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Sporting KC moves up to fifth in West with 2-1 road victory over San Jose

Sporting Kansas City claimed an invaluable 2-1 road victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night, jumping up to fifth place in the Western Conference with a gutsy performance at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif.

Dom Dwyer scored for Sporting KC inside seven minutes, and while Simon Dawkins evened the score shortly before halftime for San Jose (7-9-13, 34 points), a back-heel from defender Kevin Ellis gave Sporting Kansas City three massive points in the club’s push for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The result saw Sporting Kansas City (12-12-7, 43 points) reverse its past losses. Peter Vermes’ men earned their first win in San Jose since August 2000 – ending a dismal run of 18 straight MLS matches (including playoffs) – and snapped a 12-game road winless run that began on April 17.

Now with 43 points from 31 games, Sporting Kansas City is two points ahead of the sixth-place Portland Timbers and eight ahead of seventh-place Seattle Sounders FC, who have three games in hand on both teams directly above them in the Western Conference standings.

A reshuffled Sporting Kansas City lineup included three changes from last Sunday’s 2-2 draw against the LA Galaxy. Nuno Coelho stepped back into central defense alongside Ellis, while veteran Paulo Nagamura returned to the midfield for just his third MLS start of the season. Benny Feilhaber was notably deployed as a winger for the first time in his Sporting KC career, joining Dwyer and Jacob Peterson in a three-pronged attack.

Dwyer’s early header gave Sporting Kansas City a dream start, but not before the visitors survived a scare within 15 seconds of kickoff. Fullback Jordan Stewart exploited space down the left flank and whipped a teasing cross into the six-yard area, forcing goalkeeper Tim Melia to punch clear. Chris Wondolowski settled the rebound at the top of the box and sent a blistering strike goalward, but Melia was well-positioned to parry wide.

As the play unfolded, San Jose forward Quincy Amarikwa suffered a knee injury and was subsequently taken off the field on a stretcher, ushering Henok Goitom into the match. The Earthquakes were forced to make two first-half substitutions, as Stewart limped off in the 33rd minute and was replaced by Shaun Francis.

Saad Abdul-Salaam would draw a foul on Stewart in the seventh minute, giving Sporting Kansas City the set piece it needed to take the lead. Feilhaber played short to Nagamura, who was afforded space 30 yards from goal. The veteran midfielder floated a brilliant ball to the back post, allowing Dwyer to nod home for his team-leading 15th goal of the season and his third in as many games.

The Earthquakes restored parity three minutes before the break when Marvell Wynne lofted a long free kick into the penalty box. Victor Bernardez rose to flick the ball into the six-yard area, where Coelho was accidentally clipped by Goitom while attempting to clear the danger. Coelho fell to the turf and Goitom seized the loose ball, back-heeling into the path of Dawkins for an easy finish into an open net.

Melia produced a fine save in the opening minute of the first half and did so again just seconds after the restart. Quintero was played into space down the right wing and fizzed a low cross to Wondolowski, whose deft flick-on to the far post was touched wide by Sporting Kansas City’s outstretched goalkeeper. Melia made another superb stop on the hour mark, diving to his right at full extension to smother a low piledriver from Quintero.

Halfway through the second period, Sporting Kansas City’s Roger Espinoza was issued a yellow card that will rule him out of next Saturday’s match at the New England Revolution due to caution accumulation.

Sporting Kansas City spent most of the second half weathering pressure from the hosts, but carved out an excellent chance in the 77th minute. Feilhaber accelerated into the attacking third, spreading the ball wide right to Brad Davis. The substitute cut into the middle to put the ball on his patented left boot, but his bending shot to the far left post was touched inches wide by Bingham.

Ellis, who earned his 50th career regular season start on Saturday, provided the heroics with nine minutes left. Feilhaber’s in-swing corner kick from the left flag sailed just over the head of a leaping Ike Opara, but Ellis was stationed close by in a crowded goalmouth, back-heeling the ball into the net for his first MLS goal of the campaign and arguably the most important goal of Sporting Kansas City’s 2016 season. Feilhaber’s assist was his sixth in eight games and his 10th on the year, making him just the second player in club history (Preki) to reach double-digit assists in multiple regular seasons.

