Month: August 2022

Sporting KC set for rematch with Austin FC on Saturday in Texas

Sporting Kansas City (6-14-5, 23 points) will travel to Texas to take on second-place Austin FC (13-5-6, 45 points) at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.

The Western Conference clash will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. The broadcast will also stream live on SportingKC.com and in the Sporting KC app for viewers in Kansas and Missouri (excluding the St. Louis area per MLS policy), as well as ESPN+ for out-of-market subscribers. In addition, radio coverage of Saturday’s showdown will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

After a resounding 4-2 victory over the LA Galaxy last Saturday, Sporting KC will now travel to the Texas capital for a rematch with second-place Austin FC. The teams met two weeks ago at Children’s Mercy Park as Austin FC capitalized on a first half red card to Sporting KC midfielder Cam Duke.

Alex Ring scored in first half stoppage time and Sebastian Driussi sealed the road result with a goal in the 90th minute, while Brad Stuver made four saves in the shutout including a superb stop on Daniel Salloi’s penalty in the second half.

While Sporting ranks last in MLS in goals scored this season (23), Austin FC leads MLS in the category (50). Driussi, who has a goal or assist in each of his last seven appearances, sits atop the MLS Golden Boot race with a league-high 16 goals to go along with seven assists.

The designated player’s 23 goal contributions are most in MLS while teammate Diego Fagundez ranks fourth in MLS with 10 assists. Two Austin FC newcomers have also bolstered the Austin attack in their debut seasons as Maxi Urruti has recorded seven goals and two assists alongside Ethan Finlay, who has five goals and six assists.

With just one loss in the team’s last 10 matches, Austin FC is led by a pair of Sporting Legends with head coach Josh Wolff, who played seven seasons in Kansas City, and assistant coach Davy Arnaud, who played 10 seasons in Kansas City, guiding the club in its second season.

Sporting KC defender Ben Sweat played under Wolff and Arnaud last season and is set to return to Q2 Stadium for the first time since joining Sporting KC as a free agent in the offseason.

Having served as Sporting Kansas City manager since August 2009, Peter Vermes is the longest tenured head coach with one club in MLS history. Saturday will mark his 600th competitive match for the team as either a player or a manager.

The club is coming off an emphatic 4-2 win against the LA Galaxy last weekend in which newcomers Erik Thommy and Willy Agada opened their MLS scoring accounts. Thommy’s goal was an MLS Goal of the Week finalist while Agada scored twice to earn a spot on the MLS Team of the Week bench.

Fellow forward Daniel Salloi tallied a goal and two assists, giving him 46 goals for Sporting in all competitions and tying him with Wolff for fifth on the club’s all-time chart.

Club captain Johnny Russell, whose next goal will tie Arnaud for third most goals in club history in all competitions, leads Sporting with eight goals in all competitions this season. Midfielder Felipe Hernandez, who has appeared in all 29 matches this year, is on the cusp of his 50th career regular season appearance. The 24-year-old has recorded a team-best and career-high four assists in all competitions.

Sporting KC will be without five players on Saturday, including designated players Alan Pulido (knee) and Gadi Kinda (knee) as well as veteran goalkeeper Tim Melia (hamstring). Khiry Shelton (calf) and Logan Ndenbe (hamstring) remain questionable after missing the team’s last two matches. On the opposite side, Austin FC midfielder Hector Jimenez (groin) and defender Frederik Kleeman (knee) have been ruled out due to injury.

  • Story from Sporting KC

Current travels to North Carolina Saturday

The Kansas City Current (6-4-4, 22pts, 5th place) will play its second and final August road match at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, against the North Carolina Courage (2-5-4, 10pts, 12th place) in Cary, North Carolina.

Saturday night’s match will be broadcast globally on Twitch as part of the streaming platform’s Soccer Saturday Night Showcase.

Last time out, the Current extended its franchise-best unbeaten streak to nine matches with a 2-1 road win over the San Diego Wave on Aug. 7.

