Match Day 20: A Busy Month Starts

Sporting Kansas City starts a busy month of August tomorrow at Sporting Park when they take on the Houston Dynamo at Sporting Park. KC play seven games this month, but the good news is that four of those seven games are at home, including three straight. In the stretch is also the club's US Open Cup semifinal against Real Salt Lake. With KC having played between one and four games fewer than the other teams in the Western Conference this will be a month that could make or break the season for KC. With teams in front of them like LA and Vancouver involved in the CONCACAF Champions League, KC has a chance to make a move. That starts tomorrow against the Dynamo.

The Dynamo come into the weekend game playing KC for the second time in a little over a week. After losing 3-1 to KC in the US Open Cup, Houston returned home to take out the LA Galaxy with a 3-0 win. While their designated player Erick Torres has only been coming off the bench, Will Bruin continues to find the net for the Dynamo as he scored his ninth of the season last week. The Dynamo will also welcome back Giles Barnes back from national team due with Jamaica at the Gold Cup along with DaMarcus Beasley. This Dynamo team that comes to KC will be quite different from the one that came to KC for the US Open Cup, they'll be a more dangerous team.

KC also welcomes back Graham Zusi from the Gold Cup as KC will be able to field their first choice lineup for the game as well. KC suffered just their second loss in their last 15 games in their last game out. Both of those losses came on the road against Salt Lake. KC is still unbeaten at home this season and will need to rely on that home form tomorrow against a very game Houston team. The team will have Zusi along with Benny Feilhaber and Matt Besler returning having all played 45 minutes on the midweek in the MLS All Star Game. All should though be ready for Saturday's game.

Melia

Myers - Ellis - Besler - Dia

Mustivar

Espinoza - Feilhaber

Zusi - Dwyer - Nemeth

Key Match Up - Soni Mustivar vs Giles Barnes - Barnes has returned from national team duty and will likely slot in with Bruin as a forward or right behind him.  If he's lined up behind Bruin, Mustivar will be tasked with keeping an eye on Barnes throughout the game. This will be key because as Barnes showed in the Gold Cup, giving him a free kick around the box is very dangerous.

Number to Remember - 2012 - Across all competitions Dom Dwyer and Krisztian Nemeth have both hit double digits for goals in a season, this is the first time since the 2012 season when CJ Sapong and Kei Kamara both his double digits. Along with both of them, Benny Feilhaber is not far off from becoming the third player to reach double digits with 8 goals. If he can reach double digits, it'll be the first time in club history that three players will hit double digits in 1 season.

PREDICTION - This will be a much different game than the one these two teams played a week and a half ago with both teams being closer to full strength than they were in the Open Cup. Houston always seems to be able o give KC a game. That doesn't seem to have changed with the managerial change from Dom Kinnear to Owen Coyle. Tomorrow's game will be tight with the Daynamo needing a win to really jump start t heir season if they want to make a playoff run. KC needs the game to put them in a good position for when they start to play those games in hand. I'm not sure that either team walks out with all three points tomorrow though.

SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
HOU - 1 (Torres)

Silly Season Rumors

There's just under a week left in the MLS secondary transfer window, after next Thursday, the window for bringing in a player from a team abroad or from a trade within MLS will be closed for the year. Since the trade for Amobi Okugo though there's been very little news regarding any movement KC would make during the rest of the window. There's been talk, mentions of a winger and another player coming in, but nothing really in the way of news. It's gotten to the point where many KC fans have become frustrated and annoyed with the lack of movement by the team. Today though there are two rumors, both of which certainly fit the theme of "silly season."

First reports out of Portugal today have Sporting Kansas City making a play to bring back former midfielder Oriol Rosell from Sporting Club de Portugal. The report states that KC made an offer of $1,000,000 for the player, but that the Lisbon club is looking to get more value out of Rosell. Instead, they are looking to get almost $2,200,000 for Rosell after apparently spending $1,300,000 for Rosell last year when they bought him from Kansas City. That rumor died a quick death today though with Sam McDowell reporting nothing was going to happen this window.

While it'd be a move that a large number of fans would certainly appreciate as Rosell is still well loved by the fan base here, it'd have been an odd move for KC. Currently there are at least five players that can play the defensive midfield position that Rosell would fill, and that's not counting Benny Feilhaber, who had played that position at times this year. And of those five players, four of them, Roger Espinoza, Soni Mustivar, Paulo Nagamura, and Amobi Okugo are making $230,000 or more against the cap. The fifth player is Generation Adidas player, Mikey Lopez. The other issue that any move like this would have had is the fact that since KC received a transfer fee for Rosell; they'd have to move up in the allocation order to reacquire him should he return to MLS.

The other rumor that's come out today involves Spanish midfielder, Jordi Quintilla. The attacking midfielder from Barcelona's youth system spent last season with Ajaccio in the French second division where they finished 17th, one spot above the relegation zone. The rumor tying Quintilla is flimsier than the rumor linking Rosell to KC. The basis for this rumor comes from the fact that Quintilla's official Twitter account has started following Sporting KC, Sporting KC's game day account, Dom Dwyer, Tim Melia, and Soni Mustivar on Twitter. Like the Rosell rumor though, this one appears to be shot down, at least in part already.

Quintilla is listed as an attacking midfielder, but I'd guess that he'd also get time on the wing, or at least tried out there. Probably similar to how Toni Dovale last year got time at both attacking midfield and on the wing.

#TBT KC All Star MVP Performance

With the all star game on Wednesday this past week, I thought I'd take a look at the last time a Kansas City player scored in the all star game and the only time a KC player has been named the all star game MVP.

In 1999, KC was suffering through their worst season in club history, but KC still had two players named to the all star team for the Western Conference as Alexi Lalas and Preki were named to the team in San Diego.

The game started quick with the East grabbing the lead in the first minute after a give away with Brian McBride feeding Roy Lassiter. Preki got himself on the board in the 13th as he leveled the game after being played through on the counter. Preki chipped his shot over Tom Presthus to tie the game at 1-1. The West was able to take the lead in the 32nd as the West pushed forward, Peter Nowak slid a ball through to Roman Kosecki who slid his shot under Presthus to give the West the lead. Four minutes later, Preki was involved again as he picked up the ball near midfield, dribbled through a couple East defenders, holding off challenges before playing a ball to Cobi Jones who fired a shot into the corner to make it 3-1 in the 36th. Two minutes later, Preki was back on the board again. After a number of passes the ball made it wide to Kosecki who crossed it into the middle for Preki to knock home.

Preki came off at half time, and as the second half went on the East made their come back. In the 62nd minute Marcelo Balboa brought down McBride in the box. Joe-Max Moore stepped up and beat Matt Jordan to make it 4-2. The next two East goals came due to some poor defense by the West as they failed to get the ball out of their own end. First in the 73rd Carlos Valderrama received a ball in the box, danced around Jordan before sliding the ball into the corner. Then after a poor back pass in the 83rd, Moore tried to beat Jordan to the ball. Jordan won the ball, but only knocked the ball into the path of Columbus' Stern John who scored to tie the game at 4-4. The tied score only lasted for a minute though as Mauricio Wright picked the ball up at midfield dribbled at the East defense before playing it wide to Ronald Cerritos who crossed it back to Wright who beat Walter Zenga to give the West the lead again. The West added to their lead in the 89th as Mauricio Cienfuegos cross into the box was turned in Cerritos to finish off the scoring at 6-4.

Preki was named the MVP of the game for his two goals and assist performance. 

You can check out the full match below.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Lots of goals from former KC players, six former players found the back of the net in their league play this week.

Here is this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Korede Aiyegbusi
Scott Angevine
Federico Bessone
Mitchell Cardenas
Bobby Convey
Herculez Gomez
Will John
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 3-2 win over Philadelphia.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 70 minutes in New England's 2-2 draw with Chicago.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Did not dress in Orlando's 3-1 loss to Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Orlando's 5-3 loss to NYC.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Did not dress in Orlando's 3-1 loss to Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 5-3 loss to NYC.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 87 minutes in RSL's 2-1 win over KC.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - No game this week.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 4-1 loss to Dallas.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Columbus' 3-3 draw with Toronto.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 3-3 draw with Columbus.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-0 win over Seattle.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Philadelphia's 3-2 loss to DC.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 3-1 loss to Vancouver.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-3 draw with Toronto.
Sal Zizzo - New York - No game this week.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 40 minutes in Tampa's 3-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 3-1 win over Tampa.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 2-1 loss to Ottawa. Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 3-1 win over Edmonton.
Kyle Miller - Atlanta - Did not dress in either of Atlanta's games.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Started and played 81 minutes in Atlanta's 2-1 loss to Ottawa. Came off the bench and played 4 minutes before being sent off in Atlanta's 3-1 win over Edmonton.

USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 0-0 draw with St. Louis.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Did not play in Austin's 1-0 win over Arizona.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - No game this wek.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 0-0 draw with St. Louis.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 2-0 win over Montreal.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Charlotte's 2-0 win over Montreal.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Did not dres in Arizona's 1-0 loss to Austin.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-0 winover Arizona.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 0-0 draw with St. Louis.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 4-3 loss to New York.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Offseason.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Tacoma - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Wichita - Offseason.

International
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 87 minutes, scoring a goal in Quilmes' 2-1 win over Racing.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-0 loss to Veracruz. Came off the bench and played 31 minutes, scoring a goal in Chivas' 2-0 win over Mineros de Zacatecas.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Next game 8/2
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Did not play in Qingdao's 2-0 loss to Tianjin Songjiang.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Lost 3-0 to Central Cordoba.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Did not dress in Ha Noi's 4-1 win over Thanh Hoa.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Next game 8/22
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Did not play in Cucuta's 1-0 win over Patriotas Boyaca.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Did not play in either of ABC's games.
Igor Kostrov - FK Kyzyl-Zhar - Kazakhstan - No game until 8/1
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 1-1 draw wtih Audax Italiano.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - No game until 8/4
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 62 minutes, scoring a goal in Spartak's 1-0 win over Krasnodar.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Defeated Team BJMC 2-1.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 4-1 loss to Celtic. Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 3-0 win over IBV.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - No game until 8/8.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Socceroo 6-0.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Sarajevo's 1-0 loss to Lech Poznan. Did not play in Sarajevo's 6-1 win over Brina Zvornik.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Offseason.

Sunday After Stats

Back from vacation here are your stats from Friday's game.

Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 14th in league play for KC, tying him with Jack Jewsbury for 17th place on that list.

The goal was his 16th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Aurelien Collin and Claudio Bieler for 20th on that list.

Feilhaber's goal was his 7th in league play away from home for KC, tying him with Eddie Johnson, Matt McKeon, and Mark Chung for 14th on that list.

It was his 8th in all competitions away from home for KC, tying him with Chung, Sasha Victorine, and Francisco Gomez for 15th on that list.

The assist was Roger Espinoza's 15th in league play for KC, tying him with Claudio Lopez and Chris Henderson for 16th on that list.

It was his 17th assist in all competitions, tying him with Lopez for 17th on that list.

Espinoza made his 149th appearance in all competitions, tying him with Chance Myers for 16th place on that list.

It was Espinoza's 129th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen for 14th on that list.

Espinoza started his 109th league game for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez for 18th on that list.

Sporting Fall to Salt Lake on the Road Again

Sporting KC finished up their three games in seven day stretch in Salt Lake last night. Making some more changes to his eleven, Peter Vermes tired some further squad rotation to give some guys a break after a busy week. With the changes and exhaustion from the week, it wasn't surprising how the game started, with Salt Lake on the front foot.

KC had a good opportunity early on to take the lead on the counter though. On a ball over the top to Dom Dwyer, the Englishman found himself in behind the Salt Lake defense, but a lack of speed and a poor touch allowed Salt Lake's defense to recover before Dwyer could get a shot off. In the 34th minute, KC has made to pay for that early miss as Javier Morales was able to bring the ball down and weave between Soni Musivar, Marcel de Jong, and Matt Besler before slotting the ball past Tim Melia and into the net to make it 1-0 Salt Lake. RSL continued to pressure KC and looked the more likely to extend their lead. In the 43rd minute they almost did as Joao Plata was picked out on a cross to the back post, Plata's effort went over Melia but hit the cross bar and bounced away from danger as KC went into the half down 1-0.

At half time, Vermes made two changes, bringing on Benny Feilhaber and Amadou Dia for Mustivar and de Jong who'd both had poor first halves. It took Feilhaber just four minutes to impose his will on the game, receiving the ball about 25 yards or so from goal, Feilhaber fired a shot that beat Jeff Attinella and leveled the game for Kansas City. The game became more of a back and forth affair with both teams having their chances get he lead. In the 60th minute Salt Lake again made it look too easy getting through KC's defense as the ball got wide to Devon Sandoval out wide, his shot beat Melia, but didn't beat the post as the ball bounced back into play. At the other end of the field, Jacob Peterson should have given KC the lead. After some work down the left, the ball got knocked towards the corner by Salt Lake, Krisztian Nemeth raced onto the ball and played the ball into the middle for Peterson, but Attinella came up with a big save to deny Peterson. The miss proved costly in the 71st minute as Olmes Garcia raced down the side and beat Erik Palmer-Brown to get into the box, Melia had come off his line, but Garcia touched the ball past him and was fouled by the KC goalkeeper. Referee Allen Chapman immediately pointed to the spot. Plata stepped up for Salt Lake and put the ball low into the corner, Melia guessed right but couldn't get his hand on the shot. Shortly after KC had another good opportunity to score as Dwyer found space in the box and played a ball back across goal for Peterson who was all alone, but again his shot couldn't beat Attinella who made a good save getting across the goal. KC struggled to create chances from there and Salt Lake was able to take the 2-1 win.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Winning this for last night has as much to do with how poor the KC offense looked in the first half as it does with his performance in the second half. KC just looked completely incapable of doing much in the offensive half of the field without Feilhaber (or Graham Zusi) on the field. In the second he provided the spark KC needed.

Player Ratings - Melia 4, Abdul-Salaam 4, Palmer-Brown 4, Besler 4, de Jong 3, Mustivar 4, Espinoza 5, Nagamura 4, Nemeth 4, Dwyer 4, Peterson 3. Subs Feilhaber 6, Dia 4, Hallisey 3.

Match Day 19: Ready to Accept the Consiquences

Tomorrow night Sporting KC finish up their busy three games in seven day stretch with a game in Salt Lake. After a week that's seen them win against Montreal and advance to the US Open Cup semifinals, the team ends their stretch with one of the more difficult road trips in MLS. Salt Lake has never been an easy place to play, and KC is already 0-1 there this season. In fact, since the beginning of May, the trip to Salt Lake back in June is KC's only loss, they've gone 10-1-2 across all competitions since the beginning of May, which is when Tim Melia took over in goal for KC.

Salt Lake comes into the game currently six points outside a playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference. Just recently, they traded the clubs all time leading scorer, Alvaro Saborio to DC United for midfielder, Luis Silva. Saborio's possession has become less needed with Sebastian Jaime rounding into form for Salt Lake. Even though he missed last week's game due to suspension, he's stil been a major threat for Salt Lake in recent weeks. They've also welcomed back Joao Plata, who has been out with injury for a good portion of the season. They also have the ever dangerous, Jaiver Morales, who will cause KC plenty of problems.

The main issue for KC in this game is going to be tired legs. KC just doesn't have the bodies right now to handle rotating the full squad after many have already played 180 minutes this week. Some of them are going to have to go 270 with tomorrow's game. But who does rotate in for the game? Does Amobi Okugo make his debut for KC less than a week after joining the club? Does Peter Vermes rest one of his central midfielders and insert Paulo Nagamura? Does Marcel de Jong get his first start since returning from the Gold Cup? I think a number of these answers are probably yes. I think Vermes is going to come into this game with a more conservative strategy after having to exert so much energy having to fiht back on Tuesday against the Dynamo.

Melia

Abdul-Salaam - Okugo - Besler - de Jong

Mustivar

Nagamura - Feilhaber

Peterson - Dwyer - Nemeth

Number to Remember - 4 - That's the number of games in a row KC has technically gone without a win against Salt Lake. KC's last win was back in 2013 when Ike Opara scored in stoppage time to "drench" Rio Tinto in sorrow. MLS Cup 2013, while KC won, technically goes down as a draw while two 0-0 draws in KC in 2014 and 2015 and a loss in June in Utah get us to the 4 games.

Key Match Up - Soni Mustivar vs Javier Morales - The Salt Lake player continues to be a danger man every single game. Operating behind the strikers, it'll fall on Mustivar to really make sure he doesn't get enough space, while at the same time not giving Salt Lake dangerous free kicks around the top of the box, cause he'll make KC pay.

PREDICTION- After Tuesday and getting the win on the road, I'm not sure that there's a Sporting KC game I've worried less about losing. While getting a win here would be huge especially with the games in hand, I'm not worried as much as I should be if KC loses the game. KC threw out their best 11 on Tuesday to get the win, I understand Vermes line of thinking there and applaud it. I now fully accept the consiquences of those actions with a quick turn around on the road, at altitude against a strong opponent.

SKC - 0
RSL - 2 (Morales, Garcia)

S.A.S. Wednesday After Stats

The win was KC's 300th in all competitions in the club's history.

Dom Dwyer's goal was his 5th in the US Open Cup in all versions of it, and in the USOC proper, that ties him with Davy Arnaud and Igor Simutenkov for first place on that list in the USOC proper, and with Arnaud, Simutenkov, and CJ Sapong when including qualifiers.

Dwyer's goal was his 24th at home in all competitions, breaking his tie with Chris Klein for 4th on that list.

