FC Kansas City Win NWSL Championship

I'm one of those people that hasn't fully embraced the whole "Soccer Capital of America" that Sporting Kansas City started last season around the all star game. After today I may be starting to believe in it. At this time, KC hold the championships of all three leagues that they have teams competing in. With FC Kansas City's 2-1 win over the Seattle Reign in the NWSL Championship today, Kansas City now is home to the current holders of MLS Cup (Sporting KC), the NWSL Championship (FC Kansas City), and the indoor league previously known as the MISL (Missouri Comets). A big accomplishment for a city that was drawing flies for their one professional soccer team only a few years ago.

It wasn't easy for FCKC today though. The home side, Reign, came out with a good high press early in the game, pinning the Blues deep in their own end. After enduring the early pressure though, the Blues started to create chances of their own. In the 20th minute after the Reign failed to clear the ball, Jenna Richmond had a shot from the top of the box that hit the outside of the post and bounced out of play. Two minutes later, FCKC went on top. Lauren Holiday led a break, running at a number of Seattle defenders before playing the ball through for Amy Rodriguez who made a diagonal run to stay on side. Rodriguez controlled the ball into the box, looked up as Hope Solo came up and calmly shot the ball over her and into the net giving FCKC the 1-0 lead. Seattle almost responded immediately but Nicole Barnhart made a nice kick save at the near post on Kim Little. Seattle picked up the pressure and shortly after, Little set up Naho Kawasumi on a platter with a nice cross, but Kawasumi headed the ball wide from six yards out. KC had chances of their own, in the 36th a cross into the box was almost turned in by Rodriguez at the near post, but was just wide. 

Early in the second half, the Reign had another good opportunity as Megan Rapinoe lofted a cross to the back post where Kawasumi put it on goal, but right into the arms of Barnhart. The pressure continued with Little testing Barnhart with a free kick from the top of the box, but right at the US national team keeper as she held onto the shot. Minutes later FCKC made the Reign pay for the lack of finishing. Holiday again was the architect, receiving the ball out wide and then dribbling down field towards goal. She got into the box, splitting two more Seattle defenders before laying a ball back into the path of Rodriguez who fired into the net to double KC's advantage. A fantastic run by Holiday to set up the goal. With the two goal lead, KC sat back just a little bit, and the Reign took advantage, creating a number of opportunities, but not able to find the net. Rapinoe hit the elbow of the goal in the 84th minute off a deflected shot, but the ball went out for a corner. Late on the Blues had trouble finding possession, instead resorting to booting the ball down field away from danger each time they were able to. In the 87th the Reign finally found the back of the net, making things interesting. A corner was headed off the cross bar by substitute, Mariah Nogueira, the rebound came back to her where she appeared to be fouled by KC's Sarah Hagen. No call was made, eventually the ball fell to Rapinoe at the top of the box. Seattle continued to throw numbers forward late on, but were unable to find another goal and FCKC walked out of Seattle with the championship, the club's first in their second season of existence. Holiday was named the MVP of the Championship for her two assists, and it's hard to argue with, she showed the form that won her the league's MVP award last year and did a marvelous job setting up both of Rodriguez's goals.

And now this tifo by the Blue Crew from earlier this season seems prophetic.

S.A.S. Saturday After Stats

Martin Steuble was the 30th different player to start a league game for KC this year.

In the 9th minute, Graham Zusi hit the 10,000 minute mark in league play for his MLS career. He's the 15th player to hit that mark for KC.

Zusi made his 166th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Josh Wolff for 12th on that list.

Zusi made his 108th start in league play, breaking his tie with Uche Okafor and moving him into a tie with Diego Gutierrez for 16th place on that list.

Dom Dwyer scored his 19th league goal, tying him with Teal Bunbury for 12th all time on that list.

The goal was Dwyer's 21st in all competitions, tying him with Mark Chung for 12th on that list.

Dwyer scored his 10th home goal of the season, he's only the third player to hit 10 in a season at home (Preki 14 1996, Ditigal Takawira 10 1996).

The goal was Dwyer's 12th home goal in league play, tying him with Graham Zusi for 11th on that list.

It was his 13th home goal in all competitions, tying him with Zusi, Chris Brown, and Mark Chung for 12th on that list.

Benny Feilhaber picked up his 14th assist in all competitions as a member of KC, tying him with Chance Myers for 20th on that list.

In the 13th minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Sean Bowers and into 19th place for league minutes played, Sinovic finished the game with 9,256 minutes played.

Sinovic made his 105th start in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Bowers for 19th place on that list.

Matt Besler made his 171st appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Michael Harrington for 9th on that list.

Sporting Fall at Home Again

Sporting Kansas City finds themselves in a rare situation from the past few years. For the first time since opening Sporting Park, and the first time since 2010, KC has lost back to back home games, falling 3-1 to the Houston Dynamo. It's also the first time since 2010 that KC has allowed three goals in back to back matches (4-3 win over Houston 3-1 loss to Dallas). Last week it was a lack of organization and counters that killed KC in their loss to DC, this week it was an inability to follow marks on set pieces that doomed Kansas City.

The game lasted just 17 minutes before a storm passing through the area caused a 90 plus minute delay in the game. The delay came at a good time for KC, as the Dynamo had been the better team through the early part of the game. Immediately after the restart the Dynamo had a good opportunity off a corner, with the ball being flicked to the back post for Jermaine Taylor, but the defender headed the ball over the bar. KC almost found the lead in the 26th when Kevin Ellis flicked a Graham Zusi corner on goal. Tally Hall though made a good reaction save and the ball was cleared away before a finishing touch could be put on the ball. KC regreted that miss minutes later as a ball played into the box by Kofi Sarkodie was touched by Aurelien Collin but not cleared. The ball bounced perfectly for Will Bruin who one timed his shot past Jon Kempin and into the corner to make it 1-0 Dynamo. Things started to get a bit out of hand just before half time. Setting up for a corner, Benny Feilhaber ran to get the ball for Zusi. The Dynamo's Sarkodie was standing on the ball, Feilhaber ran up and pushed Sarkodie off the ball. Sarkodie responded by shoving Feilhaber back. This caused both sets of players to come together. Once everything was clear, referee Mark Geiger gave yellow cards to both Feilhaber and Sarkodie. The yellow for Feilhaber and an earlier one for Dom Dwyer will see both players suspended for KC's midweek trip to New England.

The second half saw KC come out quickly looking for an equalizer. It took them almost 10 minutes but they got it. CJ Sapong had the ball tackled away about 35 yards from goal. The ball fell to Feilhaber to pushed the ball past a defender and into the box. He squared the ball for Dwyer. KC's leading scorer took a touch and shot, the ball took a deflection that carried it past Hall and into the net. The game wasn't level long though. in the 62nd minute the Dynamo went back on top. After a stupid foul by Collin to the right of Kempin's goal, Brad Davis played a beautiful free kick into the box. Dynamo defender David Horst had left Lawrence Olum standing and thumped a header past Kempin who had misjudged the play. Only five minutes later it was 3-1, again from a Davis free kick. This time from the opposite side his free kick was flicked on into the net by Ricardo Clark as the Dynamo added to their lead. KC controlled the final 20 plus minutes of the game but didn't really pressure Hall or Tyler Deric in the Houston goal too much. KC's struggles at home continued as they've now won just five of their 14 home games.

Wizards Man of the Match - Dom Dwyer - Really only because he put himself within one goal of tying Preki's team record for goals in a season. Not a good night all around for Kansas City ain.

Player Ratings - Kempin 4, Ellis 4, Collin 3, Besler 3, Sinovic 4, Olum 2, Steuble 3, Feilhaber 5, Zusi 4, Dwyer 5, Sapong 4. Subs Claros 4, Saad 4.

Sporting KC form Partnership with Brazilian club, Fluminense FC

Sporting Kansas City announced today that they have entered into a "strategic partnership" with Brazilian club, Fluminense FC. The Brazilian club is the home club of current on loan defender, Igor Juliao. Based on the announcement, this is something that Sporting has been looking to do for at least a little while. According to head coach Peter Vermes, the team was looking for some very specific qualities and opportunities. Basically the team didn't want to get into a one sided partnership with a club where there wasn't a lot of give from the other team, and Sporting was giving up a lot.

As part of the partnership, Fluminense will loan at least one player to KC per MLS season for the length of the deal, which runs through 2016. Juliao has been good at times, and also frustrating as well so far during his season on loan with Kansas City. They will also loan players to Sporting KC's USL Pro affiliates. Currently that is the Oklahoma City Energy and Orlando City (although Orlando City is moving to MLS next year). Interestingly, OKC is not mentioned by name in the release, it just says KC's USL Pro affiliate.  

The teams will also work together, exchanging youth players, academy staff and training/coaching methodologies in the partnership. Academy players will get the opportunity to live, train, and compete abroad in the other team's academy system. 

The teams have also agreed to each host the other for an international friendly at their home venue and allow the other team to use their training facilities for preseason visits.

While this all sounds good, and has me excited for the partnership, I am also a little leery about the partnership. The reason? We've heard plenty of this before. Back in 2007, the then Kansas City Wizards announced a partnership with Club Atlas of the Mexican league. There were promises of player exchanges, annual home and away friendlies, and using the other team's facilities. All that came of that was Kansas City training there during the 2009 preseason, and then a friendly in 208 at Community America Ballpark that saw Kansas City win 2-1. During that time Atlas trained at Sporting's training facility in Swope Park as part of their preseason preparations. No player exchanges ever occurred, although there were a few rumors in Mexican media about players.  

