Month: October 2016

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Brad Davis announced Sunday that he will retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2016 MLS season.

Davis will leave Major League Soccer after a 15-year career highlighted by 2006 and 2007 MLS Cup championships, 2011 MLS Best XI accolades, six MLS All-Star selections and a 2005 MLS Supporters’ Shield.

His 123 assists and 392 games played rank third and fourth on the all-time MLS regular season charts.

“I can’t believe that the last 15 years have gone by so fast and that this journey has come to an end,” Davis said. “Along the way, I have met a lot of great people and have had the privilege to play alongside many great players. There are so many individuals that I look forward to thanking who have made me the person and the player I have become.”

“Brad has been a tremendous professional throughout his career and during his time with us,” Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said. “This was a very difficult decision for him, but I have the ultimate respect for Brad because he wanted to leave the game being remembered for playing at a very high level. My only disappointment is that Sporting KC didn’t get him earlier in his career, because he would have been a great asset for this club – just as he was this year. It’s sad to see him go, but at the same time I’m very happy for everything he has accomplished.”

“Brad was one of the most naturally gifted soccer players I have ever been around,” said San Jose Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear, who coached Davis in San Jose and Houston from 2005-2014. “He has had a great career and I wish him the best of luck. It was a pleasure to coach him for as many years as I did, and I felt lucky to have him on the field helping our team.”

Including playoffs, Davis has amassed 60 goals 132 assists in 419 MLS appearances. He became the fifth player in league history to reach 400 MLS appearances when Sporting Kanas City faced FC Dallas on April 17. He retires as the all-time MLS leader in corner kicks (1,269) and is one shy of the all-time lead in game-winning assists (40).

A member of MLS for the duration of his career, Davis joined Sporting Kansas City in January after spending 10 seasons with the Houston Dynamo. He has recorded three goals and two assists in 27 appearances during the 2016 campaign, helping Sporting KC contend for a club-record sixth straight berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Davis, 34, ended a 10-year stint in Houston as the Dynamo’s all-time regular season leader in games played (271), starts (252) and assists (104). The left-footed midfielder guided Houston to consecutive MLS Cup titles in 2006 and 2007 and seven total postseason trips between 2006-2015, including two more MLS Cup appearances in 2011 and 2012.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Davis has reached double digits in assists seven times throughout his career, joining Landon Donovan as the only MLS players to accomplish the feat. His career blossomed in his first two seasons at Houston, where he played in every playoff match of both MLS Cup runs in 2006 and 2007.

Davis was named an MLS All-Star every year from 2009-2013, earning MLS Best XI honors in 2011 when he notched a career-high 16 assists. He totaled at least four goals and 12 assists every season from 2009-2012, a stretch that saw Houston reach the MLS Cup twice more.

During Major League Soccer’s Opta era (2011-present, including playoffs), Davis ranks first in assists (64), third in chances created (415), second in chances created from set pieces (215), second in corner kicks (678) and fourth in successful crosses from open play (110).

A two-year college star at Saint Louis University, Davis was taken third overall in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft by the MetroStars. Following his rookie campaign in New York, Davis moved to the Dallas Burn where he was a regular starter from 2003-2004. He then joined the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005, landing his first MLS All-Star selection and a Supporters’ Shield title during his only season in San Jose before the club relocated to Houston in 2006.

Davis tallied four assists in 17 career appearances for the United States Men’s National Team. He earned his senior team debut in 2005 and converted the game-winning penalty kick in the 2005 Gold Cup Final against Panama. Davis cemented a spot in head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, making his lone World cup appearance with a start against eventual champion Germany on June 26, 2014. As a youth international, Davis represented the U.S. at the U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels.

Davis attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in suburban St. Louis and culminated his high school career as the 1999 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year.
– Story from Sporting KC

The 2016 MLS regular season culminates Sunday when Sporting Kansas City is the host of the San Jose Earthquakes in a decision day showdown at Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kan.

All 20 MLS teams will kick off simultaneously at 3 p.m. with MLS Cup Playoff spots, Supporters’ Shield honors and the Golden Boot scoring title all up for grabs.

