Expectations High for Sporting this Year

We're less than 48 hours from the start of the 2013 Sporting KC season in Philadelphia.  And I'm not sure there's been a time where expectations for the team were higher.  The only time they may have been higher was the start of the 2012 season.  This year though, expectations feel higher.  After 2 straight regular season Eastern Conference titles and a US Open Cup title, expectations have been raised. Expectations are going to be high not only to win MLS Cup, but in all 4 competitions that KC could be playing in this year.

Last night during the jersey unveiling at Sporting Park, Robb Heineman said that "we gotta win MLS Cup this year."

Heineman has been one of the biggest cheerleaders of the team and putting pressure on the team, but this year after everything that's gone on the past few, it feels like things have come to a head and all of that will culminate in the 2013 season. The team has fallen at hurdles in the race for the Supporters' Shield and in the race for MLS Cup each of the last two years.  The team has not only become more successful on the field, but the bigger story has been their success off the field in the development of the team and the fanbase.

Those two things are tied together.  It's been a perfect storm for Sporting lately with people tiring of the Royals continual cellar dwelling and the Chiefs falling to a depth not seen in many Chiefs fans life times.  To continue that success for Sporting though, the team needs to win "the big one." Winning the Open Cup last year was great for me and many fans, but many fans in this city don't understand the multiple competition structure in soccer. Trust me I've spent time trying to explain the multiple competitions to some people, including fans and find myself talking in circles.

Now MLS Cup, that's an easy one to explain.  It follows the same format as the other American sports with the playoff structure. People remember who wins the playoff champions in the US, because most of us have been trained throughout our sports watching lives that the winner of the playoff championship is the champion, not the team that had the best record during the regular season.

That's not to say that the Supporters' Shield isn't important or something to go for, it absolutely is.  And there's the pressure there as well.  MLSsoccer.com editors made their predictions for the Supporters' Shield this year.  Of the nine editors, five of them picked Sporting to have the leagues best record, no other team got more than one.  So the target grows ever larger for Sporting as they head into the season.

Then there's the defense of their US Open Cup title.  The reigning champion always has a target on their back.  There's also KC's return to international competition with the CONCACAF Champions' League beginning in August.  Over the past few the expectations of all MLS teams in the competition have increased.  Teams are now expected to advance to the knock out stage each and every year, anything less is disappointment.

With these high expectations, plenty is going to be expected of Kansas City's new players this year to contribute, and contribute early.  KC is losing at least a portion of the 11 goals that Kei Kamara scored last year for KC due to his loan move to Norwich.  Claudio Bieler will be expected to help fill and surpass that gap for Kansas City.  On the other side of the field, KC lost a lot of their bite and composure in the midfield with the departure of Roger Espinoza for the English Premier League and Julio Cesar to Toronto. Benny Feilhaber and summer acquisition last year, Oriol Rosell will be expected to pick up the slack in the midfield.  The two though, are not the same players as the ones they're replacing. That's not a bad thing, Feilhaber and Rosell will provide things that the players their replacing can't.  It likely means we'll see some changes in the way the midfield works especially defensively.

The midfield loss is also going to effect the back line.  A defense that turned into the best in Sporting KC history, even topping the record setting 2000 Wizards in many categories.  The defense returns all 4 starters and goalkeeper, Jimmy Nielsen to retain the core, and at the same time they've improved their depth, which will help with multiple competitions.

It's not going to be an easy year for Sporting.  Teams know what to expect from Sporting teams on the field now. It's time to prove that they're the better team.  The loses for KC are definitely going to be felt and there are going to be more than a few growing pains throughout the season.  That said KC absolutely has the talent needed for the 4 competitions this year.  The majority of the nucleus is returning and those leaving are being supplemented by other parts that may not be the exact same but do bring different aspects that will be Sporting a more dynamic attack in the season.

Expectations are high for the team, from winning MLS Cup, to competing for the Supporters' Shield and all the US Open Cup and CCL games in between.  But the good news for Sporting is that they know those expectations are there.  They've dealt with them for much of last season, and while they've been raised both locally and nationally, Peter Vermes has built this team for that and I think they'll be ready come Saturday to start the process.

Kamara Helps Lead Norwich to Win - Former SKC Wizards Update

Kei Kamara scored in only his second appearance for Norwich City this past weekend against Everton.  Kamara played the final 32 minutes causing all sorts of problems for the Everton back line and scored with a thumping header.  In other news, Sunil Chhetri has returned to India on loan, joining Churchill Brothers. And in MLS play, Khari Stephenson and Konrad Warzycha have joined new clubs, signing for Salt Lake and Columbus respectively.  Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Aaron Hohlbein
Will John
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Shavar Thomas
Ivan Trujillo

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Julio Cesar - Toronto - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason
Konrad Warzycha - Columbus - 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
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - 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 Syracuse's 15-10 win over Wichita. Played in Syracuse's 12-8 loss to Milwaukee.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in Baltimore's 10-6 win over Milwaukee.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in any of the Comets games.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Out injured
Paul Wright - San Diego - Played in San Diego's 12-11 win over Turlock. Played in San Diego's 13-4 win over Turlock.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Season starts in April.
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Started and played 90 minutes in DPMM's 0-0 draw with Home United.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Did not dress in Esteghlal's 2-1 win over Sanat Naft. Dressed but did not play in Esteghlal's 3-3 draw with Al Rayyan.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlas' 0-0 draw with Queretaro. Did not dress in Atlas' 2-1 loss to Cruz Azul in the Copa Mexico.
Sunil Chhetri - Churchill Brothers - India - Started and played 89 minutes in Churchill's 3-0 loss ot Kitchee.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Tied Sacachispas 0-0.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Did not play in W Connection's 5-2 win over Police FC.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Huila's 1-0 win over Patriotas Boyaca.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Dressed but did not play in Wigan's 3-0 win over Reading.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Did not dress in the Stars' 2-1 loss to Central FC.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 62 minutes in Santos' 1-0 win over America.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Tivoli Gardens 0-0 and beat Humble Lions 1-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - No games until April.
Kei Kamara - Norwich - England - Came off the bench and played 32 minutes, scoring a goal in Norwich's 2-1 win over Everton.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - On winter break until March
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in San Martin's 2-0 loss to Union Comercio.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - On winter break until March.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - No game this week.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Season starts in May.
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Did not dress in Xanthi's 2-0 loss to Veria.
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Season starts in March.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - No game this week.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Season starts in March.

New Supporters' Shield

Today the Independent Supporters' Council and the Supporters' Shield Foundation made an announcement concerning the Supporters' Shield.  It was announced that through a combined effort of many of the leagues supporters groups, a new Supporters' Shield has been created.

While I loved the old shield and it's grassroots build up to it, I completely understand the reason and need for a change.  The original shield had been made on a small budget and had basically run out of room for new teams to be added to it. And I absolutely love the new look of the shield.  It has a clean, professional, look to it.

I've heard Sam Pierron tell me the story before, but it's an amazing story of how the original shield came to be, through the work entirely of the supporters of the teams and individuals around the league.  Check out the story, as well as the rest of the new site set up for the Supporters' Shield.

Two Byline to Back Post Podcasts

Thad and I bring you two new podcasts for your listening pleasure.

First, at the jersey unveiling last night, Thad and I got a chance to speak to Chad Reynolds, the creative lead for Sporting in the design process.  He talks a lot about not on the design of the jersey, but some of the process that went into the creation of the jersey with Adidas.  It's a good look into the process for the jersey.

In the second one, Thad and I get down to some of the main points of the last week and the upcoming game against Philadelphia.  We also talk about the U20's and trialist signings.  In part two, we talk about the Comets clinching a playoff spot, FCKC call ups, and former Wizards updates. 

Enjoy both on Posterous or iTunes.

Sporting Sign Jerome and Duke

Sporting Kansas City added two more players to their roster today ahead of Saturday's First Kick against the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park.  Sporting announced the signings of Mechack Jerome and Christian Duke.

Jerome spent most of the preseason with Kansas City after previously playing for Orlando City last season.  The 22 year old got plenty of time with the first team during preseason, especially after Chance Myers picked up a quad injury in Arizona.  He looks set to be Myers' primary backup at the right back position after the departure of Michael Harrington.  Jerome will join his fellow countryman, Peterson Joseph at KC.  Jerome like Joseph is a Haitian international, having appeared 17 times for his country, although it's been a few years since he last appeared for them.

Duke was Kansas City's first round supplemental draft pick this year.  The Kansas City native attended San Diego the last four years.  He came through Sporting's Juniors program, but did not spend enough time practicing with the team during his time in college for him to qualify as a home grown player.  Duke's addition to the team gives Kansas City 7 players now that are from Kansas City on their roster.  Duke joins Matt Besler, Kevin Elllis, Jon Kempin, Kyle Miller, Seth Sinovic, and Michael Thomas as KC based players who have signed for Sporting.  Almost 25% of KC's roster (7 of 29) now is from the KC metro area.  Duke doesn't seem likely to see a ton of time with the first team, but will probably battle for time in KC's other competitions later this season and could be a candidate to go on loan to Orlando.

Sporting Unveil New Primary Jersey

Tonight at Sporting Park, Sporting Kansas City unveiled their new jersey in front of 500 fans in the Field Club.  Earlier in the day a leak of the jersey showed up on eBay and set off a lot of concern from Kansas City fans. Plenty of commets about how plain it was and how it just didn't look right.

But after the announcement tonight, many of those comments have changed.  Many people seem to really like the new jersey.  It breaks up the monochrome look of the jersey that it'd had the last few years.  I really liked the previous jersey but this one is growing on me and looks really good.

