Card Roger" after he picked up two red cards in back to back appearances to seeing him as one of the most important pieces of the team. One thing is that since Espinoza is leaving on a free and Sporting KC made a "bona fide" offer on him, KC will retain his MLS rights should he return to the league in the future.
Espinoza is set to become the third former KC player to play for an English Premier League side, joining Richard Gough and Eddie Johnson. He'll be only the second (after Johnson) to not start his career outside the US.
Espinoza will finish his Sporting KC career having scored 2 goals, and 11 assists in league play (he added another assist in all competitions). He played in 130 games in all competitions for KC, good for a tie for 16th all time with Jose Burciaga and Uche Okafor. Of those 106 of them were starts, good for 18th all time. In league play he finished with 113 appearances, good for 18th and 93 starts, tying him with Mark Chung for 20th. Espinoza finished with 8,250 minutes in league play and 9,602 in all competitions, good for 19th on that list. He'll finish his KC career with 4 red cards in league play, 5 in all competitions tying him with Davy Arnaud on both lists behind Nick Garcia.
Espinoza also leaves KC as the most capped foreign international while playing with KC. He finishes his KC career with 25 caps and 3 goals for his national team while playing for KC. Only Josh Wolff, Jimmy Conrad, and Preki appeared more for their national team while representing Kansas City.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Vermes' Subbing Policy
As the season ran on, there were plenty of comments from KC fans that lamented the lack of subbing that was done by Peter Vermes in games. Fans felt that the lack of substitutions led to tired legs that were unable to help carry the team through the playoffs. This was especially true considering Kansas City had touted the depth that the team had early in the season as one of the advantages of the squad.
With that in mind I took a look at the subbing done by Vermes throughout the season. And overall there were a few things that stood out in regards to his strategy.
During the season in all competitions, KC made 100 of a possible 123 substitutions in their 41 games, averaging 2.44 per game. The average substitution taking place just after the 73rd.
The first thing I looked at was KC's subbing before and after the US Open Cup final. For me this felt like the tipping point of the subbing, it seemed like KC subbed less after the final. With the extra competition going on, one would expect a bit more subbing when KC had the other competition that they were also dealing with. After the final against the Seattle Sounders I expected a drop off in the number of subs with less competitions. On the other hand you could think it would stay close, especially with KC clinching a playoff spot early. Overall, before the US Open Cup final Sporting KC played 27 games in all competitions, making 73 subs for an average of 2.7 subs per game. I also looked at the average time that subs were made. Before the Open Cup final, the average sub was just before the 71st minute. I also looked at the first sub the team made each game before the final and it was just after the 57th minute. When I took out the first half subs (injury subs) that jumped to just after the 64th minute. After the Open Cup, Sporting played 13 games in the league and playoffs. The subbing dropped fairly dramatically, KC averaged only 1.92 subs per game after the final, with the average sub being made closer to the 79th minute. Looking at KC's first sub of each game, it averaged just after the 68th minute, but once again, removing the injury subs in the first half the first sub is around the 77th minute.
I also took a look at the subbing after forward Teal Bunbury got injured since him and CJ Sapong were subbed for one another quite regularly during the season. After the Bunbury injury, KC's subbing fell to 1.9 subs per game with the subs coming just before the 80th minute, as a not much different than KC's subbing before the USOC Final. The average first sub around the 75th minute.
The next thing I looked at was Sporting's subbing in wins, losses and draws. One might expect in losses that you'd see more subs as KC tried to change things up to affect the result of the game. This one turned out to be true, in KC's 23 wins in all competitions, KC made an average of 2.43 subs per game, usually just after the 72nd minute. In their 10 draws in all competitions, KC averaged a few less, 2.2 per game but those subs were later, close to the 88th minute for the average sub. My original premise held true for losses, as KC averaged 2.75 subs per game in games they lost. The subs also came earlier than in wins or draws, the subs coming before the 62nd minute.
The final thing I looked at was subbing at home vs on the road. I figured that we'd see more subbing on the road, and later, especially with KC's road record as KC would look to keep a result. What I found didn't live up to that. While KC did average more subs on the road it wasn't a lot more, averaging 2.63 compared to 2.27 at home. Timing wise it wasn't much different either as subs in away games was just before the 74th minute while for home games it was just before the 73rd.
Overall you definitely see a difference in Vermes' substitution strategy after the US Open Cup, using less subs and substituting later. We also see more, and earlier substitutions in games that KC ended up losing vs wins and draws. While KC didn't use a lot of subs, that leads to another question, and that's whether KC really had the depth that could really make changes? Injuries to Teal Bunbury, Jacob Peterson, and Bobby Convey limited their times and left KC with fewer options on the bench. Offensively, Soony Saad and Dom Dwyer played limited minutes and neither scored a league goal, while Saad had 2 in the US Open Cup. In the midfield, Peterson Joseph was probably the most offensive minded midfielder on the bench and his minutes were limited as well. Looking back on it it doesn't appear that KC had the depth they claimed to have. The depth, or the use of the depth is going to have to improve greatly next year when KC participates in the CONCACAF Champions' League.
With that in mind I took a look at the subbing done by Vermes throughout the season. And overall there were a few things that stood out in regards to his strategy.
During the season in all competitions, KC made 100 of a possible 123 substitutions in their 41 games, averaging 2.44 per game. The average substitution taking place just after the 73rd.
The first thing I looked at was KC's subbing before and after the US Open Cup final. For me this felt like the tipping point of the subbing, it seemed like KC subbed less after the final. With the extra competition going on, one would expect a bit more subbing when KC had the other competition that they were also dealing with. After the final against the Seattle Sounders I expected a drop off in the number of subs with less competitions. On the other hand you could think it would stay close, especially with KC clinching a playoff spot early. Overall, before the US Open Cup final Sporting KC played 27 games in all competitions, making 73 subs for an average of 2.7 subs per game. I also looked at the average time that subs were made. Before the Open Cup final, the average sub was just before the 71st minute. I also looked at the first sub the team made each game before the final and it was just after the 57th minute. When I took out the first half subs (injury subs) that jumped to just after the 64th minute. After the Open Cup, Sporting played 13 games in the league and playoffs. The subbing dropped fairly dramatically, KC averaged only 1.92 subs per game after the final, with the average sub being made closer to the 79th minute. Looking at KC's first sub of each game, it averaged just after the 68th minute, but once again, removing the injury subs in the first half the first sub is around the 77th minute.
I also took a look at the subbing after forward Teal Bunbury got injured since him and CJ Sapong were subbed for one another quite regularly during the season. After the Bunbury injury, KC's subbing fell to 1.9 subs per game with the subs coming just before the 80th minute, as a not much different than KC's subbing before the USOC Final. The average first sub around the 75th minute.
The next thing I looked at was Sporting's subbing in wins, losses and draws. One might expect in losses that you'd see more subs as KC tried to change things up to affect the result of the game. This one turned out to be true, in KC's 23 wins in all competitions, KC made an average of 2.43 subs per game, usually just after the 72nd minute. In their 10 draws in all competitions, KC averaged a few less, 2.2 per game but those subs were later, close to the 88th minute for the average sub. My original premise held true for losses, as KC averaged 2.75 subs per game in games they lost. The subs also came earlier than in wins or draws, the subs coming before the 62nd minute.
The final thing I looked at was subbing at home vs on the road. I figured that we'd see more subbing on the road, and later, especially with KC's road record as KC would look to keep a result. What I found didn't live up to that. While KC did average more subs on the road it wasn't a lot more, averaging 2.63 compared to 2.27 at home. Timing wise it wasn't much different either as subs in away games was just before the 74th minute while for home games it was just before the 73rd.
Overall you definitely see a difference in Vermes' substitution strategy after the US Open Cup, using less subs and substituting later. We also see more, and earlier substitutions in games that KC ended up losing vs wins and draws. While KC didn't use a lot of subs, that leads to another question, and that's whether KC really had the depth that could really make changes? Injuries to Teal Bunbury, Jacob Peterson, and Bobby Convey limited their times and left KC with fewer options on the bench. Offensively, Soony Saad and Dom Dwyer played limited minutes and neither scored a league goal, while Saad had 2 in the US Open Cup. In the midfield, Peterson Joseph was probably the most offensive minded midfielder on the bench and his minutes were limited as well. Looking back on it it doesn't appear that KC had the depth they claimed to have. The depth, or the use of the depth is going to have to improve greatly next year when KC participates in the CONCACAF Champions' League.
Comets Fall to Blast
For the first time this season, the Missouri Comets suffered a loss. This one at the hands of the Baltimore Blast 12-4. The first quarter saw both teams playing some very good defense as neither side was able to find the net. Into the second quarter, the two teams still had trouble breaking down the opposition, but finally in the 9th minute of the second quarter the Blast broke through and the flood gates started to open. In a 3 minute span, the Blast made it 6-0. First Machel Millwood finished off a turning side volley. Then Adriano Dos Santos had a simple finish after Adauto Neto danced past the Missouri defense. The third goal came from Agustino Nunez on another turning side volley that beat Danny Waltman. The Comets went into the half down 6-0.
Early in the second half the Comets finally got on the board through Vahid Assadpour. Off a restart, Assadpour found a hole between the wall and goalkeeper Tony Hernandez to make it 6-2. Overall it was the only foot wrong that Hernandez made all night. The Blast keeper played fantastic all night keeping the Comets out of the net for the most part. Around the midpoint of the half, the Blast restored their 6 point lead through Max Ferdinand. Of a Blast restart, the Comets couldn't clear their lines and Michael Lookingland picked out Ferdinand who made it 8-2. Late in the quarter the Blast made it 10-2 through Nunez. Ferdinand turned Coady Andrews and Waltman inside out before laying the ball off to Nunez who had an easy finish.