So I'll remain cautiously optimistic about this until I see results. I do like that there is a guarantee of player movement coming in, but there are still questions. I know that KC ownership has learned from the Atlas experience and that's why it's been so long since the team had a partnership with a foreign club.

Match Day 26 - Welcoming a Wounded Rival

Sporting KC welcomes the Houston Dynamo, a team that Kansas City knows quite well over the last few years. Since 2011, no two teams have met more in MLS than these two. Both teams are heading into tomorrow's game with their tail between their legs a bit. Both Sporting and the Dynamo come into the game having lost their last game 3-0. Sporting fell 3-0 at home to DC United, while the Dynamo fell to the Columbus Crew 3-0 in Columbus.

The Dynamo are not a strong road team, they've won just one game on the road all year, and sit with a 1-10-1 record and a -22 goal difference. Their lone win came back in May, a 4-1 win over Chivas USA on the road, they're 0-7 since that time away from BBVA. They've also struggled to score on the road, they've only scored two times in the seven games since their last road win, both came in the same game, a 4-2 loss to Toronto. They will have the always dangerous, Brad Davis available for the game on the left wing, and potentially going up against Igor Juliao could be a key area for the Dynamo if Juliao starts.

Sporting KC's defense has not been it's normal self, really for about a month now. The club hasn't gotten a shutout since their 1-0 win in Portland, the team's last game with Eric Kronberg in net. After last week's loss against DC, Peter Vermes was quite critical of the team's defense. The comments would seem to say that we'll see some changes in the defense for tomorrow's games. The question is where. Does Juliao sit as many fans have been calling for, in favor of Kevin Ellis. Does Aurelien Collin or Matt Besler sit with Ellis or Lawrence Olum slotting in for one of them? The one thing that does appear clear is that Jon Kempin will get a third straight league start in goal as Andy Gruenebaum is not quite ready to return from his injury.

Kempin
Ellis - Collin - Besler - Sinovic
Claros
Feilhaber - Zusi
Dovale - Dwyer - Saad

Number to Remember - 2009 - That's the last time that Sporting lost a home league game to the Dynamo. KC is 4-0-3 at home in league play since then. And it's not just that stretch, Kansas City has a decent home record recently against the Dynamo, since the loss in the 2011 playoffs, 2-0-3 at home against the Dynamo, and since the 2012 playoff loss on the road, KC is 3-0-2 against the Dynamo. So Vermes may have finally figured out Dominic Kinnear a bit.

Key Match Up - Dom Dwyer vs Houston center backs - Houston's center backs have struggled this year with the departure of Bobby Boswell. They've platooned center backs with Jermaine Taylor, Eric Brunner, AJ Cochran, and David Horst. No matter which two of those four start, I like Dwyer's ability to get behind or past the pair.

PREDICTION - The Dynamo are a poor road team. No wins since May, only two goals in those seven losses since their last road win. This is a game that KC not only should win, but has to win if they expect to fight for the Supporters' Shield and the top of the East. This is the type of game, against an inferior opponent where you make a statement of intent. You show that Saturday night was a fluke and you beat the Dynamo.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer x2)
HOU - 0

Why Sporting Should Not Bring Back Kei Kamara

Today, Middlesbrough FC released former Sporting KC forward, Kei Kamara. Kamara left KC a year ago to join the Championship club after impressing on a loan to EPL side, Norwich City late in the 2012-2013 EPL season. In his 12 months with Middlesbrough though, Kamara struggled. After a good start with the club, he picked up a knee injury around the middle of the season and could never get his place back. Then this summer he picked up malaria while representing his country in African Cup of Nations qualifiers. After the diagnosis was confirmed in KC, Kamara sent out a tweet thanking his country's federation and Middlesbrough for nothing. That comment got him on the bad side of Boro supporters and it's been all downhill from there. This summer he'd been linked with a move away from the Riverside, because of his lost place and the reaction to his comments. Boro tried to sell him, but today announced that they'd agreed to mutually part ways.

With his release has immediately come speculation that Kamara will return to the US and MLS. It's also led to speculation on whether he would return to Kansas City. KC was Kamara's fourth team in four years when the team traded for him in 2009. In KC though, Kamara found his home and became a successful winger in Peter Vermes' 4-3-3 system. But with this speculation, should KC make a play for Kamara to return to KC? For me, no, they need to move forward.

Kamara earned quite a few fans in KC for his style of play and for his support towards the fans in Kansas City. He became one of the club's top goal scorers over his time with the club and worked relentlessly down the wing for KC. But at this point I'm not sure it's worth it to bring him back.

Since KC received a transfer fee and allocation money when Kamara was sold to Middlesbrough, Sporting no longer holds Kamara's MLS rights. What that means as a potentially returning MLS veteran, is that he would be subject to the league's allocation order. The order is used for returning US national team players and returning MLS veterans whose old team no longer holds his MLS rights (unless they're DPs of a certain threshold based on the Jermaine Jones situation). The process was used earlier this year when Seattle used the top allocation spot to acquire former Chicago Fire midfielder, Marco Pappa.

Currently at the top of the allocation order is the Columbus Crew. Kansas City on the other hand is near the end of the list. So either KC would have to make a trade to move up, or all the teams would have to pass on Kamara for KC to get a chance. The Crew meanwhile could use a forward that would be their go to forward, not sure if they're interested, but on the surface, the Crew look like a good place for Kamara to end up. 

Even if they weren't, it would become a question of what are you going to give up to move to the top of the allocation order? It would likely involve a bit of allocation money, which Sporting has been putting to good use over the last few years to pay down salaries to allow them to keep talent around.

Another question is his pay demand. While we don't know the exact cap number that KC is currently at, we do know that KC has three designated players at this point, along with multiple players making over $200,000 (Aurelien Collin, Benny Feilhaber, and Paulo Nagamura). One would assume that Kamara would want similar, if not more than the $300,000 he made when he was with KC during the 2013 season. With both Belser and Zusi on pay bumps, and others, like Chance Myers getting a bump, could KC afford Kamara's salary demands?

The next question is whether Kamara would even fit in back with Kansas City. Yes, Kamara has arguably been the best winger in Vermes' system since he implemented it here. But does he fit the system as KC plays it now?

Since Kamara's departure last year, KC has been doing a lot more build up through the middle of the field. When Kamara was here, KC's most dangerous offensive chances seemed to always come down KC's right side, where Kamara would be. The left side's attack was not as active, and the middle was almost non-existent. When Kamara left, the offense started to produce more in those other areas of the field. I think Kamara's departure has improved KC's offense as a whole because it's led to KC being more dynamic going forward.

Another thing that Kamara's departure has done has improved KC's shot selection. Over Kamara's last two years for KC, he took 191 shots (149 in 2012, 42 in 2013) in 3,893 minutes he put just 62 of those 191 shots on goal, or 32% of his shots. Compare that to Claudio Bieler and Dom Dwyer, KC's leading shot takers in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Last year Bieler took 70 shots, putting 27 on goal, 39% accuracy in 2,109 minutes. Meanwhile this year, Dwyer is doing even better, having taken 81 shots; Dwyer has put 35 on goal, or 43% in 2,022 minutes played. Yes Kamara scored a number of goals but he should have based on the sheer number of shots that he was taking. I think that also speaks to the more dynamic attack KC has had since Kamara left. No longer is it as predictable as getting the ball down the right and Kamara eventually getting the ball and shooting.

The other thing that I think Kamara's return could affect is the team chemistry. As the stats above show, Kamara likes to have the ball, and likes to shoot it (he was fourth on the team in shots in 2013 despite being 15th in minutes played for the team). In his departure, Dwyer has become the go to forward this season. What happens if Kamara were to return? He's going to want to get his chances and get the ball at his feet more. What effect is that going to have on Dwyer and his form? Last year, Bieler scored six goals in the first 10 games of the season before Kamara returned from his loan to Norwich. After that, Bieler scored just four over the next 24 games, two of those four from the spot. Bieler took 28 shots and put 12 on goal in those 10 games, an average of 2.8 and 1.2 per game. After Kamara returned, Bieler took 42 shots over the rest of the 24 games, putting 15 on goal, dropping his shots per game over a full shot to 1.75, and cut his shots on goal almost in half to .63 per game. Certainly that's just on Kamara returning, but with him stepping back into the team, it certainly took some of the ball away from Bieler. And forwards, at least from my experience are creatures of habit and form. 

Kamara's going to want to get his touches and Dwyer is already proving to be a more potent goal scorer than Kamara right now, why take touches, and chances away from him with the insertion of Kamara?

While I appreciate everything that Kamara has done for the club while he was here, his connection to the fans, his attitude here (that he hasn't seemed to really display anywhere else), his drive on the field, and his goals, I think it's time for KC to move on and not bring the Sierra Leone international back to KC.

Martinez Sent Off in Crazy Finish - Former SKC Wizards Update

Former Sporting KC midfielder, Alex Martinez was sent off this past week for Orange County in a crazy finish in their 2-1 loss to Wilmington. The craziness started in second half stoppage time with the game tied 1-1. Orange County won a corner kick. Martinez went over to take the kick, but before he could, some pushing in the box, just in front of the goalkeeper, led to a pair of red cards, one to a player on each team. Wilmington's Andrae Campbell had to be restrained by his teammates. As he left the field, a Wilmington coach followed him to escort him to the locker room. As he passed the corner flag where the ball was still set up for the corner, with the referee's back turned, the Wilmington coach kicked the ball away from the spot. Martinez took exception to this and after a quick appeal to the referee, followed after the coach and gave him a push. Th referee came over and spoke with Martinez and eventually gave him a red card. After Martinez appealed for a minute he turned and ran after the Wilmington coach who had kicked the ball away. The field cleared as the rest of the teams followed Martinez. After everything was cleared up, Wilmington scored a late winner.  Check out the game here, the fun begins around the 2 hour 25 minute mark.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Federico Bessone
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Edson Elcock
Adnan Gabeljic
Mechack Jerome
Peterson Joseph
Neal Kitson
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestly
Peter Schmetz
Scott Sealy
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 3-0 win over KC.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Came off the bench and played 31 minutes in New England's 1-0 win over Chivas.
Bobby Convey - New York - Did not dress in New York's 4-2 win over Montreal. Did not dress in New York's 2-0 win over FAS.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in Salt Lake's 2-1 loss to Dallas.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 4-2 loss to Seattle.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 4-2 loss to Seattle.
Eddie Johnson - DC - Suspended for DC's 3-0 win over KC. Play LA tonight.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 2-2 draw with Chicago.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 4-2 loss to Seattle.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Dressed but did not play in San Jose's 4-2 loss to Philadelphia.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-0 win over Houston.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 loss to Edmonton.

