NCAA Division 1 soccer really got going this past weekend with all NCAA Division 1 teams with a Sporting KC academy graduate in them starting play. There was a lot of involvement from the KC academy as well. From West Virginia, where all three SKC graduates Heath Honol, Joey Piatczyc, and Tucker Stephenson all picking up assists in their 6-0 win over San Francisco, Piatczyc set a school record with four in that game. Elsewhere, Andy Lopez and Zach Wright were both involved in UNC's 3-0 win over Santa Clara as both scored a goal, with Lopez picking up the assist on Wright's goal.
Here's the full update.
Class of 2012
Andrew Brown (Bradley University) - MF - Sr - Started both Bradley's 2-0 loss to Illinois-Chicago and their 1-0 win over Houston Baptist.
Eric DeJulio (Creighton University) - D - Sr - Started both games for #6 Creighton, including a 1-0 win over Michigan and a 4-0 win over Milwaukee.
Daniel Hare (Loyola University in Chicago) - D - Sr - Started in Loyola's 1-0 loss to #20 UC Irvine and their 2-1 loss to Cal State Northridge.
Andrew Lightner (Dayton) - D - RJr - Did not play in Dayton's 2-1 loss to Radford. Started in Dayton's 1-0 win over James Madison.
Andrew Miller (Baker University) - D - Sr - Started Baker's 1-0 OT win over Midland.
Nate Opperman (University of Evansville) - F - Sr - Started in Evansville's 5-2 loss to Milwaukee.
Derek Schrick (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF - Sr - Did not play in UMKC's 2-1 loss to Omaha.
Shane Woods (Drury University) - F - Jr - First game 9/5
Class of 2013
Joe Amico (Jacksonville) - D - Jr - Started in Jacksonville's 2-1 win over Georgia State. Game agaisnt Appalachian State was canceled.
Matt Bernard (Cal Baptist) - MF - RSo - First game 9/3
Paul Dean (Rockhurst University) - D - Jr - First game 9-8.
Seo-In Kim (UCSB) - MF - Jr - Came on as a substitute and had an assist in UCSB's 1-0 win over Stanford.
Adam Lightner (Northern Illinois University) - D - Jr - Did not play in Northern Illinois' 1-0 OT win over Green Bay.
Clay Stewart - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF/D - Jr - Did not play in UMKC's 2-1 loss to Omaha.
Wes White (University of Missouri Kansas City) - F - RSo - Started in UMKC's 2-1 loss to Omaha.
Austin Wilcox (Cal-Poly) - MF - Jr - Started in Cal Poly's 2-1 win over UNLV.
Drew Wilson (Fort Hays State University) - D - Jr - First game 9/4
Kyle Vassar - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - D - RSo - Did not play in UMKC's 2-1 loss to Omaha.
Class of 2014
Darby Cronin (Missouri State)- MF - So - Did not play in Missouri States' 2-0 loss to USF.
Andrew Dittemore (Missouri State) - GK - RSFr - Did not play in Missouri States' 2-0 loss to USF.
Andy Ericks (Colorado School of Mines) - MF - So - First game 9/5.
Heath Honold (West Virginia) - F - So - Started in West Virginia's 1-0 loss to Navy. Came off the bench and had an assist in West Virginia's 6-0 win over San Francisco.
Mason Leonard (Drake) - D - So - Started in both Drake's 2-1 win over Pacific and their 1-0 loss to Green Bay.
Blake Levine (Baker) - F - So - Started Baker's 1-0 OT win over Midland.
Matthew Lewis (Fordham) - D - So - Started in Fordham's 2-1 OT loss to Boston University.
Andy Lopez (North Carolina) - MF - RSFr - Came on as a sub in number 5 UNC's 1-0 win over FIU. Came on as a substitute getting a goal and an assist in UNC's 3-0 win over Santa Clara.
Noah Mudd (Trevecca) - D - So - First game 9/4.
Joey Piatczyc (West Virginia) - MF - So - Started in West Virginia's 1-0 loss to Navy. Started and recorded 4 assists in West Virginia's 6-0 win over San Francisco.
Cole Stevenson (Denver) - F - So - Came on as a substitute, scoring a goal in Denver's 4-0 win over CSU Bakersfield.
Zach Wright (North Carolina) - F - So - Started both #5 UNC's 1-0 win over FIU and their 3-0 win over Santa Clara. Wright scored a goal in the win over Santa Clara.
2015
Andrew Blalock (Drake) - GK - Fr - Did not play in either of Drake's games.
Robert DeWitt III (Xavier) - MF - Fr - Played in Xavier's 8-0 win over Eastern Illinois. Didn't play in Xavier's 2-0 win over Wisconsin.
Jack Freeman (Ohio State) - D - Fr - Did not play in either of Ohio State's games.
Bryce Gibson (Creighton) - D - Fr - Did not play in either of Creighton's games.
Nic Jaimes (Drake) - MF - Fr - Started both Drake's 2-1 win over Pacific and their 1-0 loss to Green Bay.
Ryan Krutz (Notre Dame) - GK - Fr - Did not play in either of Notre Dame's games.
Zane Moxley (Air Force) - D - Fr - Did not play in Air Force's 1-0 win over Army.
Alexis Quevedo (UNLV) - MF - Fr - Did not play in either of UNLV's games.
Hector Solorio (Niagara) - MF - Fr - Came on as a substitute in both of Niagara's games, their 1-0 loss to Robert Morris and their 3-1 loss to Duquesne.
Tucker Stephenson (West Virginia) - F - Fr - Came on as a sub in both of West Virginia's games, a 1-0 loss to Navy and a 6-0 win over San Francisco, he recorded an assist in the game against San Francisco.
Andy Velez (JCCC) - MF - Fr - Played in JCCC's 8-1 win over Dakota County. Played in JCCC's 2-2 draw with Iowa Western.
Bailey Weeks (Northeastern State University) - D - Fr - First game 9/4.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Sunday After Stats
Dom Dwyer's goal was his 42nd in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Kei Kamara for 5th place on that list.
Dwyer's goal was his 14th away from home in league play and his 16th away from home in all competitions, both broke ties that he had with Digital Takawira for 5th place on each list respectively.
In the 8th minute, Chance Myers moved past Uche Okafor and into 19th place for minutes played in league play for KC. He finished the game with 9,530 minutes played.
Myers made his 156th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 14th all time on that list.
Myers made his 131st appearance in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Roger Espinoza for 14th place on that list.
Myers made his 126th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Espinoza for 19th on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 148th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez for 18th on that list.
Sinovic made his 119th league appearance for KC, tying him with Gutierrez and Okafor for 19th on that list.
Graham Zusi made his 157th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 11th on that list. It also tied Zusi with Mo Johnston for 10th place on that list.
Dwyer's goal was his 14th away from home in league play and his 16th away from home in all competitions, both broke ties that he had with Digital Takawira for 5th place on each list respectively.
In the 8th minute, Chance Myers moved past Uche Okafor and into 19th place for minutes played in league play for KC. He finished the game with 9,530 minutes played.
Myers made his 156th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 14th all time on that list.
Myers made his 131st appearance in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Roger Espinoza for 14th place on that list.
Myers made his 126th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Espinoza for 19th on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 148th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez for 18th on that list.
Sinovic made his 119th league appearance for KC, tying him with Gutierrez and Okafor for 19th on that list.
Graham Zusi made his 157th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 11th on that list. It also tied Zusi with Mo Johnston for 10th place on that list.
Besler Called Back to US Team
US Soccer today announced the roster for the men's national team's games coming up during the upcoming international window. Included on the roster after missing out on the Gold Cup is Sporting KC center back and captain, Matt Besler. Besler is called back in for the first time since a friendly against Mexico, where he missed the game because of illness.
Now Besler will join the US for a pair of friendlies, the last for the US team before their Confederations Cup playoff against Mexico in October. The US will play Peru on September 4th in Washington DC before playing Brazil in Foxborough, MA on the 8th.
Besler becomes the third player to be called up for KC during this window, joining Krisztian Nemeth with the Hungarian national team, Marcel de Jong with the Canadian team, and Erik Palmer-Brown with the US U20 team.
That does pose a problem for KC though. While the team is off this coming weekend in MLS play and won't miss any of the players because of that, the team does play the day after the international break ends, September 9th in Portland. With Besler and Palmer-Brown being called up, and Ike Opara still recovering from his Achilles injury, KC looks like they'll be left with just one regular center back with the team, Kevin Ellis. That could definitely cause some problems for KC heading into the game against the Timbers. Hopefully Jalil Anibaba is ready for his return to the lineup after missing time with a thigh strain. If not KC will be relying on Amobi Okugo to return from his injury, or move Chance Myers centrally (a position he played one game last year, the game he ruptured his Achilles).
Now Besler will join the US for a pair of friendlies, the last for the US team before their Confederations Cup playoff against Mexico in October. The US will play Peru on September 4th in Washington DC before playing Brazil in Foxborough, MA on the 8th.
Besler becomes the third player to be called up for KC during this window, joining Krisztian Nemeth with the Hungarian national team, Marcel de Jong with the Canadian team, and Erik Palmer-Brown with the US U20 team.
That does pose a problem for KC though. While the team is off this coming weekend in MLS play and won't miss any of the players because of that, the team does play the day after the international break ends, September 9th in Portland. With Besler and Palmer-Brown being called up, and Ike Opara still recovering from his Achilles injury, KC looks like they'll be left with just one regular center back with the team, Kevin Ellis. That could definitely cause some problems for KC heading into the game against the Timbers. Hopefully Jalil Anibaba is ready for his return to the lineup after missing time with a thigh strain. If not KC will be relying on Amobi Okugo to return from his injury, or move Chance Myers centrally (a position he played one game last year, the game he ruptured his Achilles).
Sporting Fall for the Third Time in a Row
For the second straight week, Sporting KC lost a lead in the second half and ended up leaving the game with no points at all. Kansas City saw a 1-0 lead in the second half turn into a 2-1 deficit as the Colorado Rapids picked up their first win in six years against Kansas City in league play.
The first half left plenty to be desired from both teams as neither team really got much in the way of offense going. The only real chance that either side created really should have been a goal for the Rapids though. In the 12th minute, Vicente Sanchez collected a long ball in the corner before dropping it off to Drew Moor who played a ball to the back post where Juan Ramirez was completely unmarked, but the Rapids midfielder put his diving header high and wide of the goal in an effort he really should have done better.
For what the first half lacked, the second started with a flurry. KC found some space down the left side with Krisztian Nemeth working some good interplay down the wing before going it alone, cutting inside his defender into the box. Nemeth then laid the ball off to Dom Dwyer who one timed his effort inside the near post and KC was up 1-0 inside the first minute and a half of the second half. The lead lasted for only six minutes as the Rapids found an equalizer in the 53rd minute. After Mikey Lopez appeared to get knocked off the ball with no foul called, Sanchez turned Seth Sinovic around and dribbled into the box. Sanchez played a ball through the box to the back post where Maynor Figueroa settled the ball and fired a shot that deflected off of Graham Zusi and into the net to tie the game at 1-1. After the game, Peter Vermes would complain about the referee being the one that beat them tonight, and it's hard to argue with that particular case, cause I do feel that Lopez was fouled on the play. That said I do disagree with Vermes overall on that, Sporting didn't play well enough last night.
After the Rapids equalized, they were on the front foot taking the game to Kansas City and in the 76th minute they capitalized on the attack. Sanchez again beat Sinovic down the KC left, an area that they seemed to attack all night, and played a nice cross in from the end line. Kevin Doyle out jumped Kevin Ellis and easily beat Tim Melia from close distance to put the Rapids on top 2-1. Down a goal, KC started to throw numbers forward looking for an equalizer of their own and almost found one in the 87th minute. A cross into the box by Jacob Peterson pinged around before falling free to Dwyer. With some space Dwyer ripped a shot on goal but Clint Irwin made a fantastic save. The rebound fell to Dwyer again who got a reactionary touch on it, knocking the ball back towards the net but it hit off the post and went into the hands of Irwin to preserve the lead. In the end the effort wasn't enough and KC fell for the third straight time.
Wizards Man of the Match - Krisztian Nemeth - Was KC's most dangerous player last night. With Benny Feilhaber playing as the withdrawn playmaker, Nemeth was the one that picked up more of the offensive slack for Kansas City. His run created the goal and he was a handful down the left for the Rapids all night.
Player Ratings - Melia 5, Sinovic 3, Besler 4, Ellis 3, Myers 5, Feilhaber 5, Lopez 5, Nagamura 4, Nemeth 5, Dwyer 5, Zusi 4. Subs Abdul-Salaam 5, Quintilla 4, Peterson NR.
The first half left plenty to be desired from both teams as neither team really got much in the way of offense going. The only real chance that either side created really should have been a goal for the Rapids though. In the 12th minute, Vicente Sanchez collected a long ball in the corner before dropping it off to Drew Moor who played a ball to the back post where Juan Ramirez was completely unmarked, but the Rapids midfielder put his diving header high and wide of the goal in an effort he really should have done better.
For what the first half lacked, the second started with a flurry. KC found some space down the left side with Krisztian Nemeth working some good interplay down the wing before going it alone, cutting inside his defender into the box. Nemeth then laid the ball off to Dom Dwyer who one timed his effort inside the near post and KC was up 1-0 inside the first minute and a half of the second half. The lead lasted for only six minutes as the Rapids found an equalizer in the 53rd minute. After Mikey Lopez appeared to get knocked off the ball with no foul called, Sanchez turned Seth Sinovic around and dribbled into the box. Sanchez played a ball through the box to the back post where Maynor Figueroa settled the ball and fired a shot that deflected off of Graham Zusi and into the net to tie the game at 1-1. After the game, Peter Vermes would complain about the referee being the one that beat them tonight, and it's hard to argue with that particular case, cause I do feel that Lopez was fouled on the play. That said I do disagree with Vermes overall on that, Sporting didn't play well enough last night.
After the Rapids equalized, they were on the front foot taking the game to Kansas City and in the 76th minute they capitalized on the attack. Sanchez again beat Sinovic down the KC left, an area that they seemed to attack all night, and played a nice cross in from the end line. Kevin Doyle out jumped Kevin Ellis and easily beat Tim Melia from close distance to put the Rapids on top 2-1. Down a goal, KC started to throw numbers forward looking for an equalizer of their own and almost found one in the 87th minute. A cross into the box by Jacob Peterson pinged around before falling free to Dwyer. With some space Dwyer ripped a shot on goal but Clint Irwin made a fantastic save. The rebound fell to Dwyer again who got a reactionary touch on it, knocking the ball back towards the net but it hit off the post and went into the hands of Irwin to preserve the lead. In the end the effort wasn't enough and KC fell for the third straight time.
Wizards Man of the Match - Krisztian Nemeth - Was KC's most dangerous player last night. With Benny Feilhaber playing as the withdrawn playmaker, Nemeth was the one that picked up more of the offensive slack for Kansas City. His run created the goal and he was a handful down the left for the Rapids all night.
Player Ratings - Melia 5, Sinovic 3, Besler 4, Ellis 3, Myers 5, Feilhaber 5, Lopez 5, Nagamura 4, Nemeth 5, Dwyer 5, Zusi 4. Subs Abdul-Salaam 5, Quintilla 4, Peterson NR.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Match Day 25: Sporting Head to the Rockies with 800 Friends
Tomorrow Sporting KC take on the Colorado Rapids and look to end their first two game losing streak, but they won't be doing it all by themselves. They'll be doing it with traveling support of over 800 for the game. Once again a large traveling Cauldron is heading to the Mile High City to support Sporting KC. The large group will certainly be helpful to the team, giving them some great support on the road.
