Soccer Capital of America?

The advertisements for the all star game coming up on Wednesday have been advertising Kansas City as the "Soccer Capital of America." Over the last three years, Kansas City has turned from an afterthought in the soccer community to one of the centers of attention when it comes to MLS and the US national team. Kansas City will be one of only two cities (Columbus the other one) to host games in both rounds of World Cup qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. But is KC really the "capital?"

Just 4 years ago, the then Wizards were averaging 10,287 people per game at Community America Ballpark and were averaging just under 11,000 per game for their entire 15 year history.  Then came the opening of Sporting Park. Since then, KC is averaging just under 19,000 a game.  A long way to come in not even three full years of being at the stadium.And while that turnaround is impressive, does it really make KC the capital of American soccer?

There are a number of cities that could make the claim to being the capital right now though.  Columbus could make the claim for having the first soccer specific stadium in MLS, and continuing to prove that it can provide a solid home field advantage for the US national team at Crew Stadium. Seattle as well could make the claim.  For all the stick people (myself included) give Seattle for an elitist attitude and the "Seattle invented it" jokes, Seattle has proven to have a strong fan base, that supports their team.  And proved in the US qualifier against Panama that they'll come out to support the US as well, and up the bar for everyone with a fantastic performance. Portland also could have a claim to the title with fantastic support that has been great since they were in the USL. Portland though tends to go with the Soccer City USA nickname. Even St. Louis could make a claim as the capital.  Although they don't have a team now, St. Louis was the center of US soccer for a while and was "America's first soccer capital." But while they've done well to sell out games with big name European teams, the lack of a professional outdoor team in the city hurts any claim it has to the title now.

So is Kansas City the "Soccer Capital of America"? Robb Heineman certainly believes so. "...we really feel that way, whether it’s our team, our stadium, the project that we’re working on here with U.S. Soccer around the training center that will advance over the course of this fall, whether it’s our youth development. We want to be what soccer really is in America, with the ultimate aim of that to have the U.S. win the World Cup" Heineman told the Star this week ahead of the game.

Personally I'm not ready to give KC that crown quite yet. KC has shown it can support Sporting KC when it's leading the East and making the playoffs, but let's see what happens when KC has a down year or two.  The true "Soccer Capital of America" will still be showing up when KC is struggling a bit.  I won't make much comment on the support for the US, cause even when the Wizards were drawing flies at Arrowhead, the US still drew 37,319 for a midweek World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica back in 2001.  A record for a midweek qualifier that stood for 12 years until Seattle drew 40,847. So KC has proven that it'll support the US.

While I don't believe that I'm ready to give KC the crown yet, I think KC could well be on its way to getting the crown. I've said before, Sporting KC has come in during a perfect storm in KC sports. The Royals continue to struggle in the standings and the Chiefs haven't won a playoff game since I was 11. The stadium created a buzz for the team and the team has run with it.  They've done a much better job of marketing the team and getting the name out there.  And winning helps a lot as well.

I do completely agree with one of Heineman's main points.  I want, and believe that KC can be what soccer really is in America. I think KC as a whole has the mindset that can make it a place that can be looked at as the "stereotypical" US soccer city in the US.  They're well on their way, now they need to keep it up and not fall back into old habits or get complacent with their place.

US Soccer Training Complex Renderings

Yesterday before the Gold Cup final, Robb Heineman tweeted out the above photo about the US Soccer training, coaching, and referee center that OnGoal is trying to get built in Kansas City. I know renderings can change (Sporting Park's renderings that were publicly released changed 3-4 times before the stadium was actually built), but the renderings of the facility look fantastic.

FC Kansas City Stay on Top of the NWSL

Despite travel delays, rain and lightning delays and rough field conditions, FC Kansas City defeated Sky Blue FC for the first time this season at in front of a small but dedicated crowd Yurcak Field.  Courtney Jones converted a Lauren Holiday corner kick late in the second half that would stand as the game winner.  The win evens the season series between the teams, each team with a win, a loss and a draw. 

Sky Blue FC has held the first position in the National Women’s Soccer League standings for most of the season.  On Wednesday, by defeating the visiting Boston Breakers, FC Kansas City assumed that position.  Eager to hold onto their lead, FC Kansas City first had to endure a lengthy travel delay yesterday and another lengthy delay before kickoff due to lightning surrounding the field of play.  Once the teams kicked off, nearly 90 minutes after the scheduled time, FC Kansas City came out strong.  Holding possession for nearly the entire half, they managed five shots on goal, but none of them could find their way past Sky Blue goalkeeper, Brittany Cameron.

Cameron and FC Kansas City goalkeeper, Nicole Barnhart, lead the league in many statistical categories thanks to their superior play and solid defense from their back lines.  Barnhart was on top of her game tonight.  Sky Blue managed five solid shots on goal, but she was up to the task on all of them.  Her counterpart, Cameron, was nearly as solid.  However, in the 76^th minute, Lauren Holiday sent an in-swinging corner kick right towards the center of the goal.  Courtney Jones leapt in front of the rushing Cameron to knock home the goal.  On June 26^th, Sky Blue found themselves down to FC Kansas City, but scored two goals in the final minutes to salvage a draw.  Hoping for some more late heroics, they pushed the play towards the KC end several times in the final minutes.  This time, the Blues were ready for the onslaught and held onto the lead through the final whistle.

The win keeps FC Kansas City on top of the NWSL standings, four points ahead of Sky Blue FC and the Portland Thorns.  They face off against the Thorns in Portland next Sunday, August 4^th at 7:30p.m. CT.  The game will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel and fans are invited to catch it at the Official Watch Party home, Futbol Club KC.  The team does not return home until the final game of the regular season, August 18^th at 3:10p.m. against the Chicago Red Stars.

Sunday After Stats

The game was Peter Vermes' 150th for the club as coach in all competitions.

Graham Zusi made his 130th appearance in all competitions with KC.  That ties him with Jose Burciaga, Uche Okafor, and Roger ESpinoza for 17th on that list.

Zusi and Jimmy Nielsen made thier 116th league appearance for KC, breaking their tie wtih Burciaga for 17th on that list.

Kei Kamara made his 106th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Roger Espinoza for 19th on that list.

Stoppage Time Giveth and Stoppage Time Taketh Away

Last week KC won three points against Salt Lake in stoppage time thanks to a late goal. This week things went the other way for KC. A very late goal by Blake Smith gave Montreal a 1-0 win over KC and made the Eastern Conference as a whole a lot tighter.

Kansas City had the possession in the early going of the game, but were able to create chances from it. It was actually Montreal that probably should have grabbed the lead in the 20th minute through Sanna Nyassi.  Justin Mapp started a very good counter and then found Nyassi wide open on the left.  Nyassi dribbled in alone on Jimmy Nielsen, but Nielsen got an arm up and knocked the ball away from danger. That was the best chance for either side in the first half of action. Sporting's best chances in the firts half came from outside the box.  Kei Kamara fired a shot from distance over the goal while Claudio Bieler fired a shot right at Troy Perkins in the Montreal goal.

Sporting came out in the second half playing better than they had in the first and almost grabbed the lead in the 52nd. A long ball over the top was headed into the middle by Ike Opara towards Bieler.  Bieler hit the shot on the half volley. The ball bounced off the crowd and looked to be headed towards the top corner, but Perkins didd well to get a hand to it and tip it wide for a corner. Off the ensuing corner, the ball got knocked to the back post to an open Opara, but he couldn't strike it first time to knock it in. KC continued to have the better off play in the half.  KC again could have taken the lead in the 63rd.  A cross into the box wasn't dealt with by Perkins and went to Bieler at the back post. The Montreal defense got in the way though blocking the effort. The game looked headed towards a 0-0 draw as the game ticked down.  Late on though, the Impact were the ones controlling the game.  KC was having issues clearing their own end. With two head injuries that had blood, there were 7 minutes of extra time for either side to find a winner. In the 3rd minute of stoppage time Sporting KC partially cleared a cross into the path of Smith who controlled it with his chest than volleyed the ball on net.  Nielsen though made a nice save pushing the ball over the goal for a corner.  The pressure was coming from Montreal though and a goal seemed inevitable. It finally came in the 96th minute.  A low cross to the top of the box was collected by Marco Di Vaio and slid through for Smith who was 1v1 with Nielsen.  Smith slotted the ball between Nielsen's legs for what proved to be the winner.  On the play, Chance Myers had gotten sucked into the middle as a Montreal player ran across the front of goal and Myers followed him.

Wizards Man of the Match - Jimmy Nielsen - He possibly could have done better on the goal, but he did a very good job with keeping the game scoreless coming up with two very big saves.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Myers 3, Olum 4, Opara 5, Sinovic 5, Rosell 4, Joseph 4, Zusi 4, Saad 4, Bieler 5, Kamara 4. Subs Feilhaber 5, Dwyer 4, Sapong NR.

Sporting Look to Remain Hot

Sporting KC have one more game before the all star game in Kansas City next week.  They'll take to the road tomorrow to face off against the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo in Montreal. While KC's away form as been quite good for most MLS standards, Montreal has been very good at home, going 6-1-3 at home this year. Montreal trails KC in the East, but still has two games in hand on Sporting heading into this weekend's game.