Into the fourth quarter the Comets pushed the game, but the Blast struck on the counter just over a minute into the quarter. Lucas Roque played a cross into the middle of the box and Nunez just wanted the ball more than Ryan Junge and Nunez headed it in to make it 12-2. Shortly after that, the Comets brought on Assadpour in the 6th attacker role for the majority of the quarter. The Comets maintained the majority of the possession in the Blast's defensive third, but really struggled to create chances. And when they did create good chances, Hernandez was there to make some very good saves. Just before the 10th minute of the quarter Pat Healey got called for a handball in the box. Byron Alvarez stepped up and buried the PK, but it was as close as the Comets got as the game ended 12-4.
Early in the second half the Comets finally got on the board through Vahid Assadpour. Off a restart, Assadpour found a hole between the wall and goalkeeper Tony Hernandez to make it 6-2. Overall it was the only foot wrong that Hernandez made all night. The Blast keeper played fantastic all night keeping the Comets out of the net for the most part. Around the midpoint of the half, the Blast restored their 6 point lead through Max Ferdinand. Of a Blast restart, the Comets couldn't clear their lines and Michael Lookingland picked out Ferdinand who made it 8-2. Late in the quarter the Blast made it 10-2 through Nunez. Ferdinand turned Coady Andrews and Waltman inside out before laying the ball off to Nunez who had an easy finish.
Into the fourth quarter the Comets pushed the game, but the Blast struck on the counter just over a minute into the quarter. Lucas Roque played a cross into the middle of the box and Nunez just wanted the ball more than Ryan Junge and Nunez headed it in to make it 12-2. Shortly after that, the Comets brought on Assadpour in the 6th attacker role for the majority of the quarter. The Comets maintained the majority of the possession in the Blast's defensive third, but really struggled to create chances. And when they did create good chances, Hernandez was there to make some very good saves. Just before the 10th minute of the quarter Pat Healey got called for a handball in the box. Byron Alvarez stepped up and buried the PK, but it was as close as the Comets got as the game ended 12-4.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Two NCAA Teams with Former Juniors Still Alive
With the second weekend of the men's NCAA Division 1 soccer tournament set to kick off this weekend, 2 teams with former Juniors on their rosters are still alive in the tournament. Christian Duke and San Diego and Eric De Julio and Chris Tuso at Creighton.
Duke and San Diego won their first round match up over Cal State Northridge in extra time after tying 1-1 through regulation. Duke played the entire 103 minutes of the game in defense for the Toreros. In the second round, San Diego faced off against traditional power, UCLA. After a 1-1 first half, the two teams traded goals inside the first 10 minutes of the second half. San Diego then went on to score 3 straight without reply to win 5-2. San Diego advances to the next round where they'll play another seeded team, Tulsa, who beat South Florida 1-0.
As a seeded team, Creighton got a bye into the second round of the tournament facing the University of Washington. Neither De Julio or Tuso played for Creighton in their second round match up against the Huskies as Creighton came away 4-2 winners after it being level 1-1 early in the second half. Like Duke and San Diego, Creighton will likely be underdogs in their game on Sunday when they'll travel to take on the Akron Zips in the third round.
Derek Schrick and SMU went out in the first round of the tournament on penalty kicks to Winthrop. After a late equalizer for Winthrop sent the game to overtime. Schrick though did not play for SMU. Raymond Lee and Alex Sweetin both played for Saint Louis in their match up against Fairleigh Dickinson, but the Billikens fell 2-1 to the Knights as Saint Louis was the second highest seed to fall in the second round.
Good luck to the Juniors in their games this weekend.
Duke and San Diego won their first round match up over Cal State Northridge in extra time after tying 1-1 through regulation. Duke played the entire 103 minutes of the game in defense for the Toreros. In the second round, San Diego faced off against traditional power, UCLA. After a 1-1 first half, the two teams traded goals inside the first 10 minutes of the second half. San Diego then went on to score 3 straight without reply to win 5-2. San Diego advances to the next round where they'll play another seeded team, Tulsa, who beat South Florida 1-0.
As a seeded team, Creighton got a bye into the second round of the tournament facing the University of Washington. Neither De Julio or Tuso played for Creighton in their second round match up against the Huskies as Creighton came away 4-2 winners after it being level 1-1 early in the second half. Like Duke and San Diego, Creighton will likely be underdogs in their game on Sunday when they'll travel to take on the Akron Zips in the third round.
Derek Schrick and SMU went out in the first round of the tournament on penalty kicks to Winthrop. After a late equalizer for Winthrop sent the game to overtime. Schrick though did not play for SMU. Raymond Lee and Alex Sweetin both played for Saint Louis in their match up against Fairleigh Dickinson, but the Billikens fell 2-1 to the Knights as Saint Louis was the second highest seed to fall in the second round.
Good luck to the Juniors in their games this weekend.
Former SKC Wizards Update
Late, but here's your former SKC Wizards update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ivan Trujillo
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Seattle's 2-1 win over LA.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Colorado - Offseason.
Josh Wolff - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-1 draw with Houston.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Did not play in the Wings' 8-6 win over Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had an assist in Baltimore's 15-4 win over Milwaukee. Had a goal and an assist in Baltimore's 17-11 win over Rochester.
Will John - Comets - Scored a goal in the Comets 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets' 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Started and played 65 minutes in Grenada's 2-1 win over Guyana. Started and played 90 minutes in Grenada's 2-0 loss to Haiti.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 18-3 win over Arizona.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Did not play in Charleroi's 1-1 draw with Mechelen.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Cruz Azul's 3-0 loss to Leon.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - No game this week.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Montego Bay 0-0. Scored 2 goals in HArbour View's 7-0 win over Savannah.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in Bahia's 1-0 win over Ponte Preta.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Dressed but did not play in Hjorring's 0-0 draw with Vestsjaelland.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Tiraspol's 0-0 draw with Dacia.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 2-1 win over Cobresol.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 3-0 win over Terek Grozny.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 2-2 draw with Eindhoven.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 0-0 draw with Unterhaching.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ivan Trujillo
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Seattle's 2-1 win over LA.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Colorado - Offseason.
Josh Wolff - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-1 draw with Houston.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Did not play in the Wings' 8-6 win over Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had an assist in Baltimore's 15-4 win over Milwaukee. Had a goal and an assist in Baltimore's 17-11 win over Rochester.
Will John - Comets - Scored a goal in the Comets 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets' 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Started and played 65 minutes in Grenada's 2-1 win over Guyana. Started and played 90 minutes in Grenada's 2-0 loss to Haiti.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 18-3 win over Arizona.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Did not play in Charleroi's 1-1 draw with Mechelen.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Cruz Azul's 3-0 loss to Leon.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - No game this week.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Montego Bay 0-0. Scored 2 goals in HArbour View's 7-0 win over Savannah.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in Bahia's 1-0 win over Ponte Preta.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Dressed but did not play in Hjorring's 0-0 draw with Vestsjaelland.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Tiraspol's 0-0 draw with Dacia.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 2-1 win over Cobresol.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 3-0 win over Terek Grozny.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 2-2 draw with Eindhoven.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 0-0 draw with Unterhaching.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Let the Rumors of New Players Begin
When Sporting is out of season it seems like there's always more news out there than during the season, specifically with rumors of players coming in or possibly leaving. Today the rumor is of a trialist out of South Africa that is going to be coming to KC. Word is that South African international, Elrio van Heerden is going to come to KC on trial. The 29 year old van Heerden has spent the majority of his career in Europe, playing in Denmark, Belgium, and Turkey before most recently playing with Lamontville Golden Arrows of the South African league. The midfielder has appeared 37 times for his country, scoring 3 goals, including playing in two African Cup of Nations and the Confederations Cup in 2009.
Honestly I'd never heard of this guy before, which is usually par for the course on players that KC is bringing in to trial with the team. Below are some highlights I found online of van Heerden.
Honestly I'd never heard of this guy before, which is usually par for the course on players that KC is bringing in to trial with the team. Below are some highlights I found online of van Heerden.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
FC Kansas City, the New Women's Team in Town
Today US Soccer held their press conference on the new women's league being established in the United States and after the announcement we learned the name of the Kansas City team, FC Kansas City, "The Blues."
Kansas City will be one of 8 teams in the league, the Chicago Red Stars, Boston Breakers, Western New York Flash, DC United women, Sky Blue FC, Portland, and Seattle. The league will kick off this spring. According to a release from the Seattle team, the schedule will apparently be 22 games, playing each team 3 times and 1 more against what would be considered a "rival" so for KC this will probably be Chicago. The season is set to start around the March/April time frame and go into September/October. Many of the rest of the rules of the league are still being ironed out, but the federations and owners wanted to get the word out.
The league is a join venture between the USSF, CSA, and FMF to help build all 3 of the countries' national teams. As part of that, the federations will offer support in regards to some of the salaries. The USSF will cover salaries for up to 24 US players, the Canadians up to 16, and Mexico will pay for at least 12. From listening in on the press conference today, it sounds like the majority of the contracts will not be full time, instead players will likely need offseason or second jobs to help along with their league salaries.
US Soccer will be the ones that will be footing the bill and running the, as yet unnamed, league. Right now the plan is for teams to play in smaller venues, for example, Chicago will not play at Toyota Park and Boston will not play at Harvard. As for the Blues, their hunt for a stadium is apparently down to 4 locations, one of which actually is Livestrong Sporting Park. While the national team drew well there, I'm weary of how a professional women's team will draw there. I have to wonder if locations like UMKC and Park are being considered as well in the process.