While KC is coming in on a two game slide, the Rapids are coming in having won their last two games, winning 1-0 in Chicago last weekend and 2-1 against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night. Those two wins though haven't improved their standing in the table though as they still sit at the bottom of the Western Conference, outside the playoffs. They also have the fewest goals in the league still, having scored just 23 goals, six fewer than the next lowest, Salt Lake and Montreal. At the same time though they're tied with the Vancouver Whitecaps for fewest goals allowed this season. So while they're not scoring much, they're not allowing much either. Their defense will take a blow this weekend though as center back Bobby Burling is suspended for the game after picking up a yellow card on Wednesday, his fifth of the season, getting him an automatic one game suspension.
KC will continue to have their own blows, although theirs are due to injury, not suspension. Along with the long term injuries, Soni Mustivar looks set to miss his third straight game with a groin strain. That means that Mikey Lopez or Amobi Okugo will step back into the deep midfield position behind Paulo Nagamura and the returning Benny Feilhaber. Feilhaber's return will certainly help out, but Mustivar's absence is going to be a big loss for KC to attempt to recover from. This game will also be the last game for both Krisztian Nemeth and Marcel de Jong before they depart on international duty, just another thing to keep in mind heading into tomorrow.
Number to Remember - 13 - That's the number of games in a row that KC is unbeaten against Colorado in MLS action. The last loss was on a trip to Colorado in 2009, 2-1 when Michael Kraus scored KC's lone goal. In all competitions the Rapids haven't fared much better against KC, their last win was a 2-1 win in a US Open Cup qualifier back in 2010 when Teal Bunbury scored in KC's lone game on UMKC's campus.
Key Match Up - Kevin Ellis vs Kevin Doyle - While Ellis stands only 5'9" according to Sporting's site, more often than not it seems that Ellis is set up to mark the opposing team's key set piece target. Quite often Ellis does quite well against his bigger opposition and he'll need to do that again tomorrow against Doyle. The Irish striker can be a weapon on set pieces and Ellis will have a big job keeping him in check.
PREDICTION - Some times players and teams overstate the level that support, especially away from home has on a game. Tomorrow though I think is one of those times that the away support really can have an effect. It is hard to ignore 800+ traveling away support for a game. Especially in Colorado, where their front office issues have helped lead to plenty of division in the front office. It won't be an easy game with KC still battling injuries, but I think KC ends their winless run at 2 tomorrow night, although I don't think they stop the bleeding in goal.
SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Nemeth)
CO - 1 (Powers)
While KC is coming in on a two game slide, the Rapids are coming in having won their last two games, winning 1-0 in Chicago last weekend and 2-1 against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night. Those two wins though haven't improved their standing in the table though as they still sit at the bottom of the Western Conference, outside the playoffs. They also have the fewest goals in the league still, having scored just 23 goals, six fewer than the next lowest, Salt Lake and Montreal. At the same time though they're tied with the Vancouver Whitecaps for fewest goals allowed this season. So while they're not scoring much, they're not allowing much either. Their defense will take a blow this weekend though as center back Bobby Burling is suspended for the game after picking up a yellow card on Wednesday, his fifth of the season, getting him an automatic one game suspension.
KC will continue to have their own blows, although theirs are due to injury, not suspension. Along with the long term injuries, Soni Mustivar looks set to miss his third straight game with a groin strain. That means that Mikey Lopez or Amobi Okugo will step back into the deep midfield position behind Paulo Nagamura and the returning Benny Feilhaber. Feilhaber's return will certainly help out, but Mustivar's absence is going to be a big loss for KC to attempt to recover from. This game will also be the last game for both Krisztian Nemeth and Marcel de Jong before they depart on international duty, just another thing to keep in mind heading into tomorrow.
Nemeth - Dwyer - Zusi
Feilhaber - Nagamura
Lopez
Dia - Besler - Ellis - Myers
Melia
Number to Remember - 13 - That's the number of games in a row that KC is unbeaten against Colorado in MLS action. The last loss was on a trip to Colorado in 2009, 2-1 when Michael Kraus scored KC's lone goal. In all competitions the Rapids haven't fared much better against KC, their last win was a 2-1 win in a US Open Cup qualifier back in 2010 when Teal Bunbury scored in KC's lone game on UMKC's campus.
Key Match Up - Kevin Ellis vs Kevin Doyle - While Ellis stands only 5'9" according to Sporting's site, more often than not it seems that Ellis is set up to mark the opposing team's key set piece target. Quite often Ellis does quite well against his bigger opposition and he'll need to do that again tomorrow against Doyle. The Irish striker can be a weapon on set pieces and Ellis will have a big job keeping him in check.
PREDICTION - Some times players and teams overstate the level that support, especially away from home has on a game. Tomorrow though I think is one of those times that the away support really can have an effect. It is hard to ignore 800+ traveling away support for a game. Especially in Colorado, where their front office issues have helped lead to plenty of division in the front office. It won't be an easy game with KC still battling injuries, but I think KC ends their winless run at 2 tomorrow night, although I don't think they stop the bleeding in goal.
SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Nemeth)
CO - 1 (Powers)
Thursday, August 27, 2015
De Jong Called Up by Canada
Sporting KC had another player called up for next week's FIFA international window. Canada called up outside back/winger, Marcel de Jong for their World Cup qualifiers against Belize on September 4th and 8th. The two games are part of the third round of qualifying for CONCACAF a win here would advance the team to the first group stage where the winner will be grouped with Mexico, Honduras, and either Curacao or El Salvador.
#TBT Ron Newman
A quick throw back Thursday this week, since Sporting KC was in Columbus this past weekend I thought I'd share this video of the team's first head coach, Ron Newman from back in 1997 when the then Wizards played the Columbus Crew. The game took place on July 4th and saw Kansas City pull out a 2-1 at The Horseshoe even though Newman was thrown out of the game as he tried to help KC kill time after a pair of Digital Takawira goals in the 37th and 70th helped KC to get in front before Mike Lapper pulled a goal back in the 75th.
Newman had come to Kansas City after an extensive, and successful coaching career in indoor soccer. In fact he was the first manager named in MLS ahead of the league's first season in 1996.
Newman had come to Kansas City after an extensive, and successful coaching career in indoor soccer. In fact he was the first manager named in MLS ahead of the league's first season in 1996.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Yomby Hits 10,000 Minutes - Former SKC Wizards Update
While William Yomby never really had much of a career with Kansas City, he was waived by the club during his rookie season, but he's had a long career in the lower divisions of US Soccer, specifically with the Richmond Kickers. This past weekend, he surpassed the 10,000 minute mark for his career in the USL. Congrats to him.
Here is the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Mitchell Cardenas
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-0 win over Arabe Unido. Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 2-0 loss to San Jose. Did not dress in DC's 3-0 win over Montego Bay.
Teal Bunbury - New England - No game this week.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 5-0 loss to Toronto.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 5-0 loss to Toronto.
Daneil Cyrus - Chicago (Loan) - Did not dress in Chicago's 1-0 loss to Colorado.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 2-0 win over Seattle.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 5-0 win over Orlando.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 1-0 win over Chicago.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-2 draw with Houseon.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, recording a goal and an assist in Columbus' 2-2 draw with NYC. Started and played 72 minutes, recording an assist in Columbus' 3-2 win over KC.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 5-0 win over Orlando.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-0 loss to Philadelphia.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Philadelphia's 1-0 win over Montreal.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Loaned to San Antonio.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-2 draw with NYC. Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Columbus' 3-2 win over KC.
Sal Zizzo - New York - No game this week.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Dressed but did not play in Tampa's 2-0 loss to Indy. Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 3-1 loss to Minnesota.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 2-0 win over Edmonton.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 1-1 draw with Indy.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Dressed but did not play in Atlanta's 1-1 draw wtih Indy.
Khari Stephenson - San Antonio - Dressed but did not play in San Antonio's 1-0 win over Jacksonville.
USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - No game this week.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Did not dress in Austin's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Did not dress in Sacramento's 1-1 draw with the Real Monarchs.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - No game this week.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in Charlotte's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Did not dress in Arizona's 2-0 win over Vancouver.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - No game this week.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-0 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 - AFC United - Sweden - Did not dress in either of AFC's games.
Scott Angevine - KPV 1930 - Finland - Defeated JBK 5-0.
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Did not dress in Blooming's 3-2 loss to Wilstermann.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Did not dress in Quilmes' 1-0 win over Olimpo.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Leon.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Defeated Hunan Billows 3-2.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - No game this week.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 3-2 loss to Almeria.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 1-0 loss to Atletico Huila. Did not dress in Cucuta's 2-0 loss to Deportivo Cali.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Next game 8/29
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in RoPS 0-0 draw with Ilves.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Did not dress in either of ABC's games.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - Started and played 53 minutes in Dinamo's 2-1 loss to Petrocub.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 3-1 win over Cobresal.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 3-1 win over Gornik Leczna.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 60 minutes, a goal in Spartak's 3-1 win over Amkar Perm.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - No game this week.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 71 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-0 loss to Breidablik.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 1-1 draw with Pacos de Ferreira.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 1-1 draw wtih SV Honnepel Hiedermormter.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Loyola 1-0.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Started and played 69 minutes in Atromitos' 1-0 win over Levadiakos.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 73 minutes, scoring a goal in Saarbrucken's 3-0 win over Pirmasens. Started and played 73 minutes, scoring a goal in Saarbrucken's 2-0 win over Spielberg.
Here is the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Mitchell Cardenas
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-0 win over Arabe Unido. Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 2-0 loss to San Jose. Did not dress in DC's 3-0 win over Montego Bay.
Teal Bunbury - New England - No game this week.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 5-0 loss to Toronto.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 5-0 loss to Toronto.
Daneil Cyrus - Chicago (Loan) - Did not dress in Chicago's 1-0 loss to Colorado.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 2-0 win over Seattle.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 5-0 win over Orlando.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 1-0 win over Chicago.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-2 draw with Houseon.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, recording a goal and an assist in Columbus' 2-2 draw with NYC. Started and played 72 minutes, recording an assist in Columbus' 3-2 win over KC.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 5-0 win over Orlando.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-0 loss to Philadelphia.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Philadelphia's 1-0 win over Montreal.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Loaned to San Antonio.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-2 draw with NYC. Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Columbus' 3-2 win over KC.
Sal Zizzo - New York - No game this week.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Dressed but did not play in Tampa's 2-0 loss to Indy. Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 3-1 loss to Minnesota.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 2-0 win over Edmonton.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 1-1 draw with Indy.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Dressed but did not play in Atlanta's 1-1 draw wtih Indy.
Khari Stephenson - San Antonio - Dressed but did not play in San Antonio's 1-0 win over Jacksonville.
USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - No game this week.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Did not dress in Austin's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Did not dress in Sacramento's 1-1 draw with the Real Monarchs.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - No game this week.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in Charlotte's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Did not dress in Arizona's 2-0 win over Vancouver.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-0 win over Orange County.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - No game this week.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-0 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 - AFC United - Sweden - Did not dress in either of AFC's games.
Scott Angevine - KPV 1930 - Finland - Defeated JBK 5-0.
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Did not dress in Blooming's 3-2 loss to Wilstermann.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Did not dress in Quilmes' 1-0 win over Olimpo.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Leon.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Defeated Hunan Billows 3-2.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - No game this week.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 3-2 loss to Almeria.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 1-0 loss to Atletico Huila. Did not dress in Cucuta's 2-0 loss to Deportivo Cali.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Next game 8/29
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in RoPS 0-0 draw with Ilves.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Did not dress in either of ABC's games.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - Started and played 53 minutes in Dinamo's 2-1 loss to Petrocub.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 3-1 win over Cobresal.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 3-1 win over Gornik Leczna.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 60 minutes, a goal in Spartak's 3-1 win over Amkar Perm.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - No game this week.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 71 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-0 loss to Breidablik.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 1-1 draw with Pacos de Ferreira.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 1-1 draw wtih SV Honnepel Hiedermormter.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Loyola 1-0.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Started and played 69 minutes in Atromitos' 1-0 win over Levadiakos.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 73 minutes, scoring a goal in Saarbrucken's 3-0 win over Pirmasens. Started and played 73 minutes, scoring a goal in Saarbrucken's 2-0 win over Spielberg.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Sporting KC Academy Players in College
The college soccer season is kicking off around the country. This week there's not much going on in terms of games, with just one college with Sporting KC academy players having started their season, Baker. The majority of the teams kick off this coming weekend, including pretty much all of the division 1 players.
Class of 2012
Andrew Brown (Bradley University) - MF - Sr -First game 8/28.
Eric DeJulio (Creighton University) - D - Sr - First game 8/28.
Daniel Hare (Loyola University in Chicago) - D - Sr - First game 8/28.
Andrew Lightner (Dayton) - D - RJr - First game 8/28.
Andrew Miller (Baker University) - D - Sr - Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Ottawa. Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Bethany.
Nate Opperman (University of Evansville) - F - Sr - First game 8/28.
Derek Schrick (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF - Sr - First game 8/28.
Shane Woods (Drury University) - F - Jr - First game 9/5
Class of 2013
Joe Amico (Jacksonville) - D - Jr - First game 8/28.
Matt Bernard (Cal Baptist) - MF - RSo - First game 9/3
Paul Dean (Rockhurst University) - D - Jr - First game 9-8.
Seo-In Kim (UCSB) - MF - Jr - First game 8/28.
Adam Lightner (Northern Illinois University) - D - Jr - First game 8/28.
Clay Stewart - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF/D - Jr - First game 8/28.
Wes White (University of Missouri Kansas City) - F - RSo - First game 8/28.
Austin Wilcox (Cal-Poly) - MF - Jr - First game 8/28.
Drew Wilson (Fort Hays State University) - D - Jr - First game 9/4
Kyle Vassar - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - D - RSo - First game 8/28.
Class of 2014
Darby Cronin (Missouri State)- MF - So - First game 8/28.
Andrew Dittemore (Missouri State) - GK - RSFr - First game 8/28.
Andy Ericks (Colorado School of Mines) - MF - So - First game 9/5.
Heath Honold (West Virginia) - F - So - First game 8/28.
Mason Leonard (Drake) - D - So - First game 8/28.
Blake Levine (Baker) - F - So - Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Ottawa. Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Bethany.
Matthew Lewis (Fordham) - D - So - First game 8/28.
Andy Lopez (North Carolina) - MF - RSFr - First game 8/28.
Noah Mudd (Trevecca) - D - So - First game 9/4.
Joey Piatczyc (West Virginia) - MF - So - First game 8/28.
Cole Stevenson (Denver) - F - So - First game 8/29.
Zach Wright (North Carolina) - F - So - First game 8/28.
2015
Andrew Blalock (Drake) - GK - Fr - First game 8/28.
Robert DeWitt III (Xavier) - MF - Fr - First game 8/28.
Jack Freeman (Ohio State) - D - Fr - First game 8/28.
Bryce Gibson (Creighton) - D - Fr - First game 8/28
Nic Jaimes (Drake) - MF - Fr - First game 8/29.
Ryan Krutz (Notre Dame) - GK - Fr - First game 8/28.
Zane Moxley (Air Force) - D - Fr - First game 8/29.
Alexis Quevedo (UNLV) - MF - Fr - First game 8/28
Hector Solorio (Niagara) - MF - Fr - First game 8/28.
Tucker Stephenson (West Virginia) - F - Fr - First game 8/28.
