Category: Sporting KC

After opening the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win in Round One last weekend, No. 3 seed Sporting Kansas City faces No. 7 seed Real Salt Lake on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park in the Western Conference semifinals in Kansas City, Kansas.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and a limited number of standing-room only tickets may be available at SeatGeek.com.

The match will be broadcast nationally in English on ABC and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes. The match can also be streamed in the ESPN App or on ESPN.com and can be heard over the radio locally on ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM. There will be live commentary throughout the match from @SKCMatchday on Twitter.

After an impressive Round One performance, Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes has his squad in the Western Conference semifinals for a second straight year and third time in the past four postseasons.

Real Salt Lake comes into Sunday’s match following a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday in which they became the first team in MLS Cup Playoffs history to not record a shot. After 120 scoreless minutes, RSL sank all of six their penalties in the shootout while 20-year-old goalkeeper David Ochoa produced a save on Seattle’s sixth attempt.

Sporting and RSL certainly are no strangers when it comes to playoff matches. The two clubs famously met in the 2013 MLS Cup as Sporting prevailed in penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation. More recently, the two sides clashed in the 2018 MLS Cup Western Conference semifinals. Sporting took home a 5-3 aggregate win, punctuated by Daniel Salloi’s stoppage-time no-look goal.

In 2021, Real Salt Lake won both meetings in the regular season series.

On May 1 at Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake knocked off Sporting 3-1 with Alan Pulido scoring his first goal of 2021. On Nov. 7, Real Salt Lake beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on Decision Day off Damir Kreilach’s stoppage-time goal to seal the team’s playoff berth. The match ended in controversy as the match official and video assistant referee missed a handball late in the match that would have given Sporting Kansas City a penalty kick.

With Sporting’s Round One win, the club improved to 18-0-0 in 2021 when scoring multiple goals. Vermes has turned to his offense all year as the team’s 58 total goals ranked second in MLS.

Leading the charge for the offense was the dynamic duo of Salloi and captain Johnny Russell. Salloi led the team in goals (16), tied for the team lead in assists (8) and was among the top goal contributors in MLS. Russell posted a career year himself with 15 goals and eight assists.

Salloi collected two more assists in the playoff opener, first on Khiry Shelton’s finish in the 17th minute to put Sporting KC ahead 1-0 early and then on Graham Zusi’s stunning long-distance strike in the 58th minute to cap off the scoring.

Centerback Nicolas Isimat-Mirin contributed the game-winner in first half stoppage time on a corner kick taken by Russell.

Sporting’s potent attack in 2021 did not just come from the front line.

The midfield had some of the best passers in the league this season. Roger Espinoza, Gadi Kinda, Ilie Sanchez and Remi Walter aided Sporting’s efforts in leading MLS in passes attempted (17,698), passes successful (15,131) and passing accuracy (85.5%). The quartet combined for seven goals and 11 assists as well.

In addition to stout defensive duties, the Sporting KC backline has stepped up into the attack in the postseason. Isimat-Mirin opened his scoring account last Saturday on the brink of halftime to put Sporting KC back on top at the break and Sporting’s most experienced postseason player, Graham Zusi, doubled the lead early in the second half with his first postseason goal. Zusi also added an assist on Shelton’s goal, giving him seven career postseason assists – most in the club’s storied history.

Real Salt Lake, led by interim manager Pablo Mastroeni, qualified for the playoffs behind stellar seasons from two playmakers.

The midfield duo of Kreilach and club captain Albert Rusnak combined for 47 goal contributions, tied with Salloi and Russell for the most by two teammates in MLS this season. Kreilach led the team in goals with 16 and added nine assists. Rusnak, who did not miss a single start in the regular season but missed RSL’s Round One match in Seattle due to a positive COVID-19 test, had 11 goals and 11 assists. Forwards Anderson Julio and Rubio Rubin were also active contributors in the attack with eight goals apiece.

Veteran defender Justen Glad holds down the backline for RSL. Glad, in his ninth season with the club, leads all RSL defenders in matches played, starts and minutes. Ochoa is Real Salt Lake’s fiery last line of defense in goal. The Homegrown Player, in his first season as the starting keeper, has made 83 saves and kept five clean sheets.

After a long and often congested regular season, Sporting is nearly back to full strength. Jaylin Lindsey is the only player listed on the team’s injury report as the Sporting KC Academy product suffered a hamstring injury earlier this season. All other players are available for selection on Sunday.

The winner on Sunday between Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake will advance to the Western Conference Final to face No. 4 seed Portland Timbers FC, who eliminated No. 1 seed Colorado Rapids on Thursday with a 1-0 win.

