Category: Sports

Monarchs sweep Sioux Falls, 13-8

by Dan Vaughan Jr., Monarchs

The Kansas City Monarchs (59-34) rode the arm of Jalen Miller (1-0), who tossed six innings and recorded a quality start and a barrage at the plate to complete the three-game sweep over the Sioux Falls Canaries (32-61) 13-8 Sunday afternoon at Sioux Falls Stadium.

Miller, who was signed last week for the Monarchs, made his first start for the club and was in a solid groove all day. He tossed five scoreless innings, holding the Canaries to two hits until Sioux Falls scratched out a pair of runs in the sixth.

The Monarchs jumped on Sioux Falls starter Stevie Ledesma (4-5) early, scoring three runs in the top of the first. Before the beverages were warm on the 80-degree day, Mallex Smith doubled, then came home on an RBI single from Kevin Santa to make it 1-0. With two outs and two aboard, Gio Brusa roped a single to right center to score a pair and make it 3-0.

Ledesma then retired 10 in a row until the fifth and the Monarchs got hot again. Dylan Harris walked to start the inning, then was followed by a Smith single to put runners at the corners. Santa then drove in his second of the day on an RBI single to make it 4-0 Kansas City.

Ryan Grotjohn singled, but Smith was thrown out at home to put runners at first and second. The Monarchs pulled off a double steal to move the runners up for Jacob Robson. Robson cranked a ball to right center to score both runners with a double, 6-0.

A wild pitch moved Robson to third for Jan Hernandez, who hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Robson. It was 7-0 in favor of KC.

In the sixth, the Monarchs struck again facing reliever Christian Johnson. Pete Kozma singled and moved to third on Smith’s second double. Santa walked to load the bases for Grotjohn, who smacked a double and scored two runs to extend the lead to 9-0. After a wild pitch, Robson hit a roller to short to score Grotjohn and it was 10-0 Monarchs.

The Canaries got two off Miller in the bottom of the sixth for two runs, but he punched out Kona Quiggle to record his ninth strikeout and ended his outing with the score 10-2. His line for the afternoon was 6.0, 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 errors, 1 base on balls and 9 strikeouts.

The Monarchs picked up three more runs in the seventh on a two-RBI double from Kozma and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Smith to extend the lead to 13-2.

The Canaries came back with five runs in the bottom of the seventh off Frank Rubio to make it 13-7. Aaron Takacs drove in one run, Quiggle had a two-RBI double, and Angelo Altavilla added another RBI to cut into the Monarchs’ lead.

The Canaries got a solo home run with two outs in bottom of the ninth from Altavilla, who finished 5-for-5 in the loss.

The Monarchs won for the fifth game in a row and finished the season 13-2 against Sioux Falls. The Monarchs, with 12 strikeouts, tied a franchise high as a pitching staff of 897 set in 2017.

The Monarchs continue their six-game road trip with the first game of a three-game series across the border against Winnipeg Goldeyes at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, in Winnipeg.

The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6 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.

Current extend unbeaten streak to 12 with 3-2 comeback win

CeCe Kizer, left, Kristen Hamilton, center, and Lo’eau LaBonta each scored a goal in the Kansas City Current’s 3-2 win over the North Carolina Courage. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

The Kansas City Current extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the North Carolina Courage 3-2 Sunday evening at Children’s Mercy Park.

Kristen Hamilton scored the game-winner in the 59th minute, punching in a beautifully placed cross from Kate Del Fava.

Hamilton’s score came just three minutes after CeCe Kizer tied the match at two, heading in Alex Loera’s corner kick delivery from just outside the 6-yard box.

The Courage had taken a 2-1 lead just after halftime, counter-attacking a corner kick. Kaleigh Kurtz’s long pass forward sent the Kansas City defense scrambling backwards and set up Kerolin Nicoli, who placed her shot just outside A.D. Franch’s attempted kick save and inside the far post.

Nicoli’s first goal tied the game at one in the 28th minute, again on a counter-attack. Merritt Matthias found the speedy forward at the edge of the 18-yard box with a long-range pass. Franch came out to cut down the angle, but Nicoli exploited a sliver of space for the score.

The Courage conceded a penalty kick and early lead in the 5th minute on a hand ball in the box. Lo’eau LaBonta tucked the kick low and just inside the left post for her fifth penalty kick goal (and sixth overall) of the season.

Kansas City had opportunities to extend the score, but heroics by Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy kept the visitors within range. Murphy tipped a 36th minute Claire Lavogez blast just over the cross bar, and dived at full length to her right to deny a Hamilton breakaway goal in the 62nd minute.

Kansas City’s unbeaten streak is now the second-longest in NWSL history, and the run of success has pushed the team to second place in the NWSL standings, only two points behind the San Diego Wave but with a game in hand.

The Current plays two games on the road at New Jersey-New York (Sept. 11) and at Chicago (Sept. 14). The team’s next home match will be on Sept. 18 against the Portland Thorns, kicking off at 4 p.m.