Kansas City will be one of 8 teams in the league, the Chicago Red Stars, Boston Breakers, Western New York Flash, DC United women, Sky Blue FC, Portland, and Seattle. The league will kick off this spring. According to a release from the Seattle team, the schedule will apparently be 22 games, playing each team 3 times and 1 more against what would be considered a "rival" so for KC this will probably be Chicago. The season is set to start around the March/April time frame and go into September/October. Many of the rest of the rules of the league are still being ironed out, but the federations and owners wanted to get the word out.
The league is a join venture between the USSF, CSA, and FMF to help build all 3 of the countries' national teams. As part of that, the federations will offer support in regards to some of the salaries. The USSF will cover salaries for up to 24 US players, the Canadians up to 16, and Mexico will pay for at least 12. From listening in on the press conference today, it sounds like the majority of the contracts will not be full time, instead players will likely need offseason or second jobs to help along with their league salaries.
US Soccer will be the ones that will be footing the bill and running the, as yet unnamed, league. Right now the plan is for teams to play in smaller venues, for example, Chicago will not play at Toyota Park and Boston will not play at Harvard. As for the Blues, their hunt for a stadium is apparently down to 4 locations, one of which actually is Livestrong Sporting Park. While the national team drew well there, I'm weary of how a professional women's team will draw there. I have to wonder if locations like UMKC and Park are being considered as well in the process.
Besler Has Options Overseas
The offseason news just keeps getting better for Sporting KC fans. First the assumption that Roger Espinoza is going to be leaving Kansas City in the January window, potentially to the EPL and Wigan Athletic. Now we hear today that Matt Besler has been contacted by European clubs in an interview on Sports Radio 810.
Besler is currently out of contract, joining Roger Espinoza on the list of players without a contract currently, so he would be free to leave MLS without the team getting a transfer for him. Besler potentially leaving would leave a huge hole at centerback for Kansas City. KC has already waived 4 players on the roster that can play center back in Julio Cesar, Cyprian Hedrick, Neven Markovic, and Konrad Warzycha. With Besler out of contract, the only CBs on the roster for next year under contract are Aurelien Collin and Lawrence Olum.
With that in mind, I'd argue that Besler is a bigger loss for the team than Espinoza is. KC's midfield, while it won't be the same without him has the depth to cover for the loss of Espinoza. That's not the case with Besler. Besler's play this year has been good and consistent. His play has made it possible for Collin to be the type of player that he is when he's at his best. The two compliment the other's style of play extremely well, allowing both of them to excell (as evident by the fact that both were finalists for defender of the year this year).
In the end I don't think that Besler is going to be leaving Kansas City. I think he'll get re-signed to a long term deal that will keep him in Kansas City. But it's not a fun picture to paint imagining the starting XI for KC next year not having Espinoza or Besler.
Besler is currently out of contract, joining Roger Espinoza on the list of players without a contract currently, so he would be free to leave MLS without the team getting a transfer for him. Besler potentially leaving would leave a huge hole at centerback for Kansas City. KC has already waived 4 players on the roster that can play center back in Julio Cesar, Cyprian Hedrick, Neven Markovic, and Konrad Warzycha. With Besler out of contract, the only CBs on the roster for next year under contract are Aurelien Collin and Lawrence Olum.
With that in mind, I'd argue that Besler is a bigger loss for the team than Espinoza is. KC's midfield, while it won't be the same without him has the depth to cover for the loss of Espinoza. That's not the case with Besler. Besler's play this year has been good and consistent. His play has made it possible for Collin to be the type of player that he is when he's at his best. The two compliment the other's style of play extremely well, allowing both of them to excell (as evident by the fact that both were finalists for defender of the year this year).
In the end I don't think that Besler is going to be leaving Kansas City. I think he'll get re-signed to a long term deal that will keep him in Kansas City. But it's not a fun picture to paint imagining the starting XI for KC next year not having Espinoza or Besler.
Olum in Camp with Kenya
Lawrence Olum is currently in Africa looking to earn his first cap for the Kenyan national team in the CECAFA Challenge Cup hosted in Uganda. The tournament, which kicks off on Saturday features members of the Council for East and Central African Football Association (CECAFA). The tournament features 12 grouped in 3 groups of 4. Kenya is in Group A with the hosts, Ethiopia, and new country South Sudan. Kenya plays in the tournament opener against Uganda on Saturday. The top 2 teams in each group, plus the 2 best third place teams from the 3 groups advance to the knock out round.
The rest of the article is interesting, but not completely surprising news that's not really worth getting worked up about. Olum says he would be willing to listen to offers from Europe. That's not really surprising, I'd be more disappointed if Olum wasn't interested in bettering his career by potentially moving to Europe. But the wording of Olum's quote, he has no offers on the table for Europe, so I wouldn't be worried about him leaving and putting KC in the position of only having 1 CB (Aurelien Collin) under contract for next year right now.
The rest of the article is interesting, but not completely surprising news that's not really worth getting worked up about. Olum says he would be willing to listen to offers from Europe. That's not really surprising, I'd be more disappointed if Olum wasn't interested in bettering his career by potentially moving to Europe. But the wording of Olum's quote, he has no offers on the table for Europe, so I wouldn't be worried about him leaving and putting KC in the position of only having 1 CB (Aurelien Collin) under contract for next year right now.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Comets Owners to Own New Women's Team
So I didn't have to wait long on my thoughts on connecting the dots, the Star has broken the news that I'd guessed on earlier today, that the Missouri Comets owners will be the owners of the team in the new women's league. The league which is set to kick off in the 2013 season will hold a press conference tomorrow where more details of the league will be announced.
Where the team will play, name, etc. have all not been announced yet, but will likely need to get going soon.
The press conference tomorrow is a joint press conference between the US Soccer federation, Canadian federation, and Mexican federation, which brings up the potential of a league representing 3 federations in CONCACAF.
The ownership will be adding a second team to under their ownership for the second time, as the the group had owned the arena football Command. One concern that people could have right off the bat is the double ownership. They dropped the Command after last season, and there is some history on the other side of the state regarding owning two soccer teams. I would put the current ownership of the Comets above the ownership of Jeff Cooper in St. Louis when it came to AC St. Louis and St. Louis Athletica. So while both teams may not last long term, I have little doubt that there won't be a situation where one team folds mid-season or lives the majority of the season under the cloud of likely closer at season end.
I'll be interested to hear more information regarding the league tomorrow.
Where the team will play, name, etc. have all not been announced yet, but will likely need to get going soon.
The press conference tomorrow is a joint press conference between the US Soccer federation, Canadian federation, and Mexican federation, which brings up the potential of a league representing 3 federations in CONCACAF.
The ownership will be adding a second team to under their ownership for the second time, as the the group had owned the arena football Command. One concern that people could have right off the bat is the double ownership. They dropped the Command after last season, and there is some history on the other side of the state regarding owning two soccer teams. I would put the current ownership of the Comets above the ownership of Jeff Cooper in St. Louis when it came to AC St. Louis and St. Louis Athletica. So while both teams may not last long term, I have little doubt that there won't be a situation where one team folds mid-season or lives the majority of the season under the cloud of likely closer at season end.
I'll be interested to hear more information regarding the league tomorrow.
Connecting Dots
So we're going to play a quick game that might not make sense after all is said and done, but why not. We're going to play connect the dots with information that has come out regarding a new women's league and a potential team in Kansas City.
First, last week came the rumor that the new US women's league that US Soccer was trying to start would involve 8 teams, and one of which would be in Kansas City. The original rumor was that Sporting KC could be involved in the team, but that lasted for a day before Sporting shot down that rumor. Even though Sporting KC was out as potential owners, the rumor of a team in Kansas City still existed.
The second dot came out today in a tweet today from Brian Buzinski, proprietor of the MISL Comets.
That Tweet started speculation that this could potentially be tied in with a women's team.
The last dot to connect came later today when it was announced that US Soccer announced that they'd scheduled a press conference for tomorrow at 12pm central time. The press conference is to "make a major announcement regarding US women's league." The press conference will apparently include the Canadian AND Mexican federation in the announcement. Canada wasn't so surprising in a new US women's league, the fact that the Mexican league is involved as well apparently makes this quite intriguing.
So do all these dots connect to a potential women's team coming to Kansas City in the new women's league? We could very well find out tomorrow, but it's not too hard to connect these dots and come to that conclusion.
First, last week came the rumor that the new US women's league that US Soccer was trying to start would involve 8 teams, and one of which would be in Kansas City. The original rumor was that Sporting KC could be involved in the team, but that lasted for a day before Sporting shot down that rumor. Even though Sporting KC was out as potential owners, the rumor of a team in Kansas City still existed.
The second dot came out today in a tweet today from Brian Buzinski, proprietor of the MISL Comets.
Excited to change the face of the Kansas City soccer landscape for the 2nd time. Look for an Announcement tomorrow.
— Brian Budzinski (@kcsoccerdome) November 20, 2012
That Tweet started speculation that this could potentially be tied in with a women's team.
The last dot to connect came later today when it was announced that US Soccer announced that they'd scheduled a press conference for tomorrow at 12pm central time. The press conference is to "make a major announcement regarding US women's league." The press conference will apparently include the Canadian AND Mexican federation in the announcement. Canada wasn't so surprising in a new US women's league, the fact that the Mexican league is involved as well apparently makes this quite intriguing.
So do all these dots connect to a potential women's team coming to Kansas City in the new women's league? We could very well find out tomorrow, but it's not too hard to connect these dots and come to that conclusion.
