Category: Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown was named to the MLS Homegrown Team on Monday to face the Club America U-20’s during the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game.

Palmer-Brown started and played the full 90 minutes in last year’s inaugural event in a scoreless draw against the Portland Timbers U-23’s.

“I’m really excited to play in the Chipotle Homegrown Game for the second year,” Palmer-Brown said. “There are many great Homegrown Players around MLS and I look forward to taking the field with them against the Club America U-20’s.”

Palmer-Brown, 18, has appeared in eight matches for Sporting Kansas City across all competition — including the team’s 2015 season opener and a 1-1 draw at Supporters’ Shield leaders D.C. United in May – since signing as a Homegrown Player in August 2013. He made his MLS debut in 2014 at age 17 and remains the youngest player to appear in a Major League Soccer match in club history.

The Lee’s Summit, Mo., native attended the prestigious U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida for the Spring 2013 semester and was named one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer’s 2013 Young Male Athlete of the Year. Last month, Palmer-Brown represented the United States at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

Palmer-Brown is one of three Sporting KC Academy products on Sporting Kansas City’s roster along with goalkeeper Jon Kempin and defender Kevin Ellis. The Sporting KC Academy formed in 2007 and features five fully-funded teams from the under-12 through under-18 age groups that train at Swope Soccer Village and compete at the highest levels.

Led by head coach Landon Donovan, the MLS Homegrown Team will play the Club America U-20’s at 8 p.m. on July 28 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., on the eve of the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game. The event will showcase the top academy products from MLS clubs among the nearly 150 Homegrown Players who have signed professional contracts since the initiative began in 2008.

“The development of Major League Soccer’s youth academy system continues to be one of the league’s highest priorities,” said Todd Durbin, executive vice president of player relations and competition. “Now in its second year, the Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game is a great platform to showcase many outstanding homegrown talents our clubs have produced, and who are not participating in the All-Star Game. We are excited to welcome the Club América U-20 team as this year’s opponent, which should make for a highly entertaining and competitive match.”

In anticipation of the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game, MLSsoccer,com will kick off a special “Road to the Homegrown Game” video series. Each of the six episodes will chronicle the lives of select Homegrown Players as they work through the early years of their professional careers.
– Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City won the team’s eighth straight home match across all competitions, tying the club record for the longest home winning streak, with a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Impact on Saturday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Benny Feilhaber opened the scoring in the fourth minute and earned the game-winning assist on Dom Dwyer’s goal 30 minutes later to move Sporting KC into a tie for third place in the Western Conference.

Feilhaber struck for the club’s second earliest goal of the season when he powered a left-footed shot past Evan Bush in the game’s fourth minute.

Roger Espinoza started the scoring sequence by winning the ball from Marco Donadel before immediately playing a pass into the path of Krisztian Nemeth.

Nemeth slotted a first-time pass across the penalty area for Feilhaber, who brought the sell-out crowd to its feet with a finish inside the post for his sixth goal of the year.

In search of an equalizer, Calum Mallace sent a shot wide from 25 yards out in the seventh minute and then the visitors nearly leveled the score in the 31st minute.

Ignacio Piatti picked out Dominic Oduro with an entry ball from the left flank that put Oduro in a one-on-one situation with Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia, who came off his line and made a fingertip save on the attempted chip.

The moment proved pivotal when Sporting KC doubled the lead less than three minutes later. Kevin Ellis tackled the ball away from Mallace in the defensive half and Feilhaber wasted no time in playing a 50-yard through ball between both Impact centerbacks with his first touch.

The pinpoint pass sprung Dwyer on a breakaway and the Englishman made no mistake in sending his shot into the back of the net for his seventh career goal against Montreal – most among all MLS players – and a team-high 10 goals in all competitions this season.

Sporting Kansas City continued to create scoring chances in the final moments of the first half with Dwyer again leading the charge in the 41st minute. Bush was forced to make a pair of saves seconds apart, first diving low to his left to palm away Dwyer’s initial shot then recovering to turn away Dwyer’s follow-up effort with a foot save.

Feilhaber – hours after being named to the MLS All-Star game day roster for the first time in his career – came close to moving back atop the MLS assists chart on the ensuing corner kick. His delivery found Jacob Peterson in traffic but the glancing header carried inches wide of the far post.

Montreal cut the deficit in half in the 59th minute when Piatti scored his sixth of the season – and the captain’s third in the past four games – to snap Sporting KC’s 355-minute home shutout streak.

Nevertheless, the Impact would only have two attempts at a game-tying goal during a tense closing 30 minutes: Andres Romero’s volley sailed high and wide in the 72nd minute and Maxim Tissot’s header looped narrowly over the crossbar in second-half stoppage time.

Sporting KC has now won four straight in the series with Montreal and remains unbeaten at Sporting Park in 2015 (9-0-3 overall). Saturday’s game was the first of three in a seven-day span as Sporting KC now turns the team’s attention to Tuesday’s match against the Houston Dynamo in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.

Tickets and parking are included in Sporting Kansas City season ticket packages as Special Game A. Single-game tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
– Story from Sporting KC