With the jersey sponsor on it as well, the jersey looks complete.

After speaking with Chad Reynolds after the event (check out the special podcast that Thad and I recorded with him tonight) he gave a lot of insight into the process, from the addition of the extra line that appears on the jersey to the Adidas stripes, to the shorts and socks on the jersey.

Sporting KC is the ONLY team in the Adidas family that has the Adidas stripes in two different colors on the jersey.  Something that Adidas has never done.  It speaks to the level that Kansas City has reached that there able to work with Adidas and get them to do something that they'd never done for a team in the past.

As for the shorts and socks, KC looks to be making a few changes.  People have talked about the team's monochrome look at times, and KC will change it some this year.  At home, Sporting will be going with their Sporting blue primary jersey, Sporting blue shorts, and Sporting blue socks.  On the road (when they can) the team will be changing things up.  With their Sporting blue primary, the team will instead go with indigo shorts and socks, a change from their past look.

I'd originally said that I'd wait until I saw the jersey in person and on players before making my final decision, and as a whole I like the jersey.  I think it goes a bit of a different direction for the team, while at the same time keeping their brand with the Sporting blue. I think it gives a different element to the jersey that makes it stand out a bit.

Comets Clinch 3rd in OT

With playoff seeding on the line, the Comets traveled to Chicago to finish their regular season against the Soul.  The Comets needed a single win to ensure themselves of the third seed in the 2013 MISL Playoffs.  It took more than four quarters, but Byron Alvarez scored three minutes into the overtime period to give the Comets the 8-6 win against the Chicago Soul.

After waiting until the final six seconds to net a goal in their previous matchup, the Comets jumped on the scoreboard first tonight.  Ryan Junge found Jeff Hughes along the left side, who buried his shot from close range.  Matthew Stewart was able to tie it up for Chicago with a nice shot of his own from the side only a minute later.

Tied 2-2 at the start of the second quarter, Coach Kim Roentved employed a high pressure strategy that saw two, and sometimes three, Comets players with immediate pressure on any Soul player who gained possession in his defensive third of the field.  Ryan Junge earned his second helper of the game, feeding Vahid Assadpour for the only score of the quarter.  Comets led at the break 4-2.

Relaxing a bit from their high pressure stance, the Comets still had several opportunities in the third quarter.  The Comets controlled the ball through much of the game, outshooting the soul 38-16 in the game.  Matt Stewart and Freddy Degand were able to break through the Missouri attack late in quarter, scoring two goals in thirty seconds to put Chicago in the lead briefly 6-4.  However, Assadpour answered right back two minutes later, intercepting a defensive clearance from Soul goalkeeper Jeff Richey and passing to Robert Palmer.  Palmer returned the pass and Assadpour scored his second of the game, tying it up.

The fourth quarter saw no scores as both teams applied tentative pressure, not wanting to make a mistake as the clock wound down.  With the score tied 6-6, the fans who braved the weather in Chicago were treated to overtime soccer.  The Comets once again broke out their high-pressure attack and controlled much of the action.  After Chicago’s Carlos Munoz was whistled for a foul to the right of his goal, Comets midfielder John Sosa found Byron Alvarez on the restart for the goal and 8-6 victory.

U20's Qualify for the World Cup

The US men's U20 team took care of business tonight down in Mexico against Canada and booked themselves a spot in this summer's U20 World Cup in Turkey.  After falling behind early after some poor defending and a nice finish, the US took over the game.  The US equalized after a nice move by Daniel Cuevas.  Cuevas played the ball into the middle for Luis Gil who took a nice touch and then put the ball into the corner leveling the game. Then in the last 5 minutes of the half the US put the game to bed.  They took the lead when Jose Villarreal got on the end of a Mario Rodriguez shot and turned it in to make it 2-1. Then in first half stoppage time the US made it 3-1. A corner by the US was poorly punched clear by the Canadian keeper.  Will Trapp hit the cleared ball on the volley.  The ball took a deflection on the way in that wrong footed the keeper.

In the 54th minute the US made it 4.  Benji Joya collected a ball in the box but then laid it back to Villarreal, who cut in on his defender and then scored to make it 4-1. Ten minutes later the Canadians pulled a goal back from a shot from distance, but they couldn't get any closer as the US advanced.

The US will now play Cuba on Friday the first at 5pm for a spot in the finals.  Sporting KC midfielder, Mikey Lopez will be eligible to play again after sitting out today's game due to yellow accumulation.

Appearances and Minutes vs Portland

Another set of stats, this time Portland.  Sporting and Portland have only played in league play, so here's the list for both.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 3
Chance Myers - 3
Matt Besler - 3
Kei Kamara - 3
Roger Espinoza - 3
Graham Zusi - 3
Julio Cesar - 3
CJ Sapong - 3
Teal Bunbury - 3
10. Aurelien Collin - 2
Seth Sinovic - 2
Michael Harrington - 2
Milos Stojcev - 2

And here are the minutes for KC.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 270
Chance Myers - 270
Matt Besler - 270
Roger Espinoza - 270
Graham Zusi - 270
6. CJ Sapong - 269
7. Julio Cesar - 256
8. Kei Kamara - 198
9. Aurelien Collin - 180
10. Seth Sinovic - 165

Here's the list when you add in Portland's appearances too.

1. Chance Myers - 3
CJ Sapong - 3
Darlington Nagbe - 3
Diego Chara - 3
Eric Brunner - 3
Graham Zusi - 3
Jack Jewsbury - 3
Jimmy Nielsen - 3
Jorge Perlaza - 3
Julio Cesar - 3
Kei Kamara - 3
Matt Besler - 3
Roger Espinoza - 3
Teal Bunbury - 3
Troy Perkins - 3

And here's the list when you add in the minutes for both clubs.

1. Chance Myers - 270
Diego Chara - 270
Eric Brunner - 270
Graham Zusi - 270
Jack Jewsbury - 270
Jimmy Nielsen - 270
Matt Besler - 270
Roger Espinoza - 270
Troy Perkins - 270
10. CJ Sapong - 269

Appearances and Minutes vs Philadelphia

More stats for you, today appearances and minutes against Philadelphia.

First league appearances.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 6
2. Chance Myers - 5
Kei Kamara - 5
4. Julio Cesar - 4
Seth Sinovic - 4
CJ Sapong - 4
Graham Zusi - 4
Matt Besler - 4
Teal Bunbury - 4
10. Aurelien Collin - 3
Roger Espinoza - 3
Michael Harrington - 3
Davy Arnuad - 3

Here's the list of appearances in all competitions.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 7
2. Chance Myers - 6
Kei Kamara - 6
4. Seth Sinovic - 5
CJ Sapong - 5
Graham Zusi - 5
Matt Besler - 5
Teal Bunbury - 5
9. Aurelien Collin - 4
Julio Cesar - 4
Roger Espinoza - 4

When it comes to minutes played, here is the list.

1. Jimmy Neilsen - 540
2. Chance Myers - 450
Kei Kamara - 450
4. Seth Sinovic - 360
Graham Zusi - 360
6. Julio Cesar - 330
7. Matt Besler - 328
8. Teal Bunbury - 287
9. Davy Arnaud - 270
10. Roger Espinoza - 264

Here are the minutes in all competitions.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 630
2. Chance Myers - 540
Kei Kamara - 540
4. Seth Sinovic - 450
Graham Zusi - 450
6. Matt Besler - 418
7. Roger Espinoza - 354
8. Teal Bunbury - 351
9. Julio Cesar - 330
10. Aurelien Collin - 315

Here's the list for league when including Philadelphia as well.

1. Amobi Okugo - 6
Jimmy Nielsen - 6
3. Chance Myers - 5
Jack McInerney - 5
Kei Kamara - 5
6. Brian Carroll - 4
Carlos Valdes - 4
CJ Sapong - 4
Julio Cesar - 4
Seth Sinovic - 4
Graham Zusi - 4
Matt Besler - 4
Teal Bunbury - 4
Danny Califf - 4
Roger Torres - 4
Sebastien Le Toux - 4

Here's the list in all competitions.

1. Amobi Okugo - 7
Jimmy Nielsen - 7
3. Chance Myers - 6
Jack McInerney - 6
Kei Kamara - 6
6. Brian Carroll - 5
Carlos Valdes - 5
CJ Sapong - 5
Seth Sinovic - 5
Graham Zusi - 5
Matt Besler - 5
Teal Bunbury - 5

Here's the minutes in league play.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 540
2. Chance Myers - 450
Kei Kamara - 450
4. Amobi Okugo - 445
5. Graham Zusi - 360
Brian Carroll - 360
Carlos Valdes - 360
Seth Sinovic - 360
Danny Califf - 360
Sebastien Le toux - 360

Here are the minutes in all competitions.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 630
2. Chance Myers - 540
Kei Kamara - 540
4. Amobi Okugo - 535
5. Brian Carroll - 450
Carlos Valdes - 450
Seth Sinovic - 450
Graham Zusi - 450
9. Matt Besler - 418
10. Jack McInerney - 362

A look at the Sporting Roster and Open Roster Spots

We're a week away from the start of the MLS season and Sporting KC kicking off against the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park next Saturday, March 2nd.  Saturday, Sporting finished their final preseason game, beating Toronto FC 1-0 at the Disney Pro Soccer Classic.

Before the team heads to Philadelphia though, there are some roster decisions that have to be made before the season starts.

Currently Sporting KC has 27 players under contract for next year.  Assuming those 27 all make the roster for the 2013 season, that leaves 3 spots open for supplemental draft picks and trialists.

Let's take a look at the positions first and where needs are.