Besler Named MLS Defender of the Year
MLS announced today that Sporting KC defender, Matt Besler had won the league's Defender of the Year Award. Besler finished with 70.51 of the weighted total, winning 46.97% of the media vote, 10.35% of the club vote, and 13.19% of the player vote to top Victor Bernardez who finished with 64.39 (15.15% media, 32.76% club, 16.48% players). The media vote carried Besler as he ran away on that vote, but finished second 3rd in club voting, and second among player votes. The KC native was a rock for KC, starting 30 of the 34 games this year, and helping to anchor one of the best defenses in league history. His steady play allowed Aurelien Collin to be the more flashy of the two centerbacks, allowing him to attack the ball more. Besler becomes the third KC player to win the award after Peter Vermes in 2000 and Jimmy Conrad in 2004, and absolutely deserving award for a player who has worked his ass off to get to this point. His play should absolutely get him more looks from Jurgen Klinsmann for the US national team in the coming year.
Besler's center back partner, Aurelien Collin, finished a distant 3rd with 48.13 (13.64% media, 22.41% club, 12.08 player).
In other awards news today, Kei Kamara finished second in the voting for Humanitarian of the Year behind Chris Seitz. Seitz won the award in a land slide after giving bone marrow during the season to help a leukemia patient. It feels awkward to call in a land slide because all the finalist are doing amazing work from Sietz to Kamara to Michael Lahoud, the other finalist. Seitz got 38.89% of the club vote, 60% of the media vote, and 21.35% of the player vote. Compared to Kamara, the second place finisher who got 9.26% from clubs, 8.33% from media and 7.87% from players. The vote wasn't close.
Besler's center back partner, Aurelien Collin, finished a distant 3rd with 48.13 (13.64% media, 22.41% club, 12.08 player).
In other awards news today, Kei Kamara finished second in the voting for Humanitarian of the Year behind Chris Seitz. Seitz won the award in a land slide after giving bone marrow during the season to help a leukemia patient. It feels awkward to call in a land slide because all the finalist are doing amazing work from Sietz to Kamara to Michael Lahoud, the other finalist. Seitz got 38.89% of the club vote, 60% of the media vote, and 21.35% of the player vote. Compared to Kamara, the second place finisher who got 9.26% from clubs, 8.33% from media and 7.87% from players. The vote wasn't close.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Haiti Qualify for Caribbean Cup
This past weekend, Peterson Joseph and Haiti clinched themselves a spot in this December's Caribbean Championship, hosted in Antigua and Barbuda. Haiti qualified by finishing at the top of their group, that played in Grenada. Wednesday, Haiti opened the group against Guyana. Joseph played no part in the game, but Haiti was able to win 1-0, putting them in a good position after the first game as Grenada tied French Guiana 1-1. Friday was the second game day, and Haiti took on French Guiana, a win would see them clinch a spot in the tournament proper. French Guiana pulled off the win though, winning 1-0 over Haiti. Joseph came off the bench and played 19 minutes as Haiti looked for a goal. The loss with a Grenada win, put Haiti in a must win position for the final group game against the hosts, Grenada. Haiti got some help on Sunday in the first game as Guyana, already eliminated beat French Guiana 4-3. Haiti then took the field and took care of business against Grenada. Haiti won 2-0 clinching first place in the group. Joseph started and played into stoppage time when he was subbed out, probably to kill time.
Haiti as winners advance into Group B of the tournament proper. Haiti will be grouped with the hosts, Antigua, Martinique, who finished second in their qualifying group behind the Dominica Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago, who finished on top of their qualifying group ahead of Cuba The other group contains defending champions, Jamaica, French Guiana, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Those games will take place in early December on the 8th, 10th, and 12th. Haiti needs to finish in the top 2 in their group to qualify for next summer's Gold Cup.
Haiti as winners advance into Group B of the tournament proper. Haiti will be grouped with the hosts, Antigua, Martinique, who finished second in their qualifying group behind the Dominica Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago, who finished on top of their qualifying group ahead of Cuba The other group contains defending champions, Jamaica, French Guiana, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Those games will take place in early December on the 8th, 10th, and 12th. Haiti needs to finish in the top 2 in their group to qualify for next summer's Gold Cup.
Sporting Waive 4, Pass on Waiver Draft
Today was the MLS waiver draft for the end of the season (even though the season isn't technically over). Sporting declined the options on four players, sending those four into the waiver draft today. The biggest name of the four was Julio Cesar. Cesar had played in 54 league games over the past two seasons, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists. He added another assist in the playoffs in 2011. The knock against Cesar is that he just turned 34 years old a few days ago, the second oldest player on the team behind Jimmy Nielsen. And while Cesar still looked competent in the midfield, you have to wonder when the legs would give out on the Brazilian. In all competitions, Cesar played in 60 games, starting 56 of them and logging 4,759 minutes. Cesar has a history of not spending a ton of time with any one club. In fact, Cesar's 54 league appearances is the second most appearances Cesar played with a single club according to his wikipedia page. With Oriol Rosell holding down the position extremely well against Houston in the playoffs and Cesar's salary, the highest on the team, he became a expendable. He'd stated previously that he wanted to stay in the US and coach, so we'll see if he stays around or if he goes back abroad. KC could always look to attempt to re-sign him at a lower salary.
The second player waived was second round draft pick, Cyprian Hedrick. Hedrick missed the majority of the season after breaking a bone in his foot. He was limited to just 3 reserve league appearances, his only appearances for the club. He never appeared in an official match for KC.
Third was Neven Markovic. Markovic had developed a small cult following after some of his comments when he arrived, but Markovic didn't really get on the field. He played in both the team's friendlies against Montpellier and Stoke, but was limited to only two league appearances, garbage minutes late on against the Columbus Crew in the 2-1 home loss, and a start at left back against DC United where he played the full 90 minutes. It would seem the Markovic was never really able to challenge Lawrence Olum for the back up center back spot behind Aurelien Collin and Matt Besler.
The final player that was waived by KC today, was midfielder/defender Konrad Warzycha. Warzycha made the switch from being a midfielder to a center back this year after missing his entire rookie year due to surgery. Warzycha made 3 appearances for the club across all competitions this year, one league game and two US Open Cup games. His first appearance came in KC's 3-2 win ovr Orlando in the 3rd round of the Open Cup. He then made his only league appearance coming on as a late sub in KC's 2-0 win over Toronto. His final appearance for the club was as a sub in KC's 3-0 win over the Dayton Dutch Lions in the Open Cup quarterfinals.
All four players were available in today's waiver draft, where KC had the 14th pick. KC passed on their pick, in fact, Cole Grossman was the only player selected, as the cormer Crew player was drafted by Real Salt Lake. All four players are now free agents to negotiate with any club they wish. As I said earlier, Cesar may stay in the US due to his green card and wish to coach. Hedrick and Warzycha may try their luck in the lower divisions or get an invite to a team's preseason training. Markovic has already headed back to Belgrade so I'm not sure he'll stay in MLS.
The second player waived was second round draft pick, Cyprian Hedrick. Hedrick missed the majority of the season after breaking a bone in his foot. He was limited to just 3 reserve league appearances, his only appearances for the club. He never appeared in an official match for KC.
Third was Neven Markovic. Markovic had developed a small cult following after some of his comments when he arrived, but Markovic didn't really get on the field. He played in both the team's friendlies against Montpellier and Stoke, but was limited to only two league appearances, garbage minutes late on against the Columbus Crew in the 2-1 home loss, and a start at left back against DC United where he played the full 90 minutes. It would seem the Markovic was never really able to challenge Lawrence Olum for the back up center back spot behind Aurelien Collin and Matt Besler.
The final player that was waived by KC today, was midfielder/defender Konrad Warzycha. Warzycha made the switch from being a midfielder to a center back this year after missing his entire rookie year due to surgery. Warzycha made 3 appearances for the club across all competitions this year, one league game and two US Open Cup games. His first appearance came in KC's 3-2 win ovr Orlando in the 3rd round of the Open Cup. He then made his only league appearance coming on as a late sub in KC's 2-0 win over Toronto. His final appearance for the club was as a sub in KC's 3-0 win over the Dayton Dutch Lions in the Open Cup quarterfinals.
All four players were available in today's waiver draft, where KC had the 14th pick. KC passed on their pick, in fact, Cole Grossman was the only player selected, as the cormer Crew player was drafted by Real Salt Lake. All four players are now free agents to negotiate with any club they wish. As I said earlier, Cesar may stay in the US due to his green card and wish to coach. Hedrick and Warzycha may try their luck in the lower divisions or get an invite to a team's preseason training. Markovic has already headed back to Belgrade so I'm not sure he'll stay in MLS.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Comets Win Again
Once
again the Comets faced an early deficit tonight. However, the outcome
never seemed to be in doubt as John Sosa led the way with four assists
and six different players scored en route to a 17-10 victory over the
visiting Syracuse Silver Knights in front of 5,500 excited fans.
Brazilian
forward, Neto, changed addresses this summer after signing with
Syracuse, but he found himself right back home early with a goal in the
third minute of the game. The Comets, who have seen this script before,
didn’t let that phase them at all. Byron Alvarez broke free from his
defender after collecting a pass from John Sosa and put the Comets on
the board in the eighth minute of the quarter. Sosa again found a
streaking player four minutes later, this time Brian Harris was the
recipient of the Sosa assist. His three point goal gave the Comets a
5-2 lead as the quarter came to a close.
Missouri
came out with a workmen’s attitude in the second quarter. They never
really pushed the offensive third, but controlled the midfield play.
The Knights’ Kenardo Forbes was able to get a shot past goalkeeper Danny
Waltman midway through the second quarter. Following that the Comets
continued to work the midfield, with it finally paying off when Lucas
Rodriguez scored 1.8 seconds before the half expired.