Andy Velez (JCCC) - MF - Fr -
Bailey Weeks (Northeastern State University) - D - Fr - First game 9/4.
Class of 2012
Andrew Brown (Bradley University) - MF - Sr -First game 8/28.
Eric DeJulio (Creighton University) - D - Sr - First game 8/28.
Daniel Hare (Loyola University in Chicago) - D - Sr - First game 8/28.
Andrew Lightner (Dayton) - D - RJr - First game 8/28.
Andrew Miller (Baker University) - D - Sr - Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Ottawa. Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Bethany.
Nate Opperman (University of Evansville) - F - Sr - First game 8/28.
Derek Schrick (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF - Sr - First game 8/28.
Shane Woods (Drury University) - F - Jr - First game 9/5
Class of 2013
Joe Amico (Jacksonville) - D - Jr - First game 8/28.
Matt Bernard (Cal Baptist) - MF - RSo - First game 9/3
Paul Dean (Rockhurst University) - D - Jr - First game 9-8.
Seo-In Kim (UCSB) - MF - Jr - First game 8/28.
Adam Lightner (Northern Illinois University) - D - Jr - First game 8/28.
Clay Stewart - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF/D - Jr - First game 8/28.
Wes White (University of Missouri Kansas City) - F - RSo - First game 8/28.
Austin Wilcox (Cal-Poly) - MF - Jr - First game 8/28.
Drew Wilson (Fort Hays State University) - D - Jr - First game 9/4
Kyle Vassar - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - D - RSo - First game 8/28.
Class of 2014
Darby Cronin (Missouri State)- MF - So - First game 8/28.
Andrew Dittemore (Missouri State) - GK - RSFr - First game 8/28.
Andy Ericks (Colorado School of Mines) - MF - So - First game 9/5.
Heath Honold (West Virginia) - F - So - First game 8/28.
Mason Leonard (Drake) - D - So - First game 8/28.
Blake Levine (Baker) - F - So - Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Ottawa. Started in Baker's 2-0 win over Bethany.
Matthew Lewis (Fordham) - D - So - First game 8/28.
Andy Lopez (North Carolina) - MF - RSFr - First game 8/28.
Noah Mudd (Trevecca) - D - So - First game 9/4.
Joey Piatczyc (West Virginia) - MF - So - First game 8/28.
Cole Stevenson (Denver) - F - So - First game 8/29.
Zach Wright (North Carolina) - F - So - First game 8/28.
2015
Andrew Blalock (Drake) - GK - Fr - First game 8/28.
Robert DeWitt III (Xavier) - MF - Fr - First game 8/28.
Jack Freeman (Ohio State) - D - Fr - First game 8/28.
Bryce Gibson (Creighton) - D - Fr - First game 8/28
Nic Jaimes (Drake) - MF - Fr - First game 8/29.
Ryan Krutz (Notre Dame) - GK - Fr - First game 8/28.
Zane Moxley (Air Force) - D - Fr - First game 8/29.
Alexis Quevedo (UNLV) - MF - Fr - First game 8/28
Hector Solorio (Niagara) - MF - Fr - First game 8/28.
Tucker Stephenson (West Virginia) - F - Fr - First game 8/28.
Andy Velez (JCCC) - MF - Fr -
Bailey Weeks (Northeastern State University) - D - Fr - First game 9/4.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Sunday After Stats
Graham Zusi's goal was his 27th goal in all competitions for KC, tying him with CJ Sapong for 10th on that list.
This was the first time KC has lost a game Zusi has scored in. Prior to this game, KC was 18-0-2 in league play and 21-0-2 in all competitions when Zusi scored.
Zusi's goal was his 10th away from home in league play, tying him wtih Scott Sealy and Mo Johnston for 9th on that list.
The goal was his 11th away from home in all competitions, tying him with Kei Kamara for 8th all time on that list.
Zusi started his 156th game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 11th all time on that list.
It was also Zusi's 129th start in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Josh Wolff, Michael Harrington, and Jimmy Nielsen for 10th place on that list.
Chance Myers made his 130th league appearance for KC, tying him with Roger Espinoza for 14th on that list.
This was the first time KC has lost a game Zusi has scored in. Prior to this game, KC was 18-0-2 in league play and 21-0-2 in all competitions when Zusi scored.
Zusi's goal was his 10th away from home in league play, tying him wtih Scott Sealy and Mo Johnston for 9th on that list.
The goal was his 11th away from home in all competitions, tying him with Kei Kamara for 8th all time on that list.
Zusi started his 156th game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 11th all time on that list.
It was also Zusi's 129th start in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Josh Wolff, Michael Harrington, and Jimmy Nielsen for 10th place on that list.
Chance Myers made his 130th league appearance for KC, tying him with Roger Espinoza for 14th on that list.
Sporting Can't Hold Lead, Fall Late
Sporting's rough week kept going last night in Columbus as Sporting KC fell for the second time in a row for the first time this season, twice giving up a lead to the Crew before giving up a late winner. Another potential issue that came out of the loss is the fact that in a little over a week, KC has allowed 11 goals, KC's defense is starting to leak a lot of goals.
KC started off the game well enough, putting the Crew on their back foot pressing. The pressure paid off in the 14th minute as KC was able to get on the board first. A long ball by Kevin Ellis was headed into the path of Saad Abdul-Salaam by Dom Dwyer. Abdul-Salaam dribbled into the box and played a ball across the box for Marcel de Jong who fired a shot into the roof of the net to give KC a 1-0 lead. KC kept up pressure and the Crew were finding their best opportunities in the first half on the counter. One of those counters led to the Crew's opener as well. Tony Tchani started the play after a KC turn over in midfield. Tchani played the ball wide to Crew right back, Harrison Afful who quickly touched the ball past Jimmy Medranda and raced down the field. Afful crossed it to the top of the box for Federico Higuain who one timed a shot that beat Tim Melia but hit off the cross bar. The ball stayed in play and Kei Kamara tried to win a header over Abdul-Salaam, but they both missed, Kamara though recovered the loose ball and played it across the face of goal where Ethan Finlay chested the ball into the net. As shown on the replay though the goal should have been waived off as when Higuain took his initial shot that went off the bar, Kamara was in an offside position. No call was made though and the Crew were level as the two teams headed into half time.
The second half saw the Crew be the more dominate side as they looked for a second goal. Kamara forced a good save out of Melia in the 62nd with a bouncing shot that Melia had to tip over the bar. Less than a minute later though, against the run of play, KC jumped back on top. Off the corner kick, KC was able to get it clear and play Graham Zusi through on a counter. Zusi raced down the field and into the Crew box where he cut back on Michael Parkhurst and curled a shot into the far corner out of the reach of Steven Clark to make it 2-1 KC. The Crew continued to pressure looking to find a second equalizer, but it wasn't until the 80th minute that they broke through. Off a Higuain free kick, the ball was flicked on by Tyson Wahl to the back post where Tchani met it and knocked it past Melia and into the net to level the game for a second time. The Crew completed the come back and took all three points in the 88th minute. A long ball over the top found Higuain unmarked making a run into the box. Higuain fired a shot on goal that Melia did well to save the shot but the ball went right into the path of Jack McInerney who was unmarked in the box. With the goal open, McInerney knocked the ball in to make it 3-2 to the Crew. KC tried to find a late equalizer of their own, but they were unable to as the Crew walked out with all three points.
Wizards Man of the Match - Graham Zusi - In his first start since his return from injury Zusi caused a number of problems for the Crew coming out of midfield. And his goal is arguably the goal of the week this week, just a touch of class. Hopefully this is a turning point for him in what has been a less than successful season for him considering his prior seasons.
Player Ratings - Melia 4, Abdul-Salaam 4, Ellis 4, Besler 5, Medranda 4, Lopez 5, Nagamura 5, Zusi 6, de Jong 5, Dwyer 4, Peterson 4. Subs Dia 4, Myers 4, Nemeth NR.
KC started off the game well enough, putting the Crew on their back foot pressing. The pressure paid off in the 14th minute as KC was able to get on the board first. A long ball by Kevin Ellis was headed into the path of Saad Abdul-Salaam by Dom Dwyer. Abdul-Salaam dribbled into the box and played a ball across the box for Marcel de Jong who fired a shot into the roof of the net to give KC a 1-0 lead. KC kept up pressure and the Crew were finding their best opportunities in the first half on the counter. One of those counters led to the Crew's opener as well. Tony Tchani started the play after a KC turn over in midfield. Tchani played the ball wide to Crew right back, Harrison Afful who quickly touched the ball past Jimmy Medranda and raced down the field. Afful crossed it to the top of the box for Federico Higuain who one timed a shot that beat Tim Melia but hit off the cross bar. The ball stayed in play and Kei Kamara tried to win a header over Abdul-Salaam, but they both missed, Kamara though recovered the loose ball and played it across the face of goal where Ethan Finlay chested the ball into the net. As shown on the replay though the goal should have been waived off as when Higuain took his initial shot that went off the bar, Kamara was in an offside position. No call was made though and the Crew were level as the two teams headed into half time.
The second half saw the Crew be the more dominate side as they looked for a second goal. Kamara forced a good save out of Melia in the 62nd with a bouncing shot that Melia had to tip over the bar. Less than a minute later though, against the run of play, KC jumped back on top. Off the corner kick, KC was able to get it clear and play Graham Zusi through on a counter. Zusi raced down the field and into the Crew box where he cut back on Michael Parkhurst and curled a shot into the far corner out of the reach of Steven Clark to make it 2-1 KC. The Crew continued to pressure looking to find a second equalizer, but it wasn't until the 80th minute that they broke through. Off a Higuain free kick, the ball was flicked on by Tyson Wahl to the back post where Tchani met it and knocked it past Melia and into the net to level the game for a second time. The Crew completed the come back and took all three points in the 88th minute. A long ball over the top found Higuain unmarked making a run into the box. Higuain fired a shot on goal that Melia did well to save the shot but the ball went right into the path of Jack McInerney who was unmarked in the box. With the goal open, McInerney knocked the ball in to make it 3-2 to the Crew. KC tried to find a late equalizer of their own, but they were unable to as the Crew walked out with all three points.
Wizards Man of the Match - Graham Zusi - In his first start since his return from injury Zusi caused a number of problems for the Crew coming out of midfield. And his goal is arguably the goal of the week this week, just a touch of class. Hopefully this is a turning point for him in what has been a less than successful season for him considering his prior seasons.
Player Ratings - Melia 4, Abdul-Salaam 4, Ellis 4, Besler 5, Medranda 4, Lopez 5, Nagamura 5, Zusi 6, de Jong 5, Dwyer 4, Peterson 4. Subs Dia 4, Myers 4, Nemeth NR.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Match Day 24: Looking to Rebound
After Wednesday's 5-0 loss to San Jose, Sporting Kansas City doesn't get much time to dwell on the result as they are back in action tomorrow night against the Columbus Crew. The good news is that KC has a chance to quickly put the Wednesday game behind them. The bad news is that the team is still running on tired legs and going up against the league's Golden Boot leader, Kei Kamara.
The Crew come into the game currently in third place in the Eastern Conference. They're firmly in a playoff spot at this point and have looked good at home this year, where they haven't lost since early June. Columbus, like Kansas City, had a midweek game at home. The Crew jumped out to an early lead through Kamara before two goals by Kwadwo Poku scored two unanswered for NYCFC. A 72nd minute equalizer saw the Crew split the points with New York heading into tomorrow's game. Not only does the Crew have the Golden Boot leader right now, but they also have Ethan Finlay, who is tied for second in the league with 13 assists on the season. The pair, along with designated player, Federico Higuain have the Columbus attacking working very well this year and will cause KC problems all night.
The person that Finlay is tied with for second in the league in assists won't be playing tomorrow for KC, Benny Feilhaber, who also has 13 assists in league play is suspended for tomorrow's game after picking up a red card against San Jose for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. As Peter Vermes put it though, he probably needs the rest. The question is who fills in for him in midfield. Is Graham Zusi healthy enough to start and drop back to midfield? Last time Feilhaber was out, KC still had Roger Espinoza healthy, this time, there's no Espinoza and no Soni Mustivar either, putting KC's midfield into a very awkward situation if Zusi is not able to start. Amobi Okugo had himself a poor first start, but numbers could see him slot back into the midfield with the likes of Paulo Nagamura and Mikey Lopez in a very defensive midfield.
Number to Remember -5 - While fans certainly have every right to be at least a little discouraged about the result on Wednesday, KC still has the fewest losses in league play this season, with just five.
Key Match Up - Marcel de Jong (or whoever plays LB tomorrow) vs Ethan Finlay - Kamara is going to be a handful in the middle tomorrow for KC's center backs, but the big thing is going to be denying him service. That has to start with shutting down Finlay. While he hasn't assisted on all of Kamara's goals, as their main assist man KC needs to really work on first cutting down on Finlay's contribution to the game.
PREDICTION - Back in 2001, the last time that KC lost a home game this badly, KC went on the road three days later and picked up a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution. I'd like to think that this is possible for KC to do tomorrow night in Columbus, but I'm just not feeling it. KC looked incredibly tired on Wednesday night against the Earthquakes and were played off the field because of it. With all the injuries and the roster not being fully filled, there's just not enough players currently on the roster that haven't played a ton of minutes recently that I feel comfortable enough to think that they'd start this weekend and KC would pull out the result. Unfortunately I have a feel KC will lose two in a row for the first time this season.
SKC - 0
CLB - 2 (Kamara, Finlay)
The Crew come into the game currently in third place in the Eastern Conference. They're firmly in a playoff spot at this point and have looked good at home this year, where they haven't lost since early June. Columbus, like Kansas City, had a midweek game at home. The Crew jumped out to an early lead through Kamara before two goals by Kwadwo Poku scored two unanswered for NYCFC. A 72nd minute equalizer saw the Crew split the points with New York heading into tomorrow's game. Not only does the Crew have the Golden Boot leader right now, but they also have Ethan Finlay, who is tied for second in the league with 13 assists on the season. The pair, along with designated player, Federico Higuain have the Columbus attacking working very well this year and will cause KC problems all night.
The person that Finlay is tied with for second in the league in assists won't be playing tomorrow for KC, Benny Feilhaber, who also has 13 assists in league play is suspended for tomorrow's game after picking up a red card against San Jose for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. As Peter Vermes put it though, he probably needs the rest. The question is who fills in for him in midfield. Is Graham Zusi healthy enough to start and drop back to midfield? Last time Feilhaber was out, KC still had Roger Espinoza healthy, this time, there's no Espinoza and no Soni Mustivar either, putting KC's midfield into a very awkward situation if Zusi is not able to start. Amobi Okugo had himself a poor first start, but numbers could see him slot back into the midfield with the likes of Paulo Nagamura and Mikey Lopez in a very defensive midfield.
Nemeth - Dwyer - Hallisey
Nagamura
Lopez - Okugo
de Jong - Besler - Palmer-Brown - Abdul-Salaam
Melia
Number to Remember -5 - While fans certainly have every right to be at least a little discouraged about the result on Wednesday, KC still has the fewest losses in league play this season, with just five.
Key Match Up - Marcel de Jong (or whoever plays LB tomorrow) vs Ethan Finlay - Kamara is going to be a handful in the middle tomorrow for KC's center backs, but the big thing is going to be denying him service. That has to start with shutting down Finlay. While he hasn't assisted on all of Kamara's goals, as their main assist man KC needs to really work on first cutting down on Finlay's contribution to the game.