Montreal will welcome back Marco Di Vaio, their leading scorer, who missed last week's draw with Dallas after returning home to Italy. He's not going to cause KC many issues with his pace the way Robbie Findley and Joao Plata did last week for RSL, but he'll cause KC different problems. Di Vaio likes to sit on the shoulder of the last defender and skirt the offside line. KC's back line will have to be mindful of that. KC's done a good job of containing him in the past, but in their last match up it was role players like Sanna Nyassi and Collen Warner who helped give the Impact a win in Kansas City.

The big issue for Kansas City this week is that they're going to be without their two starting center backs for this game. Matt Besler is still with the US national team as they prepare for Sunday's Gold Cup final against Panama.  They will also be without Aurelien Collin, who picked up his 8th yellow card of the season, an automatic one game suspension for the Frenchman. Missing those two means we're likely to see a partnership of Ike Opara and Lawrence Olum in the center of defense for Sporting tomorrow.  Opara has started 8 games this season, filling in for Besler or Collin when they've been called up, suspended, or injured. Olum though has seen most of his time this year in the midfield this year.  Last year though he was KC's 3rd center back behind Besler and Collin, and even started the US Open Cup final against Seattle. There are other options if Peter Vermes wants to spring a surprise on Montreal. Mechack Jerome played center back for Haiti in the Gold Cup and could play there, or Oriol Rosell, who's played midfield since arriving in KC, played center back with Barcelona's B team in Spain. In the end I think it'll be Opara and Olum.

Nielsen

Myers - Olum - Opara - Sinovic

Rosell - Joseph

Zusi

Kamara - Bieler - Saad

Number to Remember - 5 - That's the number of wins that KC has away from home this season.  That's tied for the second most in a non-shootout season in KC history, only topped by last year when KC won 8 games on the road.

Key Match Up - Center backs vs Marco Di Vaio - A make shift center back pairing will be tested heavily by the league's 3rd leading scorer in Di Vaio. As I mentioned earlier, he makes a living on the shoulder of the last defender. Containing him will be key for whoever ends up lining up in the middle of KC's defense.

PREDICTION - Lately it has appeared that Montreal is starting to hit the wall I thought they'd hit due to the age of many of their starters. That said they are still going to be an extremely dangerous team, especially at home. With KC fielding a center back pairing together for the first time, things could be a little rough. A win would negate the Impact's two games in hand as it'd put KC 7 games clear of the second place Impact. KC can win this game, but I think the offense is going to have to carry them in this one and I'm not sure that's going to happen.

SKC - 1 (Saad)
MTL - 2 (Di Vaio, Felipe)

Sporting Chasing Claros and Another Rumor

A few days ago, word started to make the rounds that Sporting KC were chasing Motagua midfielder and Honduran international, Jorge Claros.  When originally questioned about it, Robb Heineman and Peter Vermes played fairly coy about the potential of bringing in the midfielder. Since then, more information has come out regarding KC's pursuit of the midfielder.  According to Vermes though a deal is not even close to happening. Word out of Honduras according to Motagua head coach, Julio Gutierrez, is that Sporting has been negotiating with Motagua for three weeks but have so far been unable to reach a deal.

For Claros' part, he says he hasn't been contacted by any team yet, but does want to continue to play abroad after spending the last season in Scotland. At this point this has moved beyond the rumor phase and it's just a question of whether Sporting will be able to bring the Honduran in or not.

Speaking of rumors, another one that popped up yesterday involving Sporting KC.  Word out of Ecuador is that Sporting KC is after Luis Bolaños.  The winger currently plays for San Martin de San Juan in Argentina, but has recently played with Sporting KC designated player, Claudio Bieler at LDU Quito. While KC has a number of forwards on the roster, they do lack when it comes to true wingers for their 4-3-3 system. The team though hasn't commented on this rumor yet.

FC Kansas City Jump into First Place

The undefeated streak continues to grow for FC Kansas City, and is now at eight games.  5,024 fans were on-hand to see the win featuring goals from Courtney Jones and Merritt Mathias, plus an own goal off the foot of Boston Breakers defender Kia McNeill.  The win gives the Blues 32 points on the season, one point more than Sky Blue FC, and first position in the National Women’s Soccer League table.

With a lineup unchanged from last week’s victory over the Seattle Reign, FC Kansas City was eager to separate themselves from the rest of the playoff pack.  Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s team pressured the Boston Breakers defense from the beginning of the match.  Defenders Leigh Ann Robinson and Kristie Mewis continuously drove the ball up the sidelines, crossing the ball in towards goal.  Although, Kansas City held much of the possession, Boston did have its chances in the first half.  Sydney Leroux and Lianne Sanderson were each able to get a shot off, although neither one was on goal. 

The stalemate was finally broken in the 72^nd minute when Merritt Mathias ran onto a pass from NWSL Player of the Week, Erika Tymrak.  Mathias then sent a low pass across the box where Boston’s Kia McNeill, in an attempt to block the shot, actually tapped it inside the near post.  FC Kansas City held the 1-0 lead, but was not satisfied.  As Boston tried to increase their pressure and net an equalizer, Kansas City jumped on their mistakes and poured on the counter attacks.  In the 85^th minute, Lauren Holiday dribbled to the right corner flag, drawing the Boston defense to her, then lifted a cross through the box to a waiting Courtney Jones who easily scored on an empty net.  The nail in the coffin came shortly after when Merritt Mathias was on the receiving end of another Holiday cross and volleyed home the shot as Boston goalkeeper, Ashley Philips watched it sail over her head and into the net.

FC Kansas City holds a one point lead over Sky Blue FC in the standings and will have a chance to increase that lead on Sunday.  The team travels to New Jersey to play Sky Blue at Yurcak Stadium at 5:00p.m. CT.  Fans are invited to the home of the Official Watch Party for FC Kansas City, The Futbol Club, to see all the action. 

Gomez to Miss a Few Weeks Post Surgery - Former SKC Wizards Update

Herculez Gomez left the US team after the group stage of the Gold Cup to return to his club team, Tijuana. Now we find out that Gomez is going to miss more time after having his knee cleared out. He'll miss a few weeks before being available. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Edson Elcock
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Aaron Hohlbein
Mike Jones
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowery
Akeem Priestly
Scott Sealy
Ryan Smith
Yann Songo'o
Diego Walsh

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 0-0 draw with Dallas.
Bobby Convey - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 0-0 draw with New York.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 2-1 loss to KC.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Kevin Hartman - New York - Did not dress in New York's 0-0 draw with Toronto.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Came off the bench and played 30 minutes, scoring a goal in the USA's 5-1 win over El Salvador. Started and played 90 minutes and scored a goal in the USA's 3-1 win over Honduras.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Dressed but did not play in Philadelphia's 0-0 draw with Portland.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Khari Stephenson - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 11 minutes in RSL's 2-1 loss to KC.
Michael Thomas - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 0-0 draw with NEw York.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 2-0 loss to New England.
Konrad Warzycha - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-0 loss to New England.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Spring season is over.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Spring season is over.
Shavar Thomas - Fort Lauderdale - Spring season is over.

USL
Christian Duke - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 3-1 win over Harrisburg.
Kevin Ellis - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 3-1 win over Harrisburg
Brian Fekete - Orlando - Dressed but did not play in Orlando's 3-1 win over Harrisburg.
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - Did not dress in Phoenix's 2-2 draw with Richmond. Play Charleston tonight.
Jon Kempin - Orlando (Loan) - Did not dress in Orlando's 3-1 win over Harrisburg.
Neal Kitson - Phoenix - Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 2-2 draw with Richmond. Play Charleston tonight.
Nelson Pizarro - Los Angeles - Started and played 51 minutes in LA's 2-1 loss to Richmond. Play Charlotte tonight.
Mike Reidy - Rochester - Dressed but did not play in Rochester's 0-0 draw with Wilmington that was called after 45 minutes due to lightning. Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Rochester's 0-0 draw with Montreal.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Richmond's 2-2 draw with Phoenix. Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 win over LA. Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 win over Vancouver.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 1-0 win over Dayton. Play Phoenix tonight.

PDL
Scott Angevine - Des Moines - Started and played 90 minutes in Des Moines' 3-3 draw with St. Louis.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse - Offseason
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason
Craig Rocastle - Missouri - Offseason
Paul Wright - San Diego - Offseason

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in Haka's 2-0 win over Jippo. Started and played 90 minutes in Haka's 2-0 win over PK-35.
Vicente Arze - Sporting Charleroi - Belgium - Season starts 7/26.
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Started and played 90 minutes in DPMM's 1-0 win over Geylang. Did not dress in DPMM's 1-0 loss to Global.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Did not dress in Chivas 2-1 win over Necaxa.
Sunil Chhetri - Churchill Brothers - India - Season starts in October
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Season starts 8/2
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in Trinidad's 1-0 loss to Mexico.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Clausura season starts 7/27
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Season starts 8/3
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Offseason
Herculez Gomez - Tijuana - Mexico - Out Injured
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 0-0 draw with Vitoria.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Season starts 8/2
Igor Kostrov - Dacia - Moldova - Did not dress in Dacia's 2-0 loss to Chornomorets.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 90 minutes in San Martin's 5-0 loss to Leon De Huanuco.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Dressed but did not play in Servette's 1-0 loss to Vaduz.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 63 minutes in Spartak's 2-0 win over Ural.
Michal Mravec - Zilina - Slovakia - Dressed but did not play in Zilina's 3-1 loss to Olimpija. Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Zilina's 1-0 win over DAC.
Pablo Punyed - Fylkir - Iceland - Did not dress in Fylkir's 3-1 win over Valur.
Milos Stojcev - Atyrau - Kazakhstan - Started and played 68 minutes in Atyrau's 2-1 win over Astana.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 77 minutes, scoring a goal in Munster's 3-0 win over Wacker Burghausen.
Ivan Trujillo - Llaneros - Colombia - Did not play in either of Llaneros' games.