Roger Espinoza's assist was his 16th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez, Chris Henderson, Michael Harrington, and Chance Myers for 18th place on that list.

In the 41st minute, Espinoza moved past Chris Klein and into 3rd place for minutes played in the USOC proper, he finished the game with 904 minutes played in the USOC.

Espinoza made his 148th appearance in all competitions, breaking his tie with Gutierrez and Seth Sinovic for 17th on that list.

Espinoza started his 124th game in all competitions

Chance Myers, Matt Besler, and Espinoza all moved past Eric Kronberg in minutes played in the US Open Cup and qualifiers and into 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively finishing with 1,061, 1.040, and 1,024

Myers and Besler made their 13th appearance in the US Open Cup and qualifiers, tying them with Michael Harrington for 3rd on that list.

Espinoza and Jacob Peterson made their 11th appearance in the US Open Cup and qualifiers for KC, tying them with Preki for 8th on that list.

Besler and Peterson made their 11th appearance in the US Open Cup proper, tying them with Preki for 3rd on that list.

Myers and Espinoza made their 10th appearance in the US Open Cup proper, tying them with Klein and CJ Sapong for 6th on that list.

Carrasco Joins List of Former Wizards - Former SKC Wizards Update

Servando Carrasco is the latest player to join the list of former SKC Wizards after his trade this week. He headed straight for Chicago to meet up with Orlando ahead of their US Open Cup game tonight.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Federico Bessone
Bobby Convey
Will John
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 2-1 loss to Dallas.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 72 minutes in New England' 1-0 win over NYC.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Just traded to Orlando.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-0 loss to New York.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Salt Lake's 2-0 win over Houston.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Started and played 90 minutes in Colorado's 1-0 win over Seattle.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 1-1 draw with Vancouver.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 89 minutes, scoring a goal in Columbus' 1-0 win over Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Columbus' 3-1 win oer Chicago.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Suspended for Toronto's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 2-1 loss to KC.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Philadelphia's 2-1 loss to Toronto. Suspended for Philadelphia's 1-1(4-3) shootout win over New York.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 5-2 loss to LA.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 1-0 win over Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-1 win over Chicago.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in New York's 2-0 win over Orlando. Came off the bench and played 50 minutes in New York's 1-1(4-3) shootout loss to Philadelphia.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 1-0 loss to Edmonton.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 1-0 loss to Mexico.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 2-2 draw with Fort Lauderdale.
Kyle Miller - Atlanta - Did not dress in Atlanta's 2-2 draw with Fort Lauderdale.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Started and played 64 minutes in Atlanta's 2-2 draw with Fort Lauderdale.

USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Came off the bench and played 24 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with Tulsa.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Austin's 4-1 win over Arizona.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - No game this week.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with Tulsa.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 1-0 loss to Jamaica.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 83 minutes in Charlotte's 0-0 draw with Rochester.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Did not play in Arizona's 4-1 loss to Austin.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 4-1 win over Arizona.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with Tulsa.
Yomby William - Richmond - No game this week.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Offseason.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Tacoma - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Wichita - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Offseason
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Quilmes' 2-1 loss to Boca Juniors.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Next game is 7/24
Reinaldo Brenes - Saprissa - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Returning from Gold Cup
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Tied Midland 1-1.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Dressed but did not play in Trinidad's 4-4 draw with Mexico. Started and played 120 minutes in Trinidad's 1-1 (6-5) shootout loss to Panama.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Next game 8/22
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Did not play in Cucuta's 5-0 loss to Santa Fe.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla - Mexico - Next game is 7/25.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - No game his week.
Igor Kostrov - FK Kyzyl-Zhar - Kazakhstan - No game until 8/1
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Dressed but did notplay in Palestino's 2-0 loss to Union Espanola. Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 4-2 loss to Union Espanola.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - No game until 8/4
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 63 minutes in Spartak's 2-2 draw with UFA.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Lost 5-0 Abahani. Lost 4-3 to Sheikh Jamal.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 63 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-1 draw with IA.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - No game until 8/8.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Green Archers 7-0. Defeated Kaya 2-0.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Started and played 66 minutes in Sarajevo's 2-0 loss to Lech Poznan.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Offseason.

Espinoza's Punch

One of the big talking points of last night's win was the altercation around the 65th minute that involved Sporting KC's Roger Espinoza. In the 66th minute, with KC trailing 1-0, Sporting was driving forward looking for an equalizer. As Espinoza moved forward, playing the ball ahead to Dom Dwyer, he ran into Ricardo Clark, who had raised his elbow as Espinoza ran into him. Seconds later, Dwyer was fouled by Leonel Miranda in a very dangerous position at the top of the box.

Espinoza though had taken exception to the fact that Clark had raised his elbow up as Espinoza came in. With Clark already on a yellow at the time, Espinoza seems to have felt that the challenge was a foul itself and should have resulted in Clark being the second Houston Dynamo player to be sent off on the night and Espinoza let Clark know about it. David Horst came in and gave Espinoza a shove to separate the two players as the two teams came together. Referee Ted Unkel stepped in and attempted to regain order. For a moment it appeared that he had as the players started to get set up for the free kick. Then on the broadcast the camera angle changes to show the entire team and you catch Espinoza and Brad Davis together with Espinoza appearing to throw a punch at the Dynamo captain and landing on his chin. Davis and his teammates immediately throw their hands up looking to see if the referee saw it, but Unkel had his back to the pair getting the play set up for the free kick. You can see the punch in slo-mo here.

From there Unkel pulled the two aside with Sporting captain Matt Besler and told the two to calm down. Seconds after he was done though Davis was back in Espinoza's face and eventually Unkel just gave both Espinoza and Davis a yellow card.

In reality, Espinoza was lucky to stay on the field (and you can argue the same about Clark since he was already on a yellow at the time) for the punch he threw against Davis. And I'd suspect that US Soccer will review the tape and Espinoza is likely going to miss time in the US Open Cup. I would expect Espinoza to miss at least the semifinal against Real Salt Lake on August 12th due to a retroactive suspension, and wouldn't be surprised if he's out longer when US Soccer comes down with their review of the incident. US Soccer hasn't ruled on an incident like this in the recent past, but they have recently handed down suspensions to Clint Dempsey and Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Both players received six game or two year suspensions from the US Open Cup, whichever is longer, Dempsey for taking the referee's book and tearing it, while Blanco was suspended for punching DC United player Clyde Simms and poking him in the eye, he also head butted a DC United employee as he was being escorted off the field.

Hopefully any suspension for Espinoza isn't anywhere near that severe, but we'll see, if he is suspended KC at least has Paulo Nagamura available to step into his role in the midfield if Espinoza is out.

The Name of the Game is Survive and Advance

Survive and advance, that's the cliche that a lot of people use went it comes to advancing in a knockout tournament, you don't always need to play well, you just need to survive and advance. That's exactly what Sporting KC did last night at Sporting Park against the Houston Dynamo. They weren't playing their best soccer of the year by far, but an early red card by the Dynamo and some tired legs late allowed KC to advance to the US Open Cup semifinals with a 3-1 win over the Houston club.

The first half of the game was an extremely ugly game to watch from both teams, neither side was creating much in the way of chances, and the build up play was not pretty either. The Dynamo controlled the early part of the game though, winning a number of set pieces and corners in KC's end of the field. It seemed that KC hadn't learned their lesson from their 4-4 draw in Houston earlier this year and not giving Houston a bunch of set pieces with Brad Davis serving in set pieces. The game changed in the 30th minute though as Luis Garrido tried to win the ball off Benny Feilhaber, the ball got played back to Amadou Dia, Garrido followed the ball and as Dia released it, Garrido came in with a sliding challenge with his studs up, going through Dia completely missing the ball. Referee Ted Unkel went to his back pocket and handed Garrido a straight red card for his actions putting the Dynamo down to 10 men. From there, KC started to control and dominate play, but they still struggled to create chances as the first half ended 0-0 with neither team recording a shot on goal.

