Sporting Kansas City plays the New York Red Bulls in the club’s regular season finale on Sunday night at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Although both teams have clinched a berth in the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs, the Eastern Conference clash will play a crucial role in determining playoff seeding. The match will be nationally broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes beginning at 7:30 p.m.
A limited number of tickets may be available and may be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the stadium box office on game day.
Sporting KC is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Columbus Crew and two points ahead of the Red Bulls.
With a win on Sunday, Sporting KC would clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and would avoid the one-game Knockout Round.
If Sporting KC draws or loses on Sunday, it would finish in fourth or fifth in the Eastern Conference, depending on the result of Columbus’ weekend match against the Philadelphia Union.
Sunday’s match features a pair of British strikers who are leading Major League Soccer in goals scored. New York Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips has scored 25 goals during the 2014 regular season, while Sporting KC’s Dom Dwyer has scored 22.
Sporting KC and New York have met twice in 2014 and Wright-Phillips has scored a goal on both occasions including the game-tying goal in a 1-1 draw at Sporting Park on May 27. The Red Bulls secured a 2-1 victory at Red Bull Arena on September 6 with Dwyer providing the lone goal for the visitors.
World Cup veteran Graham Zusi will be available for selection by manager Peter Vermes on Sunday after missing Sporting KC’s Thursday night CONCACAF Champions League match against Deportivo Saprissa due to caution accumulation. Zusi has five assists in nine MLS regular season games against New York and has registered at least one assist against the Red Bulls in each of the last four seasons.
Since Kansas City’s MLS Cup winning campaign in 2000, Sporting KC is 8-1-5 in regular season finales and 10-1-3 in home finales. The New York Red Bulls delivered the lone defeat at the end of 2006, a result that eliminated Sporting KC from playoff contention.
New York has the third-fewest road wins in MLS (2-7-7 overall) but lead the Eastern Conference in goals (53) and assists (53). Sporting KC leads the Eastern Conference in fewest shots faced per game in MLS (10.2).
Fans are encouraged to arrive to the stadium early on Sunday. Posters will be given away, honoring Dwyer’s record-breaking goal-scoring campaign, to the first 500 supporters who visit the Blue KC table on the Sprint Plaza. The first 100 fans to claim their posters will get access to a postgame autograph session with Dwyer.
Sporting KC supporters can find in-game updates at SportingKC.com/GameOn or by following @SKCGameday on Twitter.
– Story from Sporting KC