KC Linked with Honduran Midfielder

It's been a quiet summer transfer window for Kansas City.  Not many rumors, and according to Robb Heineman, Sporting KC fans shouldn't expect much out of the window.

my best guess is we won't have any major signings now, but i'm happy to say we have 3 young DP's that are looking very promising for future
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) July 11, 2013

But today we have a rumor about a player that KC is interested in.  Steven Goff from the Washington Post mentioned that Sporting KC was interested in Honduran midfielder, Jorge Claros. The 27 year old midfielder has appeared 39 times for the Honduran national team, scoring 3 times, including once in this year's Gold Cup (see the goal at the 1:34 mark here). He has been playing with Motagua in the Honduran league, but had spent the last season and a half on loan to Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League. He's a defensive midfielder who could challenge Oriol Rosell for time, or possibly allow Rosell to push up the field a little bit and let Claros play a more destroyer type role. Claros could certainly help fill a role in KC's midfield, especially iwth Paulo Nagamura still having ankle issues that have dragged on for a number of weeks now.

The interesting part regarding this rumor has been the comments from Sporting regarding the rumor. Thad Bell asked both Heineman and Peter Vermes regarding Claros.  Heineman, who is usually fairly straight forward with denying rumors if there's nothing to them directed Bell to talk to Vermes. When Bell went to talk to Vermes, the technical director said "That's interesting. He is a guy we looked at."

Both sets of comments are different than what you normally get out of the two when they're asked about rumors. Whether that gives the rumor more validity or not remains to be seen. Claros impressed during his time with Hibs in Scotland, so there's likely to be other interest in the midfielder, so KC could be playing coy to try to keep the price from being shot up on them.

Wingert Picks Up an Extra Game Suspension for Challenge on Kamara

Real Salt Lake defender, Chris Wingert missed the final 24 minutes of his team's 2-1 loss to Sporting KC this past weekend after picking up a second yellow for pulling back on Soony Saad as he went past him. Many Sporting KC fans though felt that the red card came 65 minutes too late. Just a few seconds into the game Wingert and Kei Kamara went up for a long ball from Ike Opara. Kamara got caught in the jaw by Wingert's shoulder on the challenge.  When viewing replays of the challenge Wingert didn't even appear to be looking at the ball.

Today MLS' Disciplinary Committee agreed with the Sporting fans.  They handed down an extra game suspension to Wingert for the challenge.  The committee said the challenge by Wingert "endangered the safety of his opponent" for the challenge to the head/jaw. So for his "violent conduct" on the play, Wingert will miss Salt Lake's game in New York this weekend due to his red card suspension. He'll then miss RSL's game against Colorado on August 3rd.

Here's the challenge:

Contract Extension for Vermes

It appears Peter Vermes is going to stay around KC.  Since the offseason, Robb Heineman has mentioned on Twitter that there were trying to get a deal done to extend Vermes contract. The Star is reporting this morning that Vermes has signed an extension that will keep him in KC through 2017.

Vermes became the technical director of KC back in 2006, shortly after OnGoal bought the team from Hunt Sports Group. He became head coach mid-season in 2009, taking over from Curt Onalfo after he was fired.  Since then, Vermes has gone on to become the second winningest coach in KC's history behind Bob Gansler. Since taking over, Sporting KC is 55-40-36 in MLS play.  Since the opening of Sporting Park though the team has been one of the best in the league, winning back to back regular season Eastern Conference Championships.

Probably the biggest part of Vermes success has been his scouting and development of talent.  He's been responsible for helping to bring in the majority of the team as it exists now.  The only player still with Sporting KC that is pre-Vermes is back up goalkeeper, Eric Kronberg.  Every other player on the roster has been brought in since Vermes was named technical director. He's helped turn the likes of Matt Besler, Roger Espinoza, and Graham Zusi into solid contributors to their national team. Vermes has his critics still, but you can't argue with his success in bringing in and developing players.

Sunday After Stats

Ike Opara made his 50th appearance in all competitions in his MLS career.

Soony Saad's goal was the first by KC at Rio Tinto Stadium not scored by Josh Wolff (KC had scored 3 at Rio Tinto before the game).

Graham Zusi's assist was his 29th in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Mo Johnston for 4th on that list.

In the 15th minute, Jimmy Nielsen moved past Matt Besler and into 13th place for minutes played in league play for KC. He finished with 10,327 minutes played.

Nielsen made his 124th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jose Burciaga for 15th on that list.

Nielsen and Zusi made their 115th league appearance for KC, tying them with Burciaga for 17th on that list.

Nielsen earned his 50th win in league play in his KC career, he's the first KC goalkeeper to hit that mark.

In the 78th minute, Kei Kamara moved past Sasha Victorine and into 19th place for mintues played in league play. Kamara finished the game with 8,543 minutes played.

In the 2nd minute, Kamara moved past Roger Espinoza and into 20th place for minutes played in all competitions for KC.  In the 81st Kamara then moved past Bo Oshoniyi and into 19th place for minutes played in all competitions for KC.  Kamara finished the game with 9,691 minutes played.

Kamara made his 94th league start for KC, breaking his tie with Mark Chung and Espinoza for 20th on that list.

Sporting Grab Three at the Death

Last night's game between Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake lived up to expectations in many regards.  It was a close game decided by a lone goal.  As recent history between the two teams has shown, it was a physical game, seeing 7 yellows, 1 red, and 26 fouls between the two teams.

The game started early as just after the kick off, Kei Kamara was down on the ground and Chris Wingert earned himself a yellow.  Replays of the foul showed Wingert go into the jump leading with his shoulder and connecting with Kamara's head/jaw. The play could easily been a red card for serious foul play.  One has to think the Disciplinary Committee will at least take a look at it, if not give Wingert a suspension for the play. Salt Lake controlled the play for the majority of the first half, but really failed to create much in the way of chances.  One of the reasons for this was a number of offside calls in the first half. Robbie Findley and Joao Plata caused the Sporting back line all kinds of problems in the first half with their speed.  The best chance came in the 16th minute when a long ball by Plata found Luis Gil on the back side.  Jimmy Nielsen thought he'd get to it first, but Gil beat him to the ball.  He crossed the ball to Findley at the back post who headed it into the middle, but no one from RSL was there to put the ball into the net.  RSL had another good opportunity later in the half as a cross towards the back post was just tipped away by Nielsen into the path of Chance Myers who cleared it for a corner kick. KC's best chance of the first half came in stoppage time of the first half.  Graham Zusi did a great job of beating Wingert down the line before playing a ball into the middle for Soony Saad.  Saad though didn't get set well enough and muffed his effort wide for a goal kick.

Early in the second half KC had a good chance to make it 1-0.  After dancing at the top of the box, Saad cut a bit outside, losing his marker before firing a shot towards the corner.  RSL goalkeeper Jeff Attinela though made a nice save tipping it around the post for a corner. Off the ensuing corner again KC had a good chance as Ike Opara met the long corner but his header on goal was cleared off the line by Plata to keep the game scoreless. In the 55th minute, RSL grabbed the lead. After a foul about 35 yards from goal, Javier Morales lofted a ball into the box.  Nielsen came to claim it, but could only get his finger tips to it.  The ball fell right to Findley who headed the ball into the open net to make it 1-0. Things though turned for RSL in the 66th minute.  Saad received the ball out wide and touched the ball past Wingert and went past him. Wingert pulled back on Saad's jersey and the forward went down.  The sideline official flagged the foul and tapped his chest pocket indicating a yellow card was warrented on the play.  It was Wingert's second yellow, and the defender found himself headed to the locker room early. Just like RSL's goal, KC took advantage of the set piece.  After the initial effort was partially cleared out, Kamara played the ball back into the box. It was knocked into the middle where Aurelien Collin made a sliding effort, but had it saved by Attinella.  He then batted the ball back to the top of the six yard box, where Claudio Bieler headed the ball back towards goal, Saad, back to goal turned on a half bike and volleyed the shot into the net tying the game at one a piece. Up a man, KC pushed the man, but really couldn't create much in the way of chances.  In the 88th a long ball into the box was collected by Opara who passed the ball back to Benny Feilhaber, but Feilhaber's one time effort was right at Attinella.  RSL came back down the other end and almost found a goal themselves, Olmes Garcia caught Collin diving in and then fired a shot from near the corner of the box but Nielsen did well diving to make the save and not give up a big rebound. Late into stoppage time the game went and in the 97th minute, KC won a corner kick.  Zusi played the ball towards the middle of the box where Opara out jumped his mark and headed the ball past Attinella for the winner.

Wizards Man of the Match - Ike Opara - Was strong enough defensively filling in for Matt Besler who was with the US national team.  Had one shot saved off the line, and had another that proved to be the game winner for KC.

Player Ratings: Nielsen 5, Myers 6, Collin 5, Opara 6, Sinovic 6, Rosell 5, Joseph 5, Zusi 5, Kamara 5, Bieler 4, Saad 6. Subs Olum 6, Feilhaber 4, Dwyer NR.