First-half goals from forward Cece Kizer and defender Hailie Mace proved too much for the Wave to overcome Aug. 7 as Kansas City closed out the one-goal win. The victory extended the Current’s road winning streak to three matches, the longest such streak in the NWSL this season, while also placing them within just three points of first place in the league standings.

North Carolina also picked up a road result last weekend, coming back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-3 draw with the Portland Thorns on Aug. 5.

Rookie forward Diana Ordoñez scored twice in the match, which extended her goal total on the season to seven, and defender Jaelene Daniels nodded home the game-tying goal in the 85th minute. The Courage’s draw coincidentally marked the team’s third tie in a row and second 3-3 draw in as many matches.

Challenge Cup rematch

Saturday’s match is the first time these two teams have met this regular season, but the last meeting between Kansas City and North Carolina in 2022 had high stakes. On May 4, the Current and Courage met at a rainy Children’s Mercy Park in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup Semifinal.

The visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half, but the deficit did not deter the Current. Kansas City continued generating threatening scoring chances all match and finally broke through when forward Kristen Hamilton pulled a goal back in the 79th minute. Unfortunately, the Current could not find another goal as the Courage held on for the 2-1 win, which was the same score line that North Carolina beat the Washington Spirit by three days later in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup Final. The Courage’s semifinal win continued a trend that will need breaking if the Current are to continue their road winning streak — North Carolina enters Saturday’s match having never lost to Kansas City.

However, it’s worth noting that both squads enter Saturday in completely different places than they were in May. The Courage have been unable to carry their Challenge Cup form over into the regular season and hold just 10 points through 11 regular season matches played. The Current, meanwhile, have vaulted themselves into playoff contention over the course of the club’s ongoing unbeaten run.

Road warriors

A pivotal reason for Kansas City’s incredible single-season turnaround is the team’s recent road form.
After entering the 2022 regular season having not won a regular season road match in club history, the Current have won three road matches in a row entering Saturday, the longest streak in the NWSL Two of those wins have come against top-three teams in the NWSL standings.

The Current’s wins over the Houston Dash and San Diego Wave, which sit in third and second place in the NWSL table respectively, both followed a similar game script despite occurring over a month apart. Kansas City built two-goal leads in both matches and conceded late in both instances that sent the match to a 2-1 finish. All three of the Current’s road victories in 2022 have been one-goal triumphs.

Career milestones

Several Current players achieved career milestones in last Sunday’s 2-1 win over San Diego. Most notably, team captain and Kansas City midfielder Desiree Scott surpassed 10,000 NWSL minutes played in the 60th minute of the match. Scott became just the 29th player in league history and second Canadian player to reach the 10,000-minute mark.

Kizer’s impressive solo run in the 27th minute led to her fourth goal of the season, tying the club record for most goals in a season and only one shy of her career high. The Overland Park, Kansas, native has scored all four of her goals for Kansas City in 2022 during the team’s unbeaten streak. Mace’s jaw-dropping strike in the 39th minute that soared perfectly into the top corner received national attention, earning the No. 6 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays.

Current midfielder Claire Lavogez made her team debut in the 78th minute of the contest. The French international displayed her immense skill and technical ability over the final quarter-hour of Sunday’s match, an exciting sign of what Current fans can expect moving forward when she takes the field.

Home match

Following Saturday’s match, the Current return home to play Angel City on Friday, Aug. 19. The club is encouraging fans from across the region to #ShowUpKC. The team looks to break the all-time Kansas City attendance record and fill the seats with over 10,000 fans. Visit www.kansascitycurrent.com/tickets for more information on single-match tickets.

Players to watch

Kansas City Current defender Kristen Edmonds — Edmonds, who was one of four Kansas City Current players named to the NWSL July Best XI of the Month, has been a pivotal part of the team’s back line throughout the course of its nine-game unbeaten streak. Her 33 tackles are a team-high, and she also has 32 total clearances and 24 interceptions. Edmonds has played the full 90 minutes in all four of the Current’s shutout victories in the 2022 regular season. She followed up her team of the month nomination with a solid performance against San Diego last Sunday, starting and playing 78 minutes as Kansas City kept the Wave off the board.