USL
Brian Fekete - Pittsburgh - Came off th bench and played 2 minutes in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win over the FC Dallas reserves.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 loss to Arizona. Came off the bench and played 60 minutes in OKC's 2-0 loss to Charleston.
Jonathan Leathers - Charlotte - No game this week.
Alex Martinez - Orange County - Started and played 89 minutes, recording an assist before being red carded in Orange County's 2-1 loss to Wilmington.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Orange County (loan) - Back with Portland.
Kyle Miller - Oklahoma City - Did not dress in OKC's 1-0 loss to Arizona. Started and played 30 minutes in OKC's 2-0 loss to Charleston.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Did not dress in either of OKC's games.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-2 loss to Orlando.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 2-0 win over OKC. Play Sacramento tonight.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - St. Louis - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Did not dress in Auerbach's 6-0 loss to Hertha BSC II.
Scott Angevine - Sporting Kristina - Finland - Lost 3-0 to P-Iirot.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 71 minutes in Chivas' 0-0 draw with Veracruz.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Defeated Tlaxcala 2-1.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Argentina - Lost 4-1 to Deportivo Riestra.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Lost 2-0 to Erbil in the AFC Cup.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 2-1 win over Deportivo Rionegro. Did not dress in Cucuta's 1-1 draw with Patriotas Boyaca.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Dressed but did not play in Wigan's 1-0 win over Blackpool
Herculez Gomez - Tigres - Mexico - Did not dress in Tigres' 5-1 win over Morelia.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - América RN - Brazil - Did not dress in either of America's games.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Game against Neftci was canceled.
Kei Kamara - Middlesbrough - England - Did not dress in either of Middlesbrough's games.
Igor Kostrov - Veris - Moldova - No game this week.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dres in San Martin's 2-1 loss to Juan Aurich.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Dressed but did not play in Servette's 8-0 win over Sirnach Swiss Cup.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Did not dress in Spartak's 2-1 win over UFA.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 2-2 draw with Breidablik.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Started and payed 45 minutes in Sporting's 1-0 win over Arouca.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Did not dress in Blackburn's 3-2 win over Bournemouth.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Started and played 90 minutes in Sarajevo's 3-2 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach. Started and played 87 minutes, scoring a goal in Sarajevo's 1-1 draw with Mladost Velika Obarska.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 85 minutes in Saarbucken's 1-0 win over Baunatal.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportivo Lara - Venezuela - Did not play in Lara's 1-0 loss to Carabobo.

Sunday After Stats

The game was the 50th league game between KC and DC, it's the fourth team KC has played 50 games against, KC has a 20-20-10 record, scoring 73 and conceding 66.

In the 45th minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Chance Myers and into 20th place for minutes played in league play for KC. Sinovic finished the game with 9,166 minutes played.

Sinovic made his 104th start in league play for KC, tying him with Sean Bowers for 19th place on that list.

Matt Besler made his 170th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Mo Johnston, and moving him into a tie with Michael Harrington for 9th all time on that list.

Besler made his 163rd start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jack Jewsbury for 7th place on that list.

Graham Zusi made his 165th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Josh Wolff for 12th all time on that list.

Zusi made his 107th league start for KC, tying him with Uche Okafor for 17th place on that list.

Sporting Fall to DC, Suffer Worst Defeat in Time at Sporting Park

Sporting Kansas City suffered their largest defeat in the history of Sporting Park, falling 3-0 last night to DC United. The loss was KC's first by three goals at home since a 3-0 loss to New York in June of 2010 when the team played at Community America Ballpark. Three goals in less than 10 minutes allowed DC United to easily beat KC and move past them and into first place in the Eastern Conference.

KC had some good possession early on around the top of DC's box, creating some half chances, but failing to really test Bill Hamid early on. Benny Feilhaber was the early creator seeing much of the offense go through him. In the 24th minute DC got themselves on the board. Fabian Espindola got the ball out wide. He turned Aurelien Collin backward before dribbling towards the middle of the field. Espindola fired a shot from the corner of the 18 yard box. The ball beat Jon Kempin and went into the far corner to make it 1-0 DC. Only four minutes later, United doubled their lead. After KC couldn't control the ball in the middle of the field, the ball fell to Luis Silva. The forward chipped a ball over the KC defense to Chris Rolfe who was onside and in behind KC's defense. Kempin got a touch on the ball, but couldn't keep it out of the net as DC went up 2-0. KC attempted to push numbers forward to try and find a way back into the game, but left themselves exposed to the counter. In the 31st United hit on the counter and made it 3-0. The ball was played in to Perry Kitchen who had raced forward from his midfield position. He cut back inside on Collin and then beat Kempin to his near post. The defense was just at sixes and sevens throughout much of the night.

With the lead, DC as able to sit back a bit, but throughout the second half still looked the more dangerous side, especially on the counter. In the 53rd DC should have made it four. KC's defense was a mess as two DC forwards combined up top for DC against four KC defenders. The ball came to Nick DeLeon who tried to get the ball into the corner, but it hit the base of the post and was eventually cleared. KC hit the woodwork themselves shortly after, in the 60th minute. Zusi from outside the box fired a shot towards goal. The shot beat Bill Hamid, but clanged off the cross bar and away from goal. DC inserted David Estrada into the game and he caused more problems for the KC back line. In the 88th, DC again hit the post. After Collin pushed forward to win a ball, the ball went right to Estrada who sprung Espindola in the space Collin had left. Espindola raced down the field and lofted a cross to the back post for Estrada who fired a shot the hit the post and was then cleaned up by Lawrence Olum. When the final whistle blew, Sporting players made a B line for the locker room trying to put the game behind them.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Really it's a matter of who was the least worst last night. No one really had a good game last night, the defense was in shambles, the forwards couldn't get many chances. Early on in the game before DC's first goal, Feilhaber looked extremely plugged in for the game. Unfortunately nothing came of it.

Player Ratings - Kempin 3, Juliao 3, Collin 2, Besler 2, Sinovic 3, Olum 3, Feilhaber 5, Zusi 4, Saad 4, Dwyer 3, Zizzo 3. Subs Sapong 4, Bieler 4, Dovale 4.

FC Kansas City Advance to Title Game

From FC Kansas City

FC Kansas City won 2-0 over Portland Thorns FC in front of 2,997 fans at Verizon Wireless Field in downtown Kansas City, MO.  The goals were credited to team leaders Amy Rodriguez and Lauren Holiday. The Blues now advance to the championship match with the opponent and location being determined after the second semifinal match on Sunday.

The match had a slower pace due to the notorious Kansas City summer heat. The action was still what is expected of Kansas City and Portland.  In the opening minutes, Kansas City had an attack that had potential. The play slipped past Portland’s backline and ended in an offside call.

In the 14^th minute, rookie Jenna Richmond made a beautiful run in to the attacking third. She had the first promising play of the match when she fired off a shot at goalkeeper, Nadine Angerer. The ball rolled just wide of the net but set a tempo for the match.

Portland’s Emily Menges and Erika Tymrak both went for the ball just beyond midfield in the 21^st minute. Menges tackled Tymrak who tumbled to the turf. The referee showed Menges a yellow for the first caution of the match.

Rodriguez experienced a controversial moment late in the second half when she was taken down in the box by Portland’s defense. The referee did not call for a foul or a penalty kick and the play continued in to the final seconds of the first half. Without that call, the teams went to the locker room scoreless.

After the break, both teams reentered the heat and prepared for the second half. Rodriguez broke the stalemate in the 63^rd minute with a play from Holiday.  Kansas City’s dynamic duo struck Portland’s defense with world-class style and gave the Blues a lead.

Kansas City doubled the lead in the 87^th minute with a goal from Holiday. Sarah Hagen sent a beautiful ball to Holiday; she redirected the ball and found the back post for the Blues’ second goal.

The match ended minutes later and solidified Kansas City’s ticket in the championship match. The Blues will either host the Washington Spirit or visit Seattle Reign FC depending on the winner of Sunday’s Match. FC Kansas City will play for the NWSL Championship on Sunday, August 31^st at 3:00 PM.

Match Day 25 - Top of the East

Sporting Kansas City head into another big league match up after a 1-1 midweek draw with Real Esteli. The game is the second in a row against teams in a top three team in the East. Last week Sporting KC topped Toronto FC. This week, Sporting KC welcome second place DC United. United sits just two points behind KC and also has a game in hand. A win would allow KC to go five clear of United.

United heads into tomorrow's game having played midweek as well. They were at home though, hosting Jamaican side, Waterhouse FC, winning 1-0. DC put out a reserve lineup at home and were able to get the win. That means that starters like Bobby Boswell, Davy Arnaud, and Fabian Espindola were rested ahead of this weekend's game. They've won three of their last five league games, but the three wins all came at home. On the road DC lost their two games in that stretch.