PREDICTION - Back in 2001, the last time that KC lost a home game this badly, KC went on the road three days later and picked up a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution. I'd like to think that this is possible for KC to do tomorrow night in Columbus, but I'm just not feeling it. KC looked incredibly tired on Wednesday night against the Earthquakes and were played off the field because of it. With all the injuries and the roster not being fully filled, there's just not enough players currently on the roster that haven't played a ton of minutes recently that I feel comfortable enough to think that they'd start this weekend and KC would pull out the result. Unfortunately I have a feel KC will lose two in a row for the first time this season.
SKC - 0
CLB - 2 (Kamara, Finlay)
Thursday, August 20, 2015
#TBT Things Could be Worse
Last night's game was bad, it was extremely poor by Sporting KC as they fell 5-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes, but it wasn't the worst loss in KC history, it wasn't even the worst loss at home in KC's history.
That honor goes to the game in this week's Throw Back Thursday. Back in 2001, the Kansas City Wizards were coming off their MLS Cup winning season of the year prior and on July 4th of that year welcomed the team they defeated in MLS Cup, the Chicago Fire, to Arrowhead Stadium. A crowd of over 19,000 had turned out for the game and post game fireworks, which at the time was a very good crowd for a KC Wizards game.
The fans got to see fireworks during the game as well, but none of it was from the Wizards as they got played off the field by a Fire team that looked like they were taking all their frustrations from the 2000 MLS Cup final out in the one game.
Jamar Beasley got things started in the very first minute after a long ball by Zach Thornton was flicked into the path of Beasley by Eric Wynalda, who beat Bo Oshoniyi to make it 1-0. In the seventh minute Sergi Daniv made it 2-0 with a nice run and finish holding off Peter Vermes. Just before half time the Fire made it 3-0 as Jamar Beasley combined with his brother DaMarcus Beasley to set up Wynalda to put the game away before the half.
The second half didn't get any better for KC, but they did keep Chicago off the board until the 72nd when Peter Nowak scored with a shot from outside the box to make it 4-0. Over the last 10 minutes of the game though the Fire scored three more goals. In the 81st, Nowak was played in behind the KC defense and scored to make it 5-0. Two minutes later Nowak turned creator and set up Hristo Stoitchkov, then in the 88th Stoitchkov finished up the scoring as KC's defense really looked to be no where to be found in that game.
And it's not like that defense was a slouch of a defense, yes it had someone like Michael Green, who only played three games for the club, but it also had Sporting Legend and head coach, Peter Vermes as well as Nick Garcia, the team just didn't show up. On the plus side of that result, the Wizards came back three days later and picked up a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution on the road.
Years later Fire fans still enjoy bringing that game up, in fact, when Sporting traveled 300 people to Toyota Park back in 2011, Fire fans gave KC fans a DVD with the MLS Cup logo on it that ended up having that game on DVD for all the fans that traveled. Certainly a tip of the cap has to be offered for that nice troll job, although I do enjoy my MLS Cup 2000 coaster I now have.
Here's the lineup on that day:
Bo Oshoniyi, Nick Garcia, Peter Vermes, Michael Green (Mark Santel 46), Mike Burns, Chris Klein, Kerry Zavagnin, Francisco Gomez (Roy Lassiter 46), Chris Brown (Gary Glasgow 63), Matt McKeon, Onandi Lowe.
Watch the low lights below.
That honor goes to the game in this week's Throw Back Thursday. Back in 2001, the Kansas City Wizards were coming off their MLS Cup winning season of the year prior and on July 4th of that year welcomed the team they defeated in MLS Cup, the Chicago Fire, to Arrowhead Stadium. A crowd of over 19,000 had turned out for the game and post game fireworks, which at the time was a very good crowd for a KC Wizards game.
The fans got to see fireworks during the game as well, but none of it was from the Wizards as they got played off the field by a Fire team that looked like they were taking all their frustrations from the 2000 MLS Cup final out in the one game.
Jamar Beasley got things started in the very first minute after a long ball by Zach Thornton was flicked into the path of Beasley by Eric Wynalda, who beat Bo Oshoniyi to make it 1-0. In the seventh minute Sergi Daniv made it 2-0 with a nice run and finish holding off Peter Vermes. Just before half time the Fire made it 3-0 as Jamar Beasley combined with his brother DaMarcus Beasley to set up Wynalda to put the game away before the half.
The second half didn't get any better for KC, but they did keep Chicago off the board until the 72nd when Peter Nowak scored with a shot from outside the box to make it 4-0. Over the last 10 minutes of the game though the Fire scored three more goals. In the 81st, Nowak was played in behind the KC defense and scored to make it 5-0. Two minutes later Nowak turned creator and set up Hristo Stoitchkov, then in the 88th Stoitchkov finished up the scoring as KC's defense really looked to be no where to be found in that game.
And it's not like that defense was a slouch of a defense, yes it had someone like Michael Green, who only played three games for the club, but it also had Sporting Legend and head coach, Peter Vermes as well as Nick Garcia, the team just didn't show up. On the plus side of that result, the Wizards came back three days later and picked up a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution on the road.
Years later Fire fans still enjoy bringing that game up, in fact, when Sporting traveled 300 people to Toyota Park back in 2011, Fire fans gave KC fans a DVD with the MLS Cup logo on it that ended up having that game on DVD for all the fans that traveled. Certainly a tip of the cap has to be offered for that nice troll job, although I do enjoy my MLS Cup 2000 coaster I now have.
Here's the lineup on that day:
Bo Oshoniyi, Nick Garcia, Peter Vermes, Michael Green (Mark Santel 46), Mike Burns, Chris Klein, Kerry Zavagnin, Francisco Gomez (Roy Lassiter 46), Chris Brown (Gary Glasgow 63), Matt McKeon, Onandi Lowe.
Watch the low lights below.
S.A.S. Thursday After Stats
It was the 50th league game between KC and San Jose. San Jose leads the all time series 22-21-7.
Matt Besler made his 200th start in all competitions for KC, he's the seventh player to hit that mark.
It was the worst loss for Kansas City since a 6-0 loss in Dallas in 2009.
It was the worst home loss for Kansas City since a 7-0 loss to Chicago in 2001.
Chance Myers made his 129th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen for 15th place on that list.
Matt Besler made his 200th start in all competitions for KC, he's the seventh player to hit that mark.
It was the worst loss for Kansas City since a 6-0 loss in Dallas in 2009.
It was the worst home loss for Kansas City since a 7-0 loss to Chicago in 2001.
Chance Myers made his 129th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen for 15th place on that list.
From the Highest of Highs to the Lowest of Lows
After the dramatic comeback on Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps you had to expect a bit of a letdown at some point soon. That said I'm not sure anyone expected this much of a letdown. Last night at Sporting Park, Sporting KC suffered their biggest defeat ever at Sporting Park and the second largest home defeat in the club's history as the San Jose Earthquakes came in and got their first win in KC in 11 years in emphatic fashion, playing KC off the field to the tune of a 5-0 win for the Quakes.
Things started out poorly for KC as they fell behind in just the third minute when Shea Salinas beat Chance Myers down the right and squared the ball into the middle to an unmarked Cordell Cato who easily finished putting San Jose on top. Things got worse for Kansas City in the 17th minute when Myers knocked over Quincy Amarikwa in the box on a cross and was whistled for a penalty kick. Chris Wondolowski stepped up and sent Tim Melia the wrong way to double San Jose's lead and the rout was on. Recent signing, Anibal Godoy made it 3-0 in the 27th minute after being played on by a back heel by Amarikwa, Godoy raced into the box, cut back on Kevin Ellis to get open, then easily slid the ball into the corner. The first half was a disaster for KC, they didn't record a single shot on goal, the back line struggled to connect passes, and the midfield wasn't following runners. At half time Peter Vermes made two changes, pulling Amobi Okugo from his first start after just 45 minutes, inserting Mikey Lopez and inserted Marcel de Jong for Amadou Dia.
The second half though didn't bring a change of fortunes for KC though as the Earthquakes continued to run all over Kansas City. In the 52nd, Wondolowski should have scored his second after Salinas again got open down the KC right side and squared a ball into the middle for an unmarked Wondolowski, but his attempt to touch the ball back into the near corner as Melia came out went just wide of the post. It didn't matter though as six minutes later, Salinas combined again with Cato for the second time on the night to make it 4-0. A minute later KC almost pulled one goal back through Krisztian Nemeth. The Hungarian received the ball out wide, cut inside and fired a shot from about 25 yards out that goalkeeper David Bingham got a hand on to push it just enough that it hit off the inside of the post and bounced right back to Bingham to collect. Minutes later, San Jose would make it 5-0 and Wondolowski would make amends for his earlier miss. From San Jose's right side, Fatai Alashe played in a nice cross into the box for Wondolowski who placed a nice header that Melia could only get a hand on as it went into the net. As if the 5-0 score line wasn't bad enough, KC went down to 10 men in the 71st minute when Benny Feilhaber had the ball taken from him in KC's half by Amarikwa. Feilhaber pulled back on his jersey and fouled him as he raced towards the box. Feilhaber was given a straight red for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. While Feilhaber tried to plead his case I can't argue with the red card, while Matt Besler could have possibly made it back, I don't think it's enough that Feilhaber didn't clearly deny Amarikwa a goal scoring opportunity. With the man advantage and a five goal lead, the Quakes took the air out of the game, keeping possession and denying KC much in the way of chances as they cruised to victory.
Wizards Man of the Match - The Cauldron - I do have a precedent for doing this, I gave the TFC crowd man of the match back in their first home game in their team's history. Last night even with the performance on the field being as bad as it was for KC the Cauldron didn't stop last night, the capos in the middle worked as hard as I've ever seen them work to try to get people involved. So they deserve the award for last night. If I had to choose a player for the game last night, it'd be Tim Melia. While it's not often a goalkeeper gives up five goals and is named man of the match, but Melia kept it from being a lot worse with five saves as his defense really let him down.
Player Ratings - Melia 3, Myers 2, Ellis 1, Besler 3, Dia 2, Okugo 1, Nagamura 2, Feilhaber 2, Nemeth 3, Dwyer 2, Peterson 2. Subs Lopez 2, de Jong 2, Zusi 3.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Nemeth Called Up by Hungary
Krisztian Nemeth will get another opportunity to represent his country as a member of the Hungarian national team. Today Sporting KC announced that Nemeth had been called up for Hungary's upcoming European Cup qualifiers. Hungary will host Group F leaders, Romania in Budapest on September 4th before traveling to take on second place Northern Ireland on the 7th. Hungary currently sit in third in Group F, two points behind second place Northern Ireland. The top two teams in each group automatically qualify for the tournament. The best third place team automatically qualifies while the other ones will play a playoff. Currently Hungary is the second best third place team.
There was no departure date announced for Nemeth, but he could miss up to two games for Kansas City. He could miss next weekend's game in Colorado against the Rapids on August 29th, depending on when he departs to join up with the national teams. Nemeth though will certainly miss Sporting's trip to Portland on September 9th, just two days after Hungary's qualifier in Northern Ireland. That will create more lineup issues for Peter Vermes at a time when he is going to need all hands available to him.
There was no departure date announced for Nemeth, but he could miss up to two games for Kansas City. He could miss next weekend's game in Colorado against the Rapids on August 29th, depending on when he departs to join up with the national teams. Nemeth though will certainly miss Sporting's trip to Portland on September 9th, just two days after Hungary's qualifier in Northern Ireland. That will create more lineup issues for Peter Vermes at a time when he is going to need all hands available to him.
Bravo Becomes Chivas' All Time Leading Scorer - Former SKC Wizards Update
Omar Bravo has becoming Chivas' all time leading scorer in league play. After scoring three goals in the past week, Bravo passed Salvador Reyes to become the all time leading scorer for the club. He currently sits on 124 goals.
Also this week, Kenya has come out with their roster for their upcoming African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia. Named in the squad is former Kansas City midfielder, Lawrence Olum. Olum had left the club for Kedah in Malaysia last offseason, but appears that he is no longer with the club at this time.
Here is the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Mitchell Cardenas
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leatherse
Kyle Miller
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Did not play in DC's 3-1 loss to NYCFC.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in New England's 2-0 win over Houston.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 4-0 loss to Seattle.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 4-0 loss to Seattle.
Daneil Cyrus - Chicago (Loan) - Did not dress in either of Chicago's games.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in RSL's 3-1 USOC loss to KC. Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Portland.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Toronto's 3-0 loss to New York.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 1-0 loss to San Jose.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over RSL.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - No game this week.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 3-0 loss to New York.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-2 draw with Vancouver.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 1-0 USOC win over Chicago. Came off the bench and played 30 minutes in Philadelphia's 3-3 draw with Chciago.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Loaned to San Antonio.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - No game this week.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 3-0 win over Toronto.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Did not dress in Tampa's 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Tampa.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 1-0 loss to Jacksonville.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Dressed but did not play in Atlanta's 1-0 loss to Jacksonville.
Khari Stephenson - San Antonio - Started and played 65 minutes in San Antonio's 2-1 loss to New York.
USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Real Monarchs.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Did not play in Austin's 3-2 loss to LA.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Did not play in Sacramento's 3-3 draw with Colorado Springs.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Real Monarchs.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 1-1 draw with New York. Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 1-1 draw with Pittsburgh.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in either of Charlotte's games.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Started and played 90 minutes in Arizona's 3-0 loss to Orange County.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 3-2 loss to LA.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Real Monarchs.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 loss to Toronto.
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 - AFC United - Sweden - Did not dress in AFC's 3-2 win over Varnamo.
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Defeated Real Potosi 2-1.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 89 minutes, scoring a goal in Quilmes' 3-1 win over Rosario Central.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 77 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Chivas' 2-0 win over Morelia. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Chiva's 3-1 loss to Toluca. Did not dress in Chivas' 1-0 win over Coras de Tepic.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Dressed but did not play in either of Belen's games.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Tied Wuhan Zall 1-1.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Tied Defensores de Cambaceres 1-1.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Next game 8/22
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 0-0 draw with Cortulua.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Came off the bench and played 31 minutes in RoPS' 2-0 win over SJK. Started and played 90 minutes in RoPS 1-1 draw with HIFK.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Did not dress in ABC's 1-0 loss to Boa.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Dinamo's 0-0 draw wtih Saxan Deadir Lunga.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 1-0 loss to Univ. Concepcion.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 5-1 win over Puszcza Niepolomice. Dressed but did not play in Lechia's 3-3 draw with Wisla Krakow.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 73 minutes in Spartak's 2-1 loss to CSKA Moscow.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Defeated Rahmatgonj MFS 4-0.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 4-0 loss to FH.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Wuppertaler's 7-0 win over Gluckauf Mollen.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated UST FC 7-0.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Did not dreses in Sarajevo's 1-0 loss to Zrinjski.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Saarbrucken's 1-0 win over Wormatia Worms.
Also this week, Kenya has come out with their roster for their upcoming African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia. Named in the squad is former Kansas City midfielder, Lawrence Olum. Olum had left the club for Kedah in Malaysia last offseason, but appears that he is no longer with the club at this time.
Here is the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Mitchell Cardenas
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leatherse
Kyle Miller
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Did not play in DC's 3-1 loss to NYCFC.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in New England's 2-0 win over Houston.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 4-0 loss to Seattle.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 4-0 loss to Seattle.
