Category: Sporting KC

Kansas City outlasted Amarillo on Wednesday night in a 7-6 victory at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.

The T-Bones took an early lead in the second inning of what would turn out to be a back and forth ballgame. Following a Ray Sadler single, Bryan Sabatella wasted no time extending his 13-game hitting streak, shooting a double to deep center field and scoring Sadler. With his hit, Sabatella matched Robby Kuzdale for the longest hitting streak on the club this season.

The T-Bones tacked on three more runs in the third. Vladimir Frias led off the inning with a triple and later scored when Danny Richar grounded out. Matt Padgett and Ray Sadler then hit back-to-back solo home runs, extending the Kansas City lead to 4-0.

Amarillo stormed back in the fifth, scoring five runs on Kansas City starter Joe Van Meter (1-1). Former T-Bones player Kyle Nichols put an exclamation point on the frame, crushing a three-run home run to left field and putting the Sox in front, 5-4. It was the 200th career home run for Nichols, who spent part of 2013 with the T-Bones.

Kansas City took the lead right back in its half of the fifth. T.J. Mittelstaedt led off with a walk and then scored when Richar doubled to left field. Sabatella grounded into a fielder’s choice later in the inning, scoring Richar and putting Kansas City back in the lead. The T-Bones tacked on another run before the inning came to a close with Kansas City in the lead, 7-5.

Van Meter’s only hiccup was Amarillo’s five-run fifth. He tossed 6 innings and picked up his first win with Kansas City. Ryan Rogers (1-1), who came on in relief in the fifth and only threw seven pitches, took the loss. Kris Regas allowed the tying run to reach third base in the ninth, but managed to secure his 18th save.

With the win, the T-Bones move to 40-48 on the season, while the Sox fall to 31-55. Kansas City begins a four-game series at Gary SouthShore (47-42) Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 1660-AM or watched live online at tbonesbaseball.com.

Box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=178183
– Story from T-Bones

Sporting Kansas City recorded a 1-1 road result against Real Esteli FC on Tuesday night in its opening game of the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League at Estadio Independencia in Esteli, Nicaragua.

After conceding in the sixth minute, Sporting KC leveled the score 10 minutes later with a perfectly placed free kick from Antonio Dovale in his CCL debut.

Real Esteli FC now leads Group 2 with two points from back-to-back home draws while Sporting KC and Deportivo Saprissa share second place in the standings. The group winner, determined after the four-game round robin group stage, advances to the quarterfinals.

Having traveled more than 2,000 miles from Kansas City to reach the Central American destination, Sporting KC fell behind early when Daniel Da Silva found space behind the backline on the left side of the penalty area.

Homegrown goalkeeper Jon Kempin — making his third consecutive competitive appearance in the aftermath of injuries to Eric Kronberg and Andy Gruenebaum — slid low to make the initial save but the rebound ricocheted off the body of Jorge Claros amid his recovery run and carried across the goal line.

The visitors quickly earned the equalizer within 10 minutes time on a free kick drawn by Graham Zusi. The MLS All-Star stood over the ensuing set piece as a decoy while Dovale struck a bending, left-footed shot over the wall and inside the near post.

The 24-year-old now has two goals in all competition for Sporting Kansas City since signing from Spain’s La Liga earlier this year. Dovale becomes the 18th different goal scorer for Sporting KC all-time in international competition.

Real Esteli FC nearly capitalized on a dead ball opportunity of its own in the 27th minute only to see Eduardo Praes’ header carom off the outside of the post. The Nicaraguan champion outshot its MLS counterpart 11-5 on the artificial surface but failed to find a breakthrough goal for its first-ever win in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Kempin — the fifth goalkeeper to appear in a competitive international match for the team in club history — made two strong saves to preserve the point, including a sprawling stop in the 53rd minute to deny Da Silva from close range. The Leawood, Kan., native was called into action again in the 81st minute to push away Juan Barrera’s first-time volley at the far post.

Sporting Kansas City’s best opportunity to claim the game’s decisive goal came in the 74th minute. Second half substitute Benny Feilhaber delivered a free kick into the penalty area that twice changed directions due to deflections but was eventually smothered in front of the goal line by Real Esteli FC goalkeeper Justo Lorente.

Tuesday’s 1-1 draw was a repeat result from the previous meeting between the two sides on Sept. 17, 2013, at Sporting Park in the 2013-2014 edition of the competition. Sporting KC is now 6-4-5 all-time in the CONCACAF Champions League with three games remaining in the group stage: Sept. 18 vs. Deportivo Saprissa, Sept. 23 vs. Real Esteli FC and Oct. 23 at Deportivo Saprissa.

Sporting Kansas City will return home to resume the MLS regular season at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Aug. 23, when the league leaders play host to D.C. United at Sporting Park in a clash of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. A limited number of tickets are available for the match and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.
– Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City opens the club’s 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League campaign in Nicaragua for the second consecutive year matching up against Real Esteli FC.

The group stage match is set to kickoff at 9 p.m. Tuesday and will be available on FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Sports Go and FOX Soccer 2Go.

Sporting KC defeated Real Esteli FC 2-0 at Estadio Independencia a year ago with goals from Ike Opara and Dom Dwyer. Dwyer is second in Major League Soccer for goals scored this season with 16, including two in Sporting KC’s 4-1 victory against Toronto FC last weekend.

Joining Sporting KC and Real Esteli in Group 2 is Costa Rican side Deportiva Saprissa. Esteli hosted Saprissa earlier this month and the two clubs played to a 1-1 draw in Nicaragua.

Real Esteli has won each of the last seven Apertura (fall) and Clausura (spring) titles in the Nicaraguan Primera Division and are the only team to represent Nicaragua in the CCL. Esteli is tied for first place in the Primera Division’s Apertura season with a 3-0-0 record. However, the home side is seeking its first win all-time in a CONCACAF competition. The club is 0-29-7 in CONCACAF matches since 1991 and 0-4-3 at home during that timeframe.

Since 2011, Sporting KC is one of two American teams with at least two major trophies (2012 U.S. Open Cup, 2013 MLS Cup) and the only MLS team with two conference regular season titles (2011, 2012).

With 10 games remaining in the 2014 MLS regular season, Sporting KC is in first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings with a 12-6-6 record and 42 points.

Sporting KC finished atop Group 2 in the 2013-14 edition of the tournament with a 2-0-2 record before falling 5-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals to reigning champions Cruz Azul.

The CONCACAF Champions League features the top club teams from across North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner of the tournament earns a berth in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup.

The tournament started in 1962 and was originally called the CONCACAF Champions Cup before switching to the current format in 2008 (and now called the CONCACAF Champions League).

Johnny’s Tavern will hold watch parties. Fans can follow the match online at SportingKC.com/GameOn or via Twitter @SKCGameday.

– Story from Sporting KC