FCKC Sweep Season Series with Seattle

FC Kansas City extended their undefeated streak to seven games by shutting out the visiting Seattle Reign 2-0.  In front of 5,271 fans at Verizon Wireless Field, Lauren Holiday and Erika Tymrak chipped in goals past Seattle Reign goalkeeper, Hope Solo.  Nicole Barnhart recorded her eighth clean-sheet of the season as FC Kansas City doesn’t allow a single goal allowed against Seattle this season. 

Although both teams came into this match unbeaten in their past six games, Seattle had four wins in their streak versus four draws in Kansas City’s.  After failing to score against Kansas City in their first three attempts this season, the Reign’s confidence level was high.  Alternatively, FC Kansas City had sure wins melt into unsettling draws as the clock closed down in the past three games.

With no games since last Sunday, Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski had time to work with his side on finishing games in the manner they started them.  The extra work paid off.  The ‘Blues’ came out of the game dominating possession and having multiple offensive chances in the opening minutes of the game.  Merritt Mathias and Melissa Henderson each broke through the Seattle Reign offside trap, but Hope Solo was able to get her hands on each of them to keep the game scoreless.  Making her home debut with her new name, Lauren Holiday broke the stalemate in the 39th minute.  She collected a pass across the top of the penalty box from Erika Tymrak and shot a hard line-drive shot across the goal to the far side of the net and giving her side a 1-0 lead that would last until halftime.

A lead coming out of half is nothing to be taken lightly and Kansas City was determined to not only hold onto it, but try to add to their advantage in the second half.  Becky Sauerbrunn and Lauren Sesselmann held the defensive line and thwarted any attempts from Seattle to get on goal.  At one point, Nicole Barnhart left her line to collect a shot and was knocked off the ball by a Seattle forward.  Although the ball fell to the feet of former FC Kansas City forward, Renae Cuellar, the KC defense swarmed to the ball and she was unable to get a clean look on goal before Desiree Scott cleared the ball from danger. 

As the clock ticked past the 85^th minute mark, FC Kansas City increased its pressure rather than sit back as they had done in previous games.  Rather than wait for the other team to bring the ball to her and her teammates, Erika Tymrak collected a throw-in from Jen Buczkowski and dribbled through four Seattle defenders before curling a shot around the outstretched arms of Solo.  The rookie’s sixth goal of the season gave her side the 2-0 lead that would last through the final minutes and give Kansas City their eighth win of the season.  Kansas City now sits in second place on the NWSL table, two points ahead of Portland who plays tomorrow.

Living Up to the Hype?

Tomorrow night at Rio Tinto Stadium, the top of the East will meet the top of West at Rio Tinto Stadium as Sporting KC meet Real Salt Lake.  The question is though, will the match up live up to the expectations of the game?  Both teams will be missing players for the match up due to injury or do to call ups for the national team.

Of the two teams, Real Salt Lake is certainly the hardest hit. They'll be missing four players who are with their national team for the Gold Cup still.  Kyle Beckerman, Tony Beltran, and Nick Rimando are all still with the US national team still, while Alvaro Saborio is still with Costa Rica. Those four play in Gold Cup quarterfinals on Sunday in Baltimore so they won't be in Salt Lake tomorrow for the game.  Not only that, but Salt Lake is suffering through injury issues, especially at center back.  Just this week they made a trade with DC United that brought in Brandon McDonald to help with their issues there.  They're already missing Chris Schuler and Kwame Watson-Siriboe in the center of defense.  They will still have their best back in Nat Borchers. On top of that, RSL will be starting their 3rd goalkeeper, Jeff Attinella.  With Rimando already with the national team, last week, back up, Jeff Saunders tore his ACL, putting RSL in a bit of a hole goalkeeping wise.

KC is only losing one player for the Gold Cup, Matt Besler has been called up as part of Jurgen Klinsmann's changes to the US roster.  The team will be welcoming back two of their Gold Cup players though, as Mechack Jerome and Peterson Joseph should both be back with the team after Haiti's elimination from the Gold Cup. KC also welcomes back CJ Sapong who has been recalled from his loan with Orlando ahead of the game, and he too will be available for selection. That will give KC plenty of offensive choices starting and on the bench. I do expect KC to switch things up a little bit. I'm not sure KC will go with the two offensive minded midfielders like they did at home against Toronto. I think we could see Lawrence Olum inserted for Benny Feilhaber, especially with Feilhaber being on the injured list as being questionable.

Nielsen

Myers - Collin - Opara - Sinovic

Rosell - Olum

Zusi

Kamara - Bieler - Saad

Number to Remember - 10 - Of KC's 29 goals this season, they've been scored by 10 different players.  Take out Bieler's 9, and 9 players have 20 goals for KC.  The goal scoring has been spread out a bit for KC.

Key Match Up - KC forwards vs RSL center defense - With all the injury issues for RSL in the center of defense and the possibility of McDonald making his debut only a few days after being traded to the team, KC could certainly exploit the lack of cohesion. Add that in with RSL's goalkeeper making his first MLS start, and KC should be expected to take care of business.

PREDICTION - Rio Tinto hasn't been a nice place for KC to play, KC has one just once there since the stadium opened.  They lost their last trip to Salt Lake 1-0 back in 2011. Even with KC's lack of success in Utah, Sporting could very well be considered a favor in the game tomorrow, simple because of RSL's absences due to call ups and injuries. With an inexperienced goalkeeper and questions in defense KC's attack will need to attack often tomorrow.  But RSL is still quite strong, especially at home. A draw seems likely out of this one.

SKC - 2 (Kamara, Bieler)
RSL - 2 (Findley, Garcia)

Preki Named Coach of New Sacramento USL Team - Former SKC Wizards Update

The greatest player to ever wear a KC uniform is back in the coaching ranks.  Earlier this week, the new Sacramento USL-Pro side announced that Preki would be their first coach for their inaugural season in 2014. Preki has been out of the professional coaching ranks since being fired by Toronto FC.  Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Edson Elcock
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Aaron Hohlbein
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowery
Akeem Priestly
Scott Sealy
Ryan Smith
Yann Songo'o
Diego Walsh

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Started and played 77 minutes in Montreal's 4-0 loss to New York.
Bobby Convey - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 3-0 loss to KC. Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 1-0 loss to Chivas.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes recording an assist in Salt Lake's 3-0 win over Dallas.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-1 win over LA.
Kevin Hartman - New York - Did not dress in New York's 4-0 win over Montreal.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-1 win over LA.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 1-0 loss to San Jose.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Dressed but did not play in Philadelphia's 3-1 win over Chivas.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-1 win over LA.
Khari Stephenson - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 3-0 win over Dallas.
Michael Thomas - Toronto - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Toronto's 3-0 loss to KC. Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 1-0 loss to Chivas.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - No game this week.
Konrad Warzycha - Columbus - No game this week.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Spring season is over.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Spring season is over.
Shavar Thomas - Fort Lauderdale - Spring season is over.

USL
Christian Duke - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Orlando's 2-1 win over Charleston. Dressed but did not play in Orlando's 3-3 draw with Dayton.  Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh.
Kevin Ellis - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 win over Charleston. Not available for Orlando's 3-3 draw with Dayton. Did not dress in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh.
Brian Fekete - Orlando - Dressed but did not play in Orlando's 2-1 win over Charleston. Did not dress in Orlando's 3-3 draw with Dayton. Did not dress in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh.
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 1-0 win over Antigua.
Jon Kempin - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 win over Charleston. Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 3-3 draw with Dayton. Started and played 84 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh.
Nelson Pizarro - Los Angeles - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in LA's 4-0 win over Antigua.
Mike Reidy - Rochester - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Rochester's 1-1 draw with Richmond.
CJ Sapong - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 win over Charleston. Started and played 90 minutes, recording a goal and an assist in Orlando's 3-3 draw with Dayton. Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 1-1 draw with Rochester. Came off the bench and played 32 minutes in Richmond's 1-0 win over Harrisburg.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 2-1 loss to Orlando. Did not dress in Charleston's 4-2 loss to Tampa.

PDL
Scott Angevine - Des Moines - Started and played 90 minutes in Des Moines' 2-1 loss to Colorado.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse - Offseason
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason
Craig Rocastle - Missouri - Offseason
Paul Wright - San Diego - Offseason

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in Haka's 1-1 draw with Ilves.
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Did not dress in DPMM's 1-1 draw with Tanjong Pagar.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Season kicks off 7/21.
Sunil Chhetri - Churchill Brothers - India - Season starts in October
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Season starts 8/2
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Dressed but did not play in Trinidad's 2-0 loss to Haiti. Started and played 90 minutes in Trinidad's 2-0 win over Honduras.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Clausura season starts 7/27
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Season starts 8/3
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Offseason
Herculez Gomez - Tijuana - Mexico - Started and played 58 minutes in the USA's 4-1 win over Cuba. Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in the USA's 1-0 win over Costa Rica.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 0-0 draw with Ponte Preta.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Season starts 8/2
Igor Kostrov - Dacia - Moldova - Did not dress in Dacia's 2-0 win over Teuta Durres.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 1-0 win over Juan Aurich. Came off the bench and played 34 minutes in San Martin's 1-0 win over Alianza Lima.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Did not dress in Servette's 2-1 win over Wohlen.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 66 minutes, scoring a goal in Spartak's 2-1 win over Krylya Sovetov.
Michal Mravec - Zilina - Slovakia - Did not dress in either of Zilina's games.
Pablo Punyed - Fylkir - Iceland - Did not dress in Fylkir's 1-1 draw with IA.
Milos Stojcev - Atyrau - Kazakhstan - Did not dress in Atyrau's 1-1 draw with Zhetysu.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Season starts 7/20
Ivan Trujillo - Llaneros - Colombia - Did not dress in Llaneros' 2-0 win over Depor FC.