The second half saw KC continue to dominate play and keep Houston in their end of the field. The Dynamo relied on counters to get any chances at KC's net. In the 58th they won themselves a corner after a poor back pass by Matt Besler. Off the ensuing set piece, the Dynamo made KC pay for one set piece too many. Davis played corner right into the middle of the box for Ricardo Clark, the midfielder put his header on frame but was blocked on the line by Roger Espinoza, the rebound fell to Will Bruin who knocked his effort between Espinoza and Tim Melia to make it 1-0 to the Dynamo. KC went back to the attack and minutes later had won a penalty kick and a chance to equalize after Davis brought down Chance Myers in the box. Dom Dwyer stepped up to take the spot kick, but his kick was poor, not in either corner and at a comfortable level for Joe Willis to make an easy save keeping Houston on top. It wouldn't be a Houston vs KC game without a small dust up though and in the 65th minute, Espinoza was taken down by an elbow by Clark. In the ensuing scuffle between the two teams, Davis and Espinoza got into it a bit and it appears that Espinoza threw a punch at Davis which none of the referees saw. Both Davis and Espinoza received a yellow card on the play. The Dynamo were starting to tire though, many of the players had gone 90 minutes on the weekend against Salt Lake and the heavy legs began to show. In the 71st, Clark was late to react to a through ball by Besler as he slid late, missing the ball as it slipped through to Feilhaber. The missed tackle gave Feilhaber time at the top of the box to pick his corner and he buried his shot low past Willis to tie the game at 1-1. From there Sporting continued to control and always looked the more likely team to find a second as they kept Houston pinned deep. Finally in the 86th, KC was able to capitalize on their possession again and take the lead. Dia played a nice ball into the middle for Krisztian Nemeth who flicked the ball with the outside of his foot into the path of Dwyer as he ran into the box. Dwyer took a touch and made no mistake slotting the ball into the near corner past Willis and giving KC a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later with the Dynamo looking tired and defeated, KC made it 3-1 as Dwyer received a pass from Espinoza and picked out Nemeth in the box, Nemeth settled the ball and fired a shot towards the far corner. On the way through though the ball took a big deflection off of Houston defender, AJ Cochran and deflected into the middle of the goal. With Willis having already commited on the initial shot he had no chance to adjust as the ball went into the net sealing the game for KC. KC now move on to the semifinals where they'll host Real Salt Lake for a chance at the finals.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Seemed to put the team on his back last night, especially after they had gone down a goal, he was trying to will a goal to happen with his play. He was rewarded with the tying goal, but overall carried the team last night when it looked sluggish.

Player Ratings - Melia 5, Myers 6, Ellis 4, Besler 4, Dia 5, Mustivar 5, Espinoza 5, Feilhaber 7, Hallisey 4, Dwyer 6, Nemeth 6. Subs Peterson 6, Nagamura NR, Abdul-Salaam NR.

Match Day USOC: KC Welcome a Familiar Rival

For the fourth time in five years, Sporting Kansas City welcome the Houston Dynamo to Sporting Park for a knock out game. This time the game is a US Open Cup quarterfinal match tomorrow night, with the winner hosting Real Salt Lake in the competitions semifinal.

Both teams come into the game having had a competitive game on the weekend, Houston was in Salt Lake for a league game against RSL. Houston put out the best lineup that they had available with injuries and call ups and ended up losing 2-0. They travel to KC for their second game in eight days in three cities when they come into Sporting Park tomorrow. They will have designated player, Erick Torres available for the game and he could make his debut for the Dynamo tomorrow night. With them having an important game against the Galaxy at home on Saturday, their lineup could be another mix, as much as they can.

KC is just as busy as Houston is, they're playing their second of three games in seven days tomorrow night before a trip to Salt Lake for a game this Friday. They're in a situation similar to Houston in the fact that they just don't have a lot of depth right now, although they're getting healthier with Paulo Nagamura and Chance Myers returning from injury and Marcel de Jong back from the Gold Cup. Two of those three I'd think would get the start tomorrow night and I wouldn't be surprised if all three of them start for KC tomorrow as Peter Vermes has to have a bit of an eye towards Friday and the trip to RSL, even if the Open Cup is a priority this year.

Melia

Myers - Ellis - Besler - de Jong

Mustivar

Nagamura - Feilhaber

Hallisey - Dwyer - Nemeth

Number to Remember - 29 - This is the number of times that KC and Houston will have played in all competitions after tomorrow's game. That's the most games against any team in the Dynamo's history.

Key Match Up - KC Defense vs Erick Torres - The former Chivas USA forward joined the Dynamo after Chivas ceased operations, but he's yet to play a game for the Dynamo as he's been on loan with Chivas Guadalajara as part of the deal that saw MLS permanently purchase his contract. He's not available to play for Houston and traveled with the club for this trip to Salt Lake and KC. If he plays tomorrow, KC's defense is going to need to be on top of their game to take care of business.

PREDICTION - Both teams are in an extremely busy part of the their schedule and both will probably need to use some of the depth that neither really has at the moment. Still, at home, with the home form that KC has shown this year, this is a game that KC should be able to win, they haven't had to travel from Saturday to today, they've gotten to stay at home. It may not be pretty tomorrow, but it's a game that KC should be able to take.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Feilhaber)
HOU - 1 (Davis)

Sporting Trade Carrasco to Orlando for Okugo

Sporting KC looks like they are on the verge of addressing some of their defensive needs in the very near future. According to both Goal.com and the KC Star, Sporting KC is trading midfielder Servando Carrasco and other considerations to Orlando City in exchange for Amobi Okugo. The trade would see two players that have lost their starting spot switching teams.

Okugo can play in the midfield or in defense. He's mainly played in the midfield over the last couple years, but has also played a number of times in central defense when he was with the Philadelphia Union. With KC fairly set at defensive midfield right now with the likes of Soni Mustivar and Roger Espinoza, one would think that Okugo could come in and challenge Kevin Ellis for the starting position next to Matt Besler in central defense.

At 24, Okugo is also still young but is in his 6th season in MLS after spending his first five years with the Union. He'd played well there and was looking for a pay increase or a move abroad. In the end, Okugo was traded to the expansion Orlando City side. He played 15 times for them, starting nine times, but has not started a game since May 8th against New England. Instead he's been relegated to cameo roles off the bench for the most part.

The immediate worry for those that looked at the trade on the surface is the fact that Okugo is set to make $275,000 in base salary and $300,000 in guaranteed compensation according to the players' union salaries, but it looks like Orlando will be helping out there as well, apparently picking up $200,000 of Okugo's cap hit over the rest of this season and next season too.

One has to assume that KC is probably throwing in some allocation money or the new Targeted Allocation Money in the deal as well. As a whole this trade probably benefits everyone involved, Okugo and Carrasco get a change of scenery after it's become apparent neither is going to get a lot of field time with their current club. KC gets a young player who can play center back, a position that KC really needed to address in this transfer window while Orlando gets some cap relief.

The trade means that over the last three years or so, Peter Vermes has turned a 4th round supplemental draft pick into Okugo. Sporting traded a fourth round supplemental draft pick to San Jose for the rights to Michael Thomas. A couple years later, KC traded Thomas to Toronto in exchange for a 2015 second round pick. This year ahead of the draft, KC traded that pick to Houston in exchange for Carrasco, who has now been traded to Orlando for Okugo.

Sunday After Stats

Lots of stats from last night's game.

Matt Besler made his 200th appearance in all competitions for KC, he's the 8th player to hit that mark, the first since Jack Jewsbury did it in 2010.

Dom Dwyer's goal was his 23rd at home in all competitions, tying him with Chris Klein for fourth all time on that list.

Dwyer's game winner was his eighth of his career for KC, tying him with Graham Zusi and Digital Takawira for 6th on that list.

In all competitions, it was his 10th game winner, breaking his tie with Zusi, CJ Sapong, and Miklos Molnar for 6th on that list.

Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 13th in league play for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon, Jose Burciaga, Sasha Victorine, and Claudio Lopez for 18th on that list.

Feilhaber's assist was his 10th of the season in league play, the first time a KC player has hit double digits in assists since Zusi in 2012.

Feilhaber is only the 5th player in KC history to hit double digits for assists in league play in a single season.

Feilhaber's assist was the 20th of his KC career in league play, tying him with Jack Jewsbury and Kei Kamara for 9th on that list.

Feilhaber's assist was his 30th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Josh Wolff for 6th all time on that list.

Roger Espinoza's assist was his 14th in league play for KC, tying him with Francisco Gomez, Diego Gutierrez, and Chance Myers for 16th on that list.

Espinoza's assist was his 15th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Gutierrez, Myers, Chris Henderson, and Michael Harrington for 18th place on that list.

In the 49th minute, Espinoza moved past Uche Okafor and into 18th place for mintues played in league play, Espinoza finished the game with 9,555 minutes played.

Espionoza made his 147th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Gutierrez and Seth Sinovic for 17th on that list.

Espinoza made his 128th league appearance for KC, tying him with Jimmy Nielsen for 14th place on that list.

Espinoza started his 123rd game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Burciaga for 19th place on that list.

It was his 108th start in all competitions for KC, moving him into a tie with Gutierrez for 18th on that list.

Chance Myers made his 148th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Gutierrez and Sinovic for 16th place on that list.

Myers made his 125th league appearance for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 16th place on that list.

Sporting Top Montreal

Sporting KC continued their strong run of form and started a busy week of play off with a 2-1 win over the Montreal Impact at Sporting Park. Kansas City was able to strike early and then absorb pressure late on while seemingly having an eye towards Tuesday and the US Open Cup against Houston.