Kansas City, unlike United put out a number of first team players in their game against Real Esteli. Combine that with the return trip from Nicaragua could make for some tired legs by the end of the game Saturday. KC's injury issues look like they'll continue to a point, Jacob Peterson is listed as out on the injury report this week with a knee sprain. It looks like both Andy Gruenebaum and Paulo Nagamura will also miss the game. So Jon Kempin looks set for another start in goal. The question will be how KC sets up the rest of the field after the midweek game against Esteli.

Kempin

Juliao - Collin - Besler - Sinovic

Olum - Lopez

Feilhaber

Zizzo - Dwyer - Zusi

Number to Remember - 0 - That's the number of wins that DC has in Kansas City since Sporting KC moved to Kansas. Since the start of the 2008 season when KC moved out to Community America Ballpark, Kansas City is 6-0-2 against DC, including a 4-0 record at Sporting Park. They've only allowed 1 goal in those 4 games.

Key Match Up - Matt Besler vs Fabian Espindola - Espindola beat KC with a curling shot/cross that fooled Eric Kronberg in DC. Espindola likes to drift out wide to receive the ball and come in. That's going to have to be a big thing for KC to watch out for tomorrow. He can cause KC all kinds of trouble.

PREDICTION - KC has just the one home loss at home this season, but has quite a few draws. DC has lost their last two games on the road, conceding four and not scoring one. KC needs to start shoring up the defense, which has not had a shutout since Kronberg went down with his broken hand. Stepping up in a big game against the team right behind you in the standings would be the perfect time to get the defense back in order. Unfortunately I'm not sure that happens. Espindola is the type of forward that causes KC trouble. But I don't think DC has enough offensively to top KC tomorrow.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Zusi)
DC - 1 (Espindola)

Former SKC Wizards Update

Here is this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Federico Bessone
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Edson Elcock
Adnan Gabeljic
Mechack Jerome
Peterson Joseph
Neal Kitson
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestly
Peter Schmetz
Scott Sealy
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 4-2 win over Colorado. Did not dress in DC's 1-0 win over Watertown.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 90 minutes in New England's 1-1 draw with Portland.
Bobby Convey - New York - No game this week.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in RSL's 2-1 win over Seattle.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-1 draw with New England. Did not dress in Portland's 4-1 win over Alpha United.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 1-1 draw with New England. Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 4-1 win over Alpha United.
Eddie Johnson - DC - Suspended for DC's 4-2 win over Colorado. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in DC's 1-0 win over Watertown.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 4-1 loss to KC.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 1-1 draw with New England. Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 4-1 win over Alpha United.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 29 minutes in San Jose's 5-0 loss to Dallas. Play Seattle tonight.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 4-1 win over LA.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 1-1 draw with Atlanta.

USL
Brian Fekete - Pittsburgh - Dressed but did not play in Pittsburgh's 3-1 loss to Arizona.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to Arizona. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in OKC's 1-0 loss to LA II.
Jonathan Leathers - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 3-1 win over Rochester. Started and played 80 minutes in Charlotte's 2-0 win over Orlando.
Alex Martinez - Orange County - Started and played 90 minutes in Orange County's 6-1 loss to Sacramento.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Orange County (loan) - Back with Portland.
Kyle Miller - Oklahoma City - Started and played 64 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to Arizona. Started and played 45 minutes in OKC's 1-0 loss to LA II.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to Arizona. Did not dress in OKC's 1-0 loss to LA.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 1-1 draw with Dayton.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 2-1 win over Rochester.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - St. Louis - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Auerbach's 2-0 loss to Zwickau.
Scott Angevine - Sporting Kristina - Finland - Lost 3-1 to I-Kissat.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 61 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Santos Laguna.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Argentina - Lost 1-0 to Lujan.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - League game against Hoang Anh Gia Lai was canceled. Lost 1-0 to Erbil in the AFC Cup.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 0-0 draw wtih Barranquilla.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Wigan's 2-1 loss to Charloton. Dressed but did not play in Wigan's 1-0 loss to Cardiff.
Herculez Gomez - Tigres - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 8 minutes in Tigres' 1-1 draw with Puebla. Started and played 88 minutes, scoring a goal in Tigres' 2-0 win over Irapuato.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - América RN - Brazil - Did not play in either of America's games.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Did not dress in Azerbaijan's 2-0 loss to Simurq.
Kei Kamara - Middlesbrough - England - Did not dress in either of Middlesbrough's games.
Igor Kostrov - Veris - Moldova - Defeated Academia 4-1.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Came off he bench and played 14 minutes in San Martin's 2-0 win over Real Garcilaso.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Started and played 90 minutes in Servette's 0-0 draw with Winterthur. Started and played 90 minutes in Servette's 2-1 win over Lausanne Sport.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Did not dress in either of Spartak's games.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 2-1 win over Valur. Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 3-0 loss to Inter Milan.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Sporting's 1-1 draw with Academica.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Did not dress in either of Blackburn's games.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Started and played 90 minutes in Sarajevo's 1-1 draw with Velez.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Saarbrucken's 3-1 loss to Elversberg.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportivo Lara - Venezuela - Did not dress in Lara's 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Guaira.

S.A.S. Wednesday After Stats

The game was Peter Vermes' 200th game in charge of Sporting KC, he's 92-59-49 in those games.

In the 61st minute, Aurelien Collin moved past Jose Burciaga and into 19th place for minutes played in all competitions. Collin finished the game with 10,654 minutes played.

Collin made his 120th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Chance Myers for 19th on that list.

Matt Besler made his 169th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Mo Johnston for 10th all time on that list.

Besler made his 162nd start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Jack Jewsbury for 7th on that list.

Sporting Grab a Point in Nicaragua

The game was far from pretty tonight in Esteli, Nicaragua, but Sporting KC walked away from the game with a point against Real Esteli. The result actually sees Esteli move to the top of the group with two points, but both of their home games have now been played and face trips to Costa Rica and the United States.

The game couldn't have started much worse for Kansas City, in just the 6th minute Esteli's Daniel Da Silva was played in behind KC's back line 1v1 with Jon Kempin. Kempin came up with a nice save as Da Silva came in on goal, but the ball bounced into the path of Jorge Claros, who was trailing the play and bounced into the net giving Esteli an early 1-0 lead over Sporting. KC stepped up their game and controlled preceding from there, looking to find an equalizer. It came10 minutes after the opener. Esteli had been called for a handball just outside the box. Graham Zusi and Toni Dovale were over the ball. Dovale took the kick and perfectly curled it up and over the wall and just inside the near post to level the score at 1-1. Esteli's Justo Lorente didn't even move on the play. KC maintained possession of the ball for much of the half, but really struggled to create opportunities against Esteli. Esteli would actually have the better chances, hitting the outside of the post with a header after a free kick near the corner flag.

The second half saw Esteli come out and really out play Kansas City for the most part. Da Silva again had an opportunity as he got past his defender, but again Kempin came off his line and made a good save that was then cleaned up by Claros. KC had another chance off a set piece as Benny Feilhaber's lofted ball into the box pinged around before slowly rolling into the arms of Lorente. Kempin was again called upon to make a big save in the 81st minute as a great cross from Esteli's right floated to Juan Barrerra at the back post. But Kempin did well to beat away Barrerra's effort and knock it wide for a corner kick. The last 10 minutes of the game was virtually one way traffic headed towards Kempin's goal. Sporting looked tired and worn out late in the game. Esteli looked to take advantage, creating a number of opportunities, but not really challenging Kempin too much with shots. They had a header off a free kick that flashed just wide of Kempin's far post. Kempin did have some issues with a punch late on, but the ensuing shot was sent high of the goal. KC was able to hold on and take the point on the road. KC will be happy to get out with a point, Esteli, with their play in the second half will feel they probably deserved all three points tonight. KC following the one on the road, three at home point philosophy one would hope will now need to win at home, which they couldn't do during the group phase of last year's tournament.

Wizards Man of the Match - Jon Kempin - Sporting's third string keeper did a very good job tonight with his shot stopping and again did well in commanding his back line. I'd still like to see him improve his control of the box and not punch as much, but hopefully that will come with more experience.

Player Ratings - Kempin 7, Ellis 4, Collin 5, Besler 5, Sinovic 5, Claros 3, Olum 4, Zusi 5, Saad 4, Sapong 4, Dovale 6. Subs Zizzo 5, Feilhaber 5, Dwyer 4.

CCL Match Day 1 - The Campaign Begins

Sporting Kansas City begin another competition in this year's season. Tomorrow night in Nicaragua Sporting take on Real Esteli. It's the second straight year that Sporting will take on the Nicaraguan champions. Last year Sporting KC went 1-0-1 against Esteli, winning 2-0 in Nicaragua and drawing 1-1 at home.

This year, Esteli and KC's other opponent, Deportivo Saprissa have already kicked off play a few weeks ago. Esteli took an early lead against Saprissa before conceding a second half equalizer. Esteli is far and away the best team in Nicaragua, winning the last seven season titles (two seasons a year, fall and spring). They are also 3-0 so far in their current season. Their match up last weekend against fellow undefeated club, Walter Ferretti was postponed. The Train of the North still has Rudel Calero on their roster, the 31 year old scored Esteli's goal in Kansas City in the 1-1 draw last year.