San Jose would throw numbers forward in the dying embers of the contest, but were unable to breach a Sporting Kansas City side that finished with a season-high 39 clearances.

Sporting Kansas City continues its three-game road swing next Saturday, venturing to the East Coast for an interconference clash against the New England Revolution (9-12-9, 36 points) at Gillette Stadium. Winners of three straight league matches, New England presently holds the sixth and final playoff spot in the East. Next weekend’s match precedes the October international break, giving Sporting Kansas City a week off before finishing the 2016 regular season at Real Salt Lake on Oct. 16 and home to San Jose on Oct. 23.
– Story from Sporting KC

Two women expand creative business in KCK

Grand opening planned this afternoon

by Mary Rupert

A home-based business, Creative Expressions Inc., was doing so well last year that two area women decided to expand it.

“Last year, our orders and classes had grown to a size we couldn’t manage inside our homes, so we decided to step on the ledge, go big or go home,” co-owner Ashley Roberts said. “We got a shop.”

In April, they moved their home-based business into a shop at 8833 State Ave., Suite 3, in Kansas City, Kan., where they will have more space. They will have a grand opening from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25. There will be refreshments at the grand opening.

Roberts, 25, a partner in Creative Expressions Inc. with Beth Salazar, 41, said Salazar started the business seven years ago and Roberts became a business partner two years ago.

The shop will offer items for sale, will be the host for birthday parties, bridal showers and baby showers, and will be the host for a variety of creative classes, according to Roberts. They also make custom T-shirts and custom vinyl signs for sale.

The shop can provide all the food, the plates and decorations for parties, she said. They can even make the event into a craft session for kids, by supplying cupcakes and letting children frost and decorate them.

For people who like to do crafts and socialize, there will be a “girls’ night out” type of crafts workshop offered on the fourth Thursday of the month, with two to three different crafts a month, she said.

Outside vendors will offer their expertise in teaching classes. The shop will be the host for a jewelry class, children’s sewing class, wreath making, scrapbook and card-making class, she said. One woman offers an essential oils class.

The shop also will offer a boutique line of clothing including ladies pants, shirts and dresses, she said.

Growth in the vinyl signs part of the business drove the two to open the shop and expand their business, she said. They have made custom banners, signs and window decals.

Roberts said both business partners love to do crafts. Roberts said she likes to create designs for vinyl signs, likes to crochet and quilt, and experiment with new skills.

“Until we moved into the shop, we didn’t realize how much stuff we had,” she remarked. The act of moving their business to the shop resulted in them sorting through everything, and they donated items they weren’t using in their business to local daycares and to local women working on projects that will benefit not-for-profit organizations, she said.

“Both of us work full-time jobs in the health care field,” Roberts added. “We run the business behind the scenes of our full-time jobs.”

They work at their full-time jobs at different clinics during the days, and they work at nights and on the weekends at the Creative Expressions shop.

Roberts, a Basehor resident, is a graduate of Immaculata High School in Leavenworth and Emporia State University in 2013. Salazar, a Kansas City, Kan., resident, is a Washington High School graduate who received her paramedic training at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

“One thing we really like to do,” Roberts said, “is to encourage female entrepreneurs to get out and try new skills.”

They especially want to encourage other women to start their own craft endeavors or skills and form businesses, she said. Roberts said she and Salazar received a lot of support from the Bonner Springs Business and Professional Women’s Club, and they want to help support other women in business.

The Creative Expressions shop is at a former house that was remodeled into office and retail space by two firefighters in Kansas City, Kan. Roberts and Salazar gave the inside of their office a new coat of paint, new flooring and new light fixtures, with help from Roberts’ father, Eddie Roberts of Basehor.

The hours for Creative Expressions Inc. will be 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It is also open by appointment. Friday evenings are usually reserved for private parties.

For more information, visit the website at www.creativeexpressionskc.com or call 913-991-4092.