Besler One of Four Changes to US Roster and Sapong Returning

US Soccer tonight announced that Jurgen Klinsmann would make all four of his allotted changes to his roster ahead of the knockout rounds of the Gold Cup. 

#USMNT @J_Klinsmann makes 4 changes to Gold Cup roster. In: Besler, Gonzalez, Gordon, Johnson. Out: Ashe, Gomez, McInerney, Onyewu.
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) July 18, 2013

Sporting KC's Matt Besler is one of the four replacements coming in for the US.  Joining Besler is his centerback partner during World Cup qualifying, Omar Gonzalez.  Besler and Gonzalez are likely to become the starters for the US in the center of defense in the knock out rounds.

Besler will miss at least one, and at most two Sporting games, depending on how far the US advances.  He'll definitely miss the game this weekend against Real Salt Lake. Should the US advance to the finals, Besler will also miss Sporting's trip to Montreal on July 27th. The other game that Besler could miss now is the All Star game on July 31st. While the Gold Cup final is the 28th, Peter Vermes could look to give Besler a break for the game against AS Roma.

The good news for Sporting KC is that Graham Zusi has not been called in. Plenty of people were thinking that Zusi would be called in to the team as well.  The thought was that it'd give Klinsmann a chance to see how Zusi and Landon Donovan could work together and be on the field at the same time.  But with Donovan and Zusi playing similar positions, Klinsmann was able to let Zusi stay with his club.

Speaking of this weekend, it looks like CJ Sapong will be returning early to KC.  Reports tonight are that Sapong is returning early to Kansas City.  He played in tonight's game against Pittsburgh and will apparently be headed back to KC.  So Sapong could be playing a role this weekend as well.

CJ Sapong confirmed he's heading back to @SportingKC tomorrow. Short stint at @OrlandoCitySC is over. #MLS #USLPro
— TheSoccerObserver (@SoccerObserver) July 18, 2013

Gold Cup Over for Jerome and Joseph

The Gold Cup run for Mechack Jerome, Peterson Joseph, and Haiti ended tonight in Houston.  A 1-0 loss to El Salvador on an iffy penalty call, and a 2-0 win by Trinidad and Tobago over 10 man Honduras saw Haiti go out of the tournament with a 1-2 record.

Haiti lost their first game of the tournament 2-0 to Honduras.  They came back in the second game, beating Trinidad 2-0 before the loss tonight to El Salvador. Jerome started all three games for Haiti in the tournament.  Joseph started the team's first game and came on as a substitute in the team's final two games.

Jerome and Joseph will now returning to Sporting KC and should probably be available for the team's game this weekend in Salt Lake. Jerome will give KC back some wingback depth that forced them to quickly recall Kevin Ellis from his loan to Orlando ahead of this past weekend's game against Toronto. Joseph will give KC some more midfield depth with Paulo Nagamura still struggling with ankle issues.

Besler, Collin, and Zusi on All Star Game Day Roster

Peter Vermes and MLS Commissioner Don Garber today announced the full roster for the All Star Game on July 31st at Sporting Park. The 20 man roster that will be coached by Vermes will take on AS Roma.  All 11 of the MLS "Fan XI" were named to the final roster.  That means that all three of Sporting KC's selections, Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, and Graham Zusi will all be in uniform for the game that night.

With the Gold Cup final set to take place only 3 days before the game though some changes could definitely be made to the roster. There are currently five players named to the 20 man roster that are still competing in the Gold Cup; goalkeeper Nick Rimando, defenders Corey Ashe and Tony Beltran, midfielder Kyle Beckerman, and forward Chris Wondolowski. That number could grow if the likes of Besler, Zusi, or Omar Gonzalez are called in for the knockout round when Jurgen Klinsmann will be allowed to make some roster changes if he chooses to.

Kansas City and Salt Lake lead the way with representatives with each having three players on the roster. Houston, Los Angeles, Montreal, and New York all have two players on the team. Dallas, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Vancouver, and San Jose all have a single player.

If Vermes wanted to be a bit of a dick and enact a matter of payback for the All Star game in New York a few years ago he could. At that time, Vermes was not happy that Hans Backe played Sporting's designated player, Omar Bravo 81 minutes in the loss to Manchester United.  The only player that played longer was David Beckham who played the whole game. Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill are New York's representatives this year. And to put the cherry on top, Sporting play New York in KC the Saturday after the All Star game.

Here's the full roster.

Goalkeepers: Raul Fernandez (Dallas), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Corey Ashe (Houston), Matt Besler (Sporting KC), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Aurelien Collin (Sporting KC), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle).

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Patrice Bernier (Montreal), Tim Cahill (New York), Brad Davis (Houston), Will Johnson (Portland), Mike Magee (Chicago), Graham Zusi (Sporting KC).

Forwards: Marco Di Vaio (Montreal), Thierry Henry (New York), Robbie Keane (Los Angeles), Camilo (Vancouver), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose).

FCKC Draw Again

From FC Kansas City

FC Kansas City has now gone six games without losing as they finish today’s match against the Chicago Red Stars with a 3-3 draw.  In her debut as Lauren Holiday, the former Ms. Cheney scored a goal and had an assist.  A Chicago own goal and Erika Tymrak’s fifth goal of the season gave the Blues a 3-1 lead late in the game, but two Chicago goals in stoppage time, including the game equalizer with seconds to play, leave the Blues with only a single point at the end of this one.

Although this was the third match this season between these two clubs, it was the first for many of the players.  With United States and Canadian national team friendlies taking place, FC Kansas City alone was missing six players for each of the previous two games against Chicago.  Taking advantage of Kansas City’s somewhat unfamiliarity against them, the Red Stars controlled possession early on in the game.  However, FC Kansas City used their speed in the attack to counter many times and had several good chances early in the game.  In the 17th minute, Melissa Henderson raced past the Chicago defense, putting her one-on-one with Red Stars goalkeeper Erin McLeod.  Although the Canadian national goalkeeper was able to make the initial stop, the rebound went straight to Holiday who scored on the open net.

Chicago was able to equalize late in the half when Maribel Dominguez scored her first goal of the season from outside the penalty box.  FC Kansas City went right back on the attack though.  Kristie Mewis drove to goal on the left side and her shot slipped past McLeod, bouncing off the post and then a Chicago defender into the net.  As the teams went into halftime, FC Kansas City led 2-1.  Erika Tymrak scored another counterattack goal in the second half converting a 4 on 1 opportunity in the 86^th minute.

With a 3-1 lead as time ticked towards the final moments, Vlatko Andonovski’s team hunkered down for Chicago’s final attempts at goal.  Ella Masar got her head on a free kick from Lori Chalupny inside the goal box and redirected it just past the hands of Kansas City goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart.  The fourth official then signaled a minimum of five minutes would be added to the game, which now set at a 3-2 FC Kansas City lead.  The stoppage time lasted just seconds too long for FC Kansas City though as Lori Chalupny launched a rocket of a shot from just inside the penalty box, scoring Chicago’s third goal and evening up the game.  The ensuing kickoff was barely away before the referee blew his whistle, signaling the end of the game.

The draw, coupled with a 1-1 tie between Portland and Western New York, leaves Kansas City in third place.  They currently sit one point behind the Portland Thorns and two points up on the Western New York Flash in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) table. 

Sunday After Stats

Seth Sinovic made his 100th start in all competitions in his MLS career.

Kei Kamara's assist was his 19th for the club, tying him with Sasha Victorine and Digital Takawira for 10th on that list.

Kamara made his 93rd league start for KC, tying him with Mark Chung and Roger Espinoza for 20th on that list.

It was Kamara's 20th assist in all competitions for KC, tying him with Takawira for 10th on that list.

Jimmy Nielsen and Graham Zusi both made their 114th league appearance, tying them with Francisco Gomez for 18th on that list.

Nielsen made his 123th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga for 15th on that list.

Sporting Climb into First Place

Sporting Kansas City continued their current unbeaten run with an impressive performance against an undermanned and underwhelming Toronto FC side. Kansas City got two goals from forward Soony Saad and another from Claudio Bieler to help them win 3-0, but it could have been much worse.

From the opening whistle, Sporting KC pressured Toronto and tried to take the game to them. They created a number of chances in the early going but couldn't beat Joe Bendik. While KC was controlling play, it was actually Toronto that had the best chance early on.  In the 18th minute, on a counter, Robert Earnshaw picked out former KC midfielder, Bobby Convey on the right.  He cut into the middle and then played a ball to the left side for Jeremy Brockie.  With a bunch of space and no defenders in between him and Jimmy Nielsen. Brockie's first shot was right at Nielsen, Nielsen knocked it away but right back at Brockie.  On the second attempt Brockie almost put it between Nielsen's legs, but the Dane grabbed it on it's way through keeping the game scoreless. Only 3 minutes after that chance KC grabbed the lead.  Seth Sinovic brought the ball down the left before playing a ball into the middle about 25 yards out from goal to Saad.  Saad turned and fired a shot on net.  The low shot beat Bendik to his near post give Sporting the 1-0 lead. KC should have doubled the lead in the 32nd minute.  Toronto was passing the ball around in their half of the field. Sporting was pressuring their defenders and Bieler forced a turnover.  Saad played the ball over the top to Benny Feilhaber who was in on goal against Bendik.  Bendik though made a nice save with his foot to keep the score 1-0.