KC heads into the game with confidence after the 4-1 win over Toronto on the weekend. The long travel was done today as the team flew down to Nicaragua. They will be without one player who one would assume was going to play a role in tomorrow's game. Claudio Bieler apparently has passport issues and was unable to travel with the team to Nicaragua. With Dom Dwyer getting the vast majority of the league minutes, one would have assumed Bieler was a likely candidate to start the game tomorrow to give Dwyer a bit of a rest. With Bieler unable to travel, the question is whether Dwyer will start again at forward, or whether someone like CJ Sapong starts there. The game will be interesting to see who Peter Vermes rests ahead of a big Eastern Conference match up this weekend against DC United.

Kempin

Peterson - Collin - Ellis - Sinovic

Claros

Lopez - Feilhaber

Dovale - Dwyer - Sapong

Key Match Up - Aurelien Collin vs Rudel Calero - In KC's first match vs Esteli last year, Esteli didn't provide much going forward. After watching their game against Saprissa a few weeks ago, I think Esteli will be more difficult this time for KC offensively.

Number to Remember - 0 - That's the number of wins that Esteli has in the CCL. The Nicaraguan side is 0-9-4 in the current incarnation of the federation competition. All but one of their draws (their 1-1 draw with KC last year) have come at home.

PREDICTION - The Esteli draw with Saprissa could be huge for KC if they can get a win where Saprissa failed. It's not going to be easy with the game falling between two important league games, but KC is the best road team in the league and even in an environment like the one in Esteli, KC still should feelgood about their chances heading into tomorrow's game.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Dovale)
RE - 1 (Calero)

Sunday After Stats

At 21 years, 130 days, Jon Kempin is the 17th youngest player to make his first league start for KC.

CJ Sapong's goal was Sporting KC's 100th league goal at Sporting Park.

Sapong scored his 20th goal in league play, tying Mark Chung and Graham Zusi for 9th on that list.

Sapong tied Zusi for the active lead in league goals scored with his 20th.

Sapong made his 131st appearance in all competitions for KC, that breaks his tie wtih Jose Burciaga, Uche Okafor, and Roger Espinoza for 20th on that list.

Dom Dwyer scored his 18th league goal for KC, moving him into 13th on that list.

Dwyer's scored his 20th goal in all competitions for KC, tying him with Chris Brown and Igor Simutenkov for 13th on that list.

Sapong and Dwyer both scored their 11th league goal at home, tying them with Igor Simutenkov and Chris Brown for 12th on that list.

Sapong scored his 17th home goal in all competitions, breaking his tie with Digital Takawira for 8th on that list.

Dwyer's two goals gave him 12 in all competitions at home, good for 15th on that list.

Graham Zusi assisted on his 36th goal in league play, breaking his tie with Davy Arnaud for 3rd all time on that list.

In the 41st minute, Matt Besler passed Matt McKeon and moved into 8th place for minutes played in league play. Besler finished the game with 14,652 minutes played.

Benny Feilhaber played his 50th league game for KC, he's the 52nd player to hit that mark.

Aurelien Collin made his 119th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Chance Myers for 19th on that list.

Sporting Move to Top of Supporters' Shield Race

Sporting Kansas City got back on the winning track, and jumped to the top of the Supporters' Shield standings as they topped Toronto FC 4-1. A pair of penalty kicks by Dom Dwyer and goals by Sonny Saad and CJ Sapong helped push KC past Toronto FC and win the season series against TFC. Dywer upped his goal total for the season to 16, the second most goals in a single season in team history. He's now just two goals behind Preki's club record of 18 in 1996.

KC came out and pressured the game early on. The early pressured paid off as in the 16th minute. A Graham Zusi corner was cleared only to Benny Feilhaber at the top of the box. He cut past Michael Bradley and made his way into the box. He touched the ball past Jackson and the Brazilian brought Feilhaber down. Referee, Drew Fischer, pointed to the spot as TFC protested the Feilhaber was not going to get to the ball. After everything was cleared up, Dwyer stepped up and fired his PK into the roof of the net to make it 1-0 KC. KC kept up the pressure and in the 32nd won another PK. After Seth Sinovic brought the ball up the field, he laid it back to Feilhaber. The midfielder played a cross that looked like it was meant to go to the back post, but took a deflection off the referee Fischer right into the path of Dwyer. The Englishman took a touch and turned into the box. As he passed Doneil Henry stuck out a leg trying to get the ball, but only got Dwyer, bringing him down. Fischer again pointed to the spot. Dwyer stepped up again, sent Joe Bendik the wrong direction as he slotted the shot to the keeper's left to double KC's advantage. Toronto was having trouble getting through and really testing Jon Kempin in his first MLS start. But in first half stoppage time TFC got a chance and made it count. After a turnover in midfield, the ball got played wide to Dominic Oduro who had space down KC's left. He played a ball into the middle for Gilberto who had made a cutting run into the middle. Gilberto flicked the ball with his right heel as he wrong footed Kempin and slid the ball under him to cut the lead in half.

For the most part though, KC was able to contain Oduro throughout the night, unlike their meeting a few weeks ago. KC was more physical with Oduro, throwing him off his game and not allowing him to get as free as he did in Toronto. Early in the second half, Toronto should have leveled. In the 51st minute, a Matt Besler long throw was cleared to Gilberto who raced down the field. He blew past Igor Juliao who reached out and grabbed Gilberto but the TFC forward stayed on his feet. On on one with Kempin though, KC's home grown keeper came up with a big save knocking the ball away for a corner. KC went back to pressuring the game, keeping TFC pinned in their end. In the 64th, they added a third goal. Again off a Zusi corner, the ball was cleared only to the top of the box, where Saad took a touch, let the ball bounce and then fired a shot that beat Bendik inside his near post to make it 3-1. Toronto again had a great opportunity in the 71st minute, after some good passing, TFC had a great 3v1 break on Kempin. Instead of laying the ball off to one of his teammates, Jackson rounded Kempin and was ready to tap the ball home, but Aurelien Collin did fantastic to recover and tackle the ball away from Jackson before he shot. KC capped off their scoring in the 77th minute, again off the corner. This one though didn't need to be cleared first, Zusi's corner was flicked on by Saad to the back post where Dwyer, Lawrence Olum, and CJ Sapong were all crashing. Sapong got the touch that turned the ball into the goal making it 4-1. Toronto did find the back of the net again in the 84th, but unfortunately for them it wasn't the ball. Toronto substitute, Bright Dike fired a shot that Kempin covered easily, but Dike's shoe came flying off on the play and landed in the back of he net. It was a nice way to end the night with a laugh.

Wizards Man of the Match - Dom Dwyer - Scored the pair of PKs, creating one himself, but as a whole was a menace throughout the game for the TFC back line as he now has four goals on the year against Toronto, and 10 against the Canadian teams.

Honorable Mention - Lawrence Olum

Player Ratings - Kempin 7, Juliao 4, Collin 7, Besler 6, Sinovic 5, Olum 7, Feilhaber 6, Zusi 6, Saad 6, Dwyer 8, Zizzo 6. Subs Sapong 6, Claros 6, Bieler 5.

Match Day 24 - Injury Issues Continue for Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City will put out their 24th different starting lineup in 24 MLS games tomorrow when KC welcomes Toronto FC to Sporting Park. The injury issues for KC has continued throughout much of the season and has now hit the goalkeeping position hard. After losing Eric Kronberg for two months with a broken bone in his hand, KC lost back up Andy Gruenebaum for at least tomorrow's game and Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League game with a shoulder injury. That means that KC's first home grown player, Jon Kempin will start his first MLS game tomorrow. He'll become the 29th player to start a league game for KC this year, and the 30th in all competitions.

Toronto heads into KC on the back of two straight wins away from home, beating Montreal and Columbus on the second and third of a four game road trip. They've done it without leading goalscorer, Jermain Defoe who has missed the last few games with a groin injury. Defoe's status for tomorrow's game is up in the air. Originally it was thought his injury would keep him out, but late this week, it was reported that Defoe may play a part in tomorrow's game. If he can go, that definitely changes the approach that Sporting will take defensively to this game. Even without Defoe, Toronto's other strikers are starting to find some form through Gilberto and Luke Moore.

With Kempin in goal for his first MLS start, a lot more pressure is going to be on KC's starting center backs Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin. Through their partnership, they've usually had an experienced or veteran keeper in goal. From Jimmy Nielsen and Andy Gruenebaum's experience to Eric Kronberg's veteran presence, Collin and Besler have had an experienced goalkeeper to help organize behind them. While I have faith that Kempin will do fine, his lack of experience will require Besler and Collin to really step up their defensive work. KC has other things to question heading into tomorrow. Seth Sinovic's troubles lately. In his last two games, at Toronto and at Vancouver, Sinovic has had probably his two worst games in a KC uniform, getting beat for speed regularly. With Toronto likely to come at Sinvoic through Dominic Oduro again hopefully Sinovic is fully healthy and ready to go. The other question is Dom Dwyer's form. KC's leading scorer hasn't scored a goal in the last five games for KC, since the team's 2-1 win over Montreal. While the rest of the team has picked up the slack some, Dwyer needs to start finding the net again for KC to continue to be successful.

Kempin

Juliao - Collin - Besler - Sinovic

Olum - Claros

Feilhaber

Dovale - Dwyer - Zusi

Number to Remember - 7 - That's the number of games in a row that KC has gone without a shutout. For a team like KC that has been solid defensively.

Key Match Up - Seth Sinovic vs Dominic Oduro - In KC's last game against Toronto at BMO Field, Oduro owned this match up. Of all the attacks that Toronto made in that game, pretty much all the successful ones game through Oduro going at or past Sinovic or down the left side. Sinovic is going to need to be much better for KC tomorrow or Oduro will have a field day again against him.