SKCTV and 38 The Spot will air three hours of live decision day television coverage from 3 to 6 p.m., while listeners can follow the action on ESPN 99.3 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish). A limited number of tickets for Sunday’s decision day showdown are available at Ticketmaster.com as Sporting Kansas City looks to secure a club-record sixth consecutive playoff berth with a victory.

Additional in-game updates can be found at the SportingKC.com MatchCenter and through the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app , which will provide decision day score updates throughout the afternoon.

As part of Fan Appreciation Day, supporters in attendance will receive a free team poster.

Sporting Kansas City (12-13-8, 44 points) controls its own destiny heading into Week 34 , knowing that three points against the already-eliminated Earthquakes (8-11-14, 38 points) would vault the club into the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

Manager Peter Vermes’ men can also advance to the postseason with a draw or loss, but would need help from elsewhere. If Sporting KC ties San Jose, the Portland Timbers (12-13-8, 44 points) must lose or draw at Vancouver Whitecaps FC in order for Kansas City to punch its playoff ticket. Should Sporting KC lose, Portland must lose to Vancouver by an equal or greater margin for Kansas City to stay above the red line and join the playoff party.

Currently holding the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City can finish the regular season as high as fourth if results fall their way. This scenario would require a win over San Jose, a draw between fourth-place Real Salt Lake and fifth-place Seattle Sounders FC, and a better goal differential than the Timbers (should Portland defeat Vancouver).

Vermes’ side is coming off a hard-earned 0-0 draw at Real Salt Lake last Sunday. The hotly contested battle saw Sporting KC center back Matt Besler and goalkeeper Tim Melia deliver standout performances, spearheading a defense that earned its first clean sheet in nearly two months.

The club will be without forward Diego Rubio for the remainder of the season after the 23-year-old striker tore his ACL in training last week, but Brad Davis (calf), Justin Mapp (calf), Chance Myers (thigh) and Jacob Peterson have all been upgraded to questionable ahead of Sunday’s affair.

Dominic Kinnear’s Earthquakes are one week removed from a scoreless stalemate of their own – a cagey contest against Vancouver that was symptomatic of San Jose’s barren 2016 campaign. The club ranks last in MLS with 32 goals, six fewer than any other team, and will miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.

Further compounding struggles has been San Jose’s form away from home. Kinnear’s side has a single victory in its last 18 MLS matches dating back to 2015 (1-10-7), a 2-1 result at Vancouver on Aug. 5.

Sunday’s hosts carry an eight-game home unbeaten streak into the regular season finale, winning six and drawing two while averaging an impressive 2.4 goals per game. Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer has scored in four of his last five games to move into a tie for fourth on the MLS chart with 16 goals, third most in club single-season history.

Midfield talisman Benny Feilhaber has added six goals and 12 assists of his own, including eight assists in his last 10 league appearances. Kansas City natives Besler and Kevin Ellis are likely to partner in central defense as Sporting KC aims to post consecutive shutouts for the first time since July.

With their playoff hopes already dashed, San Jose will embrace the spoiler role at a venue it last visited in August 2015. The Earthquakes claimed a resounding 5-0 win in their most recent trip to Children’s Mercy Park, with U.S. international Chris Wondolowski bagging a brace to spark last summer’s rout.

Wondolowski has eight goals in 12 regular season appearances against Kansas City, including the decisive penalty kick in the Earthquakes’ 1-0 home win on April 24. Sporting Kansas City exacted revenge at Avaya Stadium on Sept. 24, earning their first win in San Jose since 2000 thanks to goals from Dwyer and Ellis.

The home team in this particular fixture holds a remarkable 18-2-2 record across all competitions since 2004. The Earthquakes had lost 10 straight games in Kansas City prior to winning 5-0 last August.

While Rubio is the only certain absentee for Sporting Kansas City, San Jose will be without four injured players on Sunday. Dynamic winger Quincy Amarikwa tore his ACL against Sporting KC on Sept. 24 to join defender Clarence Goodson (back), midfielder Marc Pelosi (knee) and forward Mark Sherrod (knee) on the sidelines.

– Story from Sporting KC