The
Comets kept their foot on the pedal in the second half. Mila Ivanovic
scored his first MISL goal off yet another feed from Sosa. All told,
John Sosa had four assists on the night. Byron Alvarez completed his
first hat trick of the season with goals in both the third and fourth
quarters. He now has 20 points in four games, scoring an average of two
goals per game. Coady Andrews and Will John also contributed scores as
Missouri rolled to victory, 17-10.
Missouri is back in action on Saturday, November 24th
at 7:35pm in a possible battle of the unbeatens. The Baltimore Blast,
currently 4-0, visit the Independence Events Center for the first time
in the 2012-2013 season. It is the Comets Annual Day of Giving, where
they honor and collect donations for various players’ charities. For
tickets and information call 855.KC.ARENA or visit
CometsIndoorSoccer.com
Friday, November 16, 2012
A Look at Robb Heineman Blowing Up My Twitter Feed
Earlier today, Sporting KC president, Robb Heineman spoke at the Ivy Sports Symposium in New York City. During his presentation, Heineman said that the team's goal to be transparent with fans is a strategic decision so the team can compete with the Chiefs and Royals. Tonight, Heineman put that practice to good use on his flight back. On Twitter, he solicited questions from fans to keep him entertained. For the next two hours, Heineman answered questions on Twitter. Heineman answered a ton of questions of the two hours giving some information, hinting at other things, and trolling fans at other times. Certainly the lines could be blurred, but it's things like this that have made this team so well accepted in this city right now. Let's take a look at some of his answers, I'll throw in a few comments.
For a team that finished in first place in the East two years in a row Sporting certainly doesn't appear set to rest. Six new players could be anywhere on the roster, from starting to bench warmer, but it is quite a few changes. Plenty of comments throughout the chat with player movement.
Hopefully this helps put an end to this debate. I know people want Sporting to buy the Royals and/or the Chiefs, but that isn't happening in the short term or in the real foreseeable future.
As I said earlier, the team is not resting with the roster the way it is.
Appears we've reached the end of the Javi Guerra to KC talk.
Heineman's biggest troll of the night.
The only way we'd have gotten much information here is if Roger Espinoza had re-signed with KC.
KC is one of the few teams left in the league without a shirt sponsor, and one of only two, with Colorado, to never have one. Plenty of people have been on both sides of the debate, wanting KC to get a shirt sponsor, but some wanting to keep the clean front. But you always knew that KC was going to work towards a jersey sponsor, it's a stream of revenue that KC has not taken advantage of yet.
As long as this happens, this saves me from a post I was going to write this offseason. It's been 2 years since the Sporting Explorer App was launched and we still don't have anything to do with our coins and points. The lack of "reward" has caused me to play the game less and less over the course of the season. A goal to work towards would get me back involved.
Sporting's other out of contract player this year Matt Besler has gotten a lot more attention this year. But like Heineman I don't expect him to go anywhere this offseason, I expect him to be re-signed soon enough.
KC's been rumored to be getting a third jersey next year, and one of the thoughts is that gray or silver would be the 3rd jersey. Whether you want to believe this tweet means something in regards to that is up to you.
Choose whether you want to believe this one or not. I'm not positive Crouch would work in our system with the amount of running that's expected, but he'd certainly give a big body to play those crosses to.
Trollolololol
The MVP finalist has certainly attracted attention from Jurgen Klinsmann pushing himself into the naitonal team picture, but apparently from abroad as well. Interest abroad is a big thing and makes the fact that Sporting locked Zusi down last off season all the more important.
Great news that Teal Bunbury is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
I really want to see some sort of hall of fame for the greats that have played for this team somewhere in the stadium. I understand not copying the Chiefs, but doing something to honor those of the past would be nice.
Another one of those that I'm not sure about believing. In the past the team has said that they'd need consistent sellouts for something like 10 years before even considering expanding LSP. But maybe that mindset has changed.
Figured out he's trolling you yet?
Julio Cesar turns 34 in a few days, so his career is certainly winding down. The question is whether KC would keep him for one more year to help ease someone like Oriol Rosell more into that role.
Sorry Arsenal fans.
All Star game isn't high on my list, but would certainly be a spectacle that would show off the stadium.
KC has improved their TV production and presence greatly over the past few years, glad it's going to continue to improve.
The reserve league's lack of player development is a problem for all MLS teams. Really more teams need to look into loaning players out to get those fringe players more time so that they're able to contribute down the road. The likes of Ruben Luna have suffered from an insufficient reserve league.
Poor Euro snobs and pipe dreamers that think promotion and relegation is going to happen in the United States.
Just another reason to never doubt this team's commitment to winning.
I enjoyed reading through his tweets tonight, but as I said earlier, take some with a grain of salt and some with a mountain of it.
6 new on roster RT @dwarner11: @robbheineman Roughly how many new faces do you expect to see on the field for #SKC next year?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
For a team that finished in first place in the East two years in a row Sporting certainly doesn't appear set to rest. Six new players could be anywhere on the roster, from starting to bench warmer, but it is quite a few changes. Plenty of comments throughout the chat with player movement.
We respect MrG, so no.if he wanted 2 sell, we'd discuss it.RT @simplyysoto: @robbheineman would you buy the #royals ?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Hopefully this helps put an end to this debate. I know people want Sporting to buy the Royals and/or the Chiefs, but that isn't happening in the short term or in the real foreseeable future.
A south american one RT @gmd0012: @robbheineman What league are you targeting your next DP from?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
As I said earlier, the team is not resting with the roster the way it is.
His owner wont move him RT @nickhagel: @robbheineman Still trying for Javi Guerra? #SKC
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Appears we've reached the end of the Javi Guerra to KC talk.
Resurfacing to sporting blue astroturf RT @_billygrant: @robbheineman what's most interesting thing going on at Livestrong this off season?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Heineman's biggest troll of the night.
Europe and SA RT @cameronarey: @robbheineman where are you sending the scouts this offseason?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Nothing yet RT @danuel1225: @robbheineman what's the word on Espinoza??
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
The only way we'd have gotten much information here is if Roger Espinoza had re-signed with KC.
Hopefully....i think so RT @canfieldlaw: @robbheineman Shirt sponsor in 2013?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
KC is one of the few teams left in the league without a shirt sponsor, and one of only two, with Colorado, to never have one. Plenty of people have been on both sides of the debate, wanting KC to get a shirt sponsor, but some wanting to keep the clean front. But you always knew that KC was going to work towards a jersey sponsor, it's a stream of revenue that KC has not taken advantage of yet.
Some good stuff.start of next year RT @kendricbeachey: @robbheineman what will our Sporting Membership points and coins get us, and when?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
As long as this happens, this saves me from a post I was going to write this offseason. It's been 2 years since the Sporting Explorer App was launched and we still don't have anything to do with our coins and points. The lack of "reward" has caused me to play the game less and less over the course of the season. A goal to work towards would get me back involved.
Dont think so RT @laura_c0: @robbheineman your last tweet worried us... Is @mbesler going somewhere?!
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Sporting's other out of contract player this year Matt Besler has gotten a lot more attention this year. But like Heineman I don't expect him to go anywhere this offseason, I expect him to be re-signed soon enough.
Great idea....RT @realdstorm: @robbheineman Silver kit in honour of the US Open Cup - like it, love it, or gotta have it?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
KC's been rumored to be getting a third jersey next year, and one of the thoughts is that gray or silver would be the 3rd jersey. Whether you want to believe this tweet means something in regards to that is up to you.
Tried...no stoke interest RT @graham_fox: @robbheineman ever thought about bringing p crouch on board?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Choose whether you want to believe this one or not. I'm not positive Crouch would work in our system with the amount of running that's expected, but he'd certainly give a big body to play those crosses to.
The turf is longer and simulates grass RT @danuel1225: @robbheineman u do put turf in might lose some big bids on games if so just 2cents
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Trollolololol
I thinkhe wants to stay a little longerRT @ben_yates4: @robbheineman does it look like Zusis great play is going to take him overseas?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
TonsnRT @gmd0012: @robbheineman Has there been any interest abroad on Zusi?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
The MVP finalist has certainly attracted attention from Jurgen Klinsmann pushing himself into the naitonal team picture, but apparently from abroad as well. Interest abroad is a big thing and makes the fact that Sporting locked Zusi down last off season all the more important.
Ahead of schedule.love that kid RT @lgasper4: @robbheineman How is @tealbunb doin?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Great news that Teal Bunbury is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Nope....we dont imitate RT @kcevidenceguy: @robbheineman Thoughts on a @sportingkc Ring of Honor like the @kcchiefs?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
I really want to see some sort of hall of fame for the greats that have played for this team somewhere in the stadium. I understand not copying the Chiefs, but doing something to honor those of the past would be nice.
2018 RT @ryanhetu: @robbheineman when do you see LSP expanding?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Another one of those that I'm not sure about believing. In the past the team has said that they'd need consistent sellouts for something like 10 years before even considering expanding LSP. But maybe that mindset has changed.
No nats moving to all turf RT @rbitter79: @robbheinemanturf?Im disapointed. I undrstnd the $ (cont) tl.gd/k1hulv
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Figured out he's trolling you yet?
Dont know yet RT @hoagieskc: @robbheineman Do you see Cesar going anywhere soon?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Julio Cesar turns 34 in a few days, so his career is certainly winding down. The question is whether KC would keep him for one more year to help ease someone like Oriol Rosell more into that role.
No RT @acurttright: @robbheineman Do you plan on going after anyone like Arshavin since I heard US teams may be interested in him? #Sport
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Sorry Arsenal fans.
Do u want it?RT @chrisgeorgekc: @robbheineman What do you think our chances are of hosting All Star game 2013?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
All Star game isn't high on my list, but would certainly be a spectacle that would show off the stadium.