PREDICTION - The last match up between these two teams was won by KC, but Toronto was most certainly the better team. KC will need to improve their performance not just from last week, but from the last three. KC really hasn't looked good since the 2-1 win over LA. While they've gone 1-1-1 in the three games since they easily could have lost both of those road games and didn't deserve to get the win in their one home game against the Union. KC really needs to step up with a dominating performance, if not on the scoreboard, on the field. The team needs to show that they are still the class of the East. Getting a win against Toronto, will help to establish this point, and create some more space between them and the rest of the East.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Zusi)
TFC - 1 (Moore)

Martinez Signs with Orange County - Former SKC Wizards Update

Alex Martinez has found a new club. After trialing with the Columbus Crew and San Antonio Scorpions, Martinez has signed with the Orange County Blues of the USL-Pro division. He jumped right into things too, as the Blues have had three games this week. Martinez started all three of those games, scoring in their game tonight, a 3-2 loss to Charleston.

Another player to keep an eye on is new former SKC Wizard, Peterson Joseph. Joseph is currently in Tanzania training with Azam FC.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Federico Bessone
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Edson Elcock
Adnan Gabeljic
Aaron Hohlbein
Mechack Jerome
Mike Jones
Peterson Joseph
Neal Kitson
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestly
Peter Schmetz
Scott Sealy
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 3-0 loss to RSL.
Teal Bunbury - New England - No game this week.
Bobby Convey - New York - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in New York's 1-0 loss to Chicago.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 22 minutes in RSL's 3-0 win over DC.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-0 win over Chivas.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-0 win over Chivas.
Eddie Johnson - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 3-0 loss to RSL.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in TFC's 3-2 win over Columbus.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - On loan to Orange County
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 2-2 draw with LA.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in TFC's 3-2 win over Columbus.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Ottawa.

USL
Brian Fekete - Pittsburgh - Did not dress in Pittsburgh's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to Sacramento.
Jonathan Leathers - Charlotte - Started and played 82 minutes in Charlotte's 2-1 loss to Richmond.
Alex Martinez - Orange County - Started and played 89 minutes in Orange County's 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh. Started and played 88 minutes in Orange County's 1-0 win over Rochester. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Orange County's 3-2 loss to Charleston.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Orange County (loan) - Did not dress in Orange County's 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh.
Kyle Miller - Oklahoma City - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to Sacramento.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in OKC's 2-1 loss to Sacramento.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 win over Charlotte.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 2-2 draw wtih Dayton. Did not dress in Charleston's 3-2 win over Orange County.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - St. Louis - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Auerbach's 0-0 draw with BFC Dynamo.
Scott Angevine - Sporting Kristina - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in Kristina's 4-1 loss to TPV.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 3-0 loss to Pachuca. Started and played 66 minutes in Chivas' 3-1 loss to Deportivo Tepic.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Ha Noi's 5-2 win over Thanh Hoa.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 3-1 loss to Cortulua. Defeated Real Santander 3-0 in the Copa Colombia.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Did not dress in Wigan's 2-2 draw with Reading. Started and played 90 minutes in Wigan's 2-1 loss to Burton Albion.
Herculez Gomez - Tigres - Mexico - Did not dress in Tigres' 2-0 loss to America.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - América RN - Brazil - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in America's 3-0 loss to Fluminense. Started and played 90 minutes in America's 3-2 loss to Boa.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Did not dress in Azal's 1-1 draw wiht Khazar Lankaran.
Kei Kamara - Middlesbrough - England - Did not dress in either of Middlesbrough's games.
Igor Kostrov - Veris - Moldova - Lost to Zimbru 1-0.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in either of San Martin's games.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Started and played 90 minutes in Servette's 1-0 win over Chiasso.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Did not dress in Spartak's 2-1 win over Dinamo Moscow.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 0-0 draw with Lech Poznan. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Stjarnan's 2-1 win over Thor.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - No game until 8/17.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Did not dress in Blackburn's 1-1 draw with Cardiff. Started and played 90 minutes in Blackburn's 1-0 loss to Scunthorpe United.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia -  Started and played 120 minutes in Sarajevo's 3-1 win over Atromitos. Started and played 90 minutes in Sarajevo's 3-1 win over Borac Banja Luka.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 64 minutes in Saarbrucken's 3-1 win over Astoria Walldorf.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportivo Lara - Venezuela - Did not play in Lara's 1-1 draw with Zamora.

S.A.S. Monday After Stats

Jon Kempin made his league debut for Kansas City, at 21 years, 124 days, he's the 18th youngest player to make his debut.

Kempin's debut means that KC has had three keepers see action this year for the first time since 2002 when Tony Meola and Bo Oshoniyi played most of the games and Taly Goode played an Open Cup game.

It's the first time since 1999 that KC has used three keepers in league play. In that season KC used four, Cesar Delgado, Chris Snitko, David Winner, and Tony Meola.

In the 43rd minute, Graham Zusi moved past Diego Gutierrez and into 15th place for minutes played in league play, he finished the game with 9,811 minutes played.

Zusi made his 105th league start for KC, breaking his tie with Sean Bowers for 18th place on that list.

Matt Besler started his 160th game in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Matt McKeon for 8th place on that list.

Aurelien Collin made his 100th league appearance for KC, he's the 29th player to hit that mark.

Soony Saad made his 50th league appearance for KC, he's the 51st player to hit that mark.

CJ Sapong made his 130th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga, UChe Okafor, and Roger Espinoza for 20th on that list.

The loss was Peter Vermes 51st in league play and 58th in all competitions, breaking his tie with Ron Newman for the second most losses on both lists.

Sporting and Joseph Mutually Agree to End His Contract

In a move that's been anticipated for a while now, Sporting KC and midfielder, Peterson Joseph parted ways today as the club and player mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the club. Joseph had not appeared or practiced with the club since he collapsed during practice during the playoffs last year. Since then he'd had a number of tests done all over the country to try and figure out exactly what had caused him to collapse. 

Joseph, the Haitian Xavi had joined the club in September of 2011. For KC he played in 34 league games, two playoff games, three CONCACAF Champions League games, and three US Open Cup games in his short career. There were plenty of flashes of the type of player he could be for KC, his assist with the outside of the foot to set up a goal by Jacob Peterson against Columbus was one of my favorite plays of the 2012 season. Then there's the 2012 playoff win over Houston at home where Joseph and Oriol Rosell dominated the center of midfield and it looked like the midfield pairing of the future for the club had arrived.  Unfortunately, both are now gone from the club.

My initial reaction to this is that this is a good move for both parties. KC gets an international slot opened up, and I assumed Joseph would move on with his life. I thought he'd just go ahead and retire because of whatever the condition was that is keeping him from playing for KC. That doesn't look to be the case though. It would appear that Joseph has made his way to Africa where he is training and has played a training game with Azam FC in Tanzania. Maybe his condition isn't as bad as it seemed, or maybe he's not ready to give up playing and he's going to try to make it in a place that may not take as much of a precaution with his condition.

Sporting Fall (Hard) to Vancouver

It wasn't a pretty game, it was probably one of the worst games KC has played in a while, and there have been some bad ones (Toronto on the road a few weeks ago, Philadelphia at home the first time this year, and last year). KC looked out of sorts from the start of the game and the Whitecaps would eventually make them pay as they would end Kansas City's eight game unbeaten run and five game road winning streak, losing 2-0.

In just the fourth minute the Whitecaps showed their intentions and almost grabbed the lead. Attacking down KC's left side, Steve Beitashour raced down the wing before curling a cross into the box. The cross was teasing enough to get Andy Gruenebaum to almost commit, but the ball rolled wide and was crossed back into the middle for Darren Mattocks who turned and would have probably scored if not for a slit touch Aurelien Collin to push the ball wide. KC created an early opportunity themselves via a quick restart. Graham Zusi dribbled down the wing before sliding it into the middle for Benny Feilhaber. Feilhaber took a touch and tried to curl the shot into the far corner but it was just wide of the post. In the 17th minute the Whitecaps grabbed the lead. A long ball towards Sebastian Fernandez. Igor Juliao was easily going to beat Fernandez to the ball and the Brazilian attempted to head the ball back to his keeper, but Gruenebaum had come off his line again and the ball was headed over him and into the net to give Vancouver the lead. Blame for the goal has to fall on both players. Gruenebaum has to give some sort of communication to his right back there and really probably doesn't need to be coming of his line. Juliao though needs to take a quick look at his keeper before heading the ball towards his own net like that. The Whitecaps continued to pressure looking to add to their lead, in the 31st, Pedro Morales tried to curl a free kick inside Gruenebaum's near post, but the KC goalkeeper got down well and knocked the ball down and covered the rebound. Shortly after though the Whitecaps would grab a second. Matt Besler played a poor ball through the middle that was picked off by the Whitecaps. Besler made an attempted tackle on Morales around midfield but missed leading to a 2v1 situation with Morales and Mattocks going at Collin. Morales got Collin to commit before laying the ball off for Mattocks who calmly put the ball into the corner past Gruenebaum to make it 2-0. As the first half entered stoppage time, the Whitecaps almost made it three. Again Morales the creator as he played a fantastic through ball for Fernandez who stayed onside. He slid the ball past Gruenebaum and it was headed into the empty net but Collin raced back in time to recover and slide the ball away. On the rebound Besler knocked the ball away from Fernandez for a corner.

