Category: Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City stretched the club’s undefeated streak at Sporting Park to nine MLS games, matching the longest home unbeaten start to a regular season in team history, with a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday in front of the 62nd consecutive sold out crowd.

Krisztian Nemeth scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season as Chance Myers marked his MLS return with a game-winning assist and Benny Feilhaber extended his single-season career high with his ninth assist of the year.

Defensively, Sporting KC earned its eighth clean sheet in 16 matches – most among all MLS teams – and Tim Melia lowered his MLS-leading goals against average to 0.63.

With Saturday’s win, the 250th regular season victory in club history, Sporting KC stretched the team’s unbeaten streak against Colorado to 11 MLS matches (6-0-5) under Peter Vermes dating back to 2009 and 15 straight in the series at home (11-0-4) since 2002.

Myers, who ruptured his Achilles tendon on May 23, 2014, made his first MLS appearance on Saturday since suffering the injury and nearly opened the scoring just five minutes into the match. Feilhaber’s corner kick connected with Myers at the top of the six-yard box but the right-footed volley carried over the crossbar.

It was Myers who played the pivotal pass to set up Nemeth for the game’s opening goal in the 32nd minute with a early cross from the right flank. Nemeth struck a first-time shot with pace from the top of the penalty area to beat Clint Irwin and in doing so, entered the MLS record books as only the second player in league history to score goals on each of his first seven shots on target.

Feilhaber also collected an assist with the penultimate pass in the scoring sequence and now has a goal or an assist in each of the club’s past four MLS matches. The MLS All-Star nominee was again instrumental in the 64th minute when Sporting Kansas City doubled their lead through a Sam Cronin own goal.

Colorado defender Jared Watts conceded a corner under pressure from Roger Espinoza and Feilhaber took care of the rest, playing the set piece short before whipping a dangerous delivery into the box that ended up in the back of the net when it deflected off Cronin at the near post. The rare own goal – the first in Sporting KC’s favor since April 2014 – would send the Rapids to their second 2-0 road loss in a span of four days and a fourth straight scoreless performance away from home.

Melia made two saves on the night with the first needed in the 14th minute. After venturing to the edge of the 18-yard box to punch away a Cronin free kick, Melia raced back to his line to turn away Marcelo Sarvas’ chip attempt in athletic fashion. The second came in the 42nd minute, diving low to his right to hold onto Luis Solignac’s shot from close range.

Sporting Kansas City moves into fourth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of FC Dallas. The two teams will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. A limited number of tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
– Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (6-3-6, 5th place) will play host to the Colorado Rapids (2-5-9, 10th place) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Sporting KC is unbeaten in nine matches, 6-0-3, at Sporting Park this season and has won five straight games across all competition.

A win on Saturday would be the team’s 250th all-time regular season victory and would equal the longest home winning streak to start an MLS campaign in the team’s 20-year history.

In addition, a pre-game tailgate will be open to the first 2,000 fans with a Sprint device and a match ticket from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Sprint Plaza. The tailgate will feature free T-shirts, as well as complimentary food and drinks along with live music courtesy of The Magnetics.

Saturday’s match is part of Major League Soccer’s Heineken Rivalry Week and will be the first of three regular season meetings between the Western Conference clubs in 2015. Sporting KC has played the Colorado Rapids more than any other opponent (66 times in all competitions) since the inaugural MLS season in 1996.

Under Peter Vermes, Sporting KC is unbeaten in 10 straight MLS matches against Colorado dating back to 2009 with a 5-0-5 record (including postseason). In addition, Kansas City has not lost to the Rapids at home since September 2002, a run of 14 straight league games without defeat (10-0-4 including postseason).

Sporting Kansas City is the only MLS team to feature three players with five or more goals in 2015, while Gabriel Torres leads the Rapids with four goals to date. Benny Feilhaber has a goal or an assist in each of his last three matches and the World Cup veteran has scored in three of his past four outings against Colorado.

The Rapids will play their fourth match in a 12-day span on Saturday amidst a stretch of six games in 19 days for the club. Led by head coach Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado is coming off a 2-0 loss in Orlando on Wednesday that was briefly delayed due to lightning and now travels to Kansas City for a second time in 2015 after the May 16 match was postponed to Oct. 21 because of inclement weather.

Saturday’s match will air live on KMCI-TV 38. Radio broadcasts will be available for local listeners on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

A limited number of tickets are available and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or at the stadium box offices on game day.

The first 10,000 fans inside the gates will receive a Sporting KC cinch bag. Donations will be collected for foster care.

Graham Zusi and Marcel de Jong have been named to 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup rosters.

Zusi, Sporting Kansas City midfielder, was named to the U.S. Men’s National Team roster. De Jong, Sporting KC defender, was named to the roster for Canada’s Men’s National Team.

The Gold Cup will be July 7-26 across the U.S. and Canada. Twelve countries are competing.

A veteran of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Zusi receives the first Gold Cup selection of his international career. The three-time MLS All-Star has 28 caps for the U.S. with three goals and six assists since his debut in 2012. Zusi is a two-time MLS Best XI selection (2012, 2013) and he ranks in the top 10 on Sporting KC’s all-time regular season charts with 43 assists (third) and 23 goals (10th).

De Jong, 28, is poised to make his fourth straight appearance at the CONCACAF Gold Cup for Canada after representing his country at the 2009, 2011 and 2013 editions. The defender, acquired in March from FC Augsburg in Germany, has 33 earned caps for Canada, most recently starting in a pair of victories over Guatemala (March 27) and Puerto Rico (March 30).

Zusi and de Jong will be available for Sporting KC this Saturday for the club’s home match against the Colorado Rapids. Zusi will then travel to Nashville for a training camp ahead of the USMNT’s July 3 friendly versus Guatemala (5:30 p.m., FOX Sports 1, UniMás, Univision Deportes Network). De Jong, meanwhile, will join the Canada MNT in California for a training camp ahead of their Gold Cup opener on July 8 versus El Salvador.

– Story from Sporting KC