Yep RT @jonlorenz: @robbheineman anything new regarding the team's tv rights/contract in the pipeline?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
No doubt RT @sportingkcgft: interest to spreading media coverage of skc in surrounding communities via local tv stations 100miles ouside kc
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
KC has improved their TV production and presence greatly over the past few years, glad it's going to continue to improve.
Usl, not nasl RT @sportingkcgft: @robbheineman any interest in developing a loan setup with an (cont) tl.gd/k1i400
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
The reserve league's lack of player development is a problem for all MLS teams. Really more teams need to look into loaning players out to get those fringe players more time so that they're able to contribute down the road. The likes of Ruben Luna have suffered from an insufficient reserve league.
No RT @douglas__adams: @robbheineman ever see MLS with multiple divisions/relegation?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Poor Euro snobs and pipe dreamers that think promotion and relegation is going to happen in the United States.
No....not good enough RT @andydiorio: @robbheineman Any thought about adding Eastern Conf. Reg season champs 2 the wall?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 17, 2012
Just another reason to never doubt this team's commitment to winning.
I enjoyed reading through his tweets tonight, but as I said earlier, take some with a grain of salt and some with a mountain of it.
Sporting Not Involved in Women's Team
Yesterday rumors started coming out that the new women's league that US Soccer is trying to get off the ground was going to have one of their teams in Kansas City. Immediately speculation, especially in Kansas City turned to Sporting KC and adding a women's team under their Sporting Club umbrella.
Today that news was dashed. A spokesperson for Sporting commented to The Equalizer that if there is going to be a women's team in Kansas City, it's not connected to Sporting KC. The spokesman said the team had spoken with US Soccer, but that they "don’t know where the recent report generated from and it does not pertain to Sporting Kansas City/Sporting Club.”
So that kills one potential owner of a women's team in Kansas City, and although Sporting is out of the running, that doesn't kill the potential for a women's team.
Today that news was dashed. A spokesperson for Sporting commented to The Equalizer that if there is going to be a women's team in Kansas City, it's not connected to Sporting KC. The spokesman said the team had spoken with US Soccer, but that they "don’t know where the recent report generated from and it does not pertain to Sporting Kansas City/Sporting Club.”
So that kills one potential owner of a women's team in Kansas City, and although Sporting is out of the running, that doesn't kill the potential for a women's team.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
KC Part of New Women's League?
This coming spring, US Soccer is set to launch another women's professional soccer league in the United States, the previous two, the WUSA, and the WPS both folded after 3 seasons. This third attempt looks to be working more directly with US Soccer as the national governing body. Word out today is that the league will contain 8 teams, 4 former teams from the WPS, the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Western New York Flash, and Sky Blue FC and 4 new teams in DC, Portland, Seattle, and Kansas City.
Yes, that's right, according to the rumor from Soccer Wire, Kansas City is one of the team's on the list to get a women's professional soccer team in the new league. None of the details have been announced regarding the league and the potential window to start the 2013 season is getting smaller.
I know plenty of people have been wanting a women's team in Kansas City to cheer for alongside Sporting KC. There is no news on the ownership of the potential women's team, but one could guess that it could be Sporting Club, as another potential team under the Sporting umbrella along with Sporting and the KC Blues rugby team as suggested here.
The interesting thing if this rumor is true, is that it would give Kansas City two women's soccer teams in the city. The second being the Kansas City Shock, who are getting ready to join the existing WPSL league. Two women's teams could definitely make for a potentially crowded soccer landscape in Kansas City with two women's teams, Sporting, the Brass, and the Comets, all fighting for entertainment dollars of fans.
Yes, that's right, according to the rumor from Soccer Wire, Kansas City is one of the team's on the list to get a women's professional soccer team in the new league. None of the details have been announced regarding the league and the potential window to start the 2013 season is getting smaller.
I know plenty of people have been wanting a women's team in Kansas City to cheer for alongside Sporting KC. There is no news on the ownership of the potential women's team, but one could guess that it could be Sporting Club, as another potential team under the Sporting umbrella along with Sporting and the KC Blues rugby team as suggested here.
The interesting thing if this rumor is true, is that it would give Kansas City two women's soccer teams in the city. The second being the Kansas City Shock, who are getting ready to join the existing WPSL league. Two women's teams could definitely make for a potentially crowded soccer landscape in Kansas City with two women's teams, Sporting, the Brass, and the Comets, all fighting for entertainment dollars of fans.
Practice Facility Expansion on Hold
The city of Kansas City has a plan to expand the soccer complex in Swope Park that includes the Sporting KC training facility, but that plan has run into some trouble because of the funding. The city is behind a proposed $23.1 million plan that would add fields and amenities to the area at 63rd St and Lewis Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
The plan calls for the expansion of the training facility, including the grounds of the facility, office space and adding an auditorium and classrooms in the facility according to this layout. It also calls for 7 fields with lights as well as some synthetic surface fields along with grass. It'll take the entire area around the Sporting training facility and turn all of it into a soccer complex that could host larger tournaments.
As I said above though, the plan has run into some funding issues. The money that the city wants to use is from the Winchester Center TIF Plan. That TIF plan saw the building of the DST Systems, KMBC TV studio, and Time Warner offices all to the East of Sporting's training complex. The reason for the funding issue is because other jurisdictions believe the funds should be returned to them since the belief is that this is outside the scope of the original TIF. In a way that is true, as the Winchester Center TIF Plan was placed well before the team was even founded. The $11.1 million that the city wants to use has been in the TIF account since 1991, 5 years before the then KC Wiz even played their first game.
I understand the argument from the side of the Raytown Public Schools and Mid-Continent Public library, two of the other jurisdictions calling for the return of the funds. There is certainly a lot that those two could do with the $11.1 million. On the other hand, that money has been there for 21 years now and only now when it seems that the city has found another use for the funds are they really stepping forward about the funds.
The argument for the complex continues to be the lack of not just soccer fields, but quality soccer fields. Since the building of the Overland Park Soccer Complex, it has been booked full basically every weekend and on week nights with leagues, tournaments, and practices, bringing a lot of money into the surrounding economy as parents have to buy dinner or find a hotel on tournament weekends. And complaints about the overcrowding of the facility are fairly well spread. There is definitely room for another high quality facility, especially on the Missouri side. The most competitive club teams in the KC area play on the Kansas side of the state line (save the Sporting KC developmental academy teams that play at Swope currently), forcing Missouri teams to go across state lines. It's been this way ever since I started playing club ball about 20 years ago now. While facilities like Legacy Park in Lee's Summit have tried to fill the gap, there's still a lack of quality fields on the Missouri side.
The plan calls for the expansion of the training facility, including the grounds of the facility, office space and adding an auditorium and classrooms in the facility according to this layout. It also calls for 7 fields with lights as well as some synthetic surface fields along with grass. It'll take the entire area around the Sporting training facility and turn all of it into a soccer complex that could host larger tournaments.
As I said above though, the plan has run into some funding issues. The money that the city wants to use is from the Winchester Center TIF Plan. That TIF plan saw the building of the DST Systems, KMBC TV studio, and Time Warner offices all to the East of Sporting's training complex. The reason for the funding issue is because other jurisdictions believe the funds should be returned to them since the belief is that this is outside the scope of the original TIF. In a way that is true, as the Winchester Center TIF Plan was placed well before the team was even founded. The $11.1 million that the city wants to use has been in the TIF account since 1991, 5 years before the then KC Wiz even played their first game.
I understand the argument from the side of the Raytown Public Schools and Mid-Continent Public library, two of the other jurisdictions calling for the return of the funds. There is certainly a lot that those two could do with the $11.1 million. On the other hand, that money has been there for 21 years now and only now when it seems that the city has found another use for the funds are they really stepping forward about the funds.
The argument for the complex continues to be the lack of not just soccer fields, but quality soccer fields. Since the building of the Overland Park Soccer Complex, it has been booked full basically every weekend and on week nights with leagues, tournaments, and practices, bringing a lot of money into the surrounding economy as parents have to buy dinner or find a hotel on tournament weekends. And complaints about the overcrowding of the facility are fairly well spread. There is definitely room for another high quality facility, especially on the Missouri side. The most competitive club teams in the KC area play on the Kansas side of the state line (save the Sporting KC developmental academy teams that play at Swope currently), forcing Missouri teams to go across state lines. It's been this way ever since I started playing club ball about 20 years ago now. While facilities like Legacy Park in Lee's Summit have tried to fill the gap, there's still a lack of quality fields on the Missouri side.
Six Candidates for Year End Awards for Sporting
MLS announced the finalists for their year end awards today, and Sporting KC is well represented among the finalists, as 5 players and head coach Peter Vermes are up for awards.
Graham Zusi is a finalist for MVP this year, along with Chris Wondolowski of San Jose and Thierry Henry of New York. Unfortunately for Zusi I don't think this will be much of a contest, Wondolowski should win the award going away for the season he had. Zusi is a completely deserving finalist for his 5 goals and 15 assists in league play this year. Henry is really only on the list because of name recognition of people that vote but don't really pay attention to the league. The MVP award will be announced on November 29th.
Jimmy Nielsen is a finalist for goalkeeper of the year. Sporting's captain finished one shutout short of tying the league record set by Tony Meola in 2000 of 16. Nielsen is up against Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning and Chivas USA's Dan Kennedy. Gspurning missed a good portion of the season due to injury which hurts his case for the award. And while Kennedy had an amazing season, it wasn't enough to keep Chivas from looking extremely poor this year. Nielsen finished with a .79 goals against average, behind Gspurning's, but Nielsen has played 10 more games than the Seattle net minder. Really this should be Nielsen's award. Goalkeeper of the year is announced on November 28th.