Goalkeeper

No need here for Sporting KC.  The team currently has 3 players under contract already with Jimmy Nielsen, Eric Kronberg, and Jon Kempin.  The team has had Brian Sylvestre and Steve Spangler in camp, but I find it unlikely that either one of those 2 is displaying one of the 3 already on the roster.

Defenders

The past few years I have complained about Sporting's lack of center back depth.  This year I actually feel confident in KC's depth at center back.  The team has starters Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin back as well as back up Lawrence Olum, who can also play in the midfield.  The team has also added two more center backs this year, Ike Opara in a trade with San Jose and Yann Songo'o.  That depth should be a good start for KC with them having 3 competitions during the season this year.

On the wings KC is once again set with starters with both Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic returning this season.  KC has lost their primary back up for both sides though with the trade of Michael Harrington.  The team also released Korede Aiyegbusi who filled in on the left wing as well.  On the left KC has moved forward from Harrington and look to have found a suitable replacement in Josh Gardner who can play left back or left midfield.  They also have Bobby Convey who spent a short while at left back during preseason as well.

On the right things looked a little more questionable.  After Myers, the next most likely candidate to start appeared to be home grown signing, Kevin Ellis who has one competitive appearance for KC in their 3-0 win against the Chicago Fire PDL team in the US Open Cup in 2011.  After Ellis it was last year's supplemental draft pick, Kyle Miller, who has rotated between defense and forward while playing with the reserves.

Sporting though looks set to address the lack of depth here through one of their trialists.  Mechack Jerome of Orlando City has spent most of preseason with Kansas City and has gotten plenty of action in preseason, especially with Myers' quad injury that kept him out for a little while.  Rumors last week were that Kansas City were going to attempt to sign the Haitian to a contract.  I'd be more shocked at this point if he is not signed to a contract with KC.

KC also had supplemental draft pick, Brian Fekete in camp through at least a portion of the camp in Florida, but he hasn't appeared in any of the later preseason games, and even showed up on Orlando City's roster for a game.

Midfield

Kansas City lost two starters from their midfield from the end of last season, Julio Cesar has moved on to Toronto FC while Roger Espinoza has made his way to the English Premier League and Wigan Athletic.  KC though looks to be remaining strong in midfield.  With the addition of Benny Feilhaber and last season's summer signing of Oriol Rosell look to help ease the loss of those two.  There's also US national team midfielder, Graham Zusi, who could also see time at forward for Kansas City.  The team also has starter Paulo Nagamura returning along with Peterson Joseph who showed well in the playoffs against Houston.  Also returning this year is Michael Thomas, who the team picked up in preseason last year.  The team also has Mikey Lopez already on the roster having drafted the Generation Adidas player in this year's Super Draft, although he is currently with the US U20 team.

In the first round of the supplemental draft, KC drafted another midfielder, Christian Duke from San Diego.  Duke was from Kansas City's Juniors system, but did not spend enough time with the club while he was in college to qualify as a home grown player.  Similar to Miller last year I see Duke making the roster as a bench player.

Another potential signing for Kansas City is Adama Mbengue.  Another player from Orlando City that has trialed with KC, the 19 year old Senegalese player has split time during the Disney Pro Soccer Classic with both KC and Orlando.  He could certainly be a guy that could be looked at as a potential developmental talent for Peter Vermes to build up.

Supplemental draft pick Mike Reidy is listed on the team's preseason roster as a midfielder, but he's spent time all over the field in KC's preseason games, similar to what we saw from a number of players last year in reserve games.

Forwards

Kansas City has plenty of options at forward right now.  Sporting is returning CJ Sapong, Bobby Convey, Dom Dwyer, and Soony Saad.  The team also has Jacob Peterson and Teal Bunbury, but both of them will miss the start of the season due to injuries, Bunbury likely won't be back until the summer due to his ACL tear. Also among the forwards is the team's new designated player, Claudio Bieler. 

Not included in the list of 27 players at this time is Kei Kamara.  Kamara's trial with Norwich City will have him miss games until May before his potential return. So that's something that the team must keep themselves mindful up as they finalize the roster.  If they fill all 30 roster spots now they will have to waive someone if Kamara's move to Norwich isn't made permanent.

Sporting has also had Nick Zimmerman on their preseason roster, but the former New York and Philadelphia forward has not made an appearance in any of Kansas City's preseason games.

Conclusion

First it's not a forgone conclusion that Sporting isn't going to waive anyone still under contract at this time.  A player like Kevin Ellis, who has gotten a grand total of 75 minutes this preseason could be a guy that could find himself on the chopping block. Same goes for a player like Kyle Miller.

But for simplicity reasons right now, let's assume that KC isn't going to waive anyone, Sporting has just the three roster spots open, but one of those could eventually need to be filled by Kamara should he return from England in May. 

Of those three spots, I think two will definitely be filled by players currently in camp.  I expect Jerome to be signed to be Myers' primary back up at the right back position.  I also think that KC is going to sign another local player in Duke to add depth to the midfield.

That'd leave KC with one unfilled roster spot.  I could see KC going either way with the final spot.  I could see them filling it, at least for the short term with a player to provide more depth.  On the other hand if Vermes doesn't see enough from one of the players currently in camp.  With the CONCACAF Champions League not starting until August, and the US Open Cup rumored to not be starting for MLS teams until May 28th, Sporting isn't going to have multiple competitions to deal with in Kamara's absence.  So they may sit with the one roster spot open for at least the beginning of the season and continue to monitor Kamara's loan spell at Norwich.

Sporting End Membership Program in Current Design

Sporting Kansas City announced today that they are ending their Sporting Membership program in it's current design. The program had originally been set up with a website for fans to sign up as a social media area as well as a location to get the free away tickets that the team offered and the free members stand tickets that the team offered in the first season.  The team also set up a coin system where people could get "coins" for their purchases at the stadium that would eventually be used for something.  There were also plans to use the points that fans earned playing the Sporting explorer app.  The system to redeem those coins and points though never panned out.  So fans have been left wondering what if anything these things would be good for.

Those that have been participating in the program already will be rewarded for their process in the old system.  They'll be given a prize depending on what level they have reached.

The team though doesn't plan on the system going away entirely, instead they plan to change the system.  Hopefully this time the team gets all their ducks lined up before releasing the system.  The lack of a reward system ended up becoming a bit of a joke among fans as they continually asked what using the membership card was good for. 

The system as a whole was something I made the same jokes about, but I had faith in at the end because the team has prided itself on being "innovative" and getting things done.  At this point the team is admitting that the system as it is right now is broken and is not working. They say that admitting you have a problem or made a mistake is the first step to correcting it.  If that's true, then Sporting is taking a step in the right direction to make a reward system that will reward their existing members.

Comets Clinch Playoff Spot

It wasn't easy, but the Comets clinched a playoff spot for the third straight year with a 15-11 win over the Wichita Wings that also clinched the Turnpike trophy for the Comets, winning the season series 4 games to 2. 

Things didn't start out well for the Comets though.  For the third straight game, the Comets were shutout in the first quarter.  And for the third straight game they ended up falling behind.  The Wings scored 3 goals in the first period, two from Frederico Moojen and another from Daniel Villegas to end the quarter up 6-0.

The Comets responded in the second quarter though, less than 30 seconds in they'd cut the lead in half.  Brian Harris received a distribution from Danny Waltman.  Harris played a wall pass to himself, beat his defender and raced down the field.  He then fired a shot from just outside the 3 point line that beat Sanaldo. Forty seconds later and the Comets were within a point.  Vahid Assadpour played a nice through ball to Jeff Hughes.  Hughes tried to play a cross into the middle for Lucas Rodriguez.  The cross though was deflected by a Wings' defender and past Sanaldo and into the net. Thirty seconds after Hughes goal, the Comets had the lead.  Again it was through Harris who raced up the field and fired a shot from outside the yellow line that hit off the underside of the cross bar, hit the ground and bounced into the net giving the Comets an 8-6 lead.  Both teams had their chances as the rest of the quarter continued, but neither was able to find the net.

The third quarter saw the Wings coming out attacking from the start and just over 5 minutes into the quarter the Wings had equalized through Andrew Hoxie.  Both sides were looking to take the lead with KC pushing the game more as Wichita had replaced their goalkeeper at the half.  Neither team was able to find a goal in the quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter though the Wings grabbed the lead again.  Only 30 seconds in, Victor Quiroz fired a shot from outside the yellow line that Waltman could only get a hand on as it went in making the score 11-8 Wings.  The Comets pushed the game and got a power play opportunity after a Wings player elbowed John Sosa.  Missouri didn't score on the power play, but right as it expired, Byron Alvarez picked out Hughes at the back post and Hughes turned the shot in to get the Comets back within a point.  The Comets continued to push the game trying to retake the lead and with just under 5 minutes remaining they got their goal.  This time it came from a forward.  Alvarez again was the creator, winning the ball at midfield before playing the ball through to Mads Falck. Flack collected the ball, let his defender rush past him and then fired a shot in at the near post to give the Comets a 12-11 lead.  Shortly after that, the Wings pulled their goalkeeper going for the 6th attacker.  The Comets created a few chances of their own but just missed wide.  With just under 2 minutes left they iced the game.  Assadpour won a ball and fed it to Falck as he ran down the wing.  Falck took a touch looked up and then passed the ball into the empty net making it 15-11.  The Comets killed the rest off the game off, giving them the win, a playoff berth and a chance to end the season at .500 with a win on Wednesday in Chicago.

Appearances and Minutes vs New York

Another set of stats for you, this one for the Red Bulls.  The Red Bulls are the only team of the original MLS teams still around that Kansas City has never met in a competition outside of league play.  They've never met in the playoffs, Open Cup, or any other competition, so the league and all competitions will be the same.