Kansas City started the game out very well, scoring in just the fourth minute. Jacob Peterson almost capitalized on a big mistake by Montreal as a throw in went right into the middle of the box, but Peterson couldn't make good contact with the ball to put the shot on goal. Roger Espinoza won the ball just outside the box and played it wide to Krisztian Nemeth who squared a ball into the middle for Benny Feilhaber. The ball bounced up on him, but Feilhaber was able to adjust and fired a ball into the corner to make it 1-0. KC kept up some of the pressure, but really weren't creating much in the way of chances. Montreal had a good opportunity to equalize in the 31st as a through ball found Dominic Oduro behind Matt Besler. Oduro got a touch on it, but so did Tim Melia as the ball went out for a corner. A couple minutes later, KC made it 2-0. Kevin Ellis won the ball for KC near midfield and the ball came to Feilhaber. Feilhaber immediately played a through ball that split Montreal's defense with Dom Dwyer running onto it. Dwyer let the ball do all the work and his first touch came at the top of hte box when he fired the ball past Evan Bush and into the net. KC created a few other chances in the first half, the best coming from Dwyer in the 40th on the counter. Dwyer beat his defender and fired a shot on Bush. The Montreal goalkeeper made the first save, but the rebound fell right to Dwyer who tried to put it away but his second effort was also knocked away. Off the ensuing corner, Peterson had a flick header that went just wide of the far post as the two teams went into half with KC in front 2-0.

The second half saw KC continue to control the play but really not create much in the way of chances, KC seemed content to kill the game off in the heat and with their busy schedule. In the 59th minute though Montreal cut into the lead on the counter. The ball was played out wide for Ignacio Piatti who beat Kevin Ellis as the KC defender dove in for the ball. Piatti dribbled into the box and slotted a ball into the far post past Melia and into the net making it 2-1. The rest of the game saw Montreal trying to apply pressure and create chances but not really able to. KC meanwhile spent time possessing the ball trying to kill the clock off, not really creating anything on their offensive end either. In the end KC did enough to keep Montreal held off and get the win.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - A goal and an assist for KC's MVP so far this year, but there are players ahead of him in the national team pecking order. Another solid performance from the midfielder.

Player Rating - Melia 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Ellis 6, Besler 6, Dia 6, Mustivar 7, Espinoza 7, Feilhaber 8, Peterson 5, Dwyer 6, Nemeth 5. Subs Hallisey 5, Nagamura 6, Myers 6.

Match Day 18: A Busy Week Begins

Sporting KC tomorrow night at Sporting Park starts a very busy stretch of their season. Tomorrow will be the first of three games in seven days for Sporting KC. Two of those games will be at home, starting tomorrow against the Montreal Impact. They'll welcome the Houston Dynamo to KC on Tuesday before a trip on Friday to Salt Lake.

The Impact have played the fewest games in MLS so far this season, tomorrow night is their 17th game. They'd had a couple games earlier this season moved as they made their run to the CONCACAF Champions League final. While the Impact currently sit on 21 points, and are only three points out of a playoff spot with a 6-7-3 record, they are just 1-5-2 on the road this season, with a -10 goal difference. They're a dangerous side with the likes of Dominic Oduro at forward, who has given KC fits in the past. They also have Jack McInerney up top and then Ignacio Piatti, who has had a lot of success in the CCL, but his MLS success hasn't been as successful.

Kansas City is coming into the game after a hard worked 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. While the defense was strong in the result with two rookies and a converted wingback along with Matt Besler, I'd think that Chance Myers will make a return to the lineup at right back. With the heavy schedule, you have to wonder if Peter Vermes will consider some rotation of his roster, although there's very little rotation for the club to do right now with the roster the way it is right now. Paulo Nagamura could come into the lineup, maybe Connor Hallisey, but there really isn't a lot of depth to come into the game right now.

Melia

Myers - Ellis - Besler - Dia

Mustivar

Nagamura - Feilhaber

Peterson - Dwyer - Nemeth

Number to Remember - 8 - KC is going for their eighth straight home win across all competitions. One more win and KC will tie their club record for consecutive wins at home, originally set in 2004.

Key Match Up - Dom Dwyer vs Laurent Ciman - Up top tomorrow, Dwyer will be going up against the former Belgian international. Dwyer last week had a battle against Kendall Waston and it likely won't get much better this week. KC last week played the ball forward to Dwyer even though he wouldn't win it in hopes of winning the second ball.

PREDICTION - Of the three games this week, this one may be the easiest for KC to recover from if they drop points. Montreal is no longer a conference rival like next Friday against Salt Lake, and it's not for the chance to make the semifinals of the US Open Cup. That said this is probably the best chance for a win in the three games with Montreal's poor form on the road. This is a game that KC should be able to win.

SKC - 3 (Dwyer, Nemeth, Feilhaber)
MTL - 1 (McInerney)

2015 MLS Salaries Released

With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement now ratified by the players, the MLS Players' Union has released the 2015 salaries for players. The annual to bi-annual event where fans argue over who is over paid, who is underpaid, who is a steal and marvel at the discrepancy in salaries from Kaka to the likes of Amadou Dia. Based off the base salaries, Sporting KC sits with the 10th highest salary in the league at $5,209,250. About a quarter of the price that the likes of Toronto and LA.

Here's Sporting's list of salaries. The first number is the base salary, the second is the guaranteed compensation.

Abdul-Salaam, Saad - D - $60,000.00 - $73,750.00
Anibaba, Jalil - D - $120,000.00 - $150,000.00
Anor, Bernardo - M - $135,000.00 - $135,000.00
Besler, Matt - D - $650,000.00 - $683,250.00
Carrasco, Servando - M - $80,750.00 - $85,375.00
de Jong, Marcel - D - $180,000.00 - $191,500.00
Dia, Amadou - D - $50,000.00 - $50,000.00
Dwyer, Dom - F - $400,000.00 - $518,750.00
Ellis, Kevin - D - $60,000.00 - $63,150.00
Espinoza, Roger - M - $750,000.00 - $750,000.00
Feilhaber, Benny - M - $350,000.00 - $362,187.50
Hallisey, Connor - M - $60,000.00 - $73,750.00
Kempin, Jonathan - GK - $85,000.00 - $92,083.33
Lopez, Mikey - M - $100,000.00 - $172,000.00
Medranda, Jimmy - M - $60,000.00 - $60,000.00
Melia, Tim - GK - $80,000.00 - $84,203.33
Mustivar, Soni - M - $250,000.00 - $250,000.00
Myers, Chance - D-M - $170,000.00 - $195,000.00
Nagamura, Paulo - M - $230,000.00 - $230,000.00
Nemeth, Krisztian - F - $250,000.00 - $250,000.00
Opara , Ike - D - $115,000.00 - $121,250.00
Palmer-Brown, Erik - D - $60,000.00 - $60,500.00
Peterson, Jacob - F - $123,500.00 - $130,375.00
Sinovic, Seth - M-D - $140,000.00 - $146,750.00
Zusi, Graham - F-M - $650,000.00 - $682,102.27


Some of the things that stand out.

Espinoza is the team's highest paid player with a base salary of $750,000. He's not a designated player though as the team is apparently paying down his salary with allocation funds. With the new Targeted Allocation Money, one could wonder if KC could look to use that to pay down Espinoza and use their current allocation money on other things.

Four players that started on the back line in KC's last game against Vancouver, three of them (Abdul-Salaam, Dia, and Ellis) make a combined $170,000 in base salary.

Mustivar and Nemeth are both making $250,000 per year. In the capped league that is MLS, that's probably fair for both the contribution of the players and the business the team did bringing them in.

Dwyer's new deal that he signed this offseason is a very good piece of business for him, he went from earning $80,000 according to last year's numbers, to $400,000 this year, a little under the designated player limit.

With their contributions this season you can easily argue that Ellis and Melia have been two of the best bargains in the league this year. Ellis making $60,000 has stepped up in the absence of Opara and really became a key contributor for the team. While Melia makes $80,000 and has become extremely important in KC's move up the league standings.

In terms of players that are overpaid, the biggest is probably Nagamura. While the Brazilian offers a lot when he's on the field, the problem is that he just hasn't been on the field that much recently. He's played just 398 minutes of a potential 1,530 KC has played in league play this year. At $230,000 that's not nearly enough of a contribution.

Similar comments can be made about Anor's $135,000 salary with only 188 minutes of contribution.

We unfortunately don't learn the salary Luis Marin was set to make with the club due to his mutual agreement to terminate his contract.

#TBT The Rochester Wizards

I read a really good article this week over on Empire of Soccer called The Rise and Fall of the Rochester Rhinos. It's a history of the only non-MLS team to win the US Open Cup, and their ascension to being an MLS expansion favor to almost going out of existence. The club is now appears to be back on their feet in the USL.