Daneil Cyrus - Chicago (Loan) - Did not dress in either of Chicago's games.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in RSL's 3-1 USOC loss to KC. Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Portland.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Toronto's 3-0 loss to New York.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 1-0 loss to San Jose.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over RSL.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - No game this week.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 3-0 loss to New York.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 2-2 draw with Vancouver.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 1-0 USOC win over Chicago. Came off the bench and played 30 minutes in Philadelphia's 3-3 draw with Chciago.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Loaned to San Antonio.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - No game this week.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 3-0 win over Toronto.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Did not dress in Tampa's 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Tampa.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 1-0 loss to Jacksonville.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Dressed but did not play in Atlanta's 1-0 loss to Jacksonville.
Khari Stephenson - San Antonio - Started and played 65 minutes in San Antonio's 2-1 loss to New York.
USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Real Monarchs.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Did not play in Austin's 3-2 loss to LA.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Did not play in Sacramento's 3-3 draw with Colorado Springs.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Real Monarchs.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 1-1 draw with New York. Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 1-1 draw with Pittsburgh.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in either of Charlotte's games.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Started and played 90 minutes in Arizona's 3-0 loss to Orange County.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 3-2 loss to LA.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Real Monarchs.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 loss to Toronto.
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 - AFC United - Sweden - Did not dress in AFC's 3-2 win over Varnamo.
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Defeated Real Potosi 2-1.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 89 minutes, scoring a goal in Quilmes' 3-1 win over Rosario Central.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 77 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Chivas' 2-0 win over Morelia. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Chiva's 3-1 loss to Toluca. Did not dress in Chivas' 1-0 win over Coras de Tepic.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Dressed but did not play in either of Belen's games.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Tied Wuhan Zall 1-1.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Tied Defensores de Cambaceres 1-1.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Next game 8/22
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 0-0 draw with Cortulua.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Came off the bench and played 31 minutes in RoPS' 2-0 win over SJK. Started and played 90 minutes in RoPS 1-1 draw with HIFK.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Did not dress in ABC's 1-0 loss to Boa.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Dinamo's 0-0 draw wtih Saxan Deadir Lunga.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 1-0 loss to Univ. Concepcion.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 5-1 win over Puszcza Niepolomice. Dressed but did not play in Lechia's 3-3 draw with Wisla Krakow.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 73 minutes in Spartak's 2-1 loss to CSKA Moscow.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Defeated Rahmatgonj MFS 4-0.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 4-0 loss to FH.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Wuppertaler's 7-0 win over Gluckauf Mollen.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated UST FC 7-0.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Did not dreses in Sarajevo's 1-0 loss to Zrinjski.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Saarbrucken's 1-0 win over Wormatia Worms.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Match Day 23: Games in Hand
Tomorrow night at Sporting Park, Sporting KC will begin their process of making up the one to four games in hand on the rest of the Western Conference when they host the San Jose Earthquakes. It will also be Kansas City's fourth game in 12 days when you include last week's 3-1 US Open Cup win over Real Salt Lake. The last two have been high intensity with the US Open Cup semifinal and the dramatic comeback against Vancouver. With that the worry has to be about a let down against an opponent sitting six points adrift of a playoff spot right now.
The Earthquakes are really in need of getting points at this spot in the season. They sit outside the playoffs right now, six points behind sixth place Seattle in the West. Last week their first win in eight games, ending a stretch where they'd gone 0-6-1 since the beginning of July, and that win came against the last place Colorado Rapids at home 1-0. The Earthquakes were dealt a blow in that game though when Matias Perez Garcia left the game after 50 minutes after picking up a knock. Combine that with a season ending injury that defender Jordan Stewart picked up and the Quakes just aren't in a good spot right now.
That said, KC can't be complacent about the game. The issue that KC has going against it is the fatigue factor. Over the last three games heading into this one, KC has had seven players play over 200 minutes in those three games, five (Tim Melia, Matt Besler, Kevin Ellis, Soni Mustivar, and Benny Feilhaber) have played all 270 of the available minutes in the last 12 days. With all the games in hand, KC will have a busy stretch run, made busier by the US Open Cup final at the end of September. With that in mind, Peter Vermes has to look to get some players some rest. With this game and a game against Columbus on the weekend it could be a decent time to rest a couple players. With today's injury report it appears that the first of those with over 200 minutes to get some rest is Soni Mustivar who is questionable. With the likes of Amobi Okugo having only played 33 minutes so far for KC, he seems the prime candidate to come in and spell the Haitian. The other question could be whether Vermes chooses to rest one of his two center backs who have both played almost every minute since Ike Opara went down with his injury. The replacement there would be teenager, Erik Palmer-Brown.
Number to Remember - 11 - It has been 11 years since the away team has won a game in this series. The last time the away team won was on 8/14/04 when the San Jose Earthquakes came into Arrowhead Stadium and won 2-0 in a nationally televised game on a pair of goals by Landon Donovan. Since then, the home team is 12-0-2 in the series in league play and 15-0-2 in all competitions including KC being 7-0 in league play and 9-0 in all competitions.
Key Match Up - Amobi Okugo vs Chris Wondolowski - With the acquisition of Quincy Amarikwa, Wondolowski has dropped into the midfield and playing a bit more withdrawn. The former Golden Boot winner and USMNT player is still a menace and will cause KC's midfield plenty of issues. Without Mustivar in the lineup, the responsibility will likely fall to one of KC's newest players, Okugo.
PREDICTION - While the history of matches between these two teams would seem to point to a win, or at least a draw, there's so many other factors involved in tomorrow's game. On top of KC's fatigue and San Jose losing one of their better players, the Quakes also have the biggest thrown in Vermes' side when it comes to other coaches, Dominic Kinnear. While head coach of the Houston Dynamo, Kinnear always seemed able of frustrating KC and their high pressure and stealing a result. Tomorrow we get to see if he can do it with a different roster than the one he had in Houston. With KC's high profile games in the two games before, KC is prime for a let down in this one, but I think even resting guys KC has the ability to take all three points, but wouldn't be surprised if they only get one.
SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
SJ - 0
The Earthquakes are really in need of getting points at this spot in the season. They sit outside the playoffs right now, six points behind sixth place Seattle in the West. Last week their first win in eight games, ending a stretch where they'd gone 0-6-1 since the beginning of July, and that win came against the last place Colorado Rapids at home 1-0. The Earthquakes were dealt a blow in that game though when Matias Perez Garcia left the game after 50 minutes after picking up a knock. Combine that with a season ending injury that defender Jordan Stewart picked up and the Quakes just aren't in a good spot right now.
That said, KC can't be complacent about the game. The issue that KC has going against it is the fatigue factor. Over the last three games heading into this one, KC has had seven players play over 200 minutes in those three games, five (Tim Melia, Matt Besler, Kevin Ellis, Soni Mustivar, and Benny Feilhaber) have played all 270 of the available minutes in the last 12 days. With all the games in hand, KC will have a busy stretch run, made busier by the US Open Cup final at the end of September. With that in mind, Peter Vermes has to look to get some players some rest. With this game and a game against Columbus on the weekend it could be a decent time to rest a couple players. With today's injury report it appears that the first of those with over 200 minutes to get some rest is Soni Mustivar who is questionable. With the likes of Amobi Okugo having only played 33 minutes so far for KC, he seems the prime candidate to come in and spell the Haitian. The other question could be whether Vermes chooses to rest one of his two center backs who have both played almost every minute since Ike Opara went down with his injury. The replacement there would be teenager, Erik Palmer-Brown.
Nemeth - Dwyer - Peterson
Feilhaber
Nagamura - Okugo
Dia - Besler - Ellis - Myers
Number to Remember - 11 - It has been 11 years since the away team has won a game in this series. The last time the away team won was on 8/14/04 when the San Jose Earthquakes came into Arrowhead Stadium and won 2-0 in a nationally televised game on a pair of goals by Landon Donovan. Since then, the home team is 12-0-2 in the series in league play and 15-0-2 in all competitions including KC being 7-0 in league play and 9-0 in all competitions.
Key Match Up - Amobi Okugo vs Chris Wondolowski - With the acquisition of Quincy Amarikwa, Wondolowski has dropped into the midfield and playing a bit more withdrawn. The former Golden Boot winner and USMNT player is still a menace and will cause KC's midfield plenty of issues. Without Mustivar in the lineup, the responsibility will likely fall to one of KC's newest players, Okugo.
PREDICTION - While the history of matches between these two teams would seem to point to a win, or at least a draw, there's so many other factors involved in tomorrow's game. On top of KC's fatigue and San Jose losing one of their better players, the Quakes also have the biggest thrown in Vermes' side when it comes to other coaches, Dominic Kinnear. While head coach of the Houston Dynamo, Kinnear always seemed able of frustrating KC and their high pressure and stealing a result. Tomorrow we get to see if he can do it with a different roster than the one he had in Houston. With KC's high profile games in the two games before, KC is prime for a let down in this one, but I think even resting guys KC has the ability to take all three points, but wouldn't be surprised if they only get one.
SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
SJ - 0
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Sunday After Stats
The win was Peter Vermes' 87th in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Bob Gansler for the most leauge wins in KC history.
It was also Vermes' 200th game in charge of the team.
This was the 200th home in in all competitions for KC.
Benny Feilhaber's assist was his 18th in all competitions for KC this season, tying him with Preki in 2003 for the most assists in a single season for KC.
Feilhaber's assist was his 23rd in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Kerry Zavagnin for 8th on that list.
Feilhaber made his 100th appearance in all competitions for KC, he's the 36th player to hit that mark.
Dom Dwyer's goal was his 32nd in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Mo Johnston for 6th place on that list.
His goal was his 41st in all competitions for KC, tying him with Kei Kamara for 5th place all time on that list for KC.
Dwyer's goal was his 19th at home in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Scott Sealy for 7th on that list.
The assist by Chance Myers was his 15th in league play for KC, tying him with Claudio Lopez, Chris Henderson, and Roger Espinoza for 16th on that list.
It was his 16th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez, Michael Harrington, and Henderson for 19th on that list.
In the 86th minute, Myers most past Jose Burciaga and into 20th place for minutes played in league play, Myers finished the game with 9,404 minutes player.
Myers made his 128th league appearance for KC, tying him with Jimmy Nielsen for 15th place on that list.
It was also Vermes' 200th game in charge of the team.
This was the 200th home in in all competitions for KC.
Benny Feilhaber's assist was his 18th in all competitions for KC this season, tying him with Preki in 2003 for the most assists in a single season for KC.
Feilhaber's assist was his 23rd in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Kerry Zavagnin for 8th on that list.
Feilhaber made his 100th appearance in all competitions for KC, he's the 36th player to hit that mark.
Dom Dwyer's goal was his 32nd in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Mo Johnston for 6th place on that list.
His goal was his 41st in all competitions for KC, tying him with Kei Kamara for 5th place all time on that list for KC.
Dwyer's goal was his 19th at home in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Scott Sealy for 7th on that list.
The assist by Chance Myers was his 15th in league play for KC, tying him with Claudio Lopez, Chris Henderson, and Roger Espinoza for 16th on that list.
It was his 16th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez, Michael Harrington, and Henderson for 19th on that list.
In the 86th minute, Myers most past Jose Burciaga and into 20th place for minutes played in league play, Myers finished the game with 9,404 minutes player.
Myers made his 128th league appearance for KC, tying him with Jimmy Nielsen for 15th place on that list.
A Comeback for the Ages
For 80 minutes last night against the Vancouver Whitecaps it looked like Sporting KC was on their way to their first home loss of the season. While Sporting had controlled play against Vancouver and created a number of chances the Whitecaps speed on the counter killed Kansas City as Kekuta Manneh ran roughshod over the KC back line. Then KC came alive and the final 10 minutes was an amazing turnaround that saw Kansas City steal not just one, but all three points to win.
It all started poorly for KC as in the ninth minute a poor pass by Soni Mustivar allowed Manneh to beat Kevin Ellis to the ball and start a 4 on 1 counter in the Whitecaps favor. Manneh took it himself as he dribbled into the box and slotted the ball past Tim Melia and ino the net. KC controlled the game against the Whitecaps, but struggled to create chances, and when they did create chances David Ousted and his defense stepped up. In the 21st, Dom Dwyer and Krisztian Nemeth combined well at the top of the box that allowed Nemeth to get in behind the Vancouver defense. Oustad though was quick off his line and blocked the effort. Benny Feilhaber was following the play, but his effort was blocked to Connor Hallisey who had another go, but Jordan Harvey made a very good save to keep it 1-0. Oustad also came up big on Paulo Nagamura after a brilliant ball by Feilhaber found Nagamura racing into the box, but Oustad was quick off his line and was able to cut down Nagamura's angle. KC's attacking though left them open to the counter and numerous times the Whitecaps threatened to get in behind the KC back line again. The play out of the back was poor enough that Peter Vermes pulled left back Jimmy Medranda after only 34 minutes. His replacement Amadou Dia though didn't have a great go of it either as in the 41st a giveaway by him near midfield led to the second goal for the Whitecaps. Steven Beitashour forced the giveaway on Dia near midfield. He raced down the line and played a cross into the box for Manneh who headed it back across the goal and into the net past Melia to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead as the teams headed into half time. KC had been played off the field in the first half and was deservedly down, they had no way to deal with Vancouver's counter, and at the offensive end of the field the Whitecaps were making KC go through Hallisey for the most part instead of the way KC prefer, using Feilhaber and Nemeth more.
Vermes tried to adjust that more at half time, bringing on Jacob Peterson for Hallisey to try to give KC more in the attack. KC continued to be the side pressing the game and in the 53rd found some life. Off a short Feilhaber corner played to the top of the box for Dia, the rookie fired a shot that was deflected into the air. Mustivar was the first one to react to the ball, getting there as it was headed out of bounds and knocking the ball back into the middle. Ellis was there to head the ball into the net and give KC some life early in the second. KC continued to push but the Whitecaps also created chances of their own with Melia at least twice being called upon to make saves in one on one situations. Again it was Manneh at the center of it, leading a counter before laying the ball off to Octavio Rivero. Melia was quick off his line though and as Rivero was able to give him no where to shoot and knocked the ball away. Then in the 72nd Manneh was played in behind the back line, this time though Manneh tried to beat Melia with a quick shot but Melia got down well and made the save. A couple minutes later though Vancouver had made it 3-1. After a handball by Nagamura at the top of the box, Pedro Morales stepped up and curled a ball into the far corner past Melia and into the net. At that point one would assume it was game over for KC, but things were only getting started. KC cut the lead back to one goal in the 81st minute as Dia and Nemeth combined on the left before Nemeth played a ball into the box toward Dwyer. The ball went over Pa Modou Kah to Dwyer who headed the ball into the corner to make it 3-2 to the Whitecaps with just under 10 minutes to play. Five minutes later in the 86th minute, KC was level. The ball was played wide to Chance Myers near the corner of the box. Myers took a touch back and laid the ball into the middle of the box for Nagamura who blasted a shot into the corner that leveled the game and sent Sporting Park into a frenzy. The openness of the game continued as the game wound down with both teams creating opportunities as the match came to a close. In the end it was KC that made the most of the opportunities created and sealed the amazing come back late in stoppage time. Mustivar floated a short ball into the box where Nagamura adjusted his run to get to the ball in front of Kah, heading it into the net and causing mass hysteria at Sporting Park. KC ran out the rest of the game and walked away with a huge three points that puts them in third in the West with games in hand on everyone still.
Wizards Man of the Match - Paulo Nagamura - No one really had a good first half, or much of a good game, but Nagamura replicated the heart he had against New England last year. Only this time his hard work to score two goals was rewarded with a dramatic win for KC.