1. Nick Garcia - 25
2. Davy Arnaud - 24
3. Kerry Zavagnin - 22
4. Jimmy Conrad - 20
Preki - 20
6. Jack Jewsbury - 18
Chris Klein - 18
8. Josh Wolff - 14
Jose Burciaga - 14
MattMcKeon - 14

Jimmy Nielsen, Graham Zusi, Chance Myers, and Kei Kamara are the closest active players, all having appeared in 7 games.

Here is a look at the minutes played for KC.

1. Nick Garcia - 2,198
2. Davy Arnaud - 2,004
3. Kerry Zavagnin - 1,991
4. Jimmy Conrad - 1,810
5. Preki - 1,729
6. Chris Klein - 1,566
7. Jack Jewsbury - 1,208
8. Josh Wolff - 1,182
9. Jose Burciaga - 1,179
10. Mo Johnston - 1,134

Nielsen has the most minutes among active players with 720 minutes.

The top of the appearance list is taken up mainly by KC players although there are a few players that played for both teams.

1. Nick Garcia - 25
Kerry Zavagnin - 25 (played for both)
3. Davy Arnaud - 24
4. Tony Meola - 23 (played for both)
5. Jimmy Conrad - 20
Preki - 20
7. Jack Jewsbury - 18
Chris Klein - 18
9. Carlos Mendes - 15
10. Josh Wolff - 14
John Wolyniec - 14
Jeff Parke - 14
Jose Burciaga - 14
Matt McKeon - 14
Mark Chung - 14 (played for both)

Nielsen, Kamara, Zusi, and Myers are the closest active KC players with 7.

Here's a look at the minutes played with both teams.

1. Nick Garcia - 2,198
2. Tony Meola - 2,090 (played for both)
3. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,054 (played for both)
4. Davy Arnaud - 2,004
5. Jimmy Conrad - 1,810
6. Preki - 1,729
7. Chris Klein - 1,566
8. Carlos Mendes - 1,253
9. Mark Chung - 1,235 (played for both)
10. Jeff Parke - 1,215

Nielsen with 720 is the active leader for KC.

Appearances and Minutes vs the New England Revolution

Here's a look at the appearances and minutes for Kansas City against New England.

First here's the team's league appearances against the Revolution.

1. Jimmy Conrad - 21
2. Davy Arnaud - 20
Jack Jewsbury - 20
Kerry Zavagnin - 20
Nick Garcia - 20
6. Preki - 16
7. Josh Wolff - 15
8. Michael Harrington - 14
Shavar Thomas - 14
Chris Klein - 14

Graham Zusi and Matt Besler have the most appearances among active players with 9 against the Revolution.

KC has only played New England twice in games outside of MLS league play so there's not a lot of movement on this list.

1. Davy Arnaud - 21
Jack Jewsbury - 21
Jimmy Conrad - 21
4. Kerry Zavagnin - 20
Nick Garcia - 20
6. Michael Harrington - 16
Josh Wolff - 16
Preki - 16
9. Shavar Thomas - 14
Chris Klein - 14

Besler is the highest ranked current player, with 11 appearances.

Here's the league minutes for Sporting KC.

1. Jimmy Conrad - 1,825
2. Nick Garcia - 1,811
3. Davy Arnaud - 1,799
4. Kerry Zavagnin - 1,630
5. Jack Jewsbury - 1,312
6. Josh Wolff - 1,282
7. Preki - 1,227
8. Chris Klein - 1,216
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 1,080
10. Michael Harrington - 1,054

Besler is the highest among active players with 810 minutes played vs New England.

Here's the minutes in all competitions.

1. Davy Arnaud - 1,889
2. Jimmy Conrad - 1,825
3. Nick Garcia - 1,811
4. Kerry Zavagnin - 1,630
5. Jack Jewsbury - 1,402
6. Josh Wolff - 1,372
7. Preki - 1,227
8. Chris Klein - 1,216
9. Michael Harrington - 1,189
10. Bo Oshoniyi - 1,080

Besler with 990 minutes played is the highest among active players.

When adding in New England's players, they top the list with the top 3 players on the list, including Matt Reis who is still playing.

1. Matt Reis - 24
Sharlie Joseph - 24
3. Jay Heaps - 23
4. Jimmy Conrad - 21
5. Davy Arnaud - 20
Jack Jewsbury - 20
Kerry Zavagnin - 20
Nick Garcia - 20
9. Steve Ralston - 19
10. Joe Franchino - 17

Besler and Zusi with 9 are the most active among KC players.

In all competitions it's again the New England players leading the list.

1. Matt Reis - 25
2. Sharlie Joseph - 24
Jay Heaps - 24
4. Davy Arnaud - 21
Jack Jewsbury - 21
Jimmy Conrad - 21
7. Kerry Zavagnin - 20
Nick Garcia - 20
9. Steve Ralston - 19
10. Joe Franchino - 17

Besler with 11 leads the way among active KC players.

Here's the minutes played when adding in the New England players.

1. Matt Reis - 2,160
2. Sharlie Joseph - 2,073
3. Jay Heaps - 1,985
4. Jimmy Conrad - 1,825
5. Nick Garcia - 1,811
6. Davy Arnaud - 1,799
7. Steve Ralston - 1,657
8. Kerry Zavagnin - 1,630
9. Taylor Twellman - 1,419
10. Joe Franchino - 1,348

Besler is number one among active KC players with 810 minutes played.

Here's a look at the minutes in all competitions.

1. Matt Reis - 2,250
2. Jay Heaps - 2,075
3. Sharlie Joseph - 2,073
4. Davy Arnaud - 1,889
5. Jimmy Conrad - 1,825
6. Nick Garcia - 1,811
7. Steve Ralston - 1,657
8. Kerry Zavagnin - 1,630
9. Taylor Twellman - 1,419
10. Jack Jewsbury - 1,402

Besler with 990 minutes played is the highest among active players.

Sporting Win Preseason Finale

Sporting KC closed out their preseason schedule today in Orlando against Toronto FC.  After originally being grouped against their first kick opponent, Philadelphia, the schedule was changed so that Sporting took on Toronto. 

For Sporting KC, Chance Myers returned to the lineup giving KC a virtual first team starting lineup, save for Seth Sinovic who rested in place of Josh Gardner.  The other potential starter/substitute that did not play was Bobby Convey. Kansas City grabbed the lead in the 23rd minute after some good work by Soony Saad and Chance Myers led to Claudio Bieler getting his first goal of the preseason.  It was the only goal that Kansas City needed as they beat Toronto 1-0.  KC played the last 33 minutes up a man after Darren O'Dea picked up a red card.

Sporting not will return to Kansas City and begin preparing for the season opener against Philadelphia next Saturday.

Appearances and Minutes vs the Montreal Impact

Here's a look today at Sporting's appearances and minutes against the newest club in the league, Montreal.  Obviously not many changes here because the teams have only played 3 times.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 3
Chance Myers - 3
Matt Besler - 3
Paulo Nagamura - 3
Graham Zusi - 3
Kei Kamara - 3
CJ Sapong - 3
8. Aurelien Collin - 2
Michael Harrington - 2
Julio Cesar - 2
Roger Espinoza - 2
Teal Bunbury - 2
Seth Sinovic - 2
Peterson Joseph - 2
Jacob Peterson - 2

The appearances in all competitions is the same as the two teams have not met outside MLS play.

Here's the minutes for both league and all competitions.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 270
Matt Besler - 270
Graham Zusi - 270
4. Kei Kamara - 249
5. CJ Sapong - 246
6. Chance Myers - 187
7. Aurelien Collin - 180
Michael Harrington - 180
Roger Espinoza - 180
Seth Sinovic - 180

Now here's a look with both teams.  First appearances.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 3
Chance Myers - 3
Matt Besler - 3
PAulo Nagamura - 3
Graham Zusi - 3
Kei Kamara - 3
CJ Sapong - 3
Jeb Brovsky - 3
Hassoun Camara - 3
Felipe Martins - 3
Patrice Bernier - 3
Davy Arnaud - 3

Here's a look at the minutes played.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 270
Matt Besler - 270
Graham Zusi - 270
Hassoun Camara - 270
Felipe Martins - 270
Patrice Bernier - 270
7. Jeb Brovsky - 260
8. Kei Kamara - 249
9. CJ Sapong - 246
10. Davy Arnaud - 200

Comets Fall At Home

The Comets blew a chance to clinch a playoff spot and the 3rd seed tonight against and undermanned Chicago Soul.  The Comets offense was punchless as the Soul raced out to a 13-0 lead before the Comets grabbed their only goal with 6 seconds left in the game. They'll still be able to clinch a playoff spot on Sunday against the Wichita Wings, but will have to wait until Wednesday the 27th for the chance to clinch 3rd when they travel to Chicago. To do that Sunday though the Comets will have to do it without Leo Gibson who will be suspended due to a red card he received today against the Soul.

 Here's the release from the Comets:

As the MISL regular season winds down and teams position themselves for the playoffs, the Comets need just one win to clinch a spot in the postseason tournament.  The Chicago Soul need two wins to overcome the Comets for the third seed.  The Soul were definitely the hungrier team tonight as Matthew Stewart led his team to a 13-0 shutout win over the Missouri Comets

Alex Megson got things started off in the first quarter, followed by Stewart’s first two goals.  Megson bookended the half with his second goal and the Comets were down 8-0 after the first half.