• Story from Sporting KC

Khiry Shelton, Nicolas Isimat-Mirin and Graham Zusi opened their MLS postseason scoring accounts on Saturday as No. 3 seed Sporting Kansas City claimed a comprehensive 3-1 win over No. 6 seed Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Round One of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

The result sends Sporting Kansas City to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they will meet either No. 2 seed Seattle Sounders FC or No. 7 seed Real Salt Lake at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28, on ABC and ESPN Deportes. Tickets for the conference semifinal clash are available at SeatGeek.com, with Sporting set to host if Real Salt Lake beats Seattle on Tuesday night. If the Sounders prevail, Sporting will visit Seattle next Sunday and all ticket buyers will be automatically refunded for their full purchase price.

In the inaugural playoff meeting between Sporting and Vancouver, MLS MVP finalist Daniel Salloi added two assists and goalkeeper Tim Melia collected his 100th win for the club in all competitions.

Sporting improved to a perfect 18-0-0 when scoring at least twice this year and more importantly punched a ticket to the conference semifinal stage of the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.

The hosts took early attacking initiative, carving out their first chance within six minutes as Shelton found a pocket of space near the left edge of the box and fed Salloi, who swiveled centrally and forced a save from Vancouver keeper Maxime Crepeau.

Only a minute later, Gadi Kinda — making his 50th competitive appearance for Sporting — received a square pass from captain Johnny Russell, took a touch to his left and blazed a 20-yard shot inches wide of the right post.

Shelton provided Sporting’s breakthrough goal with the finishing touch on a spellbinding move from defense to attack. In the 17th minute,

Zusi floated a diagonal ball over the top for Salloi to chase. The 25-year-old winger settled into possession and returned a perfect cross-field pass to the on-running Zusi, who had advanced into Vancouver’s penalty area.

The 35-year-old right back volleyed a first-time cutback from the right side to Shelton, who deftly prodded low into the left corner to give his side a 1-0 advantage. The 28-year-old forward tallied his first career postseason goal on the play, while Zusi notched his club-record seventh playoff assist.

Sporting nearly doubled its lead in the 24th minute. Kinda won a midfield duel and spun away with possession before setting Salloi free down the left flank.

The MLS MVP finalist cut swiftly past Vancouver defender Florian Jungwirth before seeing his low drive blocked through traffic.

Not long later, Russell was on the end of two good looks as Sporting continued to dictate proceedings. The Scottish forward took a pass from Remi Walter and dragged an attempt wide on the right edge of the box before his long-range belter was smothered by Crepeau.

Vancouver leveled terms against the run of play, thanks in part to the intervention of VAR Drew Fischer.

After a searching Whitecaps free kick struck the arm of Sporting defender Luis Martins inside the penalty area, head official Alan Kelly was prompted to take a second look on replay. He awarded a penalty to the visitors and Dajome converted the ensuing spot kick by slotting low into the corner on his playoff debut.

Parity would be short-lived, however, as Isimat-Mirin marked his maiden MLS playoff appearance with a go-ahead goal on the final consequential kick of the first half.

Russell’s in-swinging corner kick was cleared only as far as Shelton, whose cushioned header glanced across the face of goal and was poked home on the doorstep by the French center back, whose first Sporting goal ignited joyous celebrations across the stadium.

Zusi blew the proverbial roof off Children’s Mercy Park in the 58th minute, scoring one of the finest goals in club postseason history.

Salloi was isolated on the left channel and dribbled centrally before laying the ball off to the 13-year MLS veteran, who took a settling touch before unleashing a 30-yard laser beam into the top left corner for his first career playoff strike and one of the greatest Sporting goals in recent memory.

Salloi tabbed his second assist of the night on the play — becoming the third player in team history to notch two assists in a playoff match — and ranks third in MLS this season with 26 combined goals (16) and assists (10).

Sporting survived a fleeting scare in the 69th minute. Vancouver broke forward and Bruno Gaspar clipped a teasing cross into the mixer for Brian White, who snapped a header goalward. Melia sprung to his right to produce a fantastic save on the goal line and preserve his team’s two-goal cushion.

Vancouver committed numbers forward toward the end and was almost caught out in the 85th minute. Shelton galloped free on the breakaway and could have doubled his goal tally for the day, but his shot under duress skipped wide of the mark.

The Whitecaps thought they had grabbed a goal back on 86 minutes when Bruno Gaspar crossed low for Lucas Cavallini to fire into the back of the net at close range, but the offside flag was raised and Gaspar was issued a yellow card for punting the ball into the stands in frustrated reaction to the correct call.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City will play host to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first round of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs at 4 p.m. Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

A limited number of tickets are available at SeatGeek.com and fans may purchase standing room only tickets beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.