Player Ratings - Melia 6, Medranda 3, Ellis 5, Besler 5, Abdul-Salaam 4, Mustivar 5, Nagamura 7, Feilhaber 5, Hallisey 3, Dwyer 5, Nemeth 4. Subs Dia 4, Peterson 5, Myers 6.
It all started poorly for KC as in the ninth minute a poor pass by Soni Mustivar allowed Manneh to beat Kevin Ellis to the ball and start a 4 on 1 counter in the Whitecaps favor. Manneh took it himself as he dribbled into the box and slotted the ball past Tim Melia and ino the net. KC controlled the game against the Whitecaps, but struggled to create chances, and when they did create chances David Ousted and his defense stepped up. In the 21st, Dom Dwyer and Krisztian Nemeth combined well at the top of the box that allowed Nemeth to get in behind the Vancouver defense. Oustad though was quick off his line and blocked the effort. Benny Feilhaber was following the play, but his effort was blocked to Connor Hallisey who had another go, but Jordan Harvey made a very good save to keep it 1-0. Oustad also came up big on Paulo Nagamura after a brilliant ball by Feilhaber found Nagamura racing into the box, but Oustad was quick off his line and was able to cut down Nagamura's angle. KC's attacking though left them open to the counter and numerous times the Whitecaps threatened to get in behind the KC back line again. The play out of the back was poor enough that Peter Vermes pulled left back Jimmy Medranda after only 34 minutes. His replacement Amadou Dia though didn't have a great go of it either as in the 41st a giveaway by him near midfield led to the second goal for the Whitecaps. Steven Beitashour forced the giveaway on Dia near midfield. He raced down the line and played a cross into the box for Manneh who headed it back across the goal and into the net past Melia to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead as the teams headed into half time. KC had been played off the field in the first half and was deservedly down, they had no way to deal with Vancouver's counter, and at the offensive end of the field the Whitecaps were making KC go through Hallisey for the most part instead of the way KC prefer, using Feilhaber and Nemeth more.
Vermes tried to adjust that more at half time, bringing on Jacob Peterson for Hallisey to try to give KC more in the attack. KC continued to be the side pressing the game and in the 53rd found some life. Off a short Feilhaber corner played to the top of the box for Dia, the rookie fired a shot that was deflected into the air. Mustivar was the first one to react to the ball, getting there as it was headed out of bounds and knocking the ball back into the middle. Ellis was there to head the ball into the net and give KC some life early in the second. KC continued to push but the Whitecaps also created chances of their own with Melia at least twice being called upon to make saves in one on one situations. Again it was Manneh at the center of it, leading a counter before laying the ball off to Octavio Rivero. Melia was quick off his line though and as Rivero was able to give him no where to shoot and knocked the ball away. Then in the 72nd Manneh was played in behind the back line, this time though Manneh tried to beat Melia with a quick shot but Melia got down well and made the save. A couple minutes later though Vancouver had made it 3-1. After a handball by Nagamura at the top of the box, Pedro Morales stepped up and curled a ball into the far corner past Melia and into the net. At that point one would assume it was game over for KC, but things were only getting started. KC cut the lead back to one goal in the 81st minute as Dia and Nemeth combined on the left before Nemeth played a ball into the box toward Dwyer. The ball went over Pa Modou Kah to Dwyer who headed the ball into the corner to make it 3-2 to the Whitecaps with just under 10 minutes to play. Five minutes later in the 86th minute, KC was level. The ball was played wide to Chance Myers near the corner of the box. Myers took a touch back and laid the ball into the middle of the box for Nagamura who blasted a shot into the corner that leveled the game and sent Sporting Park into a frenzy. The openness of the game continued as the game wound down with both teams creating opportunities as the match came to a close. In the end it was KC that made the most of the opportunities created and sealed the amazing come back late in stoppage time. Mustivar floated a short ball into the box where Nagamura adjusted his run to get to the ball in front of Kah, heading it into the net and causing mass hysteria at Sporting Park. KC ran out the rest of the game and walked away with a huge three points that puts them in third in the West with games in hand on everyone still.
Wizards Man of the Match - Paulo Nagamura - No one really had a good first half, or much of a good game, but Nagamura replicated the heart he had against New England last year. Only this time his hard work to score two goals was rewarded with a dramatic win for KC.
Player Ratings - Melia 6, Medranda 3, Ellis 5, Besler 5, Abdul-Salaam 4, Mustivar 5, Nagamura 7, Feilhaber 5, Hallisey 3, Dwyer 5, Nemeth 4. Subs Dia 4, Peterson 5, Myers 6.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Match Day 22: Welcoming the Top of the West
Tomorrow at Sporting Park Kansas City welcome the top of the Western Conference, the Vancouver Whitecaps. Vancouver currently sits five points clear of fourth place Kansas City but have played three games more. The match up will feature one of the best home teams in the league in KC, who is unbeaten at home this season, against the Whitecaps, who are one of the best away teams in the league, with 7 wins on the road this season.
While the Whitecaps have the away form, it appears tomorrow that they'll have to do it without two of their stronger defensive pieces. Center back, Kendall Waston, who had a battle with Dom Dwyer when the two teams met in Vancouver earlier this year is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Salt Lake last year. Then Matias Laba, one of the better young defensive midfielders in the league picked up a knock on Wednesday night against the Montreal Impact and it appears that he won't be able to go tomorrow. While the Whitecaps defense has taken a hit, the attack is still young, fast, and potent with the likes of Daren Mattocks and Octavio Rivero up top.
KC's biggest health question continues to be Graham Zusi who is still questionable with his calf injury he picked up in warm ups last week in Toronto. The other big question for KC is whether there would be a let down after the big Open Cup win on Wednesday. While KC played a primarily starting lineup against Salt Lake, Vancouver rested a number of players in their mid-week Canadian Championship match up against Montreal. With KC's situation at this point of the season though they don't really have much of an option but to have a similar lineup take the field against Vancouver.
Number to Remember - 1 - Benny Feilhaber needs just one assist to tie Preki's club record for assists in a season, back in 2003 on route to his second MVP award, Preki recorded 18 assists in all competitions.
Key Match Up - Kevin Ellis vs Octavio Rivero - Ellis has been having a stellar run of form over the last couple months, he has made the need for a center back to partner Matt Besler much less obvious. Tomorrow he'll match up against another successful forward in Rivero who has nine league goals on the season, will certainly be another tough stop for KC.
PREDICTION - This isn't going to be an easy team, Carl Robinson has this Whitecaps team playing extremely well. They're young and extremely hungry. With KC at home though and with Vancouver missing two big defensive pieces, there should be face for KC to expose. The big worry though are tired legs for KC after the past two weeks and two more games next week as well.
SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
VAN - 1 (Morales)
While the Whitecaps have the away form, it appears tomorrow that they'll have to do it without two of their stronger defensive pieces. Center back, Kendall Waston, who had a battle with Dom Dwyer when the two teams met in Vancouver earlier this year is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Salt Lake last year. Then Matias Laba, one of the better young defensive midfielders in the league picked up a knock on Wednesday night against the Montreal Impact and it appears that he won't be able to go tomorrow. While the Whitecaps defense has taken a hit, the attack is still young, fast, and potent with the likes of Daren Mattocks and Octavio Rivero up top.
KC's biggest health question continues to be Graham Zusi who is still questionable with his calf injury he picked up in warm ups last week in Toronto. The other big question for KC is whether there would be a let down after the big Open Cup win on Wednesday. While KC played a primarily starting lineup against Salt Lake, Vancouver rested a number of players in their mid-week Canadian Championship match up against Montreal. With KC's situation at this point of the season though they don't really have much of an option but to have a similar lineup take the field against Vancouver.
Nemeth - Dwyer - Hallisey
Okugo - Feilhaber
Mustivar
Dia - Besler - Ellis - Myers
Melia
Number to Remember - 1 - Benny Feilhaber needs just one assist to tie Preki's club record for assists in a season, back in 2003 on route to his second MVP award, Preki recorded 18 assists in all competitions.
Key Match Up - Kevin Ellis vs Octavio Rivero - Ellis has been having a stellar run of form over the last couple months, he has made the need for a center back to partner Matt Besler much less obvious. Tomorrow he'll match up against another successful forward in Rivero who has nine league goals on the season, will certainly be another tough stop for KC.
PREDICTION - This isn't going to be an easy team, Carl Robinson has this Whitecaps team playing extremely well. They're young and extremely hungry. With KC at home though and with Vancouver missing two big defensive pieces, there should be face for KC to expose. The big worry though are tired legs for KC after the past two weeks and two more games next week as well.
SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
VAN - 1 (Morales)
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Gardner Joins SKC Academy, Gomez and Cyrus Return to MLS - Former SKC Wizards Update
Another week of former player updates. First, former KC defender, Josh Gardner has retired from one man volleyball and has taken a job as the U14 academy coach for the Sporting KC academy as the team restructured a little bit and got each of their teams a separate coach.
Also this past week, the transfer window for MLS closed, and two former KC players are back in MLS. Herculez Gomez who signed with Toronto after they acquired his MLS rights from KC has returned from Mexico, while Daneil Cyrus, who had played with the team on loan in 2011 has returned to the league on loan again, this time to the Chicago Fire.
Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Federico Bessone
Mitchell Cardenas
Bobby Convey
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Kyle Miller
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha
MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 1-0 win over Montreal.
Teal Bunbury - New England - No game this week.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 72 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Daneil Cyrus - Chicago (Loan) - Just signed with Chicago.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 4-0 loss to Vancouver.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Just signed with Toronto.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 2-1 loss to Columbus.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Portland's 1-0 win over Chicago.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Columbus' 2-1 win over Colorado.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 3-1 loss to KC.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-0 loss to DC.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 0-0 draw with Orlando.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Loaned to San Antonio.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-1 win over Colorado.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 2-0 win over NYCFC.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Did not play in Tampa's 3-2 win over Jacksonville.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes, getting sent off in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 loss to Atlanta. Suspended for Fort Lauderdale's 3-3 draw with New York.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 2-1 win over Fort Lauderdale. Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 3-3 draw with San Antonio.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Dressed but did not play in either of Atlanta's games.
Khari Stephenson - San Antonio - Started and played 69 minutes in San Antonio's 3-3 draw with Atlanta.
USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 4-3 win over Portland.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-0 loss to Orange County.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Sacramento's 1-0 loss to Colorado Springs.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 4-3 win over Portland.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 2-2 draw with New York.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in Charlotte's 2-2 draw with New York.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Started and played 73 minutes in Arizona's 2-1 win over LA.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-0 loss to Orange County.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 4-3 win over Portland.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-2 loss to Harrisburg. Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 1-1 draw with Rochester.
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 - AFC United - Sweden - Did not play in AFC's 2-0 loss to Degerfors
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Tied The Strongest 1-1.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - No game this week.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Did not dress in Chivas' 1-0 win over Mineros de Zacatecas. Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-2 draw with Tigres.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Dressed but did not play in Belen's 2-1 loss to Cartagines.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Did not dress in Qingdao's 3-0 loss to Beijing Enterprises.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - No game this week.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Next game 8/22
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Did not dress in RoPS' 2-1 loss to Lahti.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Did not dress in either of ABC's games.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Dinamo's 4-0 loss to Dacia.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 2-1 win over Union Espanola.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 0-0 draw with Slask Wroclaw.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 69 minutes, recording an assist in Spartak's 2-0 win over Krylya Sovetov.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Defeated Feni 4-3, tied Abahani Chittagong 0-0.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-0 loss to Leiknir Reykjavik. Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-1 draw with Vikingur Reykjavik.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 1-0 win over Benfica.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Lost 2-1 to Manila Jeepney.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes, scoring a goal in Sarajevo's 2-1 win over Siroki Brijeg.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring goal in Saarbrucken's 1-0 win over Steinbach.
Also this past week, the transfer window for MLS closed, and two former KC players are back in MLS. Herculez Gomez who signed with Toronto after they acquired his MLS rights from KC has returned from Mexico, while Daneil Cyrus, who had played with the team on loan in 2011 has returned to the league on loan again, this time to the Chicago Fire.
Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Federico Bessone
Mitchell Cardenas
Bobby Convey
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Kyle Miller
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha
MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 1-0 win over Montreal.
Teal Bunbury - New England - No game this week.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 72 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Philadelphia.
Daneil Cyrus - Chicago (Loan) - Just signed with Chicago.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 4-0 loss to Vancouver.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Just signed with Toronto.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 2-1 loss to Columbus.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Portland's 1-0 win over Chicago.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Columbus' 2-1 win over Colorado.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronto's 3-1 loss to KC.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-0 loss to DC.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 0-0 draw with Orlando.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Loaned to San Antonio.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-1 win over Colorado.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 2-0 win over NYCFC.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Did not play in Tampa's 3-2 win over Jacksonville.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes, getting sent off in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 loss to Atlanta. Suspended for Fort Lauderdale's 3-3 draw with New York.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 2-1 win over Fort Lauderdale. Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 3-3 draw with San Antonio.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Dressed but did not play in either of Atlanta's games.
Khari Stephenson - San Antonio - Started and played 69 minutes in San Antonio's 3-3 draw with Atlanta.
USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 4-3 win over Portland.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-0 loss to Orange County.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Sacramento's 1-0 loss to Colorado Springs.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 4-3 win over Portland.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 2-2 draw with New York.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in Charlotte's 2-2 draw with New York.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Started and played 73 minutes in Arizona's 2-1 win over LA.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-0 loss to Orange County.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 4-3 win over Portland.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-2 loss to Harrisburg. Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 1-1 draw with Rochester.
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 - AFC United - Sweden - Did not play in AFC's 2-0 loss to Degerfors
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Tied The Strongest 1-1.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - No game this week.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Did not dress in Chivas' 1-0 win over Mineros de Zacatecas. Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-2 draw with Tigres.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Dressed but did not play in Belen's 2-1 loss to Cartagines.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Did not dress in Qingdao's 3-0 loss to Beijing Enterprises.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - No game this week.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Next game 8/22
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Did not dress in RoPS' 2-1 loss to Lahti.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Did not dress in either of ABC's games.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Dinamo's 4-0 loss to Dacia.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 2-1 win over Union Espanola.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 0-0 draw with Slask Wroclaw.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Started and played 69 minutes, recording an assist in Spartak's 2-0 win over Krylya Sovetov.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Defeated Feni 4-3, tied Abahani Chittagong 0-0.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-0 loss to Leiknir Reykjavik. Started and played 90 minutes in Stjarnan's 1-1 draw with Vikingur Reykjavik.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 1-0 win over Benfica.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Lost 2-1 to Manila Jeepney.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes, scoring a goal in Sarajevo's 2-1 win over Siroki Brijeg.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring goal in Saarbrucken's 1-0 win over Steinbach.
S.A.S. Thursday After Stats
Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 10th goal in all competitions this season, combined with Dom Dwyer and Krisztian Nemeth, it is the first time in club history that three players have his double digit goals in a season.
Feilhaber's goal was his 18th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 16th on that list.
Feilhaber's assist on Soni Mustivar's goal was his 17th in all competitions, tying him with Graham Zusi and Preki in the 1997 season for the second most assists in a single season.
It gives Feilhaber 33 assists in all competitions in his KC career, breaking his tie with Mo Johnston for 5th place on that list.
The win was Peter Vermes' 109th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Bob Gansler for most wins in all competitions for KC.
Krisztian Nemeth scored his fourth goal in the US Open Cup. In the USOC proper that ties him with Soony Saad for fourth on that list.
In the USOC proper and qualifiers that ties Nemeth for fifth with Saad and Ryan Pore.