At halftime, the Comets celebrated one of the greatest players from their storied history in Alan Mayer.  Mayer, who was best known for being the first goalkeeper to wear a helmet while he played, was honored with his number being retired and hung in the rafters next to his former teammate Gino Schiraldi.

Having faced large deficits previously, coming back in the second half was not unexpected for the Comets.  Chicago defended against that with superb play from goalkeeper Jeff Richey and strong defense from everyone in front of him.  Frustrated, Leo Gibson was caught elbowing Chicago’s Eric Lukin in the third period and was ejected from the game.  On the ensuing power play Chile Farias scored a three point shot and the Comets were down 11-0 after three quarters.  Vahid Assadpour was inserted as the sixth attacker, but Alex Megson completed his hat trick shortly after.  Brian Harris avoided the shutout for the Comets, scoring with 6.2 seconds remaining in the quarter, but it was not close to enough as Missouri loses 13-2.

The Comets will be able to rebound on Sunday when they face their rivals to the south, the Wichita Wings at 3:10pm.  It is the final game of the I-35 series, sponsored by Independence Tourism.  With a win, the Comets will clinch a playoff spot for the third straight season and the Turnpike Trophy for the second straight season.  Tickets are still available by going to CometsIndoorSoccer.com.  The Comets ticket office will also be open Saturday from 10am -1pm.  Call 855.4KC.GOAL (855.452.4625) for more information. 

Lopez and U20's Win Their Group

Mikey Lopez got his first start of the U20 qualifying tournament tonight as the US took on Costa Rica.  Both teams had clinched a spot in the quarterfinals after both defeated the other team in their group, Haiti. 

The first half was not the best half of soccer you'll see, neither side looked good going forward, but Mikey Lopez had a solid half although he did pick up a yellow card.  In the second half the US finally got the lead off a Luis Gil corner, Jose Villarreal rose above the Costa Rican defenders to head the ball home and give the US the 1-0 lead.  Costa Rica picked up the game a little bit after that forcing a good save from Cody Cropper. The US was able to hold on and win 1-0.  Again a lackluster game for the US where they didn't impress but their first objective was done to advance out of the group.  Now they'll need to take care of business on Tuesday against Canada who finished second in group B with a 5-1 win over Nicaragua. Lopez actually looked quite good for the US helping to control the midfield.  With Costa Rica not providing a lot going forward, Lopez was able to help the US offensively.

Appearances and Minutes vs the Miami Fusion

Next in the list of appearances and minutes is the now defunct Miami Fusion.  First here's appearances for Kansas City.

1. Chris Klein - 7
2. Brandon Prideaux - 6
Preki - 6
4. Tony Meola - 5
Matt McKeon - 5
Chris Brown - 5
Mo Johnston - 5
UChe Okafor - 5
9. Nick Garcia - 4
Kerry Zavagnin - 4
Chris Henderson - 4

Here's the list in all competitions.

1. Chris Klein - 10
2. Tony Meola - 8
Matt McKeon - 8
Chris Brown - 8
Mo Johnston - 8
6. Nick Garcia - 7
Kerry Zavagnin - 7
8. Gary Glasgow - 6
Peter Vermes - 6
Brandon Prideaux - 6
Preki - 6

Here are the league minutes for KC.

1. Chris Klein - 568
2. Preki - 540
3. Brandon Prideaux - 468
4. Matt McKeon - 460
Mo Johnston - 460
6. Tony Meola - 432
7. Nick Garcia - 370
Kerry Zavagnin - 370
Chris Henderson - 370
Uche Okafor - 370

Here are the minutes in all competitions.

1. Chris Klein - 838
2. Matt McKeon - 730
3. Tony Meola - 702
4. Nick Garcia - 640
5. Kerry Zavagnin - 619
6. Mo Johnston - 571
7. Peter Vermes - 550
8. Preki - 540
9. Chris Brown - 511
10. Brandon Prideaux - 468

Now here's the top 10 with both teams. First league play.

1. Preki - 8 (played for both)
2. Chris Klein - 7
Tyrone Marshall - 7
Leo Cullen - 7
5. Brandon Prideaux - 6
Chris Henderson - 6 (played for both)
7. Jim Rooney - 5
Tony Meola - 5
Matt McKeon - 5
Chris Brown - 5
Jay Heaps - 5
Diego Serna - 5
Pablo Mastroeni - 5
Mo Johnston - 5
Henry Gutierrez - 5
Uche Okafor - 5

Here's a look at all competitions.

1. Preki - 11 (played for both)
2. Chris Klein - 10
Tyrone Marshall - 10
4. Chris Henderson - 9 (played for both)
5. Jim Rooney - 8
Tony Meola - 8
Matt McKeon - 8
Chris Brown - 8
Mo Johnston - 8
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 7
Nick Garcia - 7
Roy Lassiter - 7 (played for both)
Diego Serna - 7
Pablo Mastroeni - 7
Leo Cullen - 7

Now here's a look at the minutes played in league play.

1. Preki - 715 (played for both)
2. Leo Cullen - 600
3. Chris Klein - 568
4. Tyrone Marshall - 541
5. Chris Henderson - 538 (played for both)
6. Brandon Prideaux - 468
7. Matt McKeon - 460
Mo Johnston - 460
9. Pablo Mastroeni - 450
Henry Gutierrez - 450

Here's the minutes in all competitions.

1. Preki - 931 (played for both)
2. Chris Klein - 838
3. Chris Henderson - 808 (played for both)
4. Matt McKeon - 730
5. Tony Meola - 702
6. Nick Garcia - 640
7. Tyron Marshall - 633
8. Kerry Zavagnin - 619
9. Jim Rooney - 603
10. Leo Cullen - 600

Appearances and Minutes vs the LA Galaxy

Here's a look at the appearances and minutes against the LA Galaxy. 

First the appearances against LA in league play for KC.

1. Preki - 29
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 24
Chris Klein - 24
4. Nick Garcia - 23
5. Davy Arnaud - 21
Matt McKeon - 21
7. Mo Johnston - 18
8. Jimmy Conrad - 17
9. Tony Meola - 16
10. Francisco Gomez - 15
Chris Brown - 15
Uche Okafor - 15
Digital Takawira - 15

KC has met up with LA a few times in the playoffs, here's the appearances in all competitions.

1. Preki - 37
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 31
3. Nick Garcia - 30
Chris Klein - 30
5. Matt McKeon - 28
6. Mo Johnston - 23
7. Davy Arnaud - 22
Tony Meola - 22
9. Diego Gutierrez - 20
10. Chris Brown - 19

On both lists, Graham Zusi, Chance Myers, and Matt Besler have the most apeparances among active players, with 5.

Here's a look at the minutes played in league play.

1. Preki - 2,426
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,177
3. Nick Garcia - 2,120
4. Chris Klein - 1,963
5. Matt McKeon - 1,724
6. Mo Johnston - 1,539
7. Davy Arnaud - 1,516
8. Jimmy Conrad - 1,489
9. Tony Meola - 1,369
10. Uche Okafor - 1,270

Here's a look at the minutes in all competitions.

1. Preki - 2,157
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,835
3. Nick Garcia - 2,778
4. Chris Klein - 2,522
5. Matt McKeon - 2,156
6. Mo Johnston - 1,953
7. Tony Meola - 1,937
8. Diego Gutierrez - 1,691
9. Davy Arnaud - 1,606
10. Jimmy Conrad - 1,579

On both lists, Besler has appeared the most of current players, playing 450 minutes against the Galaxy.

When you factor appearances for both KC and LA in the series, here's how everything breaks down.  First appearances in league play.

1. Cobi Jones - 37
2. Chris Klein - 32 (played for both)
3. Kevin Hartman - 31 (played for both)
4. Preki - 29
5. Mauricio Cienfuegos - 28
6. Gregy Vanney - 24
Sasha Victorine - 24 (played for both)
Kerry Zavagnin - 24
9. Nick Garcia - 23
10. Davy Arnaud - 21
Matt McKeon - 21

Here is a look at all competitions.

1. Cobi Jones - 46
2. Chris Klein - 38 (played for both)
Kevin Hartman - 28 (played for both)
4. Preki - 37
5. Mauricio Cienfuegos - 35
6. Kerry Zavagnin - 31
7. Sasha Victorine - 30 (played for both)
Nick Garcia - 30
9. Gregy Vanney - 29
10. Matt McKeon - 28

Besler, Myers, and Zusi again rank highest among active KC players.

Here's the league minutes for both teams.

1. Cobi Jones - 3,055
2. Kevin Hartman - 2,745 (played for both)
3. Mauricio Cienfuegos - 2,434
4. Chris Klein - 2,433 (played for both)
5. Preki - 2,426
6. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,177
7. Nick Garcia - 2,120
8. Gregy Vanney - 1,982
9. Sasha Victorine - 1,866 (played for both)
10. Matt McKeon - 1,724

Here are the minutes in all competitions.

1. Cobi Jones - 3,853
2. Kevin Hartman - 3,394 (played for both)
3. Preki - 3,157
4. Mauricio Cienfuegos - 3,038
5. Chris Klein - 2,992 (played for both)
6. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,835
7. Nick Garcia - 2,778
8. Gregy Vanney - 2,451
9. Sasha Victorine - 2,360
10. Matt McKeon - 2,156

Besler with 450 is the highest among active KC players on both.

Four FCKC Players Called Up for Algarve Cup

US Soccer today announced the roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal coming up in March.  The tournament runs from March 6th through the 13th, causing players to miss the start of the NWSL preseason.  That means that four players from FC Kansas City will miss the start of preseason training while away at the tournament.  Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, defender Becky Sauerbrunn, and midfielders Lauren Cheney and Kristie Mewis have all been called up.  All four had been on the roster that had taken on Scotland in two games in Jacksonville and Nashville.