Early in the second half, Sporting had another 1v1 opportunity.  This one fell to the guy Sporting wants those opportunities to fall to.  A long clearance by Nielsen was flicked on by Kei Kamara into the path of Bieler who was in behind Toronto's defense.  Bendik though again came up with a bit save deflecting his shot wide with his foot. A nice save, but an opportunity you expect Bieler to finish. It wasn't long after that opportunity that Saad made it 2-0 though. Saad started the play on the left, cutting inside and picking out Graham Zusi in the middle of the field.  Zusi turned and fired a shot on goal that Bendik pushed away.  The rebound though fell right into the path of Saad who made no mistake doubling KC's lead. Not long after Saad's goal, in the 56th minute Toronto's problems got worse. Toronto gave the ball away around midfield. Saad looked to play the ball back to Aurelien Collin.  Right as Saad was getting ride of the ball, Toronto midfielder, Reggie Lambe slid in late on the KC forward, catching the back of Saad's heal.  Kevin Stott had no hesitation reaching into his pocked and pulling out the red card putting Toronto down to 10. KC too advantage of the man advantage in the 63rd minute. Again it was Saad that started the play.  After receiving the the ball on the wing, Saad beat a guy on the line before racing towards goal.  He then laid the ball off the Kamara.  Kamara one touched a pass into the middle for Feilhaber who also one touched it to the back post for Bieler who was all alone. And with no one in front of him, Bieler made no mistake making it 3-0 and immediately turned to Feilhaber to thank him for the ball. KC continued to control being up a man, and they thought they'd made it 4-0 in the 76th.  Off a corner kick Bieler had a header blocked. The ball fell back to his feet and his second shot was knocked away by Bendik and then partially cleared.  Collin though headed the ball into the net.  Unfortunately on Bieler's second shot, Kamara was right by Bendik and tried to knock the ball in after he saved it.  Kamara was in an offside position causing the referee to raise his flag and rule out Collin's 4th of the season. Right before the final whistle KC had one other good opportunity to make it four.  Dom Dwyer raced into the box and got some space on his defender.  He fired a shot that beat Bendik, but didn't beat the post.  Seconds later the final whistle blew.

Wizards Man of the Match - Soony Saad - Saad had the brace and helped to set up the third goal.  He also could have had an assist if Feilhaber had finished off the 1v1 opportunity in the first half.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Myers 7, Collin 6, Besler 6, Sinovic 7, Rosell 7, Feilhaber 7, Zusi 7, Saad 9, Bieler 7, Kamara 7. Subs Dwyer 7, Peterson NR, Bunbury NR.

A Chance for a Bit of Payback

Sporting KC welcome Toronto FC to Kansas City for the only time this season tomorrow night when the two teams meet at Sporting Park. It's a chance for Sporting to get a bit of payback, and exorcise a demon from earlier this season. When the two teams met earlier this season in Toronto, the two teams played at the Rodgers Centre.  Two poor defensive plays by Kansas City gifted TFC two goals and TFC held on for a 2-1 win, a surprising result at the time. Since that time, Kansas City has established itself as a playoff contender, while Toronto has fallen to a position that has become standard for them, near the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference.

There was no big addition for Toronto this week.  Rumors last weekend were that Toronto FC was on the verge of announcing the signing Uruguayan international Diego Forlan. That signing hasn't come yet, if it even is coming at all. Toronto will be bringing Robert Earnshaw, who scored both goals in Toronto's 2-1 win earlier this year, which is Toronto's only league win at home in the last year. They will be without four players for the game though due to the Gold Cup. Defenders Ashtone Morgan and Doneil Henry and midfielders Kyle Bekker and Jonathan Osorio are all away representing Canada in the Gold Cup and will not be in Kansas City tomorrow. That leaves Toronto a little depleted, although only Osorio had been a consistent contributor this season.

Sporting comes into the game on a 4 game unbeaten run, and last week picked up 7 of 9 points that were available to them.  Can KC finally be turning around their form a little bit? The defense has still struggled at times, conceding 6 over this 4 game unbeaten run. The team hasn't recorded a league shutout since the team's 1-0 win in Houston 2 months ago. In their last win against Chicago, Peter Vermes switched up the recent lineup, moving Graham Zusi back up top and inserting Benny Feilhaber. After subbing out Feilhaber and Zusi back to midfield KC controlled the game more. With the way the team possessed after Soony Saad came into the game for Feilhaber I would think that Saad has earned a place in the starting eleven again with Zusi again dropping into the midfield. One question heading into the weekend is what if any role the recalling of Kevin Ellis would play.  The worry is that there was an injury to one of KC's other wingbacks that required the recall, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out for sure.

Nielsen
Myers - Collin - Besler - Sinovic
Rosell - Olum
Zusi
Kamara - Bieler - Saad

Number to Remember - 1 - Since Toronto came into the league, Sporting have lost just once at home against the original Canadian squad.  That loss was opening day 2009.  Other than that game, KC has won six and draw one against Toronto.

Key Match Up - Aurelien Collin vs Robert Earnshaw - Collin hasn't been playing his best the last few games.  And while Earnshaw hasn't scored in a while, he'll still punish KC if they give him the chance. With the way that KC's defense has played at times, the opportunities could be there for Earnshaw, it'll be up to Collin and Matt Besler to shut down the Welsh striker.

PREDICTION - On the surface this game would appear to be a trap game. Toronto sits currently in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, on 13 points.  Three points ahead of bottom of the table DC United, and eight points behind 8th place Chicago. So while on the surface this appears like it could be a trap game, I think Vermes has the team up for this game.  I think he'll have the team out to prove that Toronto's win in Toronto earlier this year was a fluke. In that regard I think KC will come out ready to play. And with Zusi in the midfield, KC should be able to cut through Toronto's defense like Ian Ziering through a shark (yes the analogy was forced so I could post this Sharknado GIF).

SKC - 3 (Bieler, Kamara, Zusi)
TFC - 1 (O'Dea)

Ellis Recalled from Loan

Well that was a very quick loan.  Sporting announced today that defender Kevin Ellis had been recalled from his loan to Orlando for this weekend's game against Toronto.  Barely over 24 hours removed from the announcement of his loan to Orlando, Ellis is on a flight back to Kansas City ahead of tomorrow's game against Toronto FC. Last night in Orlando Ellis started at right back in Orlando's 2-1 win over Charleston last night.

With Mechack Jerome at the Gold Cup, that left KC's wingback depth as Josh Gardner and Kyle Miller.  With Ellis' quick recall, it's immediately led to speculation of an injury to Gardner, Chance Myers, or Seth Sinovic that would keep them out of action tomorrow against Toronto.  There's been no report of an injury but there seems to be little reason to recall Ellis unless there is.

The other thing this move does is bring up an interesting question regarding the loans, relationship with Orlando, and FIFA rules regarding loans. FIFA rules say that a player can not be registered to more than 3 teams in a year and can only play for two of those teams. KC is compliant with that rule as Ellis has only played for KC and Orlando. I've not seen an instance though where a player was recalled from a loan and was then re-loaned to the same club in a short period of time (I've seen it over the course of a few months, but not 24 hours later).  The rule where KC may not be compliant with FIFA rules is in Article 10 paragraph 2, where it says "the minimum loan period shall be the time between two registration periods." But here we get into the very gray areas of KC's deal with Orlando and FIFA rules. According to that rule, none of KC's loaned players should be allowed to play for KC until the window opened again.  Yet Dom Dwyer played for KC before the new transfer window opened back up.  And when Orlando's season ends all four loaned players are likely to return and some will see time. Of course that could be a similar situation to MLS teams picking up USL Pro players after their season ends and the transfer window is closed because those players are our of contract. 

Either way it appears to be murky water.

Sapong and Ellis on Their Way to Orlando

Sporting KC announced today the two new loaned players to Orlando City.  The rumored CJ Sapong loan was confirmed by the team today.  Joining Sapong will be wingback, Kevin Ellis.  Ellis has made 3 appearances in all competitions this season, including becoming the first home grown player for KC to appear in and start a league game.

They'll join Orlando City and be available for selection in tonight's game the Lions play against the Charleston Battery.  The game is the start of a very busy stretch for OCSC.  They play four games in nine days starting tonight. After that busy schedule, Orlando actually has a two week break until their next game.  That would allow not only Sapong and Ellis to return, but KC's other two loaned players, Christian Duke and Jon Kempin, to return to Kansas City.

Sapong's loan can be seen as a bit disappointing for the former rookie of the year, but this will be a chance for him to get more playing time, likely in his more natural center forward position, instead of out wide like he's played in Kansas City with Claudio Bieler in the middle.

Ellis may actually be missed the most in the short term.  With Ellis gone on loan and Mechack Jerome playing with Haiti in the Gold Cup, Sporting's depth at wingback is now limited to Josh Gardner and Kyle Miller. Gardner hasn't exactly endeared himself with his play, especially in the Open Cup against Orlando, and Miller has yet to make a competitive appearance for the club. The good news for KC though is that the depth issue should only be for a game or two. This weekend against Toronto will be one, but depending on how Haiti does in the Gold Cup, Jerome could be back for KC's match in Salt Lake next weekend.  After that Orlando would be on their two week break and Ellis could be back on the bench again as well if Jerome is still with Haiti.