His four goals are also the second most in a single season in the US Open Cup behind Dom Dwyer's five this season.
Matt Besler moved past Chance Myers and Michael Harrington and into third place for minutes played for KC in all USOC games, he finished the game wtih 1,130 minutes played.
In the US Open Cup proper, Besler also moved into third place for minutes played, he finished with 920 minutes played.
Besler and Chance Myers made their 14th appearance across all levels of the US Open Cup, tying them with Nick Garcia for the second most in club history.
Kevin Ellis made his 50th appearance in all competitions for KC.
Feilhaber's goal was his 18th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 16th on that list.
Feilhaber's assist on Soni Mustivar's goal was his 17th in all competitions, tying him with Graham Zusi and Preki in the 1997 season for the second most assists in a single season.
It gives Feilhaber 33 assists in all competitions in his KC career, breaking his tie with Mo Johnston for 5th place on that list.
The win was Peter Vermes' 109th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Bob Gansler for most wins in all competitions for KC.
Krisztian Nemeth scored his fourth goal in the US Open Cup. In the USOC proper that ties him with Soony Saad for fourth on that list.
In the USOC proper and qualifiers that ties Nemeth for fifth with Saad and Ryan Pore.
His four goals are also the second most in a single season in the US Open Cup behind Dom Dwyer's five this season.
Matt Besler moved past Chance Myers and Michael Harrington and into third place for minutes played for KC in all USOC games, he finished the game wtih 1,130 minutes played.
In the US Open Cup proper, Besler also moved into third place for minutes played, he finished with 920 minutes played.
Besler and Chance Myers made their 14th appearance across all levels of the US Open Cup, tying them with Nick Garcia for the second most in club history.
Kevin Ellis made his 50th appearance in all competitions for KC.
Sporting Move on to the US Open Cup Final
For the second time in four years, Sporting KC is returning to the US Open Cup final after a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake last night at Sporting Park. With the win, Sporting will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Union on September 30th in hopes of bringing home their third piece of silverware in the last four years and the club's sixth overall. It wasn't an easy game for KC as Salt Lake did a good job of containing KC's attacking and relying on Nick Rimando in goal to keep KC at bay for most of the game, but late goals by Benny Feilhaber and Krisztian Nemeth saw Kansas City through.
The early part of the game saw both teams create some chances but neither able to capitalize, Soni Mustivar put a header over the bar from close range off a corner kick, Nemeth forced a save from Rimando off another free kick, and Sebastian Jaime forced a kick save out of Tim Melia. The early feel out period though ended in the 24th minute when Tony Beltran picked out Olmes Garcia with a long ball over the top. Garcia had been marked by Kevin Ellis who appeared to misjudge the flight of the ball and allowed Garcia to easily get in behind him and into the box one on one with Melia. Garcia slotted the ball past Melia and put RSL on top. After the goal, KC stepped up the play and started to take over more of the game. The lead lasted 11 minutes for RSL before KC equalized. After Nemeth was fouled near the corner flag by RSL defender Aaron Maund, Feilhaber played a driven free kick into the box where Mustivar raced onto it, beating Rimando to it and heading it into the empty net to put KC level. KC continued to be the more aggressive side but was unable to really test Rimando the rest of the half.
KC continued to be the side pushing the game in the second half and creating the better chances, Nemeth almost put KC up in the 49th. After being played in behind the RSL defense, Nemeth chipped Rimando and the ball was rolling into the net, but Beltran, who was trailing the play was able to clear it away with a sliding challenge. When his defense wasn't helping him out, Rimando was making KC's life difficult, denying efforts from Nemeth, Feilhaber, Dom Dwyer, and Jacob Peterson at different times throughout the half. The best of those probably came in the 71st when Dwyer collected a low Connor Hallisey cross, held off his defender and squared the ball for Nemeth. The Hungarian looked to pick out the corner but had his shot deflect off a defender and out for a corner. To finally beat Rimando a second time it took a great individual effort and the post to do it. Dwyer brought a ball down at midfield in front of RSL defender Elias Vasquez, he proceeded to turn and race towards the sideline before cutting inside in front of Vasquez, he shrugged off a shirt pull and then cut around Maund at the top of the box before firing a shot that hit the inside of the post past Rimando. The ball bounced back into the middle of the box where Feilhaber had run unmarked into the box and fired the ball into the net to put KC on top. RSL now had to throw numbers forward looking to get back into the game, but another mistake at the back allowed KC to grab a third. Feilhaber cleared a long ball up field towards Nemeth and Dwyer. Maund attempted to play the ball back to Rimando with his head, but did not get enough of it. Instead Nemeth raced onto the ball as Rimando pushed out on him. Nemeth danced on the ball before cutting around Rimando, taking another touch and firing the ball into the net to make it 3-1. Things started to get a little physical late on as Melia was knocked down in the box trying to claim a ball in the air. Then in stoppage time after he had played the ball away, Feilhaber was run into by RSL forward, Garcia. Without hesitation the forward was sent off and RSL finished the final minutes down a man as KC advanced to the final.
Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Played a role in all three goals for KC again last night, scoring one, assisting another, and playing the ball in that led to the third, Feilhaber continues his MVP form.
Honorable Mention - Soni Mustivar
Player Ratings - Melia 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Ellis 7, Besler 7, Dia 7, Mustivar 8, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 8, Peterson 6, Dwyer 6, Nemeth 7. Subs Hallisey 5, Myers NR, de Jong NR.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Match Day USOC: Another Rivalry Renewed
For the second round in a row of the US Open Cup Sporting KC will face off against an opponent that they've developed an on the field rivalry with. Last round it was the Houston Dynamo visiting Sporting Park, tomorrow night it will be Real Salt Lake stepping onto the field at Sporting Park with a spot in the US Open Cup finals on the line.
Salt Lake comes into the game set to play their fourth straight game on the road over the last two weeks in four different cities. The team has traveled from Salt Lake to DC, to Guatemala, to Vancouver. They lost two of those three, losing 6-4 in DC and 4-0 in Vancouver. In between Salt Lake pulled off a 1-0 win in Guatemala. In Vancouver this past weekend though Salt Lake put out a primarily reserve lineup that didn't consist of Nick Rimando, Kyle Becerkman, Javier Morales, Joao Plata or others, that group stayed behind in Salt Lake to rest after the trip to Guatemala ahead of tomorrow's game. They will likely need that rest with RSL being one of the weaker teams on the road this year, currently sitting with a -16 goal difference in league play and a 1-9-2 away from Rio Tinto.
KC on the other hand continues to be undefeated at home with a 7-0-4 record in league play at Sporting Park this year. Unlike RSL against Vancouver though KC put out as close to a first team as they really could against Toronto on the weekend. Four normal starters were missing from the lineup for KC though. Luckily, two of those four should be returning tomorrow night with Dom Dwyer having been suspended vs Toronto and Amadou Dia sat in favor of Jimmy Medranda. Roger Espinoza the third missing is suspended for this game, but is also injured. The question will be Graham Zusi who was a late scratch against Toronto due to a calf injury. Zusi's availability will be a big question for tomorrow's game, even though he's not had the best season he's still a difference maker for the team that will be missed if he can't go.
Number to Remember - 90 - 90 minutes from a cup final, that's all that matters.
Key Match Up - Benny Feilhaber vs Kyle Beckerman - Feilhaber has a goal and an assist in the three games against RSL this year. The MVP candidate will need to get the better of the RSL captain and USMNT defensive midfielder again and be the leader of the team tomorrow. KC's leaned on him all year and tomorrow won't be much different.
PREDICTION - RSL has won just once in Kansas City in their club's history, KC has tended to have a good luck against them. Unfortunately KC hasn't technically beaten them at home since 2012, they've played to three straight draws, including MLS Cup 2013. The last two games have been 0-0 draws where RSL has really not shown much interest in attacking KC's goal. Obviously in a win or go home situation that can't quite just do that. That may open up some more chances for KC to punish them. It certainly won't be an easy game and extra time tomorrow would not be a surprise at all between the two. In the end I think KC will do just enough to get through and win a trip to either Chicago or Philadelphia for the final.
AET
SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Nemeth)
RSL - 1 (Plata)
Salt Lake comes into the game set to play their fourth straight game on the road over the last two weeks in four different cities. The team has traveled from Salt Lake to DC, to Guatemala, to Vancouver. They lost two of those three, losing 6-4 in DC and 4-0 in Vancouver. In between Salt Lake pulled off a 1-0 win in Guatemala. In Vancouver this past weekend though Salt Lake put out a primarily reserve lineup that didn't consist of Nick Rimando, Kyle Becerkman, Javier Morales, Joao Plata or others, that group stayed behind in Salt Lake to rest after the trip to Guatemala ahead of tomorrow's game. They will likely need that rest with RSL being one of the weaker teams on the road this year, currently sitting with a -16 goal difference in league play and a 1-9-2 away from Rio Tinto.
KC on the other hand continues to be undefeated at home with a 7-0-4 record in league play at Sporting Park this year. Unlike RSL against Vancouver though KC put out as close to a first team as they really could against Toronto on the weekend. Four normal starters were missing from the lineup for KC though. Luckily, two of those four should be returning tomorrow night with Dom Dwyer having been suspended vs Toronto and Amadou Dia sat in favor of Jimmy Medranda. Roger Espinoza the third missing is suspended for this game, but is also injured. The question will be Graham Zusi who was a late scratch against Toronto due to a calf injury. Zusi's availability will be a big question for tomorrow's game, even though he's not had the best season he's still a difference maker for the team that will be missed if he can't go.
Nemeth - Dwyer - Peterson
Nagamura - Feilhaber
Mustivar
Dia - Besler - Ellis - Myers
Melia
Number to Remember - 90 - 90 minutes from a cup final, that's all that matters.
Key Match Up - Benny Feilhaber vs Kyle Beckerman - Feilhaber has a goal and an assist in the three games against RSL this year. The MVP candidate will need to get the better of the RSL captain and USMNT defensive midfielder again and be the leader of the team tomorrow. KC's leaned on him all year and tomorrow won't be much different.
PREDICTION - RSL has won just once in Kansas City in their club's history, KC has tended to have a good luck against them. Unfortunately KC hasn't technically beaten them at home since 2012, they've played to three straight draws, including MLS Cup 2013. The last two games have been 0-0 draws where RSL has really not shown much interest in attacking KC's goal. Obviously in a win or go home situation that can't quite just do that. That may open up some more chances for KC to punish them. It certainly won't be an easy game and extra time tomorrow would not be a surprise at all between the two. In the end I think KC will do just enough to get through and win a trip to either Chicago or Philadelphia for the final.
AET
SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Nemeth)
RSL - 1 (Plata)
Sporting "2" Coming to the USL Next Year?
One of my big concerns and questions regarding KC's player development has been their lack of establishing a USL team of their own that they would operate. Back when MLS and the USL partnered up, KC was the first team to pick up an affiliate, Orlando City. The club was their affiliate for two seasons before becoming an MLS team this year. Last year as Kc prepared for Orlando to make the jump to MLS they affiliated themselves with the expansion Oklahoma City Energy and former goalkeeper, Jimmy Nielsen. The big success story of the USL loans for KC has to be Dom Dwyer and his performance in 2013 with Orlando City, setting a USL scoring record. Multiple other players have gone on loan with varying degrees of success, including the likes of Kevin Ellis, Jon Kempin, Christian Duke, Jimmy Medranda, and Mikey Lopez.
Sporting KC though has never really seemed to use the affiliation to its full advantage, KC never seemed to have the full complement of players loaned out to the USL team and for much of the second half of the season with all the injuries, didn't have anyone on loan to either affiliate. This year KC sent more players on loan to NASL side San Antonio (2, Kempin and Saad Abdul-Salaam) than they have to their USL affiliate, OKC (1, Lopez).
Today though out of Louisville comes a report that KC will be joining the likes of LA, Portland, Seattle, New York, and a few other teams and entering an expansion "2" team in the USL next season. In a report about an expansion team coming to Cincinnati, the article, quoting a source said that five new teams will be joining the league next season; one of those will be a KC reserve side. Coinciding with that move is apparently a move of St. Louis FC to the Western Conference, meaning an in-state rivalry for St. Louis.
Back in June, Robb Heineman had done a poll on Twitter asking for input on where a USL team in KC would play, Swope, Sporting Park, or moving around the metro/region, so this isn't a new idea that's been completely hidden from view. Swope would seem the obvious choice with its small stadium being a good size for a USL team, especially an MLS reserve side, as the highest average of a reserve side in the USL is the Real Salt Lake reserves, the Real Monarchs, averaging 3,966, while at the other end, FC Montreal is drawing just 357.
I really think a local affiliate would be a major plus for Kansas City, allowing them to more readily use the USL team to get players time. If KC is off a weekend, send a couple of the kids who are usually on the bench or just outside the 18 to the affiliate to play a Friday/Sunday stretch in Oklahoma or something similar. It also allows the players that are on loan to still be close enough to be observed by Peter Vermes, which I think was one of the original draw backs of the affiliate system for KC. Being able to see the guys train each day would allow Vermes to have a more active role with them, which to me seems like something Vermes would be big into that can't fully be done with affiliate in OKC.
Hopefully this would allow the return of the fantastically named Swope Park Rangers, the name fans used for the reserve team back when MLS had a reserve league.
Sunday, August 09, 2015
Sunday After Stats
The win was Peter Vermes' 86th in league play for KC, tying him with Bob Gansler for the most wins in team history as a coach. He did it in 23 fewer games than Gansler.
The win was his 108th in all competitions for KC, again tying him with Gansler for the most wins in team history. He did it in 33 fewer games than Gansler.
In the 90th minute, Amobi Okugo (making his Sporting KC debut) hit 10,000 minutes in league play for his MLS career.
At 30 years, 201 days, Benny Feilhaber became the 19th oldest player to score a goal for KC, jumping ahead of Sasha Victorine and Claudio Bieler.
The goal was Feilhaber's 15th in league play, tying him with Chris Brown for 16th place on that list.
It was Feilhaber's 17th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Miklos Molnar, Eddie Johnson, and Jimmy Conrad for 17th on that list.
Feilhaber's goal was his 8th away from home in league play, tying him with Sasha Victorine for 13th on that list.
It was his 9th in all competitions away from home for KC, tying him with Brown and Matt McKeon for 13th on that list.
His assist was Feilhaber's 22nd in league play in his KC career, tying him with Kerry Zavagnin for 8th all time on that list.
It was his 32nd in all competitions for KC, tying him with Mo Johnston for 5th all time on that list.
In the 55th minute, Chance Myers moved past Aurelien Collin and into 18th place for minutes played in all competitions, Myers finished the game with 11,498 minutes played.
Myers' made his 151st appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Brown and Roger Espinoza for 15th on that list.
Myers' started his 124th game in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jose Burciaga for 20th on that list.
Jacob Peterson made his 100th appearance across all competitions for KC, he's the 35th player to hit that mark.
The win was his 108th in all competitions for KC, again tying him with Gansler for the most wins in team history. He did it in 33 fewer games than Gansler.
In the 90th minute, Amobi Okugo (making his Sporting KC debut) hit 10,000 minutes in league play for his MLS career.
At 30 years, 201 days, Benny Feilhaber became the 19th oldest player to score a goal for KC, jumping ahead of Sasha Victorine and Claudio Bieler.
The goal was Feilhaber's 15th in league play, tying him with Chris Brown for 16th place on that list.
It was Feilhaber's 17th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Miklos Molnar, Eddie Johnson, and Jimmy Conrad for 17th on that list.