KC was forced to make a change at half time as Gruenebaum left the game with a shoulder injury leading to the MLS debut for KC's first home grown player, Jon Kempin. The Whitecaps sat back a little bit more at the start of the second, forcing KC to bring the game more to them. Really KC couldn't come up with much offensively. The Whitecaps almost again found a third in the 70th minute. Off a corner, Johnny Leveron headed a ball that beat Kempin, but Feilhaber had stayed on the line and headed the ball away to keep it 2-0. Late on the Whitecaps had another chance to make it 3-0 when Omar Salgado was judged to have been fouled in the box by Collin as Salgado backed into him trying to get positioning on a long ball. Mattocks stepped up looking to score his second goal of the game. He went low to Kempin's right, but the young keeper got down well and got a hand on it knocking it onto the post and it was then cleared away to keep the game 2-0. KC continued to get little in the way of chances, but Feilhaber and CJ Sapong both had chances in stoppage time. Feilhaber's effort was blocked and Sapong's rebound effort took a slit deflection wide of the goal.

Wizards Man of the Match - Jon Kempin - A disappointing result all around, but man of the match goes to KC's first home grown player, Kempin for the big penalty save on his MLS debut.

Player Ratings - Gruenebaum 4, Juliao 3, Collin 5, Besler 4, Sinovic 3, Claros 4, Lopez 4, Feilhaber 4, Peterson 4, Dwyer 3, Zusi 4. Subs Kempin 6, Sapong 4, Saad 4.

FC Kansas City Fall in Regular Season Finale

From FC Kansas City

FC Kansas City lost 2-1 to the Chicago Red Stars in front of 2,111 fans at Benedictine University. Melissa Tancredi scored first for Chicago in the 9th minute then Christen Press in the 40th minute. Morgan Marlborough’s goal came for Kansas City in the 43rd minute of the match. This was FC Kansas City’s last regular season match until hosting a semifinal match on Saturday August 23rd. Chicago’s three points keep playoff hopes alive as the final weeks of the regular season approach.

Normally Kansas City starts off with a fiery attack that ends in a goal, but it was Chicago with that attack tonight. Press wound up for a shot that rookie goalkeeper Sara Keane was able to save. Then Tancredi came up from the side to contain the rebound and fire it right back at the net. The Red Stars were up 1-0 within the first ten minutes of the match.

Chicago had another close chance in the 23rd minute when Vanessa DiBernardo fired off a shot from outside the box. The shot went well over the net and hit the football field goal post. Chicago still led 1-0 but the Blues started to fight back.

Kansas City found a close opportunity minutes later in the 30th minute. Team leading scorer, Amy Rodriguez took on three Chicago defenders before launching a shot at the net. The beautiful shot bounced off the post and out still leaving Kansas City scoreless.

The Red Star’s second goal came when Press was carrying the ball to the outside in the 40th minute. Keane dove early in anticipation and Press saw her chance. She took a quick touch before sending it in to the net. Chicago looked to be up 2-0 headed in to the locker rooms.

Marlborough cut the home team’s lead in half two minutes later. Merritt Mathias carried the ball up the field and crossed in to Marlborough who was centered in the box. The Santa Clara product redirected the ball and put it in the upper corner beyond Karina LeBlanc’s hands. Kansas City got back in the game before halftime.

After the short break, both teams came back hungry for the three points. Lauren Holiday was seen taking shots from way outside the box all night. In the 54th minute, Holiday collected the ball stopped and took a shot from beyond the 18 yard line that went over the crossbar.

Chicago almost made the score 3-1 in the 62nd minute. Adriana Leon sent a bouncing shot in that hit the post and appeared to just cross the goal line. The referee called a no goal and the score stayed at 2-1.

Jen Buzckowski and Katrina Gorry tried to make a play work for Kansas City in the 88th minute. Buczkowski carried the ball through the center and just to the outside to find a running Gorry up the middle. Gorry took the shot but the ball rolled just wide. The final minutes came to a close and FC Kansas City would lose 2-1 to the Red Stars.

The Blues’ 2014 regular season is over with the loss in Chicago. From here, FC Kansas City will begin to prepare for the 2014 NWSL playoffs as the opponent is determined in the upcoming weeks.

Match Day 23 - Back on the Road

Sporting KC are back on the road as they continue through the second half of the season. They'll look to continue their club record five game road winning streak tomorrow when they take on the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. This will be only the fifth meeting between the two clubs, and the third in Vancouver since the Whitecaps entered the league in 2011.

The Whitecaps are currently sitting in 6th place in the Western Conference with a 6-4-11 record. Like the Chicago Fire this year, Vancouver has struggled to get all three points at time this year. They're also heading into tomorrow's game having drawn their last four games. Since early May, the Whitecaps have won just once at home, a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders. In that stretch, the Whitecaps are 1-1-3 at BC Place. Their offense though is one that can cause KC a number of problems. Darren Mattocks can cause KC plenty of issues with his speed as the lone striker in Vancouver's 4-2-3-1 formation. But their biggest danger man will be Pedro Morales, he leads the Whitecaps in both goals (7) and assists (8). Morales, the Chilean attacking midfielder has done quite well since joining the Whitecaps from Malaga and will cause a lot of trouble for KC's midfield and defense.

Kansas City's road winning streak may be one of the more impressive things about this season. For me, someone who has been going on road trips to watch KC play since 2005 and didn't see the team actually win on a road trip until 2011, it's amazing that KC has won more road games in a row than they did in entire seasons in the past. KC gets Matt Besler back for this game as he'll return from his one game suspension and will likely slot right back in the middle of defense with Aurelien Collin. With Lawrence Olum returning from international duty his availability is in question for tomorrow, I'd expect Jorge Claros to again play the position. The other question will be Seth Sinovic's availability, he missed last weekend's game against Philadelphia with injury, but is not listed on this week's injury report. With a number of games still to play this season, I'd rest Sinovic one more game and either have Jacob Peterson play there again or Kevin Ellis slot in at left back.

Gruenebaum

Juliao - Collin - Besler - Ellis

Claros - Lopez

Feilhaber

Peterson - Dwyer - Zusi

Number to Remember - 0 - That's the number of losses that Vancouver has this year against teams in the Eastern Conference. The Whitecaps are 3-0-5 this year against the East heading into the game against KC.

Key Match Up - Jorge Claros vs Pedro Morales - Morales is likely to sit in right in front of Collin and Besler. It's going to fall on the Honduran to basically shadow the Chilean playmaker tomorrow and limit his touches on the ball. This match up is the other reason that I'd start Claros over a returning Olum. I think Claros has more mobility to handle the job of dealing with Morales than Olum does.

PREDICTION - KC has the confidence heading into this game, eight games unbeaten and five games on the road wins in a row will do that. KC's four All Stars all survived Wednesday and had short travel up to Vancouver that avoided unnecessary travel back to KC so they shouldn't be overly worn out. The Whitecaps will be fresh as well for the game, not having a game last weekend. Honestly with the Whitecaps record and KC's current unbeaten run, this game has draw written al over it.

SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
VAN - 1 (Mattocks)

All Stars Win, and No KC Players Hurt

After failing to win in four of the last five all star games, the MLS All Stars won last night against defending German champion, Bayern Munich. Second half goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Landon Donovan helped the all stars to a 2-1 win after Robert Lewandowski gave the Germans the lead in the first half.

Sporting KC's Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, and Graham Zusi all started for the All Stars and played the first 45 minutes. Collin was partly to blame on Lewandowski's goal, losing the Polish international, but his shot was superb to put the Germans in front. All three exited the game at half time. In the 51st minute the All Stars were level after Wright-Phillips equaled Lewandowski's strike with a nice volley of his own. Then in the 70th minute, Donovan received a cross from Diego Valeri, stayed on his feet and touched a ball past Tom Starke and into the net. Donovan was immediately replaced by Sporting's fourth all star representative, Dom Dwyer. Dwyer played the final 20 minutes, causing some trouble but not really creating much in the way of chances.

The best news of the whole night is that all four KC players made it through the game without an injury or playing too long, the first time since the team rebranded that this has happened. All four will now head straight to Vancouver to meet up with the rest of the team ahead of Sunday's game vs the Whitecaps.

FCKC Clinch Second in Weather Shortened Win Over Boston

From FC Kansas City

FC Kansas City (12-6-5 41pts) won 2-1 over the Boston Breakers (4-15-2 14pts) tonight at Verizon Wireless Field. Due to severe weather, the game was delayed two hours and was officially canceled at halftime. Though the match only lasted 45 minutes, three goals were scored. Amy Rodriguez and Sarah Hagen scored for the Blues while Heather O’Reilly scored for the Breakers. The FC Kansas City win tonight has given home field advantage to the Blues for the semifinals of the 2014 NWSL Playoffs.

Rodriguez has made a habit of attacking early in matches lately and tonight was no different. She found a breakaway and had a one-on-one face off with Alyssa Naeher. The Boston goalkeeper came out to defend but Rodriguez slipped around to an open net and put the Blues up 1-0 in the 8th minute.

Boston tried to quickly answer the first goal within the restart. The pressure would become fruitful in the 15th minute. Kassey Kallman fouled Lianne Sanderson just inside the box. O’Reilly stepped up to take the kick and put it just past Nicole Barnhart to even the score at one.

From there, FC Kansas City regrouped and controlled the tempo of the game. Erika Tymrak and Rodriguez had back to back close shots, but they would not find the back of the net. Hagen would be the one to capitalize on a chance in the 26th minute. In a scene much like Rodriguez’s goal, Hagen broke away from the pack and found an open net. After some bouncing around, the ball finally crossed the line and put the Blues up 2-1.

The game shifted after that goal; Boston found more attacking chances while Kansas City had three offside calls in a row. Boston would look to former FC Kansas City member Kristie Mewis for an equalizer. She fired off a shot in the 38th minute that went too high and over the net.

The half ended at 2-1 and the second round of delays set in. Halftime was extended until the curfew and the storm was still going strong. Since the match completed the first half, the game is considered official and final. FC Kansas City remains undefeated at home and secures home field advantage for the semifinals.