The reason I bring the article up is because Kansas City's MLS history almost became Rochester's MLS history. As I've previously mentioned, after the 2004 season, Lamar Hunt put the Kansas City Wizards up for sale. Throughout the coming 2005 season, many rumors surfaced about potential locations the Wizards were set to be moved to. From Tulsa, to San Antonio, to New York, to yes, Rochester. In fact, Rochester was arguably the favorite to land the Wizards. As the article mentions, after Rochester had failed in their bid to get an expansion team in 2005 when the league added Chivas USA and Real Sale Lake, they turned their attention to purchasing the for sale Wizards. At the time, Rochester was drawing pretty much the same if not more than KC was at Arrowhead, even though Rochester was in the minor leagues. According to one of the team's original owners, Steve Donner the deal to move the Wizards to Rochester was pretty much a done deal, "we had an agreement pretty much done in principle with Kansas City to move the Wizards here."

I remember being told later that it was far enough along that the Hunts were counting parking spots in Rochester for the upcoming move of the Wizards to Rochester. According to Donner in the article, one of the things that apparently held up the deal was that while the Hunts were going to pay the annual league expenses, in exchange they wanted equity in the stadium. The lack of their own deep pocketed partner seemed to be a main sticking point.

On the opposite side I still remember being told about Lamar Hunt's want to keep the team in Kansas City. In the end though we all know that Hunt didn't sell the Wizards to the Rochester ownership group in 2005, and with their financial issues over the next few years, it was probably for the best for the league. Instead in 2006, Hunt sold the team to OnGoal LLC, and a little less than five years after the sale,Sporting Park opened to a sell out crowd.

Dovale Signs with a New Club - Former SKC Wizards Update

The European teams are starting to ramp up preseason training in preparations for the 2015-2016 season in Europe. That means that plenty of players are changing their clubs. One of those players is former Sporting midfielder/forward, Toni Dovale. Last season Dovale helped CD Lugo move out of the relegation race in Spains second division and secure another season. This offseason, Dovale has moved to another second division side in Spain,  CD Leganes who finished 10th this last season.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Federico Bessone
Bobby Convey
Will John
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - No game this week.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 57 mintues in New England's 4-1 loss to New York.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Came off the bench and played 48 minutes in Orlando's 2-0 loss to Dallas.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 15 minutes in RSL's 3-1 loss to Colorado. Dressed but did not play in RSL's 1-0 win over LA.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 3-1 win over RSL.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 83 minutes in Portland's 3-0 loss to Philadelphia.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-0 loss to Montreal.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 4-4 draw with NYCFC.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 3-0 win over Columbus.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 3-0 win over Portland.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 2-0 loss to Houston.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 3-0 loss to Montreal.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes, missing a PK in New York's 4-1 win over New England.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 3-0 loss to SAn Antonio.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in the Haiti's 1-0 loss to the US. Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 1-0 win over Honduras.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 1-0 win over Jacksonville.
Kyle Miller - Atlanta - Did not dress in Atlanta's 1-0 win over Jacksonville.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Started and played 88 minutes in Atlanta's 1-0 win over Jacksonville.

USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Came off the bench and played 33 minutes in OKC's 2-2 draw with Orange County.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Came off the bench and played 40 minutes in Austin's 3-1 loss to Real Monarch's.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Did not play in Sacramento's 4-0 loss to LA.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-2 draw with Orange County.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 1-0 loss to the US. Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 1-0 win over Hondras.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 1-0 loss to Louisville.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Did not dress in Arizona's 4-0 loss to Seattle.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 3-1 loss to Real Monarchs.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-2 draw with Orange County.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-1 win over St. Louis.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Offseason.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Tacoma - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Wichita - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Offseason
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 66 minutes in Quilmes' 1-0 loss to Banfield.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Offseason.
Reinaldo Brenes - Saprissa - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Started and played 90 minutes in Honduras' 1-1 draw with Panama. Started and played 90 minutes in Honduras' 1-0 loss to Haiti.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Tied Sacachispas 2-2.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Started and played 90 minutes in Trinidad's 3-1 win over Guatemala. Started and played 90 minutes in Trinidad's 2-0 win over Cuba.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Offseason.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Did not dress in Cucuta's 2-0 loss to Junior.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla - Mexico - Offseason.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in either of ABC's games.
Igor Kostrov - FK Kyzyl-Zhar - Kazakhstan - Defeated Bayterek 4-1.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Dressed but did not play in Palestino's 3-1 loss to Santiago Morning. Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 2-1 win over Union San Felipe.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Offseason.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 86 minutes in El Salvador's 0-0 draw with Canada. Started and played 71 minutes in El Salvador's 1-1 draw with Costa Rica. Started and played 90 minutes in El Salvador's 1-0 loss to Jamaica.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Offseason.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - No game this week.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Offseason.

Three Sporting Players Named to All Star Game First XI

Last night before the US men's team played at Sporting Park, the "First XI" for this year's MLS All Star team was announced on Fox Sports 1. Three Sporting KC players were represented in the "First XI" that will be available for selection by Colorado head coach, Pablo Mastroeni. Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber, and Graham Zusi will all be available for the game on the 29th against Tottenham at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

The three will not necessarily start the game for the MLS All Stars, but they will be available to play in the game.

I've made my feelings on the All Star Game known in the past, and I'm not going to rehash those things here. For KC, the All Star game will fall between a Friday night game in Salt Lake on July 24th, and a Saturday night home game on August 1st against the Houston Dynamo. Both could be very big games for KC, with both teams currently behind KC in the standings. The game is also a little over a week after Sporting's US Open Cup quarterfinal against the Dynamo as well.

One thing that could keep some players from playing may be the Gold Cup, if Zusi stays with the US into the knock out rounds and/or Besler gets called up as a replacement, they could very well be replaced on the All Star roster to allow them to recover.

S.A.S. Monday After Stats

In the 25th minute, Roger Espinoza moved pass Jose Burciaga for minutes played in league play and into 19th place on that list. Espinoza finished the game with 9,465 minutes played.

Espinoza started his 122nd game in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Chance Myers for 20th on that list.

He made his 107th league start for KC, tying him with Uche Okafor for 19th all time on that list.

Saad Abdul-Salaam made his first career start for Kansas City.

Sporting Grab All Three in Vancouver

Sporting KC headed into tonight's game sitting in sixth play in the Western Confernce with 27 points, but with anywhere from three to five games in hand on the five teams in front of them, including the Vancouver Whitecaps. On a weekend where teams in front of them were dropping points, KC picked up ground with a 1-0 win at BC Place.

The first half started with a fairly even game from both teams as each side seemed to be feeling each other out a little bit, without much created in the way of chances. The best early chance came for Vancouver in the 13th minute off a corner kick as a header was flicked on towards goal past Tim Melia, but Benny Feilhaber was behind him to head the ball off the line. The rest of the half saw Vancouver continue to apply more and more pressure to Kansas City, but the KC back line and Melia came up big shutting down the likes of Octavio Rivero and Kekuta Manneh, not allowing them really clear looks at goal as both teams went into the half time break tied at 0-0.

The first half saw Kansas City come out as the more aggressive side, attacking more. That paid off for KC in the 52nd minute. After a short corner, Soni Mustivar almost lost possession but kept the ball in Vancouver's end with an overhead kick that landed at the feet of Krisztian Nemeth who was given time to turn, take a touch and curl a cross into the box where Kevin Ellis had stayed up. Ellis headed the ball past David Ousted and into the far corner putting KC up 1-0. KC almost doubled their lead in the 58th minute. After working the ball down the left the ball was laid off by Feilhaber to Nemeth about 25 yards from goal. Nemeth fired a low shot towards goal but it hit off the outside of the post. The rebound made it to Jacob Peterson who was at the top of the box, but he couldn't put his rebound effort on net. Both teams were starting to find space as Vancouver had a good chance in the 60th minute as Rivero combined with Crisitan Techera to play the Uruguayan into the box with a back heel. Techera had his angle cut down by Melia, but fired a shot off the KC goalkeeper that bounced off of Matt Besler and was headed towards the back of the net before it was cleared away by Amadou Dia who'd raced back to clear it off the line. KC continued to push for a second and Peterson had a good opportunity to make it 2-0 after a cross in from the left, Peterson tried to hit a side volley first time, but ended up mishitting it, but he still forced Oustad to push the ball wide for a corner kick. Vancouver late on really put the pressure on KC, but Melia continued his fine performance keeping the ball out. The best of those probably came in the 90th minute off a long free kick. Whitecaps defender, Tim Parker got a head on it and put it towards the corner of the goal but Mellia got down well and tipped the ball away preserving the lead. Sporting held out and picked off the Whitecaps bringing them to 30 points, just two points out of first place and anywhere between two and four games in hand on all five teams above them in the standings.

Wizards Man of the Match - Soni Mustivar - The Haitian midfielder was a beast last night, working up and down the field as well as side to side to assist KC's two rookie outside backs manage the Whitecaps' speed down the flanks. He intercepted 19 passes, the most for a single player in a game since Opta started tracking the stats. KC really may have finally found the perfect replacement for Oriol Rosell.