Peter Vermes is a finalist for coach of the year. Leading Sporting KC to a team record in wins (18) and points (63) in a season and to the team finishing on top of the East for the second straight year. Vermes is up against Frank Yallop who led the Supporter Shield winning San Jose side that finished 3 points ahead of KC in the standings, and Ben Olsen who has helped to resurrect DC United finishing second in the East and into the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The winner is announced on November 27th.
Kei Kamara is a finalist for Humanitarian of the year. Kamara has done a ton of work in the past year to help his home country, Sierra Leone. He's helped with getting schools built and has set up the HearShapedHands Foundation. Kamara is up against Michael Lahoud of the Union who has also done work to help Sierra Leone, and Chris Seitz, who recently missed a good number of games after giving bone marrow. The winner will be announced on the 20th.
The final award that KC has players up for may be the most interesting. KC has two finalists up for the defender of the year award. Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin are both finalists along with Victor Bernardez of San Jose. Besler and Collin helped to anchor the league's best defense this year. Besler started 30 of the 31 games he played while Collin started 28 of the 29 he played in. The one worry I have about this award is that voters may split their vote between Besler and Collin, leading to Bernardez winning the award instead. While Collin had a decent season, this award really should go to Besler who has had a fantastic season, really establishing himself as one of the league's better defenders and pushed himself onto the national team radar. The winner will be announced on the 20th.
As a whole I think KC has a very good shot at winning 3 of the 5 awards, the two exceptions being MVP which I think will go to Wondolowski and coach, which I think Yallop will win this year. The other 3 I think KC can and should win, the one worry again is the defender of the year vote being split between the two.
Graham Zusi is a finalist for MVP this year, along with Chris Wondolowski of San Jose and Thierry Henry of New York. Unfortunately for Zusi I don't think this will be much of a contest, Wondolowski should win the award going away for the season he had. Zusi is a completely deserving finalist for his 5 goals and 15 assists in league play this year. Henry is really only on the list because of name recognition of people that vote but don't really pay attention to the league. The MVP award will be announced on November 29th.
Jimmy Nielsen is a finalist for goalkeeper of the year. Sporting's captain finished one shutout short of tying the league record set by Tony Meola in 2000 of 16. Nielsen is up against Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning and Chivas USA's Dan Kennedy. Gspurning missed a good portion of the season due to injury which hurts his case for the award. And while Kennedy had an amazing season, it wasn't enough to keep Chivas from looking extremely poor this year. Nielsen finished with a .79 goals against average, behind Gspurning's, but Nielsen has played 10 more games than the Seattle net minder. Really this should be Nielsen's award. Goalkeeper of the year is announced on November 28th.
Peter Vermes is a finalist for coach of the year. Leading Sporting KC to a team record in wins (18) and points (63) in a season and to the team finishing on top of the East for the second straight year. Vermes is up against Frank Yallop who led the Supporter Shield winning San Jose side that finished 3 points ahead of KC in the standings, and Ben Olsen who has helped to resurrect DC United finishing second in the East and into the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The winner is announced on November 27th.
Kei Kamara is a finalist for Humanitarian of the year. Kamara has done a ton of work in the past year to help his home country, Sierra Leone. He's helped with getting schools built and has set up the HearShapedHands Foundation. Kamara is up against Michael Lahoud of the Union who has also done work to help Sierra Leone, and Chris Seitz, who recently missed a good number of games after giving bone marrow. The winner will be announced on the 20th.
The final award that KC has players up for may be the most interesting. KC has two finalists up for the defender of the year award. Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin are both finalists along with Victor Bernardez of San Jose. Besler and Collin helped to anchor the league's best defense this year. Besler started 30 of the 31 games he played while Collin started 28 of the 29 he played in. The one worry I have about this award is that voters may split their vote between Besler and Collin, leading to Bernardez winning the award instead. While Collin had a decent season, this award really should go to Besler who has had a fantastic season, really establishing himself as one of the league's better defenders and pushed himself onto the national team radar. The winner will be announced on the 20th.
As a whole I think KC has a very good shot at winning 3 of the 5 awards, the two exceptions being MVP which I think will go to Wondolowski and coach, which I think Yallop will win this year. The other 3 I think KC can and should win, the one worry again is the defender of the year vote being split between the two.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Former SKC Wizards Update
With the MLS season winding down there are fewer former Wizards on the field playing each and every week. It appears that after returning to Trinidad, Daneil Cyrus may be looking to go back abroad again, as this article about the failings of the Trinidad national team, discusses Cyrus going on trial with a club instead of going with the Trinidad national team for the Caribbean Championship qualifiers this week. Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ivan Trujillo
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Seattle.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 1-0 win over Salt Lake. Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Seattle's 3-0 loss to LA.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Colorado - Offseason.
Josh Wolff - DC - Did not dress in DC's 3-1 loss to Houston.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Did not play in Wichita's 12-4 loss to Milwaukee.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored 2 goals in Baltimore's 17-9 win over Chicago. Recorded an assist in Baltimore's 10-4 win over Syracuse.
Will John - Comets - Scored a goal in Missouri's 13-11 win over Milwaukee.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 13-11 win over Milwaukee.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 13-11 win over Milwaukee. Scored a goal in Grenada's 1-1 draw with French Guiana
Paul Wright - San Diego - Two goals and two assists in San Diego's 11-5 win over Phoenix.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Belgium - Did not dress in Charleroi's 0-0 draw with Waasland Beveren.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Cruz Azul's 1-1 draw with Monterrey. Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Cruz Azul's 2-1 win over Leon.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Dressed but did not play in Sporting's 2-2 draw with Naval 1 de Maio.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Beat T&TEC 7-0.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in North East's 2-2 draw wtih St Ann.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Santos' 2-0 loss to Morelia. Started and played 65 minutes in the USA's 2-2 draw with Russia.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - No game this week.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 3-1 loss to Cruzeiro.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Dressed but did not play in Hjorring's 2-2 draw with Skive.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 87 minutes in Tiraspol's 2-0 win over Speranta Crihana Veche.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 83 minutes in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Universitario. Started and played 78 minutes in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Inti Gas.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 2-0 loss to Spartak Moscow.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 1-0 loss to Almere City.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 2-0 win over Stuttgarter Kickers.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ivan Trujillo
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Seattle.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 1-0 win over Salt Lake. Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Seattle's 3-0 loss to LA.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Colorado - Offseason.
Josh Wolff - DC - Did not dress in DC's 3-1 loss to Houston.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Did not play in Wichita's 12-4 loss to Milwaukee.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored 2 goals in Baltimore's 17-9 win over Chicago. Recorded an assist in Baltimore's 10-4 win over Syracuse.
Will John - Comets - Scored a goal in Missouri's 13-11 win over Milwaukee.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 13-11 win over Milwaukee.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 13-11 win over Milwaukee. Scored a goal in Grenada's 1-1 draw with French Guiana
Paul Wright - San Diego - Two goals and two assists in San Diego's 11-5 win over Phoenix.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Belgium - Did not dress in Charleroi's 0-0 draw with Waasland Beveren.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Cruz Azul's 1-1 draw with Monterrey. Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Cruz Azul's 2-1 win over Leon.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Dressed but did not play in Sporting's 2-2 draw with Naval 1 de Maio.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Beat T&TEC 7-0.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in North East's 2-2 draw wtih St Ann.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Santos' 2-0 loss to Morelia. Started and played 65 minutes in the USA's 2-2 draw with Russia.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - No game this week.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 3-1 loss to Cruzeiro.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Dressed but did not play in Hjorring's 2-2 draw with Skive.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 87 minutes in Tiraspol's 2-0 win over Speranta Crihana Veche.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 83 minutes in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Universitario. Started and played 78 minutes in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Inti Gas.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 2-0 loss to Spartak Moscow.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 1-0 loss to Almere City.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 2-0 win over Stuttgarter Kickers.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
2012 Attendance Figures
Sporting KC once again set an attendance record this year for KC. As a whole, Sporting finished the season 7th in the attendance table, which in percentage terms is probably close to, if not the highest Kansas City has ever finished in the league, averaging 19,404 per game, almost 1,000 over the capacity of Livestrong Sporting Park. Here's a look at Sporting's finish compared with the other teams in the league.
KC finished behind those that you'd expect to finish behind, Seattle, LA, Montreal (multiple games hosted at the Olympic Stadium), Houston, and Portland. Vancouver's attendance was extremely close to KC. Sporting did finish ahead of one of the model team's attendance wise up to this season, Toronto, who stumbled greatly down the stretch after yet another poor season for the club. KC also finished ahead of the league's biggest market, New York.
| 1 | Seattle | 43104 |
| 2 | LA | 23136 |
| 3 | Montreal | 22772 |
| 4 | Houston | 20946 |
| 5 | Portland | 20438 |
| 6 | Vancouver | 19475 |
| 7 | KC | 19404 |
| 8 | RSL | 19087 |
| 9 | New York | 18303 |
| 10 | Toronto | 18155 |
| 11 | Philadelphia | 18053 |
| 12 | Chicago | 16407 |
| 13 | Colorado | 15175 |
| 14 | Columbus | 14397 |
| 15 | Dallas | 14199 |
| 16 | New England | 14002 |
| 17 | DC | 13846 |
| 18 | San Jose | 13293 |
| 19 | Chivas | 13056 |
KC finished behind those that you'd expect to finish behind, Seattle, LA, Montreal (multiple games hosted at the Olympic Stadium), Houston, and Portland. Vancouver's attendance was extremely close to KC. Sporting did finish ahead of one of the model team's attendance wise up to this season, Toronto, who stumbled greatly down the stretch after yet another poor season for the club. KC also finished ahead of the league's biggest market, New York.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Sporting Juniors in College Cup
The bracket for this year's NCAA Division 1 soccer tournament came out today, and a number of schools that Sporting Juniors attend will be competing in the tournament. Here's a quick look at those teams that contain Sporting Juniors. Saint Louis is the highest seeded of the schools with Sporting Juniors at the 8 seed, and also has the most Juniors on their roster with 3, junior Alex Sweetin, sophomore Raymond Lee, and freshman Evan Wright. Sweetin, a midfielder played in 17 of 19 games, recording 6 goals and 5 assists. Lee another midfielder, appeared in 16 games and had 4 goals. Freshman Wright is a goalkeeper, but made no appearances for the Billikens this year. SLU have a bye in the first round and play the winner St. John's and Fairleigh Dickinson on November 18th.