In the tournament the US will take on Iceland, China, and Sweden in group play before their placement match on the 13th. 

New From the Byline to the Back Post

This week's episode of From the Byline to the Back Post is up for you to listen to.  This week, Thad and I discuss Sporting's continued preseason, the US U20 team, and trialists in our first segment.  In the second segment we discuss FC Kansas City, the Missouri Comets, and former Wizards.  Listen on Posterous or iTunes.

Hesmer Retires, Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates.  The news this week is that former goalkeeper Will Hesmer has retired from professional soccer. Hesmer missed all of the 2012 season after having offseason hip surgery.  He had then been selected by LA in the reentry draft, but did not join the club.  Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Korede Aiyegbusi
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Aaron Hohlbein
Will John
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Neven Markovic
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Julio Cesar - Toronto - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - 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
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - 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 - Did not play in Syracuse's 17-15 win over Rochester.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in Baltimore's 12-6 win over Wichita.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets game against Milwaukee.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Out injured
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 15-9 win over Mexico.

International
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Offseason.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Did not play in Esteghlal's 5-0 win over Fajr Sepasi.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Atlas' 2-1 win over Monterrey. Did not dress in Atlas' 0-0 draw wiht Lobos Buap.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 0-0 draw with Trofense.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Lost to Midland 2-0.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 2-1 loss to Defence Force.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Huila's 0-0 draw with Deportes Quindio.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Started and played 57 minutes in Wigan's 4-1 win over Huddersfield Town.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Did not play in the Stars' 3-1 win over T&TEC.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 86 minutes in Santos' 1-1 draw with Tigres.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Beat Savannah 2-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - No game this week.
Kei Kamara - Norwich - England - No game this week.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - On winter break until March
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 0-0 draw with Universitario.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - On winter break until March.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in either of Emmen's games.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Season starts in May.
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Started and played 71 minutes in Xanthi's 2-0 loss to Olympiakos.
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Season starts in March.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 65 minutes in Munster's 2-0 win over Hallescher.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Season starts in March.

Sporting Tie Toronto

In their second to last preseason game, and their first of two against Toronto, Sporting KC played to a 3-3 draw against TFC.  Both sides fielded a team mainly of reserves for the game.  Sporting scored first, with Adama Mbengue scoring the goal.  Toronto equalized later in the first half.  Before half time though Sporting retook the lead with Dom Dwyer finding the net to have KC go into the half up 2-1.  Early in the second half, KC added another goal.  Soony Saad was fouled in the area and stepped up and scored the PK to make it 3-1.  Sporting held the lead until the 71st minute when Toronto pulled one back.  Only a few minutes later they got a second to tie the game at 3-3.  That's how the game ended.  The two teams will meet again on Saturday and I'd expect to see more first teamers playing in that game.

Opponent for Sporting's Last Preseason Game Changed

Sporting KC was set to close out their preseason this coming Saturday in Florida in the 3rd place game against the Philadelphia Union.  When that game was announced though there immediately became questions of whether the game would take place.  The reason for that is because a week from this coming Saturday, Sporting KC is set to kick off the 2013 MLS season against the same Philadelphia Union in Philadelphia.  Initially it was wondered whether the game would be played at all, or whether the teams would switch opponents with another match up. 

According to Steven Goff today, a switch in opposition has taken place.  KC and DC United who were both in group B for the tournament have switched opponents.  DC was set to face off against Toronto FC in the 5th place match. Now Sporting will take on Toronto while Philadelphia will face DC.  According to Goff on Twitter, the Kansas City vs Toronto game will take place at 3pm.  KC will play Toronto twice to close out preseason, as the two are set to play tomorrow in a game as well.  That game seems likely to be one mainly for reserves.  With those two preseason games, Sporting will play 3 of their next 4 games against Toronto, because after KC open their regular season against Philadelphia, they'll go to Toronto the following week for their home opener.

US U20's Win Opener

The US Under 20 national team got their qualification campaign for the 2013 U20 World Cup off to a winning start as they defeated Haiti 2-1 in Puebla, Mexico.  The US got goals from Luis Gil and Daniel Cuevas in the first half.  The first goal came from the penalty spot after Cuevas was brought down in the box.  Gil stepped up and buried the PK to make it 1-0.  A short while later Cuevas received a cross from Gil and buried a shot in the far post and the US looked to be cruising.  But while the US looked decent in attack, the defense, which was missing a few of their starting center backs, looked poor.  Haiti found plenty of space throughout the defense and midfield and were able to control the game, especially after the US went up 2-0.

Early in the second half Haiti found 1 goal that got them back into the game.  From there the US was able to absorb the pressure and eventually held off long enough to get the win.  They held on and now top their 3 team group.  Costa Rica and Haiti play on Wednesday and should Costa Rica win, the US will be through to the quarterfinals before they even take the field against Costa Rica. 

Sporting KC draft pick, Mikey Lopez came on in the 65th minute as a substitute to try to help and compose and control the midfield.  He certainly helped with some of the problems that the US had, but the way the game had gone there wasn't a lot he could do.  The US will need to improve their performance to make it to the semifinals and qualify for the summer's World Cup in Turkey.

Appearances and Minutes vs the Houston Dynamo

Here's a look at the appearances and minutes played against the Houston Dynamo.  This list will have a lot more current players on it due to Houston's recent move to the East.

First, league appearances.

1. Michael Harrington - 11
2. Davy Arnaud - 10
Jack Jewsbury - 10
4. Chance Myers - 9
5. Kei Kamara - 8
Matt Besler - 8
Roger Espinoza - 8
8. Jimmy Nielsen - 7
Josh Wolff - 7
Jimmy Conrad - 7

With the two teams recent playoff history, the numbers are higher in all competitions.

1. Michael Harrington - 13
Davy Arnaud - 13
3. Kei Kamara - 12
Matt Besler - 12
Chance Myers - 12
Roger Espinoza - 12
7. Jack Jewsbury - 11
8. Jimmy Nielsen - 10
9. CJ Sapong - 9
10. Graham Zusi - 8
Teal Bunbury - 8
Jimmy Conrad - 8

Here's a look at minutes played in league play.

1. Michael Harrington - 850
2. Jack Jewsbury - 742
3. Matt Besler - 706
4. Roger Espinoza - 657
5. Davy Arnaud - 653
6. Jimmy Nielsen - 630
Jimmy Conrad - 630
8. Chance Myers - 589
9. Kei Kamara - 564
10. Kevin Hartman - 540

And in all competitions a current player leads the list.

1. Matt Besler - 1096
2. Michael Harrington - 1,060
3. Roger Espinoza - 1,019
4. Kei Kamara - 954
5. Jimmy Nielsen - 900
6. Chance Myers - 859
7. Jack Jewsbury - 817
8. Davy Arnaud - 788
9. Jimmy Conrad - 720
10. CJ Sapong - 718

Unlike previous lists I've done, the lists with both teams has more from the opposing team than KC.  Here's the league appearances by players for both teams.

1. Brad Davis - 14
2. Corey Ashe - 12
3. Michael Harrington - 11
4. Kei Kamara - 10 (played for both teams)
Bobby Boswell - 10
Davy Arnaud - 10
Jack Jewsbury - 10
8. Chance Myers - 9
Brian Mullan - 9
10. Adre Hainault - 8
Roger Espinoza - 8
Matt Besler - 8
Brian Ching - 8
Pat Onstad - 8

Here's all competitions.

1. Brad Davis - 18
2. Corey Ashe - 16
3. Kei Kamara - 14 (played for both teams)
Bobby Boswell - 14
5. Michael Harrington - 13
Davy Arnaud - 13
7. Matt Besler - 12
Chance Myers - 12
Roger Espinoza - 12
10. Andre Hainault - 11
Brian Ching - 11
Jack Jewsbury - 11

The top of the minutes played list is again Houston players.

1. Brad Davis - 1,007
2. Bobby Boswell - 855
3. Corey Ashe - 852
4. Michael Harrington - 850
5. Brian Mullan - 786
6. Kei Kamara - 744 (played for both teams)
7. Jack Jewsbury - 742
8. Pat Onstad - 720
9. Matt Besler - 706
10. Roger Espinoza - 657

And here's the minutes in all competitions.

1. Brad Davis - 1,310
2. Bobby Boswell - 1,245
3. Corey Ashe - 1,166
4. Kei Kamara - 1,134 (played for both teams)
5. Matt Besler - 1,096
6. Michael Harrington - 1,060
7. Roger Espinoza - 1,019
8. Jimmy Nielsen - 900
9. Brian Mullan - 876
10. Andre Hainault - 861

Comets Close in on Playoff Spot

The Comets haven't had the season that many were expecting this year when the season started, but they're a step closer to the playoffs after a 17-9 win over the Milwaukee Wave at the Independence Events Center today.  The win puts the Comets' magic number for clinching a playoff spot at 1 with 3 games left.  A win by the Comets or a loss by Syracuse and Wichita and the Comets are into the playoffs.

They got it down to one game with the win over the Wave, which ended Milwaukee's 16 game winning streak. Things didn't start out too well for the Comets though.  Five minutes into the quarter, the Wave grabbed the lead.  The ball got played to the back post towards Hewerton who knocked the ball back into the middle.  Ian Bennett slammed the ball home making it 2-0 Wave.  Three minutes later it was 4-0 and again it was Bennett scoring.  Luan Oliveira took a shot from outside the yellow line as Bennett ran in front of Danny Waltman.  Waltman made the initial save, but with Bennett running in front of him, Waltman saw it late and spilled the rebound.  Bennett was there to bury the rebound and make it 4-0. The Comets pushed the game getting a number of shots, but were unable to find the net and ended the quarter down 4-0.