The match will be broadcast locally in English on Bally Sports KC and Bally Sports Midwest Plus, nationally in Spanish on UniMas and TUDN, and can also be streamed via BallySports.com and MLSsoccer.com as well as the Bally Sports and MLS apps. ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM will broadcast the game over the radio. In addition, there will be live updates throughout the match from @SKCMatchday on Twitter.

The MLS Cup Playoffs are a single-elimination tournament between the seven best teams from each conference. Thanks to another successful regular season, manager Peter Vermes and Sporting KC will play a home playoff match for the third time in the last four seasons as the team makes a 10th appearance in the last 11 postseasons.

Vancouver enters the match with considerably less playoff experience as only six Whitecaps players have appeared in an MLS playoff match.

Interim manager Vanni Sartini is in just his third month at the helm and this will mark the first ever post-season match between these two clubs as well.

While having never met in the playoffs, these sides are no strangers to one another.

The two clubs have met on 19 occasions with Sporting leading the all-time series 11-4-4. This season, the teams split their two meetings with both home teams taking all three points. The first match came on May 16 with Sporting winning 3-0 on the back of an Alan Pulido brace and Daniel Salloi goal. Vancouver got its revenge on Oct. 10 by way of a 2-1 win at BC Place north of the border.

In 2021, Vermes has the team firing on all cylinders with one of the most impressive attacks in Sporting KC history.

Sporting’s 58 goals not only rank second in MLS in 202, but are also the second-most goals in a 34-match season in club history. The 17 wins Sporting posted in 2021 is one off from the all-time club record.

Leading the charge for the offense was the duo of Salloi and Johnny Russell.

Salloi led the team in goals (16), tied for the team lead in assists (8) and was among the top goal contributors in MLS. His performance turned heads as the Sporting KC Academy product is one of five finalists for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP.

On the other side of the attack is Russell, the team’s captain. The Scottish international posted a career year himself with 15 goals and eight assists to earn Sporting KC Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Sporting was not just dangerous in the final third as the team’s midfield features some of the best passers in the league this season. Gadi Kinda, Ilie Sanchez, Roger Espinoza and Remi Walter aided Sporting’s efforts in leading MLS in passes attempted (17,698), passes successful (15,131) and passing accuracy (85.5%). The quartet combined for seven goals and 11 assists as well.

While the midfielders and forwards provided the offense, the backline anchored the field with consistent defending.

Andreu Fontas had one of the best MLS seasons of any centerback, leading the league in goals added and setting MLS single-season records in touches (3178), passes (2818) and passes successful (2515). To his left, Luis Martins was the only player to appear in all 34 matches for Sporting Kansas City this season, serving up four assists and a goal from his outside back position.

The Vancouver Whitecaps have endured a strange year due to COVID-19 restrictions, starting their season sharing a stadium with Real Salt Lake.

After returning to British Columbia, the Whitecaps found themselves in last place in the Western Conference. The club parted ways with head coach Marc Dos Santos and Sartini led the club into playoff position. Since mid-July, the Whitecaps have lost just two matches, culminating in a six-match unbeaten streak and the sixth spot in the Western Conference.

Leading the way for Vancouver is forward Brian White. White joined Vancouver from the New York Red Bulls in June and leads the team in goals with 12. Ryan Gauld, another midseason accusation for Vancouver after joining in July, has been a spark for the club and leads the Whitecaps’ midfielders in assists (6) in addition to four assists. Gauld, 25, made his professional debut in 2012 for Dundee United, subbing on for Russell as the two now go head-to-head on Saturday.

The Round One match features two teams with contrasting styles of play. Vancouver possessed the ball on average 46.1% of the time in 2021, 24th in MLS, while Sporting possessed the ball 55.2% of the time, second-most in MLS.

Dealing with that possession for Vancouver will be center back Ranko Veselinovic, who led the team in clearances (100) and blocks (44). The final line of defense for the Whitecaps is goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau who had 97 saves and six clean sheets in 27 starts.

Thanks to the international break, Sporting had a well-deserved rest period after the end of the regular season on Nov. 7 to allow key contributors – including Designated Players Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda – to recover from injury.

Sporting will be without defender Jaylin Lindsey as he is sidelined by a hamstring injury, however the remainder of Sporting’s roster is injury free entering the match. Meanwhile, Caio Alexandre is out for Vancouver and Christian Gutierrez is doubtful for the Whitecaps.

The winner between Sporting KC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will advance to the Western Conference semifinals to await the winner between Seattle Sounders FC and Real Salt Lake, who play on Tuesday to conclude Round One of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs.

• Story from Sporting KC