The team with the second most Juniors on their roster is 12th seeded Creighton. The Missouri Valley Conference Champs also get a bye and play the winner of Washington and Air Force. Two freshman make up Creighton's Sporting Juniors contingent. Eric DeJulio played in 8 games for the Blue Jays scoring a goal. Chris Tuso is the other freshman, but he did not make an appearance this year.
The next Junior is Christian Duke, a senior, who started all 19 of San Diego's games this year. The Toreros have a first round match up on the road against Cal State Northridge on Thursday. Should San Diego pull off the win, they'll travel to play the 6th seeded UCLA in the second round.
The final Junior is Derek Schrick at Southern Methodist. Schrick appeared in 15 of SMU's 18 matches, recording 2 assists in the process. SMU will be hosting their first round match up against Winthrop on Thursday as well. A win and SMU earn a trip to play 10th seeded Louisville in the second round.
Once the season's over I'll post more complete stats for the Sporting Juniors that are playing collegiate soccer.
While on the topic of college soccer, some Juniors are currently playing for their colleges at the division 2 tournament. Two schools with Sporting Juniors are still alive in the division 2 tournament as they enter the third round. Friday the 16th in Oklahoma, Rockhurst take on Saginaw Valley State. Rockhurst features sophomore Eric Moore. Moore though hasn't appeared for Rockhurst this season.
After Rockhurst plays, another Junior takes the field for Fort Hayes State. Fort Hayes has two Juniors, sophomore Eric Hymer and freshman Drew Wilson. Hymer appeared in 17 of Fort Hayes 18 games, recording an assist from defense. Wilson has been red shirted this year. Fort Hayes takes on Northeastern State.
Good luck to those Juniors the rest of the way this season.
The team with the second most Juniors on their roster is 12th seeded Creighton. The Missouri Valley Conference Champs also get a bye and play the winner of Washington and Air Force. Two freshman make up Creighton's Sporting Juniors contingent. Eric DeJulio played in 8 games for the Blue Jays scoring a goal. Chris Tuso is the other freshman, but he did not make an appearance this year.
The next Junior is Christian Duke, a senior, who started all 19 of San Diego's games this year. The Toreros have a first round match up on the road against Cal State Northridge on Thursday. Should San Diego pull off the win, they'll travel to play the 6th seeded UCLA in the second round.
The final Junior is Derek Schrick at Southern Methodist. Schrick appeared in 15 of SMU's 18 matches, recording 2 assists in the process. SMU will be hosting their first round match up against Winthrop on Thursday as well. A win and SMU earn a trip to play 10th seeded Louisville in the second round.
Once the season's over I'll post more complete stats for the Sporting Juniors that are playing collegiate soccer.
While on the topic of college soccer, some Juniors are currently playing for their colleges at the division 2 tournament. Two schools with Sporting Juniors are still alive in the division 2 tournament as they enter the third round. Friday the 16th in Oklahoma, Rockhurst take on Saginaw Valley State. Rockhurst features sophomore Eric Moore. Moore though hasn't appeared for Rockhurst this season.
After Rockhurst plays, another Junior takes the field for Fort Hayes State. Fort Hayes has two Juniors, sophomore Eric Hymer and freshman Drew Wilson. Hymer appeared in 17 of Fort Hayes 18 games, recording an assist from defense. Wilson has been red shirted this year. Fort Hayes takes on Northeastern State.
Good luck to those Juniors the rest of the way this season.
Quiet International Date for Sporting KC
It looks like it is going to be a quiet week for Sporting KC players who represent their national team.
USA
Today the US roster came out for their friendly against Russia on Wednesday in the last international date of the year. Jurgen Klinsmann's roster does not include any Sporting KC players. Klinsmann has gone with quite a few young players on the roster along with some mainstays. There's no room on the roster this time around for Graham Zusi though as the likes of Mix Diskerud, Josh Gatt, and Joe Gyau getting looks by Klinsmann. I wouldn't take the lack of call up as anything of major importance for Zusi, Klinsmann knows what he can do and come February when the Hex kicks off I expect that Zusi will be on that roster.
The other Sporting player that many people thought would get a look in this camp is defender Matt Besler. With some of the USA's problems at center back in the last set of qualifying, people thought that Besler, a candidate for defender of the year, would be a perfect candidate for this game after KC's early playoff exit. Instead, Klinsmann has gone with the same group of center backs that he used for the last qualifying cycle. The center back position for the friendly against Russia will feature two of four of Carlos Bocanegra, Geoff Cameron, Clarence Goodson, and Maurice Edu. Two of those guys (Cameron and Edu) are not playing center back for their clubs (Cameron right back, Edu bench warmer), while Bocanegra is currently in the second division, and Goodson's club looks set to be relegated to the second division. I understand that Besler, like Zusi, has had a long club season and the game is on the other side of the world, but the US really needs to start looking for new blood at center back.
As a whole there were only 3 MLS players called in for the friendly, two goalkeepers, Sean Johnson and Nick Rimando, and Juan Agudelo at forward. A fourth player, Herculez Gomez plays in Mexico, the rest of the roster is from Europe, a much shorter trip, probably the main reason for the lack of Besler, Zusi, and other MLS players.
Honduras
Honduras is set to play Peru in an international friendly on Wednesday down at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Honduras will be doing so without Roger Espinoza, who has been left off the roster for the game. Like Zusi and Besler, Espinoza has just come off a long season, arguably longer with his trip to London for the Olympic games. Espinoza, probably more than anyone on KC's roster has earned this break and not getting a call up.
Haiti
Starting on Wednesday, Haiti will continue their campaign to qualify for the 2012 Caribbean Championships in Antigua and Barbuda. Haiti is grouped with hosts Grenada, Guyana, and French Guiana in a 4 team tournament that starts Wednesday and concludes Sunday. Haiti will play Guyana on Wednesday, French Guiana on Friday, and Grenada on Sunday. The top two teams will qualify for the tournament in Antigua. The top 4 teams there will qualify for the 2013 Gold Cup in the United States.
I've been unable to find an official roster for the team for this round of the tournament, but I'd expect Peterson Joseph to be playing a role for Haiti when they take the field. He started all 3 of Haiti's games in the last group stage back in September, so expecting the same shouldn't be surprising.
EDIT: The team has officially announced that Joseph will be representing Haiti.
USA
Today the US roster came out for their friendly against Russia on Wednesday in the last international date of the year. Jurgen Klinsmann's roster does not include any Sporting KC players. Klinsmann has gone with quite a few young players on the roster along with some mainstays. There's no room on the roster this time around for Graham Zusi though as the likes of Mix Diskerud, Josh Gatt, and Joe Gyau getting looks by Klinsmann. I wouldn't take the lack of call up as anything of major importance for Zusi, Klinsmann knows what he can do and come February when the Hex kicks off I expect that Zusi will be on that roster.
The other Sporting player that many people thought would get a look in this camp is defender Matt Besler. With some of the USA's problems at center back in the last set of qualifying, people thought that Besler, a candidate for defender of the year, would be a perfect candidate for this game after KC's early playoff exit. Instead, Klinsmann has gone with the same group of center backs that he used for the last qualifying cycle. The center back position for the friendly against Russia will feature two of four of Carlos Bocanegra, Geoff Cameron, Clarence Goodson, and Maurice Edu. Two of those guys (Cameron and Edu) are not playing center back for their clubs (Cameron right back, Edu bench warmer), while Bocanegra is currently in the second division, and Goodson's club looks set to be relegated to the second division. I understand that Besler, like Zusi, has had a long club season and the game is on the other side of the world, but the US really needs to start looking for new blood at center back.
As a whole there were only 3 MLS players called in for the friendly, two goalkeepers, Sean Johnson and Nick Rimando, and Juan Agudelo at forward. A fourth player, Herculez Gomez plays in Mexico, the rest of the roster is from Europe, a much shorter trip, probably the main reason for the lack of Besler, Zusi, and other MLS players.
Honduras
Honduras is set to play Peru in an international friendly on Wednesday down at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Honduras will be doing so without Roger Espinoza, who has been left off the roster for the game. Like Zusi and Besler, Espinoza has just come off a long season, arguably longer with his trip to London for the Olympic games. Espinoza, probably more than anyone on KC's roster has earned this break and not getting a call up.
Haiti
Starting on Wednesday, Haiti will continue their campaign to qualify for the 2012 Caribbean Championships in Antigua and Barbuda. Haiti is grouped with hosts Grenada, Guyana, and French Guiana in a 4 team tournament that starts Wednesday and concludes Sunday. Haiti will play Guyana on Wednesday, French Guiana on Friday, and Grenada on Sunday. The top two teams will qualify for the tournament in Antigua. The top 4 teams there will qualify for the 2013 Gold Cup in the United States.
I've been unable to find an official roster for the team for this round of the tournament, but I'd expect Peterson Joseph to be playing a role for Haiti when they take the field. He started all 3 of Haiti's games in the last group stage back in September, so expecting the same shouldn't be surprising.
EDIT: The team has officially announced that Joseph will be representing Haiti.