MLS Investigating Death Threats Made Towards Arnaud - Former SKC Wizards Update

After last week's 4-3 loss to Colorado, things took an ugly turn support wise for Davy Arnaud.  Arnaud was dispossessed by the Rapids in the lead up to the Rapids winning goal. After the game one Montreal fan made some threats towards Arnaud including "I hope your family dies in a fire." Today word came down that Montreal and MLS have filed a compliant with the police regarding the comments made towards Arnaud.  A sad situation that shows the bad side of supporters and Twitter.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Edson Elcock
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Aaron Hohlbein
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowery
Akeem Priestly
Scott Sealy
Yann Songo'o
Diego Walsh

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Chivas.
Bobby Convey - Toronto - No game this week.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - No game this week.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 82 minutes in Portland's 1-0 loss to Columbus.
Kevin Hartman - New York - Did not dress in New York's 2-0 loss to Colorado.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-0 loss to Columbus.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-0 loss to Vancouver.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Dressed but did not play in Philadelphia's 1-0 loss to Houston.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 1-0 loss to Columbus.
Khari Stephenson - Salt Lake - No game this week.
Michael Thomas - Toronto - No game this week.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 2-1 loss to LA. Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 1-0 win over Portland.
Konrad Warzycha - Columbus - Came off the bench and played 24 minutes in Columbus' 2-1 loss to LA. Started and played 61 minutes in Columbus' 1-0 win over Portland.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Did not play in Fort Lauderdale's 4-0 loss to Tampa.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 3-0 loss to San Antonio.
Shavar Thomas - Fort Lauderdale - Suspended for Fort Lauderdale's 4-0 loss to Tampa.

USL
Christian Duke - Orlando (Loan) - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Orlando's 1-1 draw with Charleston.
Brian Fekete - Orlando - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in Orlando's 1-1 draw with Charleston.
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 1-0 win over Antigua.
Jon Kempin - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 1-1 draw with Charleston.
Nelson Pizarro - Los Angeles - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in LA's 6-0 win over Antigua. Started and played 90 minutes in LA's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh. Started and played 90 minutes in LA's 4-2 win over Harrisburg.
Mike Reidy - Rochester - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Rochester's 3-1 loss to Dayton. Started and played 69 minutes in Rochester's 2-2 draw with Charlotte.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-2 win over Dayton.
John Wilson - Charleston - Did not dress in Charleston's 1-1 draw with Orlando.

PDL
Scott Angevine - Des Moines - Started and played 90 minutes in Des Moines' 1-0 win over St. Louis. Started and played 90 minutes in Des  Moines' 2-0 win over KC.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse - Offseason
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason
Craig Rocastle - Missouri - Offseason
Paul Wright - San Diego - Offseason

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Haka's 2-1 win over Kooteepee.
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Did not dress in DPMM's 5-2 loss to Woodlands Wellington.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Churchill Brothers - India - Offseason.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Trinidad's 2-2 draw with El Salvador.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Apertura season is over.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Offseason.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Offseason
Herculez Gomez - Tijuana - Mexico - Started and played 59 minutes, scoring a goal in the USA's 6-0 win over Guatemala. Dressed but did not play in the USA's 6-1 win over Belize.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in either of Bahia's games.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Offseason.
Igor Kostrov - Dacia - Moldova - Offseason.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 2-1 win over Cienciano.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Offseason
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia -No game until 7/16.
Michal Mravec - Zilina - Slovakia - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - Fylkir - Iceland - Did not dress in Fylkir's 3-2 loss to Stjarnan.
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FK Leotar Trebinje - Bosnia - Offseason
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Offseason.
Ivan Trujillo - Llaneros - Colombia - Apertura season over.

Next Loan to Orlando

Since the recall of Dom Dwyer and releasing Yann Songo'o from his contract, there have only been two Sporting KC players on loan with affiliate club, Orlando City. That looks set to change.  Earlier in the day, CJ Sapong posted this post on Twitter. He has since deleted the post, but assumptions can definitely be made. For those that don't know, Orlando City's nickname is the Lions, hence the perception.

Also is this announcement from Orlando about the announcement.

BIG NEWS: Sporting Kansas City are finally sending us over another player. Could be huge. Find out at 10pm on 740... http://t.co/4njPkMPKW2
— Iron Lion Firm (@IronLionFirm) July 11, 2013

It's connecting dots, but with Sapong not appearing on the bench since his red card suspension against Dallas it would seem to make sense. Sapong has struggled in his third season in the league, appearing in 14 games, starting 9, but only recording a single goal and assist. A drop in production from his first two years where he scored 5 and 9 goals respectively.  One can hope that Sapong enjoys similar success to what Dwyer did in Orlando that saw him get recalled.

With the likes of Dwyer, Claudio Bieler, Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, Soony Saad, Jacob Peterson, and even Graham Zusi, Sporting KC should be able to survive with Sapong on loan to the Lions.

S.A.S. Sunday Of Stats

Graham Zusi's goal was the 900th in all competitions for Sporting KC.

Zusi's goal was his 15th league goal, tying him with Chris Brown and CJ Sapong for 13th on that list.

It was Zusi's 17th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Miklos Molnar, Eddie Johnson, and Jimmy Conrad for 15th on that list.

Zusi and Jimmy Nielsen made their 113th league appearance for KC, tying them with Roger Espinoza for 19th on that list.


Nielsen earned his 48th league win with Sporting KC today, tying him with Tony Meola for the team record.

In the 45th minute, Kei Kamara hit the 15,000 minute mark in all competitions for his MLS career.

In the 70th minute, Kamara moved past Bo Oshoniyi and into 20th place for minutes played in league play for KC.  Kamara finished the game with 8,453 minutes played.

Early Goals Stand Up as Sporting Beat Chicago

The Chicago Fire were unbeaten in 9 games in all competitions, they hadn't lost since acquiring Mike Magee from LA, so they had confidence on their side. KC had struggled for consistency heading into the game, while they were unbeaten in their last three, they'd only won one of those games. KC though got two early goals from Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi and held off Chicago to take a 2-1 win at Toyota Park, only KC's fourth win at Chicago since they came into the league in 1998.

Sporting KC got off to a dream start in the 6th minute.  A long throw in by Matt Besler was knocked back into the path of Benny Feilhaber at the top of the box.  Feilhaber one timed his shot on goal. It hit off the inside of the post and into the net just inside the opposite corner of the goal. Things got even better for Kansas City in the 8th. After some high pressure in Chicago's end, the Fire gave the ball away to Seth Sinovic.  Sinovic played the ball to Graham Zusi near the corner of the box.  Kei Kamara made a run towards the six yard box as Zusi played a ball towards the middle of the box.  The ball though floated over Kamara and over Chicago goalkeeper, Paolo Tornaghi and into the net doubling KC's lead.

The Fire almost responded immediately off a corner.  KC partially cleared it but only as far as Chris Rolfe at the top of the box.  Rolfe let fly with a shot that took a bit of a deflection.  Jimmy Nielsen did well though to bat the ball away and out for a corner. The Fire really took over the game after KC's second goal and should have pulled a goal back in the 18th.  A long ball over the top saw Rolfe split the KC defense and get in behind.  One v one with Nielsen though, Rolfe pushed his effort wide of the goal, keeping it 2-0 KC. Chicago's constant pressure eventually paid off and the Fire found a goal in the 38th. Again it came when a player got in behind KC's defense.  This time it was a Jeff Larentowicz header that allowed Mike Magee to get behind KC's back line. A touch by Rolfe would have left Magee offside, but replays were inconclusive to whether Rolfe got a touch.  It didn't matter as the flag went up and Magee got in behind KC's defense. Magee slotted the ball past Nielsen and made it 2-1.

Early in the second half Kansas City made their first substitution, bringing on Soony Saad for Benny Feilhaber. This move dropped Zusi back into KC's midfield.  With Zusi there, KC really started to win the possession game game and control the game against the Fire. With the possession though KC couldn't capitalize on it. KC's best chance arguably came shortly after the change in the 59th.  After Zusi and Saad worked down the left, Zusi played the ball in the middle to Claudio Bieler.  Bieler passed up the shot to get it to Kamara who had a better shot. Kamara's shot though was blocked by Austin Berry.  The deflection was eventually played back to Oriol Rosell who also had his shot blocked by Bieler. While KC wasn't creating many great chances with the possession, they were keeping the Fire from mounting much of an attempt at a comeback. The Fire finally recorded another shot on goal in the 87th after some work on KC's right, but Dilly Duka's shot was easy for Nielsen to claim.

Into stoppage time Chicago continued to try to find the equalizer.  Off a long through KC was able to clear their lines. Eventually Teal Bunbury collected the ball and picked out Dom Dwyer near midfield. Dwyer was tackled from behind by Daniel Paladini.  Baldomero Toledo immediately went to the back pocket and sent the Fire midfielder off. Even with 10 men, the Fire pressured the game and with a late corner and throw in deep, Tornaghi came forward giving the Fire another body in the box. Those chances came to nothing though as KC walked away with all three points.