Kamara and Sierra Leone Advance Via Forfeit - Former SKC Wizards Update

Kei Kamara and Sierra Leone have advanced to the group stage of qualifying for he 2015 African Cup of Nations. After winning their first leg at home against Seychellas 2-0, the team was traveling to Seychellas for the second leg, but was denied entry to the country because of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Because of their denial to enter the country, the Seychellas national team had to forfeit the game. Oddly enough, Kamara was already in Seychellas, flying directly there instead of meeting up with the team. Sierra Leone will now be grouped with Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and the Congo with the top two advancing to the ACN. The third place team could advance if they are the best third place team of the eight groups.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Edson Elcock
Adnan Gabeljic
Aaron Hohlbein
Mechack Jerome
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Michal Mravec
Alex Martinez
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestly
Peter Schmetz
Scott Sealy
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 1-0 loss to Houston.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in New England's 2-1 loss to New York.
Bobby Convey - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 2-1 win over New England.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 85 minutes in RSL's 1-0 win over Colorado.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 77 minutes in Portland's 3-1 loss to LA.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 3-1 loss to LA.
Eddie Johnson - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 1-0 loss to Houston.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 2-0 win over Montreal.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - On loan to Orange County
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 win over Seattle.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 1-1 draw with Chicago.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in either of Fort Lauderdale's games.

USL
Brian Fekete - Pittsburgh - Did not dress in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win over LA 2.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Came off the bench and played 41 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Jonathan Leathers - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Charlotte's 4-1 loss to Orlando.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Orange County (loan) - Started and played 90 minutes in Orange County's 1-0 loss to OKC.
Kyle Miller - Oklahoma City - Dressed but did not play in OKC's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-1 win over Wilmington.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 0-0 draw with Rochester.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - St. Louis - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Tied Meuselwitz 3-3.
Scott Angevine - Sporting Kristina - Finland - Defeated Hameenlinna 3-2.
Federico Bessone - Millwall - England - No game until 8/9
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - No game this week.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Started and played 90 minutes in Ha Noi's 2-1 loss to Da Nang.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Did not play in either of Cucuta's games.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - No game until 8/9
Herculez Gomez - Tigres - Mexico - Dressed but did not play in Tigres' 1-1 draw with Tijuana.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - América RN - Brazil - Started and played 45 minutes in America's 1-0 loss to Santa Cruz.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan -No game until 8/9.
Kei Kamara - Middlesbrough - England - Sierra Leone's game against Seychelles forfeited by Seychellas.
Igor Kostrov - Veris - Moldova - Defeated Zaria 2-1.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 2-1 loss to Melgar.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Dressed but did not play in Servete's 2-1 loss to Wil.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Did not dress in Spartak's 4-0 win over Rubin Kazan.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 89 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-0 win over LEch Poznan.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - No game until 8/17.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - No game until 8/9
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia -  Started and played 90 minutes in Sarajevo's 2-1 loss to Atromitos.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Saarbrucken's 2-2 draw with Homburg. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Saarbrucken's 2-1 win over Freiburg II.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportivo Lara - Venezuela - No game until 8/10

Dwyer Linked with Brentford Move

While the MLS transfer window closes today, the window in England is still open until the end of this month. What that means is that there's still going to be a transfer rumors for the rest of this month. The latest rumor includes Sporting KC forward, Dom Dwyer.

Word from Sky Sports today is that recently promoted Championship club, Brentford is lining up a bid for Sporting's leading scorer. The club is apparently looking to boost it's offense ahead of their first season in the English Championship in over 20 years and feel that the Englishman can help with that.

And while the Sky story appears to have pulled incorrect information directly from Dwyer's Wikipedia entry (before it was edited), I still put at least some credence to this rumor.  Really it shouldn't surprise anyone that Dwyer is getting interest from clubs in the Championship. Two years ago he almost went on a loan to Scottish side, St. Mirren, and then last year was almost loaned again, this time to Charlton, so there's been interest from clubs in the past. And with Dwyer being an English citizen, clubs don't have to worry about work permits as they do with American players.

The question really would be whether Brentford can actually afford the price that KC is going to put on Dwyer. With the transfer window closed for MLS teams, the only way to acquire a player would be an out of contract player or a trade within the league. With that in mind, KC's asking price for Dwyer likely went up quite a bit today. And with Brentford recently being prompted the question is whether they'd be able to afford an inflated price.

Kempin Named Homegrown Game MVP

Last night in Portland, the first Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game took place as part of the week's All Star Game festivities. Sporting Kansas City was represented on the team with goalkeeper Jon Kempin and defender Erik Palmer-Brown.

While Kempin didn't start the game for the MLS side as they took on the Portland Timbers U23 team, he did walk away with the game's MVP award. Kempin made two saves in his 45 minute appearance in the game. Meanwhile, teammate Palmer-Brown played the entire game as a right back for the MLS side. Both teams had some chances throughout the game but neither was able to find the net. The MLS side showed a lot of good individual skill, but as you'd expect, didn't show a whole lot of team cohesion as the players had only been together for a short time.

Dwyer an All Star, Olum and Kenya Eliminated

MLS players are starting to drop out of the All Star game this week against Bayern Munich. Whether for league games later in the week or injuries, four players (Robbie Keane, Omar Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, and Jermain Defoe) have pulled out of the game this Wednesday. The latest withdraw, Defoe, has led to a fourth Sporting KC player being named to the roster. Dom Dwyer, KC's leading scorer, and the second leading scorer in the league has been named as Defoe's replacement on the team.

The inclusion of Dwyer is justified given his play this year, but on the other hand is surprising. When the original 23 man roster came out there had been two goalkeepers, six defenders, eight midfielders, and seven forwards. The current collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players union requires that a 32 man roster be named, with the other nine being on the "inactive roster." The CBA also requires how many players in each position be named, four goalkeepers, eight defenders, 13 midfielders, and seven forwards. So with seven forwards being named to the 23 man roster, my expectation was that Dwyer would unfortunately miss out entirely. It looks like the league was able to make an exception (or their going to re-classify Landon Donovan as a midfielder).

While I'm happy that Dwyer is getting the recognition he deserves for his season so far, it doesn't change my feelings on the All Star game. Over the last three years with Omar Bravo playing virtually the entire game vs Manchester United, Aurelien Collin getting hurt vs Chelsea, and Graham Zusi getting hurt vs Roma, I'm over the all star game itself.

Olum and Kenya Eliminated

Also today, Lawrence Olum and Kenya took the field against Lesotho in the second leg of their African Cup of Nations qualifier. Kenya lost the first leg 1-0 in Lesotho. At home for the second leg, Kenya was unable to overturn the result, as they drew 0-0. Olum picked up his third cap for his country, playing the full 90 minutes in the draw. They are now eliminated from qualifying for the 2015 African Cup of Nations in Morocco.

While it's disappointing for Olum and Kenya, it's good news for Sporting KC. If Kenya had advanced, they would have gone into the group play for qualifying. Those matches would have taken place in early September(5-10), mid-October (10-15), and mid-November (14-19). Olum could have potentially missed more games for Kansas City in that stretch if Kenya had advanced. Olum now returns to KC where he should be available for this coming weekend's MLS game in Vancouver.

FCKC Draw in Top of Table Clash

FC Kansas City  (11-6-5 38pts) battled to a 1-1 draw with Seattle Reign FC (15-1-5 50pts) tonight in front of 3,029 fans at Verizon Wireless Field. Amy Rodriguez scored the first goal of the night then Megan Rapinoe took credit for Seattle’s goal.

Rodriguez started the night off with an explosive goal in the 6^th minute. Lauren Holiday carried the ball in to the attacking third and found a running Rodriguez. Kansas City’s leading scorer fired off a shot at Hope Solo; she just missed the save for Rodriguez’s 12^th goal.  The Blues were up 1-0 early in the match.

A second goal almost came in the 29^th minute for FC Kansas City. Holiday took pressure from the defense but then sent the ball across the net. Sarah Hagen made a run towards the net to tap the ball in, but it rolled out before Hagen could get to it.

In the 35^th minute an awkward spinning ball found its way back to Hagen. After controlling the ball, she sent it across the box to Rodriguez who slipped. The ball kept rolling and Erika Tymrak ran up to take a shot, the ball bounced to the post where Solo scooped it up.

The rest of the first half was rather quiet and the teams took a break with the Blues up 1-0. FC Kansas City outshot Seattle Reign FC 8-1 in the first 45 minutes. 5 of the Blues’ 8 shots were directly on target while Seattle’s one was not.

In the 65^th minute, a dangerous play broke out for Seattle Reign FC. Sydney Leroux tried to redirect a rocket of a pass to the goal. She slid then fell on the turf and the ball rolled just wide to safety.

Seattle found an equalizer in the 68^th minute from Rapinoe. A shot from Leroux was deflected and bounced around in the box. Rapinoe collected the ball and shot again, this one made it past Nicole Barnhart to tie the score 1-1.

After a no call foul in the box against Hagen, she came back on the next play hungry for revenge. Hagen saw an opening and started running to the goal, Tymrak passed the ball and Hagen fired off a shot. Solo was in the perfect position to stop the shot and keep the score tied.

Reign FC pushed offensively trying to find a game-winning goal. In the final minutes of the game, Seattle dominated the ball in the box putting Kansas City’s defense to work. The Blues’ backline held strong and kept the ball out of the net, the game would end with both sides at one.

Though FC Kansas City was the clear offensive leader in the first half, Seattle came back to make the final shot tally 13-12 in favor of the Blues. World-class goalkeepers Barnhart and Solo were put to the test tonight. Barnhart had 3 saves while Solo had 9.