A playoff berth is on the line tonight when Sporting Kansas City takes on the San Jose Earthquakes in California.
The match in San Jose will begin at 10 p.m. Kansas City, Kan., time.
The match will be nationally televised on Unimas with local coverage available on KMCI-TV, SKCTV and 99.3 FM.
With a victory or draw on Friday, Sporting KC will clinch a berth in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
Sporting Kansas City and the San Jose Earthquakes were off from MLS action last weekend due to the FIFA international window. Matt Besler (USMNT), Graham Zusi (USMNT), Krisztian Nemeth (Hungary) and Marcel de Jong (Canada) have returned to Sporting KC after competing with their national teams. Meanwhile, Earthquakes midfielder Marc Pelosi returned from international duty with the U.S. U-23s but will be unavailable as he serves his mandatory one-game suspension due to caution accumulation. San Jose defender Victor Bernardez will also serve a one-game suspension due to caution accumulation.
Prior to the international window, Sporting KC won back-to-back matches, hoisting the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after downing the Philadelphia Union in a penalty kick shootout at PPL Park and then returning to league play to defeat the Portland Timbers 1-0 at Providence Park.
San Jose last secured a 1-1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The Whitecaps got on the board first before Chris Wondolowski equalized in the 62nd minute of play, his 16th goal of 2015 (fifth most in MLS).
The last time these two teams met, San Jose defeated Sporting KC 5-0 at Sporting Park. The Earthquakes haven’t lost to Sporting KC at home since August 2000, a run of 16 straight MLS matches including playoffs. San Jose sits in seventh place in the MLS standings and has 44 points heading into Friday’s clash.
– Story from Sporting KC