Honorable Mention - Tim Melia, Kevin Ellis

Player Ratings - Melia 8, Abdul-Salaam 6, Ellis 7, Besler 6, Dia 7, Mustivar 9, Espinoza 7, Feilhaber 6, Nemeth 5, Dwyer 5, Peterson 5. Subs Hallisey NR.

Match Day 17: Back to Action

After a week off, Sporting KC is back on the field tomorrow night in Vancouver against the Whitecaps. It'll be the first game back at BC Place since the World Cup final last weekend between the US and Japan. KC will return to Vancouver after last year's 2-0 loss there that many point to as the point that the wheels really started to come off in last year's campaign for KC.

Vancouver currently sit in a three way tie for first place in the Western Conference on 32 points with Seattle and Dallas, five points clear of KC, but having played three more games than Sporting has played at this point of the season. The Whitecaps are returning home after spending the entire month of June on the road, playing five games with the women's World Cup going on. One big question for the Whitecaps will be whether Pedro Morales will be able to go. He's missed their last three league games for the Whitecaps. Vancouver has rolled on without their playmaker though as a number of other players have stepped up, including Kekuta Manneh, Cristian Techera, and David Ousted all playing key roles for the Whitecaps. They'll be looking to turn things around after losing in Colorado last weekend.

KC comes into the game having not played since their 6-2 US Open Cup win over Dallas back on July 1st. They've had plenty of time to thing about and prepare for this one. Sporting will be without their two Gold Cup participants, Marcel de Jong and Graham Zusi. They'll also be without Jalil Anibaba to play right back after he picked up a strain in practice and is now out for six weeks. The good news for KC is that Chance Myers is back to health and should be ready to start at the right back position tomorrow night. The rest of the team should be ready to go from the lineup that put six on Dallas a week and a half ago.

Melia

Myers - Ellis - Besler - Dia

Mustivar

Espinoza - Feilhaber

Peterson - Dwyer -Nemeth

Number to Remember - 5 - While Kansas City currently sit in 6th in the Western Conference, they have as many as five games in hand on the five teams in front of them. LA has played 5, Portland 4, Dallas and Vancouver 3, and Seattle 4.

Key Match Up - Benny Feilhaber vs Matias Laba - You can make a strong argument that Feilhaber is the MVP of MLS so far this season. Tomorrow night he'll be going up against one of the best defensive midfielders in MLS in Laba. Feilhaber has been huge for KC this year and they'll need him tomorrow, but this should be an entertaining match up to watch.

PREDICTION - Sporting is well rested and really should be coming into this game ready to go at someone other than their teammates. That said, Vancouver is a very good team, and they won't make things easy for KC, especially at home. Their home fans will be up for this game after a month without a home game, it'll be a tough atmosphere for KC to play in. While they'll be well rested the week and a half off almost seems like too much time and I'm worried about a flat KC side coming out tomorrow against Vancouver. With all that, I'd love to get out of Vancouver with a point.

SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
VAN - 2 (Techera, Rivero)

Sporting Trialing Former Ghana Captain

Reports are that Sporting KC is bringing in the former captain of the Ghanaian national team, John Mensah in on trial. The 32 year old center back last played with FC Nitra in the Slovakian league, but has spent time with the likes of Lyon, Rennes, Sunderland, and Chievo.  He's appeared 86 times for his country, including the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, captaining Ghana in the 2010 World Cup when they made the quarterfinals.

It's certainly an impressive resume, and would fill a need that KC has stated they'd like to fill, center back. And at this point in his career, he may not demand a huge contract. The question regarding Mensah is his lack of playing time lately. Since returning to Lyon from Sunderland after the 2010-2011 season, Mensah has played just 12 games with four different teams. Not exactly the type of playing stats you want to see from a player that you're likely expecting to be a contributor for the team.

Still it's hard to ignore the resume that Mensah is coming in with. But I do like that KC is just trialing him instead of signing him straight up. The team doesn't need a situation like Vuk Rasovic or Nikos Kounenakis where the guys come expected to contribute and bring little to nothing at all on the field.

#TBT Gold Cup in KC

With the Gold Cup returning to Kansas City this coming Monday when Haiti plays Honduras and the US plays Panama I thought this week's Throw Back Thursday I'd go back to the 2011 Gold Cup which was also in KC. The games came a week after the opener at Sporting Park when KC drew with the Chicago Fire. The opener on that day in 2011 saw Canada face Panama. Panama was in control of the group needing just a draw to clinch the top spot after they'd handed the United States their first group stage loss in the tournament's history 2-1 in Tampa. Canada at the time was fighting for a chance to get into the knock out phase needing a win or a draw and some help to qualify. Canada came out and was really the more dominate team throughout the game, but couldn't finish their chances. It wasn't until after the hour mark when Dwayne DeRosario was fouled in the box that Canada finally put the ball in the net. The first goal in the stadium's history went to the Canadian DeRosario. Canada attempted to hold on for the win as the stadium filled with US fans hoping for a win that would leave the door open for them to win the group. It looked like they would hold on for the win as the game entered stoppage time, but Luis Tejada tied the game as Milan Borjan couldn't hold onto the shot as it trickled into the net leading to a 1-1 draw and Panama winning the group.



In the night cap, the US national team faced off against Guadeloupe. Like the first game, one team completely dominated play. This time it was the United States controlling the game for the most part and creating a number of chances. Unlike Canada, the US capitalized on their early chances as Jozy Altidore scored in the 9th minute to make it 1-0 to the US. Unfortunately from there the finishing just didn't for the US. Clint Dempsey especially had a number of chances that he just couldn't put away. The US would hold on for the 1-0 win and advance as the second place team to play Jamaica, who they defeated before getting revenge on Panama before losing in the Gold Cup final to Mexico.

Sporting Legends 2015 Voting is Up

Sporting KC today announced the nominees for the 2015 Sporting Legends class. The announcement reads like this year we may only get a single player added to the group of names on the wall outside the Victory Suite. If true, I think it's the best move for the Sporting Legends program as a whole. I understand the first class being big because it is the first year, but it really should just be a single entry each year. This allows the process to be extended longer instead of getting all the worthy candidates in early and then wondering if they'll elect someone who really doesn't deserve it, or wait years for the likes of Matt Besler and Graham Zusi to retire so they can be added to the wall.

This year there are four nominees in the class, Mo Johnston, Chris Klein, Ron Newman, and Kerry Zavagnin. Johnston, Klein, and Zavagnin were all up for election last year but missed out while Jimmy Conrad, Lamar Hunt, and Peter Vermes went into the club. Newman is up for the first time. I'll go ahead and make the case for each of the nominees.

Like last year with Vermes and Zavagnin, I can't vote for a player still currently with the team as part of the technical staff, so while Zavagnin is the all time leader in appearances in all competitions (291), starts in all competitions (281), starts in league play (228), tied for the most playoff appearances (23), played the most league minutes (20,516), and the most minutes in all competitions (25,290) I just can't feel like I can vote for Zavagnin at this time even though he really does deserve to be a Sporting Legend in the future.

That leaves us with three; Johnston, Klein, and Newman. Johnston joined the team early in the 1996 season and announced his arrival with a two goal performance in KC's 6-4 win over the Columbus Crew. Johnston's 31 league goals was good for second when he retired after the 2001 season, he's now sixth on that list for KC. His 32 in all competitions has him in seventh place overall. His 28 league assists and 32 in all competitions is good for fifth overall on both lists for KC. He finished his career with 12,600 league minutes and 14,182 in all competitions, both were team highs when he retired, since he's fallen to ninth and twelfth respectively. The same holds true for his appears where he finished with 149 league and 169 overall but has fallen to tenth and twelfth on both lists now.

Klein appeared in 235 games in all competitions for KC which was good for second all time for KC when he left the club. He's now fifth on that list. His 200 league appearances is good for sixth for KC. He's currently sixth in minutes played in league play (16,381) and in all competitions (19,437). His 39 league goals and 43 in all competitions are both good for fourth all time for Kansas City. His 45 assists in league play is good for second all time for KC while his 52 in all competitions was just recently knocked to third by Graham Zusi.

Newman was Kansas City's first coach, in fact on October 11th, 1995 he was named the first coach in MLS history when he was made coach of the KC Wiz. Over the course of three plus seasons with KC, Newman compiled a 50-50 record for KC, with no draws in the league's first four seasons, Newman picked up 14 shootout wins to go along with 36 regulation wins for KC. He set a club record for league wins in a season with 21 in the 1997 season when KC won the regular season Western Conference.

For me, my vote is going to Chris Klein. The current LA Galaxy president's longevity with KC is clear in the stats, but his goal scoring and assist totals are still impressive for Kansas City. While Johnston probably has the more iconic moment for KC of the two with his bloody face after the 2000 Western Conference finals, but I feel that this year Klein gets the nod for me.