Feilhaber's goal was his 8th away from home in league play, tying him with Sasha Victorine for 13th on that list.
It was his 9th in all competitions away from home for KC, tying him with Brown and Matt McKeon for 13th on that list.
His assist was Feilhaber's 22nd in league play in his KC career, tying him with Kerry Zavagnin for 8th all time on that list.
It was his 32nd in all competitions for KC, tying him with Mo Johnston for 5th all time on that list.
In the 55th minute, Chance Myers moved past Aurelien Collin and into 18th place for minutes played in all competitions, Myers finished the game with 11,498 minutes played.
Myers' made his 151st appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Brown and Roger Espinoza for 15th on that list.
Myers' started his 124th game in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jose Burciaga for 20th on that list.
Jacob Peterson made his 100th appearance across all competitions for KC, he's the 35th player to hit that mark.
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Short Handed Sporting KC Take All Three Points in Toronto
Down Dom Dwyer and Roger Espinoza heading into this weekend's game against Toronto FC, KC was already undermanned, but things got worst during warm ups when Graham Zusi went down with a calf injury that required him to be pulled from the lineup. On top of being down three regular starters was the rest of the lineup featuring Jacob Peterson lined up at center forward and Jimmy Medranda playing at left back for KC.
So from the start today it seemed like KC was ready to concede a bit in their game against Toronto FC. But as the first half started it was almost anything but. KC came out and was the much more aggressive side from the start and created some dangerous chances in front of goal with Krisztian Nemeth, Connor Hallisey, and Paulo Nagamura all having chances within 10 seconds of each other in the first half. KC's two wingbacks, Medranda and Chance Myers also almost combined for an impressive goal as Medranda juggled the ball a few times before lofting a cross to the back post where Myers volleyed it first time but just wide of the far post. Then in the 20th minute, Kansas City was awarded a penalty kick. After Hallisey failed to control Benny Feilhaber's corner played to him at the top of the box, Medranda picked it up and lofted a cross into the box for Kevin Ellis who was grabbed slightly by a TFC defender and went down. Mark Geiger pointed to the spot and Feilhaber stepped up and coolly put the ball right down the middle as Joe Bendik dove to his left putting KC up 1-0. The lead though lasted less than a minute as from the kick off TFC attacked KC's goal and some great passing between Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio, and Sebastian Giovinco carved KC's defense a part and was finished calmly by Bradley to level the game at 1-1. The score only remained level for seven minutes as KC regained the lead in the 29th minute off a free kick from Feilhaber. The MVP candidate drove the free kick towards the top of the box where Nemeth flicked the ball on with the back of his head towards goal. The ball looped over Bendik's head and he could only get a hand on it as it sailed into the net to give KC a 2-1 lead. KC continued to be the side that controlled the game for the rest of the first half but was unable to find another goal.
While KC dominated the first half with their high pressure and Jacob Peterson's pressure on the center backs, it was Toronto that was much more aggressive side. TFC though struggled to create clear chances on on goal, and when they did, Tim Melia was there to make the save. Their best opportunity came in the 80th minute of a corner kick as Eriq Zavaleta had a shot blocked and partially cleared to Jackson who curled a shot towards the far post but Melia came up with a good save to palm the ball away, the rebound fell to Ahmed Kantari, but Melia was quickly up from his first save and knocked the ball away from Kantari's feet for a second save in quick succession. The ball got knocked away to Giovinco who played another ball into the box for Jozy Altidore who found himself unmarked at the back post, but Altidore put his header wide of the far post with that entire side of the goal left begging. TFC kept pushing, but was unable to find a goal to level the game back up again, and they were made to pay for their wasteful chances in the 87th when KC hit on the counter. Feilhaber picked out substitute Saad Abdul-Salaam in the TFC half of the field, he played the ball to an on coming Amobi Okugo who continued the field switch to Peterson, sliding the ball into the box. Peterson took a touch and fired the ball into the far corner past Bendik to make it 3-1 to KC as they closed the door on TFC's comeback chance.
Wizards Man of the Match - Kevin Ellis - The home grown center back did a fantastic job today shutting down Giovinco for most of the day today. His performance today against the Italian midfielder is likely to become a blue print for many teams going forward when they face off against Toronto.
Honorable Mention: Benny Feilhaber
Player Ratings: Melia 7, Myers 6, Ellis 8, Besler 7, Medranda 7, Mustivar 7, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 7, Hallisey 5, Peterson 6, Nemeth 6. Subs Okugo 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Dia NR.
So from the start today it seemed like KC was ready to concede a bit in their game against Toronto FC. But as the first half started it was almost anything but. KC came out and was the much more aggressive side from the start and created some dangerous chances in front of goal with Krisztian Nemeth, Connor Hallisey, and Paulo Nagamura all having chances within 10 seconds of each other in the first half. KC's two wingbacks, Medranda and Chance Myers also almost combined for an impressive goal as Medranda juggled the ball a few times before lofting a cross to the back post where Myers volleyed it first time but just wide of the far post. Then in the 20th minute, Kansas City was awarded a penalty kick. After Hallisey failed to control Benny Feilhaber's corner played to him at the top of the box, Medranda picked it up and lofted a cross into the box for Kevin Ellis who was grabbed slightly by a TFC defender and went down. Mark Geiger pointed to the spot and Feilhaber stepped up and coolly put the ball right down the middle as Joe Bendik dove to his left putting KC up 1-0. The lead though lasted less than a minute as from the kick off TFC attacked KC's goal and some great passing between Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio, and Sebastian Giovinco carved KC's defense a part and was finished calmly by Bradley to level the game at 1-1. The score only remained level for seven minutes as KC regained the lead in the 29th minute off a free kick from Feilhaber. The MVP candidate drove the free kick towards the top of the box where Nemeth flicked the ball on with the back of his head towards goal. The ball looped over Bendik's head and he could only get a hand on it as it sailed into the net to give KC a 2-1 lead. KC continued to be the side that controlled the game for the rest of the first half but was unable to find another goal.
While KC dominated the first half with their high pressure and Jacob Peterson's pressure on the center backs, it was Toronto that was much more aggressive side. TFC though struggled to create clear chances on on goal, and when they did, Tim Melia was there to make the save. Their best opportunity came in the 80th minute of a corner kick as Eriq Zavaleta had a shot blocked and partially cleared to Jackson who curled a shot towards the far post but Melia came up with a good save to palm the ball away, the rebound fell to Ahmed Kantari, but Melia was quickly up from his first save and knocked the ball away from Kantari's feet for a second save in quick succession. The ball got knocked away to Giovinco who played another ball into the box for Jozy Altidore who found himself unmarked at the back post, but Altidore put his header wide of the far post with that entire side of the goal left begging. TFC kept pushing, but was unable to find a goal to level the game back up again, and they were made to pay for their wasteful chances in the 87th when KC hit on the counter. Feilhaber picked out substitute Saad Abdul-Salaam in the TFC half of the field, he played the ball to an on coming Amobi Okugo who continued the field switch to Peterson, sliding the ball into the box. Peterson took a touch and fired the ball into the far corner past Bendik to make it 3-1 to KC as they closed the door on TFC's comeback chance.
Wizards Man of the Match - Kevin Ellis - The home grown center back did a fantastic job today shutting down Giovinco for most of the day today. His performance today against the Italian midfielder is likely to become a blue print for many teams going forward when they face off against Toronto.
Honorable Mention: Benny Feilhaber
Player Ratings: Melia 7, Myers 6, Ellis 8, Besler 7, Medranda 7, Mustivar 7, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 7, Hallisey 5, Peterson 6, Nemeth 6. Subs Okugo 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Dia NR.
Friday, August 07, 2015
Match Day 21: Battle of MVP Candidates
Tomorrow in Toronto MLS will see a match up between the two current front runners for this year's MVP award. For the visiting side, Sporting KC is Benny Feilhaber, KC's midfield difference maker has scored seven goals so far this season and assisted on 11 in MLS play, he's added another goal and four assists in KC's US Open Cup run this year. For the home side Toronto FC is the "Atomic Ant" Sebastian Giovinco. The Italian designated player current leads MLS in scoring with 16 goals and 10 assists. The pair along with Kei Kamara have been the class of the league in terms of single player performances and tomorrow will be interesting to see how each performs.
Toronto comes into the game after a mid-week home win 4-1 over Orlando City. Giovinco had a hattrick in the game to jump to the top of the MLS scoring list. He'll welcome back forward partner Jozy Altidore who returns from his red card suspension tomorrow. The pair will cause plenty of problems for Kansas City defensively tomorrow. Pulling the strings will be Michael Bradley who looks set to return from an injury that has kept him out since the Gold Cup finished for the US team. Toronto though will have some suspension adjustments to make though after Wednesday's game as Damien Perquis picked up his fifth yellow of the season and will have to sit while Benoit Cheyrou was suspended today by the disciplinary committee for endangering the safety of his opponent in Toronto's win against Orlando. So Toronto will have some shuffling to do before tomorrow's game.
KC has some shuffling of their own to do as well. Two of KC's regular starters are set to miss the game. Dom Dwyer picked up his fifth yellow of the season last week against Houston and will have to sit out tomorrow's game. Meanwhile, Roger Espinoza was suspended by the disciplinary committee for his actions in KC's 1-1 draw with the Dynamo. Not that it really matters as Espinoza's broken bone in his foot would have kept him out of this game anyway. The easy thing to do in both of these situations for KC would be to slide Krisztian Nemeth to the center forward position and bring in either Jacob Peterson or Connor Hallisey to play the wing opposite Graham Zusi. The change for Espinoza is more straight forward as Paulo Nagamura is a straight replacement for Espinoza in the box-to-box role for Kansas City.
Number to Remember - 1 - That's the number of wins that Toronto FC has in their last 13 games against Kansas City. Since the 2010 season, KC is 9-1-3 in their last 13 games against Toronto FC during this stretch.
Key Match Up - Kevin Ellis vs Jozy Altidore - While it'd be easy to do the match up between Giovinco and whoever will be covering him, I'll focus on a match up that each week seems to be a mismatch for the opposing team. It seems on every set piece or any time the opposing team attacks, Ellis is the one that is covering the opposing team's target striker, not the bigger Matt Besler. Ellis has done admirable in this position so far this season, we'll see how he matches up against the US international.
PREDICTION - Without Dwyer at the forward position for KC, the scoring loses a bit of punch because KC doesn't have their best front four on the field. If KC want to get the win tomorrow, Nemeth is going to have to have a big game for KC. Toronto's defense has allowed 35 goals so far this year while KC has allowed a league low 21. For KC to win, the offense is going to have to take advantage of the weaker Toronto defense. Feilhaber is going to be relied on a lot as he has been much of the season so far. Toronto's offense will get their chances, against a Toronto's defense though, it'll be up to KC's attack to match TFC blow for blow tomorrow. I'm just not sure how much they will with the US Open Cup semifinal match coming up on Wednesday.
SKC - 1 (Nemeth)
TFC - 2 (Altidore, Osorio)
Toronto comes into the game after a mid-week home win 4-1 over Orlando City. Giovinco had a hattrick in the game to jump to the top of the MLS scoring list. He'll welcome back forward partner Jozy Altidore who returns from his red card suspension tomorrow. The pair will cause plenty of problems for Kansas City defensively tomorrow. Pulling the strings will be Michael Bradley who looks set to return from an injury that has kept him out since the Gold Cup finished for the US team. Toronto though will have some suspension adjustments to make though after Wednesday's game as Damien Perquis picked up his fifth yellow of the season and will have to sit while Benoit Cheyrou was suspended today by the disciplinary committee for endangering the safety of his opponent in Toronto's win against Orlando. So Toronto will have some shuffling to do before tomorrow's game.
KC has some shuffling of their own to do as well. Two of KC's regular starters are set to miss the game. Dom Dwyer picked up his fifth yellow of the season last week against Houston and will have to sit out tomorrow's game. Meanwhile, Roger Espinoza was suspended by the disciplinary committee for his actions in KC's 1-1 draw with the Dynamo. Not that it really matters as Espinoza's broken bone in his foot would have kept him out of this game anyway. The easy thing to do in both of these situations for KC would be to slide Krisztian Nemeth to the center forward position and bring in either Jacob Peterson or Connor Hallisey to play the wing opposite Graham Zusi. The change for Espinoza is more straight forward as Paulo Nagamura is a straight replacement for Espinoza in the box-to-box role for Kansas City.
Melia
Myers - Ellis - Besler - Dia
Mustivar
Nagamura - Feilhaber
Zusi - Nemeth - Peterson
Number to Remember - 1 - That's the number of wins that Toronto FC has in their last 13 games against Kansas City. Since the 2010 season, KC is 9-1-3 in their last 13 games against Toronto FC during this stretch.
Key Match Up - Kevin Ellis vs Jozy Altidore - While it'd be easy to do the match up between Giovinco and whoever will be covering him, I'll focus on a match up that each week seems to be a mismatch for the opposing team. It seems on every set piece or any time the opposing team attacks, Ellis is the one that is covering the opposing team's target striker, not the bigger Matt Besler. Ellis has done admirable in this position so far this season, we'll see how he matches up against the US international.
PREDICTION - Without Dwyer at the forward position for KC, the scoring loses a bit of punch because KC doesn't have their best front four on the field. If KC want to get the win tomorrow, Nemeth is going to have to have a big game for KC. Toronto's defense has allowed 35 goals so far this year while KC has allowed a league low 21. For KC to win, the offense is going to have to take advantage of the weaker Toronto defense. Feilhaber is going to be relied on a lot as he has been much of the season so far. Toronto's offense will get their chances, against a Toronto's defense though, it'll be up to KC's attack to match TFC blow for blow tomorrow. I'm just not sure how much they will with the US Open Cup semifinal match coming up on Wednesday.
SKC - 1 (Nemeth)
TFC - 2 (Altidore, Osorio)
Sporting KC Acquire Allocation Money for Herculez Gomez's MLS Rights and International Spot
One of the great case studies of players' rights in MLS has finally reached a conclusion. Today, Sporting KC and Toronto FC announced that they'd reached a trade yesterday before the window closed that saw Kansas City send the rights of first refusal of Herculez Gomez to Toronto FC for allocation money.
Instead, Gomez went to Mexico, where he had a successful career that saw him get back into the national team picture and earn a trip to the 2010 World Cup. He scored 37 goals over the course of 5 years with seven teams.
Gomez was never going to return to Kansas City after his departure in 2009 because of his feelings regarding Peter Vermes, Kansas City, their offer to him in 2009, and the team holding onto his MLS rights even though he was never going to return. The rights issue caused a lot of issues for Gomez, who spoke out about that fact on numerous occasions during his time in Mexico. It seems in the end though that the league stepped in to help broker a deal between TFC and KC to get Gomez back to MLS.
Toronto and Gomez meet Kansas City tomorrow at BMO Field in league action, and while it'd certainly add to the story line if Gomez is able to play, and even more so if he were to score, I'm not sure he'd play just a day after the deal was done, but stranger things have happened.
UPDATE: Sporting KC picked up more allocation money today through a second trade. Kansas City sent one of their international spots that they were not currently using to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for allocation money. The international spot is only for this season and will return to Kansas City on 12/31/15.
Another good bit of business for KC as they weren't going to use all their international spots this season.
UPDATE: Sporting KC picked up more allocation money today through a second trade. Kansas City sent one of their international spots that they were not currently using to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for allocation money. The international spot is only for this season and will return to Kansas City on 12/31/15.
Another good bit of business for KC as they weren't going to use all their international spots this season.
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