The second quarter continued to see the Comets pressure the Wave's defense, but unable to find the back of the net.  Just over the half way point in the half the Comets finally got a goal.  Off a restart, Byron Alvarez picked out Vahid Assadpour on the back side.  Assadpour played a ball across the face of goal where Leo Gibson was and he tapped the ball home to make it 4-2.  A minute after the goal the Comets found themselves on the penalty kill.  As they pushed for an equalizer they were left exposed at the back. One of these instances led to a 2v1 break.  Bryan Harris raced back trying to recover and pulled back on the Wave attacker earning himself a blue card.  But the Comets have been scoring short handed all season and did it again tonight.  Assadpour played a long ball over the top towards Gibson.  Wave defender, Jonathan Greenfield though reached it first and headed it into the glass hoping to get it clear.  Unfortunately he headed it off the glass right to Gibson who fired a volley past Marcel Feenstra in the Wave net to tie the game.  The Comets continued to be the aggressor, but couldn't find another goal before the half.

In the third quarter though it didn't take long for the Comets to grab the lead.  A long ball over the top by the Comets was cleared by Feenstra right to Ryan Junge.  Junge played the ball back through to Byron Alvarez who turned and fired a shot past Feenstra to make it 6-4.  The lead didn't last long though.  Less than three minutes into the half it was 6-6.  Missouri continued to push the game and got caught again on the counter.  Tom Oatley led the counter for the Wave in a 2v1 situation with Assadpour.  The rest of the Missouri defense was slow to respond and Oatley fed Bryan Perez who beat Waltman to make it 6-6.  The game continued to be back and forth with both goalkeepers making big saves, including Waltman in a 2 on none situation where he made a kick save to keep the game tied.  With under 3 minutes left the Comets retook the lead.  John Sosa picked out Mads Falck on the left side.  With time to take a touch and turn, Falck fired in a shot off the post and in making it 8-6.

In the fourth quarter the Comets grabbed another early goal.  Just over two minutes into the quarter Alvarez scored his second.  Alvarez and Falck combined for a 1-2 just outside the box and Alvarez fired a shot on goal.  A runner in front of Feenstra caused him to see the shot late and the Comets extended their lead to 4 at 10-6.  Before the 5 minute mark the Wave got within a point as Bennett finished off his hattrick on a 3 pointer that hit the underside of the cross bar making it 10-9.  Both teams had periods where they were dominating possession but both sides struggled to get shots off.  Just over 8 minutes into the quarter the Comets made their lead 3 points again.  Off a restart Ibrahim Kante played the ball across to Assadpour.  Assadpour fired a shot that hit off the boards.  His shot though hit the back of Feenstra's leg and rolled into the net before Feenstra could collect it making it 12-9. A minute after the goal the Comets went on the power play as Israel Sesay picked up a blue card for holding on Gibson.  The Comets took advantage of the power play as Gibson made it 14-9.  Gibson's first shot was well saved by Feenstra, but the rebound went straight up and Gibson was the first to react getting his head on the ball and putting it into the net making it 14-9.  Shortly after that the Wave went with the 6th attacker looking to get back into the game.  The Wave controlled possession, but weren't able to get a goal.  Then with only 6 seconds left the Comets Jeff Hughes won the ball feeding it to Assadpour.  Right outside the yellow line, Assadpour chipped a shot that landed inside the net giving the Comets a 17-9 lead, that with only 5 seconds left was enough to give the Comets the win.

Comets vs Wave Play by Play

Appearances and Minutes vs DC United

Now taking a look at Kansas City appearances against DC United.

First appearances in league play.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 24
2. Preki - 22
3. Nick Garcia - 21
4. Davy Arnaud - 20
Jack Jewsbury - 20
Chris Klein - 20
7. Jimmy Conrad - 15
8. Diego Gutierrez - 13
Matt McKeon - 13
10. Scott Sealy - 12
Mo Johnston - 12

Here's a look at all competitions.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 25
2. Nick Garcia - 22
Preki - 22
4. Davy Arnaud - 21
Jack Jewsbury - 21
6. Chris Klein - 20
7. Jimmy Conrad - 16
8. Diego Gutierrez - 14
9. Matt McKeon - 13
10. Scott Sealy - 12
Jose Burciaga - 12
Mo Johnston - 12

On both lists, Matt Besler is the closest active player, currently with 8 appearances against DC United.

Here's a look at league minutes vs United.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,089
2. Nick Garcia - 1,853
3. Preki - 1,775
4. Chris Klein - 1,594
5. Davy Arnaud - 1,592
6. Jack Jewsbury - 1,445
7. Jimmy Conrad - 1,372
8. Diego Gutierrez - 1,154
9. Mo Johnston - 985
10. Tony Meola - 979

In all competitions the list looks like this.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,179
2. Nick Garcia - 1,943
3. Preki - 1,775
4. Davy Arnaud - 1,682
5. Chris Klein - 1,594
6. Jack Jewsbury - 1,511
7. Jimmy Conrad - 1,462
8. Diego Gutierrez - 1,244
9. Jose Burciaga - 1,058
10. Mo Johnston - 985.

On both lists, Besler is the closest active player as he sits at 720 minutes played.

Here's a look at the top 10 in league play when you look at both KC and DC.

1. Jaime Moreno - 26
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 24
3. Preki - 22
4. Nick Garcia - 21
5. Davy Arnaud - 20
Jack Jewsbury - 20
Chris Klein - 20
8. Clyde Simms - 18
9. Brandon Prideaux - 17 (Played for both teams)
10. Bryan Namoff - 16
Ben Olsen - 16
Marco Etcheverry - 16
Richie Williams - 16

Here's a look at all competitions.

1. Jaime Moreno - 27
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 25
3. Nick Garcia - 22
Preki - 22
5. Davy Arnaud - 21
Jack Jewsbury - 21
7. Chris Klein - 20
8. Clyde Simms - 18
Brandon Prideaux - 18 (Played for both teams)
10. Bryan Namoff - 17
Ben Olsen - 17

Bobby Convey has the most appearances in this series of active KC players with 10 mixed between both DC and KC.

Here are the minutes played between the two clubs.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,089
2. Nick Garca - 1,853
3. Jaime Moreno - 1,836
4. Preki - 1,775
5. Chris Klein - 1,594
6. Davy Arnaud - 1,592
7. Clyde Simms - 1,475
8. Bryan Namoff - 1,451
9. Jack Jewsbury - 1,445
10. Brandon Prideaux - 1,421 (Played for both teams)

Here's the all competition minutes.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,179
2. Nick Garcia - 1,943
3. Jaime Moreno - 1,926
4. Preki - 1,775
5. Davy Arnaud - 1,682
6. Chris Klein - 1,594
7. Bryan Namoff - 1,541
8. Jack Jewsbury - 1,511
9. Clyde Simms - 1,475
10. Jimmy Conrad - 1,462

Besler with 720 minutes is the highest on both lists among KC's active players.

Sporting Split Preseason Games Today

Sporting Kansas City continued preseason today with two games.  The first game was a game that featured heavily in reserves against the Columbus Crew.  Trialist goalkeeper, Brian Sylvester got his first appearance of the preseason for Sporting in goal.  Kansas City got off to a flying start as Soony Saad played a nice ball through to Dom Dwyer who scored to put Sporting up 1-0 inside the first 5 minutes.  The lead only lasted a few minutes as Shawn Sloan equalized for Columbus in the 8th minute.  In first half stoppage time, Ethan Finlay scored to give the Crew a 2-1 lead heading into half time.

Just before the hour mark, Columbus scored again, this time from Justin Meram.  Five minutes later, Konrad Warzycha scored against his former club, heading a free kick into the net to make it 4-1 Crew.  Kansas City was able to get a goal back shortly after that, as Saad scored off an assist from Kyle Miller.  After Saad's goal in the 68th, Columbus scored one more goal, in the 71st, from Ben Speas.  Sporting made very few subs in the game, making only 2 subs, letting the rest of the players go 90 minutes.

In the night cap, Sporting KC took on the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their final group play game of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic.  Sporting played their first choice lineup, save for Chance Myers who was held out with a quad injury, although Peter Vermes said post game he could have gone.  Throughout the first half, Sporting dominated play, but struggled with the final ball, only testing Tampa Bay's goalkeeper once or twice in the half.

In the second half, Kansas City continued to dominate play but continued to struggle with the final ball.  Claudio Bieler had a fantastic chance after playing a 1-2 with Benny Feilhaber found Bieler behind the Tampa Bay defense, but Bieler put the shot over the bar.  Finally in the 76th minute KC found the goal that they deserved.  Oriol Rosell won the ball in midfield, playing it to Paulo Nagamura.  Nagamura picked out CJ Sapong on the wing.  Sapong one timed his cross into the middle for Graham Zusi.  Zusi took a touch into the middle and then fired a shot low and into the corner to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.  KC continued to pressure from there, but were never able to find a second goal.

The win sees Kansas City finish 2-1 in group play at the Pro Soccer Classic and finish second in their group.  That means Kansas City will take on the Philadelphia Union next Saturday at 5pm Central Time in the 3rd place match of the tournament.  The game will be a little less than a week before the two teams play in the First Kick of the season on March 2nd.  Before that game though, Sporting will have two friendlies on Wednesday the 20th against Toronto and the US U17 national team (which could feature Sporting KC Junior, Erik Palmer-Brown).

