Sporting Win Final Preseason Game in Tucson, Trim Roster

Sporting Kansas City closed out the first leg of their preseason for the 2014 season with a 3-1 win over NASL side, Indy Eleven. Sporting fell behind after just 20 seconds on a goal by one of Indy's trialists. Sporting struck back quickly with a pair of goals in the ninth and eleventh minutes on goals by Claudio Bieler and CJ Sapong. After a short break at the 45 minute mark Sporting came out and pulled the same trick Indy did, scoring an early goal as Sal Zizzo got his second goal of the preseason to make it 3-1 KC. The match, originally scheduled to play 120 minutes ended up going 105 minutes instead. Sporting will now return to Kansas City for a week before heading to Orlando.

All but two players on Sporting's roster have played in at least one preseason game now. The two that haven't are third string goalkeeper, Jon Kempin, and midfielder Peterson Joseph, who has not played since he collapsed in practice last November. The absence of Mikey Lopez and Ike Opara since the preseason opener is also interesting though.

Sporting Release Five

Before the game today, Sporting announced that they'd trimmed their preseason roster by five and currently sit at 29 players. Of those waived was former Sporting KC Junior goalkeeper, Jacole Turner, a long shot originally to make the roster with three goalkeepers already on the roster. Also waived was fourth round draft pick, Reinaldo Brenes, the Costa Rican forward, former Philadelphia Union defender/forward Don Anding, undrafted midfielder, Dante Marini, and Palbo Punyed, drafted in the 2012 Supplemental draft.

All but Turner had made at least one appearance for Sporting so far this preseason. Punyed and Marini both appeared in KC's first two preseason games. Anding and Brenes both made just a single appearance for Sporting.

Their departure leaves Sporting with four players not under contract in camp, draft picks Adnan Gabeljic, Peter Schmetz, Alex Martinez, and the infamous "Trialist 1" who according to the stream of the Portland game is former Colorado defender, Danny Earls. Peter Vermes has said that they'd be bringing in more players when the team goes to Orlando, but at this time there are just four roster spots to be grabbed at this time.