Serving Kansas City (Wyandotte County) Kansas for over 50 years!
On Oct. 1, President Obama will welcome Sporting Kansas City to the White House to honor the team and its victory in the 2013 MLS Cup Championship.
This visit will continue the tradition begun by President Obama of honoring sports teams for their efforts to give back to their communities.
The event will take place at about 1:35 p.m.
Sporting KC resumes MLS competition on Friday night against the New England Revolution after back-to-back victories in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The crucial Eastern Conference match will kickoff at 7 p.m. at Sporting Park, Kansas City Kan. The match will be on NBCSN. Supporters can listen to the match locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB or on La Gran D 1340 AM.
A limited number of tickets may remain and may be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporitng Park box offices on game day.
Sporting KC has won its last three matches in all competition, scoring 10 goals and conceding only once in that span. Most recently, Sporting KC moved into first place in Group 2 of the CCL after securing a 3-0 victory over Nicaraguan side Real Esteli FC on Tuesday. Claudio Bieler scored his first brace of the 2014 season and Sal Zizzo finished an Antonio Dovale corner kick to secure three points for the home side.
The New England Revolution dropped a 1-0 result in its last outing against the Columbus Crew, snapping a five-game winning streak in MLS competition that included a 3-1 victory against Sporting KC on Sept. 3.
New England is unbeaten against Sporting KC in 2014 with two victories at Gillette Stadium, but is winless in its last eight games in Kansas City dating back to 2008 (0-6-2) and has been shut out in each of its last three regular season matches at Sporting Park. A Sporting KC victory on Friday will move the reigning MLS Champions atop the Eastern Conference, while a victory for the Revolution would see the visitors draw even with Sporting KC in the standings.
Friday’s match between the second (Sporting KC) and third (New England) place teams in the Eastern Conference features several familiar faces. The New England Revolution boasts former Kansas City striker Teal Bunbury, who returns to Sporting Park for the first time since being traded to the Revolution during the off season. Bunbury has scored for the Revolution in both matches against Sporting KC this season.
The Revolution also features U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Jermain Jones, who joined the club as a designated player in August. Additionally, Sporting Kansas City defender Seth Sinovic and midfielder Benny Feilhaber began their MLS careers playing for New England.
Sporting KC will be without Lawrence Olum, who will be serving his mandatory one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. Jacob Peterson (hamstring) and Aurelien Collin (ankle) remain questionable for Sporting Kansas City due to injury. Revolution defender A.J. Soares (calf) — who has only missed one MLS match all season — is also listed as questionable for Friday.
Fans are encourgaed to arrive early to Sporting Park for Friday’s rematch of the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The first 10,000 guests will receive a Sporting Kansas City tote bag courtesy of match sponsor UMKC.
All in-game updates are available at SportingKC.com/GameOn or via Twitter by following @SKCGameday.
– Story from Sporting KC
Sporting Kansas City holds a three-point lead in Group 2 of the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League after a 3-0 victory over Real Esteli on Tuesday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Claudio Bieler scored twice and Sal Zizzo added the third for his first goal in a Sporting KC uniform, while Eric Kronberg earned a clean sheet in his return from injury.
Bieler opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a first-time finish from the top of the six-yard box on an assist from Seth Sinovic. The Argentine forward nearly added another goal in the game’s 26th minute but couldn’t fully connect and then saw his free kick saved by Justo Lorente in the 43rd minute.
Bieler bagged his brace in the 70th minute, earning a penalty kick on a foul by Real Esteli captain Elmer Mejia and then converting the ensuing attempt with a well-taken shot to the goalkeeper’s left. The Designated Player now has three goals in his past three appearances and 16 goals in all competition since joining Sporting KC prior to the 2013 season.
Nine minutes later, Sporting Kansas City capitalized on a corner kick from Antonio Dovale to stretch the lead to 3-0 against the Nicaraguan champions. Zizzo, a halftime substitute, was first to the delivery and flicked his header inside the far post.
Both goalkeepers made three saves on the night for their sides. Lorente was called into action in the 28th minute as he raced off his line to challenge Graham Zusi, whose chip was lofted just wide of the target.
The Nicaraguan’s best save of the match came in the 89th minute to deny Bieler a hat trick. Dovale provided the pass for Bieler, who shielded off his mark and forced a strong stop by Lorente before sending the follow-up effort into the side netting.
Five minutes later, Lorente reacted quickly to smother Sinovic’s clever flick that re-directed a shot from Jorge Claros in the game’s final minute.
Kronberg, the third different Sporting KC goalkeeper to start the team’s three CONCACAF Champions League matches, made his first appearance since July 6 after recovering from a fractured bone in his left hand. His first save on Tuesday came in the eighth minute to keep Elvis Figueroa off the scoresheet, followed by an alert stop on Samuel Wilson’s free kick from 25 yards out in the 19th minute.
Real Esteli, which was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League with its second straight 3-0 defeat, failed to convert on two other scoring opportunities in the first half. Juan Barrera struck his shot narrowly wide from outside the penalty area in the 36th minute and Daniel Da Silva’s curling effort sailed just beyond the far post on the cusp of halftime.
Sporting KC’s final match of the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League group stage will come Oct. 23 at Deportivo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica, and will determine which of the two teams secures a berth in the quarterfinal round. The decisive fixture will air nationally on FOX Soccer Plus (English) and Univision Deportes Network (Spanish) in the United States.
Sporting Kansas City will advance with a draw or victory, and can also move on to the knockout round with a one-goal loss or a two-goal loss so long as Sporting KC scores two or more goals. Saprissa would advance in the following scenarios: via a 2-0 victory or with a three-goal or greater margin of victory. A 3-1 victory by Saprissa would leave the teams deadlocked on every tiebreaker and would result in a drawing of the lots to determine the group winner.
– Story from Sporting KC