New Byline to Back Post

A new episode of From the Byline to the Back Post is available for you.  This week Thad and I discuss Sporting's continued preseason, player movement, and US-Jamaica at Sporting Park rumors.  In segment two we talk about FC Kansas City, their schedule and signings, and the Missouri Comets.  Listen on Posterous and iTunes.

Appearances and Minutes vs FC Dallas

Next on the list of appearances and minutes is FC Dallas/Dallas Burn.  Another of the original teams in the league, KC had plenty of games to face off against Dallas when they were in the Western Conference.  Less so recently, so the appearances drop off for current players.

In league play.

1. Chris Klein - 24
Preki - 24
3. Kerry Zavagnin - 22
Nick Garcia - 22
5. Davy Arnaud - 20
6. Jimmy Conrad - 17
Mo Johnston - 17
8. Sean Bowers - 16
9. Jack Jewsbury - 15
Tony Meola - 15
Matt McKeon - 15

Kei Kamara is the current most active KC player, currently with 6 appearances.

Here's all competitions.

1. Preki - 27
2. Chris - 25
3. Kerry Zavagnin - 23
Nick Garcia - 23
5. Davy Arnaud - 21
6. Mo Johnston - 20
7. Sean Bowers - 19
8. Jimmy Conrad - 18
Matt McKeon - 18
10. Jack Jewsbury - 16
Diego Gutierrez - 16
Tony Meola - 16
Uche Okafor - 16

Kamara again leads the active KC players currently with 6.

Here's the minutes for KC in league play.  A few changes from the list of appearances.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 1,973
2. Preki - 1,939
3. Nick Garcia - 1,926
4. Chris Klein - 1,849
5. Jimmy Conrad - 1,516
6. Davy Arnaud - 1,509
7. Tony Meola - 1,380
8. Matt McKeon - 1,351
9. Sean Bowers - 1,346
10. Mo Johnston - 1,326

Kamara again is the leader among KC players, with 427 minutes.

Here's the minutes in all competitions.

1. Preki - 2,209
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,063
3. Nick Garcia - 2,016
4. Chris Klein - 1,939
5. Sean Bowers - 1,616
6. Jimmy Conrad - 1,606
7. Mo Johnston - 1,596
8. Davy Arnaud - 1,594
9. Matt McKeon - 1,505
10. Tony Meola - 1,470

Kamara again with 427 is the most among active players.

Between both teams, KC has the most players on the list, but it's Dallas with the top player overall.

1. Jason Kreis - 28
2. Chris Klein - 24
Preki - 24
4. Kerry Zavagnin - 22
Nick Garcia - 22
6. Davy Arnaud - 20
7. Jorge Rodriguez - 19
8. Chad Deering - 18
Ted Eck - 18
10. Jimmy Conrad - 17
Oscar Pareja - 17
Richard Farrer - 17
Mo Johnston - 17

In all competitions.

1. Jason Kreis - 30
2. Preki - 27
3. Chris Klein - 25
4. Kerry Zavagnin - 23
Nick Garcia - 23
6. Davy Arnaud - 21
7. Richard Farrer - 20
Mo Johnston - 20
9. Jorge Rodriguez - 19
Mark Santel - 19 (played for both teams)
Ted Eck - 19
Sean Bowers - 19

Kamara is the highest active KC player with 6 on both lists.

Here's minutes played for both teams.

1. Jason Kreis - 2,336
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 1,973
3. Preki - 1,939
4. Nick Garcia - 1,926
5. Chris Klein - 1,849
6. Jorge Rodriguez - 1,708
7. Jimmy Conrad - 1,516
8. Davy Arnaud - 1,509
9. Tony Meola - 1,380
10. Chad Deering - 1,378

Here's a look at all competitions.

1. Jason Kreis - 2,484
2. Preki - 2,209
3. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,063
4. Nick Garcia - 2,016
5. Chris Klein - 1,939
6. Jorge Rodriguez - 1,708
7. Sean Bowers - 1,616
8. Jimmy Conrad - 1,606
9. Mo Johnston - 1,596
10. Davy Arnaud - 1,594

Sporting Top DC in Orlando

Sporting KC got back to winning in preseason tonight down in Orlando, defeating DC United 2-0.  Eric Kronberg got the start and played the full 90 minutes in net for KC.  The rest of KC's starting lineup played about 75 minutes.  Other than Kronberg in place of Jimmy Nielsen, there were three other regular starters that were missing from the lineup.  Chance Myers was replaced by Mechack Jerome as Myers appears to still be recovering from injury.  The other two players missing were Aurelien Collin and Graham Zusi, both of whom had missed the last few days of practice as they were in New York doing media work for the league.

The first half saw chances as a premium as neither side was able to create a lot going forward.  Bobby Convey tried to set up CJ Sapong off a free kick, but Sapong didn't make clean enough contact on the ball.  At the other end, Lionard Pajoy had a good opportunity, but some good defense by Matt Besler and Ike Opara forced a poor touch and allowed Kronberg to collect.

The second half the game opened up a little bit more.  DC had made a number of subs in the 30th minute and made more at half time as they got more players time.  Convey, who'd looked good most of the net finally found the net in the 74th minute when he received a pass from Paulo Nagamura.  Convey cut inside and with his right foot fired a shot past Andrew Dykstra.  After Convey's goal, Sporting made a complete change of the team, except for Kronberg who played the full game, and Benny Feilhaber and Claudio Bieler who had subbed out earlier in the half.  Both teams had some half chances after Convey opened the scoring, but it was Sporting that ended up doubling the lead with only 9 minutes left.  Peterson Joseph played a great ball through the defense for Soony Saad.  Saad calmly placed the ball past Dykstra and into the net making it 2-0. 

Sporting close out group play in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic on Saturday when they take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies from the NASL.

Kamara Debuts for Norwich, Former SKC Wizards Update

Kei Kamara made his debut for Norwich City this past week, coming off the bench for the final 4 minutes of Norwich's 0-0 draw with Fulham.  In other news, Will Hesmer was drafted by LA in the reentry draft, but he will now apparently not be joining the Galaxy this season.  Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Korede Aiyegbusi
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Will Hesmer
Aaron Hohlbein
Will John
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Neven Markovic
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Julio Cesar - Toronto - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - 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
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - 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 - No game this weekend.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had 2 assists in Baltimore's 17-11 win over Wichita. Had a goal and 4 assists in Baltimore's 27-13 win over Missouri.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets game this weekend.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Out injured
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 16-2 win over Arizona.

International
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Offseason.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Started and played 45 minutes in Esteghlal's 1-0 win over Rah Ahan.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlas' 2-1 win over Atlante. Did not dress in Atlas' 2-0 win over Lobos Buap in the Copa Mexico.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 1-1 draw with Arouca.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Beat Defensores De Cambaceres 2-1.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Huila's 1-1 draw with Itagui.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Started and played 59 minutes in Wigan's 4-1 loss to Chelsea.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Santos' 1-0 loss to Pachuca.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Defeated Montego Bay United 2-1.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Started and played 75 minutes in Bahia's 0-0 draw with Itabaiana.
Kei Kamara - Norwich - England - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Norwich's 0-0 draw with Fulham.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - On winter break until March
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Sporting Cristal
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - On winter break until March.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 2-1 loss to Den Bosch.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Season starts in May.
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Started and played 61 minutes in Xanthi's 1-0 win over Panathinaikos.
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Season starts in March.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Came off the bench and played 23 minutes in Munster's 3-1 loss to Heidenheim.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Season starts in March.

A Look at Potential Sporting KC and FC Kansas City Conflicts

This spring and summer is going to be a busy when it comes to soccer, especially at it's highest level in this country.  Today FC Kansas City and the NWSL announced their schedule for their first season.  Between them and Sporting KC it's going to be a busy summer. 

First the good news, soccer fans in KC will not have to decide between Sporting and FCKC being at home on the same day.  Unless the Blues host the NWSL final on August 31st, the two teams will not play at home on the same day.  But there will be points when fans may have to choose between watching a team live vs watching on TV.

Six times over the course of the season, the two teams play on the same day. The first of the conflicts comes on April 20th when Sporting KC are in LA for a 9:30pm start while FCKC is at home to take on the Boston Breakers at 7:35pm.  The second is in July, when FC Kansas City kicks off at 6:30pm in Washington while Sporting KC is at home against Vancouver, kicking off at 8pm. It happens again 4 days later on the 7th when Sporting KC kicks off at 2pm in Chicago and the Blues take on Western New York at home at 3:10pm.  It happens for a 3rd time in July on the 20th, when KC takes on Seattle at home at 7:35pm while Sporting KC kicks off at 9pm in Salt Lake. It happens two more times in August.  On the 10th FCKC kickoff in Boston at 5pm while Sporting KC kick off at home at 7:30pm against the Boston area's men's team, New England. The final regular season conflict is on the 18th, when FCKC kick off at 3:10 in their home finale against Chicago.  Later that night at 10pm Sporting KC kick off against San Jose.

There are also three weekends where you can make it a soccer weekend in KC with both teams being at home on the same weekend.  The first example of that is FC Kansas playing at home vs Seattle on Friday April 26th and then Sporting is at home on Saturday the 27th.  Maybe the best weekend of the year is Memorial Day weekend, when FC Kansas City is home on Saturday against SKy Blue FC and Sporting KC is home on Sunday the 26th against Houston. It again takes place at the end of June with Sporting KC at home on the 29th against Columbus and FC Kansas City on Sunday vs Portland.

Here's a look at the way the schedule as a whole breaks down between Sporting KC and FCKC from April through August, the length of FCKC's season. (Click on each one for a bigger picture.)

April

 

May

 June

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