Wizards Man of the Match - Graham Zusi - Zusi's "shross" as Taylor Twellman called it proved to be the game winner for KC. Zusi really took over the game when he moved into the midfield though. KC's possession skyrocketed once he moved there.  And he was a major asset at both ends of the field for Sporting, breaking up plays and pressuring in the defensive third of the field as well.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 5, Myers 6, Collin 4, Besler 4, Sinovic 5, Olum 5, Rosell 6, Feilhaber 6, Kamara 3, Bieler 4, Zusi 8. Subs Saad 6, Bunbury 5, Dwyer NR.

FC Kansas City Play to a 0-0 Draw

From FC Kansas City

On a hot Sunday afternoon in Overland Park 5,031 people packed into Shawnee Mission District Stadium to see FC Kansas City and the Western New York Flash do battle.  Each team would move up a spot in the standings with a win, but FC Kansas City had pride on the line as well.  In their last matchup, the Flash outplayed Kansas City as Abby Wambach scored two goals in the first half and held on for a 2-1 victory.  This time, Vlatko Andonovski had his team prepared.  The defensive grouping of Becky Sauerbrunn, Lauren Sesselmann, Desiree Scott and Jen Buczkowski frustrated the New York attack and kept Wambach off the score sheet.  With no goals scored, each team earns a point and FC Kansas City increases their season long undefeated streak to five games.

The forecasted temperature for this match was 92 degrees, but a thermostat on the field showed temps approaching the century mark as referee Elvis Mahmutovic blew his whistle to open the match.  Knowing they would have to play at their best, FC Kansas City started this game with a more defensive posture than in recent games.  Midfielder Erika Tymrak, playing the central midfielder role usually held by Lauren Cheney, did not take long to find space and turn the tempo for her team.  She pushed the attack, continuously drawing defenders to her leaving Merritt Mathias and Courtney Jones open on the wings.  When left alone, she drove towards goal with such creative attacks that left the Flash defenders visibly confused.

New York made some adjustments in the second half to even play.  However, Scott and Buczkowski were able to keep most of the play in the middle third of the field.  When the Flash were able to attack the Kansas City goal, Sesselmann and Sauerbrunn were able to clear any attempt to find Wambach.  The world’s all-time goal scoring leader was able to get off three shots on goal, but her U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper, Nicole Barnhart was able to save every one of them.  Although neither team would score, the 0-0 draw puts FC Kansas City only one point behind the Portland Thorns for second place in the National Women’s Soccer League table.

After playing five games in fifteen days, FC Kansas City will not be in action again until Sunday, June 14th when they travel to Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois to play the Chicago Red Stars.  Gametime is scheduled for 3:00p.m. CT and fans are invited to come to the home of the Official FC Kansas City watch party, Futbol Club KC to catch all the action.  The next home match is July 20th against the Seattle Reign at 7:35p.m. CT.  For tickets and information call 855.4KC.GOAL

Three Sporting KC Players on All Star Fan XI

The MLS Fan XI were announced today during half time of today's game against the Chicago Fire.  Ten players were named, the last will be the player who has the most goals scored for them in FIFA 13.  Claudio Bieler is KC's representative in that vote.

But in the other 10, Sporting KC had 3 players named to the roster.  Defenders Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, and midfielder, Graham Zusi were among the 10 players named.

That doesn't mean they'll be on the game day roster on the 31st against Roma (although with Peter Vermes coaching the team I doubt they sit).  Vermes will name the roster for the game, but those three have all been voted in by the fans.

Looking for Consistency

Sporting Kansas City finish out a busy8 days with their third game in a little over a week tomorrow in Chicago.  Over the past week KC has gone from looking strong offensively to the having the same issues of finishing that has plagued the team for the past few years. At the other end, KC has survived 2 brain lapses against the Crew and looked solid in controlling the Whitecaps.  But as a whole Kansas City is looking for more consistency.

Meanwhile, the Fire have started to really find some consistency, especially since the addition of Mike Magee.  Chicago are undefeated in their last 6 games, and their last 9 in all competitions when you look at their recent Open Cup run. Magee has been a big part of that for the Fire, scoring in 7 straight games for the Fire after his acquisition from LA for the MLS rights to Robbie Rogers. They also recently brought back Bakary Soumare from the Philadelphia Union in a trade, who has helped out on the back line.  Chicago will be missing one player for the game tomorrow, starting goalkeeper, Sean Johnson, who always seems to show up against KC, isn't available tomorrow.  He is with the US team for the Gold Cup.

With this being KC's third game in a little over a week, there has to be some temptation at least to do some squad rotation. To maybe sit one of the center backs, or give Kei Kamara a break.  But knowing Peter Vermes we're likely to see very close to the same starting 11 that we saw against Vancouver.  The few questions are whether Seth Sinovic is healthy enough to start, or if Kevin Ellis could possibly get his second career start. It's also a question of whether Lawrence Olum and Soony Saad will keep their starting spots.  Saad seems likely, although fitness may be an issue.  Olum could be replaced by Paulo Nagamura if he's healthy.  I still expect KC to start two defensive midfielders in Chicago

Nielsen

Myers - Collin - Besler - Ellis

Olum - Rosell

Zusi

Kamara - Bieler - Saad

Number to remember - 3 - That's the number of wins in 20 attempts that Kansas City have in Chicago in their history.  Two of those wins have come since the opening of Toyota Park in 2006.  The last of those wins was in 2010 when Davy Arnaud and Teal Bunbury scored in route to a 2-0 win.

Key Match Up - Aurelien Collin and Matt Besler vs Mike Magee and Chris Rolfe - Magee is having a career year as he has 13 goals in all competitions so far this season, the most of any player in the league.  KC can't focus solely on him though as Rolfe has always been a pain for KC as well.

PREDICTION - The Fire have been conceding goals in games, they've only had 2 shutouts in their 9 game unbeaten run in all competitions. Those were against third division side, Charlotte, and against DC who has just scored 8 goals all year. While KC seems to be playing better on the road, I just don't see how KC is going to get all three points out of this one.

SKC - 1 (Bieler)
CHI - 2 (Magee, Rolfe)

Markovic Signed in Switzerland - Former SKC Wizards Update

A former SKC player who developed a bit of a cult following in his half a season here, Neven Markovic, has apparently found another club. Markovic has apparently signed to play with Swiss club, Servette FC.  Servette was relegated from the Swiss Super League this past season and will be playing in the second division, the Swiss Challenge League this year.  Here's the rest of this week's update.


Active without a club or unknown
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Edson Elcock
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Aaron Hohlbein
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowery
Akeem Priestly
Scott Sealy
Yann Songo'o
Diego Walsh

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Came off the bench and played 32 minutes, recording an assist in Montreal's 4-3 loss to Colorado. Started and played 61 minutes in Montreal's 3-3 draw with Toronto.
Bobby Convey - Toronto - Started and played 86 minutes in Toronto's 1-0 loss to Salt Lake. Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Toronto's 3-3 draw with Montreal.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in the USA's 4-1 loss to Ghana. Came off the bench and played 32 minutes, scoring a goal in Salt Lake's 2-2 draw with Philadelphia.
Michael Harrington - Portland - No game this week.
Kevin Hartman - New York - Did not dress in New York's 2-0 win over Houston.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - No game this week.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-0 win over DC.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Dressed but did not play in either of Philadelphia's games.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - No game this week.
Khari Stephenson - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 1-0 win over Toronto.
Michael Thomas - Toronto - Was just traded to Toronto.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-2 loss to KC.
Konrad Warzycha - Columbus - Came off the bench and played 9 minutes in Columbus' 3-2 loss to KC.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Did not play in Fort Lauderdale's 4-1 loss to San Antonio.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 3-1 loss to Edmonton.
Shavar Thomas - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 44 minutes before being red carded in Fort Lauderdale's 4-1 loss to San Antonio.

USL
Christian Duke - Orlando (Loan) - Dressed but did not play in Orlando's 2-0 loss to Richmond. Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-2 draw with Wilmington.
Brian Fekete - Orlando - Did not dress in either of Orlando's games.
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 2-1 loss to Harrisburg. Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 0-0 draw with Rochester.
Jon Kempin - Orlando (Loan) - Dressed but did not play in either of Orlando's games.
Nelson Pizarro - Los Angeles - No game this week.
Mike Reidy - Rochester - Came off the bench and played 30 minutes in Rochester's 0-0 draw with Phoenix.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-0 win over Orlando. Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 0-0 draw with Tampa.
John Wilson - Charleston - No game this week.

PDL
Scott Angevine - Des Moines - No game this week.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse - Offseason
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason
Craig Rocastle - Missouri - Offseason
Paul Wright - San Diego - Offseason

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Haka's 2-1 win over OPS.
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Did not dress in DPMM's 2-0 loss to Albirex Niigata S.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Churchill Brothers - India - Offseason.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Offseason.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Apertura season is over.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Offseason.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Offseason
Herculez Gomez - Tijuana - Mexico - Offseason.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - No games until 7/7.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Offseason.
Igor Kostrov - Dacia - Moldova - Offseason.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 22 minutes in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Sport Huancayo.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Offseason
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia -No game until 7/16.
Michal Mravec - Zilina - Slovakia - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - Fylkir - Iceland - Did not play in either of Fylkir's games.
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FK Leotar Trebinje - Bosnia - Offseason
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Offseason.
Ivan Trujillo - Llaneros - Colombia - Apertura season over.