North Carolina Courage defender Carson Pickett — Courage defender Carson Pickett was the team’s lone representative in the NWSL July Best XI of the Month. The honor marked Pickett’s second consecutive team of the month selection. She has been a reliable force for the Courage at outside back and a dynamic threat moving forward, with one goal, a team-high three assists and eight successful crosses in the 2022 regular season. Pickett received her first United States Women’s National Team appearance on June 28, a 2-0 friendly win over Colombia.

  • Information from KC Current

Saltdogs slam Monarchs, 11-5

Jacob Robson of the Kansas City Monarchs knocked a single against the Lincoln Saltdogs in the Monarchs 11-5 loss Friday night, Aug. 12, at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by John Ellis, Kansas City Monarchs)
Matt Adams of the Kansas City Monarchs rounded the bases after his 24th home run of the season in an 11-5 loss to the Lincoln Saltdogs Friday, Aug. 12, at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by John Ellis, Kansas City Monarchs)

by Gabriel Lopez, Monarchs

Jason Rogers had a huge night for the Lincoln Saltdogs (37-42) Friday night at Legends Field.

He was 2-4 with a walk from the plate with two home runs and five RBIs. Rogers belted a grand slam in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach as the Saltdogs beat the Kansas City Monarchs (47-31) 11-5.

The Saltdogs scored right away in the first inning. After Rayder Ascanio worked a walk, Ryan Long roped a double to left-center. Center fielder Mallex Smith got the ball in quickly to Pete Kozma who delivered a one-hop to J.C. Escarra at the plate. However, the ball took a funny hop and bounced over Escarra’s head to allow Ascanio to score easily.

Rogers was walked to bring Josh Altmann to the plate. He delivered a three-run bomb over the home run patio in left field to give the Saltdogs a 4-0 lead.

The Monarchs responded in the bottom of the first as Jacob Robson hit a solo shot to right field, marking his first career home run as a Monarch. After one inning, Lincoln led 4-1 over Kansas City.

The Saltdogs extended their lead in the third inning. Long led off the inning with a double down the right field line and quickly advanced to third on a wild pitch from Matt Hartman. A few batters later, Altmann notched a sacrifice fly to right field to earn his fourth RBI of the game and put Lincoln up 5-1.

The Monarchs responded again as Jan Hernandez notched an RBI-single up the middle to score David Thompson. The Saltdogs led 5-2 over the Monarchs after three innings of baseball.

Kansas City continued to claw back into the game. Thompson led off the fifth inning with a single to left field and stole second base right away. After Matt Adams singled to right to advance Thompson to third, Escarra hit a ball to first base to score Thompson and make it a 5-3 ballgame.

The Monarchs threatened again in the bottom of the seventh. Adams led off the inning and hammered a solo shot to left field to bring Kansas City within one run. Next, Escarra, Ryan Grotjohn and Kozma were walked to load the bases. However, the Monarchs couldn’t cash in any more runs, as they still trailed 5-4.

In the top of the eighth, Rogers hit a solo home run to left field to put the Saltdogs up 6-4.

The Monarchs answered by scoring a run of their own. Thompson led off the eighth inning with a double off the left field wall. He was able to advance to third on an error made by left fielder Justin Byrd. Adams stepped up and drove a hard line drive up the middle to score Thompson and make it a 6-5 ballgame.

The Saltdogs blew the game open in the ninth inning. Ascanio notched an RBI-single to give them a 7-5 lead. With the bases loaded, Rogers belted a grand slam to left field to give Lincoln an 11-5 lead.

The Monarchs couldn’t get anything started in the bottom of the ninth as Kansas City fell 11-5 to Lincoln.

The Monarchs face off against the Saltdogs in game two at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Legends Field. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aa baseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.