Preki Off to the EPL? - Former SKC Wizards Update

It was a really weird day in news for former KC players. The news centers around the club's all time leading scorer, and probably the greatest player to play for the club, Preki. First early in the day, bookies in England made Preki the favorite to replace Nigel Pearson as manager at Premier League side, Leicester City at 3/1 odds. Then Preki resigned from his position as coach of USL side, the Sacramento Republic after this weekend's game, where he'd gotten back into coaching after a three year hiatus. It's certainly not official yet, but the news all right back to back would certainly point to it. It's crazy to think that after coaching both Chivas USA and Toronto FC that Preki will now be off to the Premier League.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Federico Bessone
Bobby Convey
Will John
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Nelson Pizarro
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 1-0 loss to Seattle.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 76 minutes in New England's 3-0 loss to Dallas.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Did not dress in Orlando's 1-1 draw with RSL.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in Salt Lake's 2-0 win over Porland. Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 1-1 draw with Orlando.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 2-1 win over Vancouver.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-0 loss to Salt Lake. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Portland's 1-0 win over San Jose.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 89 minutes, recording 2 assists in Columbus' 2-1 win over New York.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 4-0 loss to LA.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 2-1 loss to NYC.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - No game this week.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 45 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 loss to LA. Dressed but did not play in San Jose's 1-0 loss to Portland.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 2-1 win over NEw York.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in New York's 4-1 win over the Cosmos. Came of the bench and played 23 minutes in New York's 2-1 loss to Columbus.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 2-1 win over Atlanta.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 71 minutes in Haiti's 1-1 draw with Panama.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 2-1 loss to Tampa.
Kyle Miller - Atlanta - Did not play in Atlanta's 2-1 loss to Tampa.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 2-1 loss to Tampa.

USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 loss to Orange County. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with LA.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Did not play in Austin's 2-0 loss to Colorado Springs.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Dressed but did not play in Sacramento's 1-1 draw with the Real Monarchs.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Came off the bench and played 30 minutes in OKC's 1-0 loss to Orange County. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with LA.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 1-1 draw with Panama.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 81 minutes, recording an assist in Charlotte's 2-1 loss to St. Louis.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Did not play in Arizona's 3-1 loss to Portland. Started and played 75 minutes in Arizona's 2-0 win over Orange County.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 2-0 loss to Colorado Springs.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 loss to Orange County. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with LA.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-0 loss to Louisville.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Offseason.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Tacoma - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Wichita - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Offseason
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - No game until 7/12.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Offseason.
Reinaldo Brenes - Saprissa - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Dressed but did not play in Honduras' 2-1 loss to USA.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Defeated Juventud Unida.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - With Trinidad national team.
Toni Dovale - CD Lugo - Spain - Offseason.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - No game until 7/11.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla - Mexico - Offseason.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in either of ABC's games.
Igor Kostrov - FK Kyzyl-Zhar - Kazakhstan - Lost 1-0 to Maqtaaral.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Offsason.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Offseason.
Lawrence Olum - Kedah FA - Malaysia - Defeated Kuantan FA 3-2. Defeated PBDKT T-Team 2-0.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - With the El Salvador national team for the Gold Cup.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Offseason.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Game postponed.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Offseason.

#TBT Hattricks for KC.

For Throw Back Thursday this week I thought I'd go through all the hattricks in KC's history before last night's four goal performance by Dom Dwyer against FC Dallas.

The first hattrick in KC history actually didn't come until the team's third season, when Digital Takawira hit a second half hattrick for KC in their 3-1 win over New England on May 16th of 1998. Takawira scored three goals in the span of nine minutes to help KC to the 3-1 win. His first goal came in the 76th, with the second coming three minutes later in the 79th. In the 83rd, New England pulled one back from the penalty spot before Takawira finished off his hattrick two minutes later in the 85th.

The team's second hattrick came later in the same year as Preki scored his only hattrick in his KC career on September 5th of 1998 in a 5-1 win over San Jose. After going down 1-0 in just the 7th minute, Mo Johnston scored in the 12th to tie the game off an assist from Preki. In the 18th minute, Preki got his first goal of the game. He added his second just three minutes after the half time break. After a Paul Wright goal in the 59th, Preki finished off his hattrick in the 80th minute.

KC had to wait almost six full years for their next hattrick, which came almost 11 years ago tomorrow, July 3rd 2004 against the same Dallas team, back when they were still the Dallas Burn. Davy Arnaud scored that hattrick in his break out season in a 5-1 win. Arnaud opened the scoring in the 22nd before Jason Kreis equalized less than 10 minutes later. A Kreis red card though just before half time changed the game. Chris Klein made it 2-1 in the 72nd in the second half, Josh Wolff added one three minutes later before Arnaud added his second in the 79th. Arnaud finished his hattrick in stoppage time of the rout.

Up to this point there has been an inability to find highlights, but from here we now have highlights of the goals.

The next hattricks for KC came in back to back games in the 2007 season, both for Eddie Johnson. The first came against the New England Revolution on the road again. After falling behind 2-0 early in the first half, Davy Arnaud scored in the 25th to pull KC within one and a minute later in the 26th, Johnson got his first goal of the game. Johnson got his second goal of the game in the 38th minute as he beat Jay Heaps for a second time and beat Matt Reis at the near post to make it 3-2 KC.  New England pulled it back level in the 69th on a Sharlie Joseph penalty kick before Johnson finished off his hattrick in the 82nd on a through ball from Carlos Marinelli. Johnson rounded Reis and put the ball in the net for his hattrick and the 4-3 win.



The very next week at Arrowhead, Eddie Johnson hit a second hattrick, the first natural hattrick in KC history. New York had an 8th minute goal by Juan Pablo Angel hold up through the first half, even with a Clint Mathis red card in the 36th minute. KC struck early in the second half though to level the score on a long ball over the top by Michael Harrington for Johnson who chipped Jon Conway in the New York net to level the game. Johnson added his second just before the hour on a cross by Jose Burciaga that found Johnson unmarked at the back post. Johnson finished his hattrick in the 85th after being played in by Sasha Victorine he slotted the ball into the corner past Conway. A late Dema Kovalenko goal made it 3-2 but KC won the game.



The final hattrick before last night's Dom Dwyer four goal performance came from the most unlikely of sources, Birahim Diop. The "Diop Game" had occurred earlier in the year when Diop scored twice in his first start for KC. This game, the finale of the 2010 saw KC already eliminated from playoff contention against the San Jose Earthquakes. Diop opened the scoring for KC in the 36th minute as he headed a long ball by Jonathan Leathers past an onrushing Jon Busch to put KC up 1-0. Diop added a second on the hour mark, after he missed a Roger Espinoza cross, the ball came back to Diop who headed the ball past push and into the net. 10 minutes later, San Jose pulled one back through Chris Wondolowski. Diop though finished off his hattrick in the 76th off a long ball from Craig Rocastle, Diop brought the ball down and fired a curling shot into the net to give KC a 3-1 lead. KC added a fourth on an own goal in second half stoppage time to make it 4-1 KC.

S.A.S. Thursday After Stats

Here is the Dom Dwyer dominated Thursday after stats.

First time KC has scored 6 goals in a game since a 6-1 win over the Des Moines Menace on August 3 of 2005.

Dom Dwyer's hattrick was the first by KC since 10/23/2010 when Birahim Diop scored 3 in a 4-1 win over San Jose.

It's the first non-league hattrick in KC's history.

It's also the first time a player has scored 4 goals in a game for KC.

Dwyer joins Preki, Chris Brown, Matt McKeon, Claudio Bieler, and Francisco Gomez as players that have scored a league, playoff, Open Cup, and international goal for KC.

The 4 goals is a record for a single US Open Cup run for KC.

Dwyer's 4 goals gives him 22 at home in all competitions, tying him with Josh Wolff and Mo Johnston for the 5th most in team history.

Dwyer's 4 goals put him in a tie with Soony Saad for third for goals in the US Open Cup proper for KC.

It also ties him for fourth with Saad and Ryan Pore for goals scored in all levels of the US Open Cup (including qualifiers).

Dwyer's third goal was his 9th game winner in all competitions for KC, tying him with Miklos Molnar, CJ Sapong, and Graham Zusi for 6th on that list.

Benny Feilhaber's 3 assists give him 29 for his KC career, moving him past Mark Chung and into sole possession of 7th place on that list.

Roger Espinoza moved past both Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic into 4th place for the most minutes played in the US Open Cup proper, he finished with 815 minutes played in the tournament proper.

Espinoza made his 121st start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Myers for 20th on that list.

Matt Besler moved up to 6th place for minutes played in the US Open Cup proper.

Besler made his 12th appearance across all versions of the USOC, moving him into a tie with Sapong, Davy Arnaud, and Chance Myers for 4th on that list.

Besler made his 10th start in all versions of the USOC, tying him with Eric Kronberg for 4th on that list.

It was the 10th appearance in the Open Cup proper for Besler and Jacob Peterson, tying them with Sapong and Chris Klein for 4th on that list.

Peterson made his 50th start in all competitions for KC, he's the 54th player to hit that mark for KC.