Lo’eau LaBonta opened the scoring with a 5th minute penalty kick. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

CeCe Kizer headed in a corner kick delivery from Alex Loera to tie the game at 2 goals each. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

The Courage defense was unable to stop Kristen Hamilton’s game-winning goal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Midfielder Dee Scott scrapped with Courage midfielder Brianna Pinto for possession late in the match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Forward Claire Lavogez raced into the Courage penalty area. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Defender Kristen Edmonds cleared the ball from the Kansas City end. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Defender Elizabeth Ball headed the ball back to the Courage side of midfield. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Defender Alex Loera sent a free kick sailing toward the Courage goal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Salloi strikes early as Sporting wins, 1-0

Daniel Salloi’s early strike was enough to give Sporting Kansas City (8-15-5, 29 points) a deserved 1-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes (6-12-9, 27 points) on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

By slotting home in the 10th minute, Salloi moved into a tie atop Sporting’s all-time charts with his 13th game-winning goal in the regular season.

The result—which saw goalkeeper John Pulskamp make four saves en route to his first shutout of the 2022 MLS campaign—also lifted Sporting to within seven points of playoff position in the Western Conference and pushed Kansas City’s record against San Jose to 8-1-5 in the last 14 meetings across all competitions.

Winner in three of the last four matches, Sporting will carry momentum into next weekend when it travels to face longtime rival LA Galaxy (10-11-4, 34 points) on Sunday, Sept. 4. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. with live coverage on 38 The Spot, the Sporting KC app and SportingKC.com.

Taking the field for the 1,000th competitive match in club history, Sporting deployed the same lineup for the fourth straight game—a rare instance that last happened in May 2017.

Manager Peter Vermes also hit a major milestone by participating in his 662nd MLS match as a player or a coach, tying Jason Kreis for most in the league’s 27-year existence.

The Earthquakes wasted a golden opportunity to draw first blood inside five minutes, dashing free on a quickfire counterattack only for Jeremy Ebobisse to drag his right-footed shot wide on the breakaway. Sporting then threatened on the opposite end a few minutes later when veteran midfielder Roger Espinoza uncorked a long-range blast that fizzed over the crossbar by a matter of inches.

Espinoza’s near miss was a warning sign for San Jose, which fell behind 1-0 when Salloi landed the game’s first punch. The 26-year-old winger started his own scoring move by spraying a ball down the left channel for Erik Thommy, who evaded his marker, accelerated into the final third and slipped a clever through ball to Espinoza. His low cross was cut out by the sliding Paul Marie, but Salloi was positioned to poke home the rebound for his sixth league goal of the season and his 47th career Sporting goal in all competitions, passing Josh Wolff for fifth most in Kansas City history.

An end-to-end spectacle continued to unfold and Sporting had Pulskamp to thank in the 15th minute for keeping San Jose at bay.

Graham Zusi’s diagonal pass in his own penalty area was intercepted by Cristian Espinoza, who took a touch before firing goalward, but Pulskamp produced an outstanding reflex stop to deny the Earthquakes winger. Sporting’s gloveman was involved once more at the half-hour juncture, diving left to cast aside Jan Gregus’ 25-yard piledriver.

Not long later, Sporting captain Johnny Russell powered his way along the right endline and clipped a ball across the face of goal to Willy Agada, whose leaping header narrowly missed the target. Thommy was next to go close in the 27th minute, settling Zusi’s feed and cutting centrally from the left edge of the box before curling an effort just wide of the far post.

Dissatisfied with the halftime advantage, Sporting sought to inflict more damage after the restart and nearly did so in the 46th minute. Remi Walter’s 30-yard missile forced San Jose keeper J.T. Marcinkowski into a palmed save and yet another stop on the rebound as Sporting midfielder Felipe Hernandez—who replaced Espinoza at the break—was first to pounce on the loose ball inside the box.

The hosts remained on the front foot in the 54th minute when Thommy’s corner kick was nodded by Russell into the path of Agada, whose close-range attempt was blocked through traffic. On Sporting’s ensuing possession, second-half substitute Logan Ndenbe tried his luck from distance with a well-struck effort that lacked the precision to beat Marcinkowski.

Sporting center back Nicolas Isimat-Mirin thought he had opened his regular season scoring account in the 58th minute when he latched onto Zusi’s inch-perfect diagonal delivery and slotted past Marcinkowski on the doorstep. The goal was initially given, but VAR intervened and referee Guido Gonzales Jr. deemed Isimat-Mirin to be in an offside position, keeping the scoreline at 1-0.

Undeterred by the close call, Sporting kept knocking on the door and almost doubled its lead in the 62nd minute when Thommy embarked on a dazzling solo run and hammered a shot that deflected low and behind for a corner kick. On the ensuing play, Thommy had San Jose on the backfoot once more by slicing past a defender and seeing another low low shot smothered by Marcinkowski.

Thommy continued to shine as a centerpiece of Sporting’s attack, drawing awes from the crowd in the 73rd minute with an admirable bicycle kick that Marcinkowski saved from a tight angle.

San Jose struggled to generate momentum going forward, but the visitors did conjure a scare in the 82nd minute off a set piece when Ebobisse pelted a free kick inches beyond the far left post. Sporting held on from there, seeing out the result to jump from 14th place to 12th in the West.

  • Story from Sporting KC