Category: Sporting KC

Goalkeeper Kronberg injured, expected to miss 8 weeks

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Eric Kronberg fractured the fourth metacarpal bone on his left hand during training on Wednesday at the Swope Soccer Village, according to a Sporting KC news release.

Surgery is not required and Kronberg is expected to miss approximately eight weeks due to the injury, a spokesman said.

Kronberg, 31, has started all 17 MLS matches for Sporting Kansas City during the 2014 season and leads Major League Soccer with seven shutouts and a 0.88 goals against average. The reigning MLS Player of the Month, Kronberg currently ranks third at his position in MLS All-Star fan voting behind only World Cup participants Nick Rimando (USA) and Julio Cesar (Brazil).

Sporting Kansas City selected Kronberg in the fourth round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of California. Now in his ninth professional season, Kronberg is the club’s longest-tenured player and has remained with his current club longer than any active MLS goalkeeper. Only one player (Davy Arnaud) in club history has been with the team for more than nine seasons and only three other active MLS players have longer tenures with their teams: Logan Pause (12), Landon Donovan (10) and Gonzalo Segares (10).

The club also announced on Wednesday that goalkeeper Jon Kempin has been recalled from his loan to USL PRO affiliate OKC Energy FC. The Leawood, Kan., native has five shutouts and 37 saves with a 1.38 goals against average in 13 games played during OKC Energy FC’s inaugural season.

The 21-year-old goalkeeper was Sporting Kansas City’s first Homegrown player upon signing in 2010 at age 17 and is now in his fifth professional season. Kempin made his competitive debut for Sporting KC during the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and made 34 saves in nine games while on loan with USL PRO champions Orlando City SC in 2013.

Kempin was a member of the U.S. Soccer Under-17 Residency Program at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and has extensive experience for the United States at the Youth National Team level. He most recently joined the United States Under-21 Men’s National Team in April and has also trained with the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team.
Kempin joins Andy Gruenebaum as the two available goalkeepers for manager Peter Vermes during Kronberg’s absence. Gruenebaum played his first eight professional seasons with the Columbus Crew before joining Sporting Kansas City prior to the 2014 season. The Overland Park, Kan., native started both matches for Sporting Kansas City in the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

– Story from Sporting KC

Sporting KC signs midfielder Michael Kafari


Twenty-two-year-old rookie joins reigning MLS Cup champions

Sporting Kansas City announced the signing of 22-year-old Michael Kafari on Tuesday.

Kafari has been added to the club’s roster and will occupy a supplemental roster spot.

“We scouted Michael in college,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said. “He has some qualities that we like and that we think will be able to fit in with our team.”

“I’m very excited to join Sporting Kansas City,” Kafari said. “This is a great organization and it’s a honor to sign with them. The players have welcomed me from day one and I look forward to playing for the MLS Cup champions.”

The native of Accra, Ghana, moved to the United States in 2001 at age 9 and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. A product of the Boise Nationals Soccer Club in Boise, Idaho, Kafari also trained with the youth academies at Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea FC of the English Premier League as a teen. After transferring from Mountain View High School prior to his sophomore season, Kafari lettered all three years at Centennial High School and led the Patriots to a state championship during his senior season in 2009.

Kafari was recruited to the University of New Mexico, where he helped lead the Lobos to a 58-16-12 record in his collegiate career with three goals and three assists. His 82 appearances rank sixth most in school history and were instrumental in securing first place finishes in the MPSF Mountain Division (2011, 2012) and Conference USA (2013) regular season standings as well as four consecutive berths in the NCAA Tournament.

New Mexico became one of only three college programs to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen each of the last three seasons, beginning in 2011 when the Lobos were eliminated by Dom Dwyer and the University of South Florida in a penalty shootout. In 2013, Kafari’s senior season came to a conclusion in College Cup with a 2-0 loss to eventual champions Notre Dame in the semifinals.

Kafari was one of five College Cup Final Four participants to attend the 2014 adidas MLS Player Combine and paired with fellow Sporting KC teammate Victor Munoz on Team Predator. The Vancouver Whitecaps then selected Kafari in the third round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft (No. 51 overall) and Kafari signed with USL PRO affiliate Charleston Battery in mid-March after spending preseason with the Canadian club.

The 6-foot-1 two-way midfielder made his competitive debut for Charleston on May 28 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round. He started and played 71 minutes against the Orlando City U-23’s in a fixture that set the competition record for the longest penalty kick shootout at 14 rounds following a 2-2 draw through extra time.

Kafari was also a member of the Austin Aztex during the team’s USL Premier Development League expansion season in 2012. Coached by current Real Salt Lake assistant Paul Dalglish, Kafari played alongside fellow MLS players Michael Lisch, Kris Tyrpak, Blake Smith, Kekuta Manneh and Dillon Powers.

Sporting Kansas City now has 28 players under contract with the addition of Kafari to the team’s roster. Two players (Jon Kempin and Christian Duke) are currently on loan to USL PRO affiliate OKC Energy FC and three players are unavailable due to injury (Chance Myers, Ike Opara and Peterson Joseph).

– Story from Sporting KC

Champions League soccer match to be played in KCK

A Champions League soccer match will be coming to Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., in September.

CONCACAF has announced the dates and times for the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League group stage. Sporting Kansas City is paired with Nicaraguan club Real Esteli and Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa in Group 2.

For the second consecutive year, Sporting Kansas City will open the tournament on the road, playing Real Esteli at 9 p.m. CT Tuesday, Aug. 19.

Sporting KC defeated Real Esteli 2-0 in their CCL opener in August 2013 and drew Esteli a month later 1-1 at Sporting Park.

Following Sporting KC’s road opener against Real Esteli, the defending MLS Cup champions will return home for back-to-back matches at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Sporting Kansas City will play host to Saprissa on Thursday, Sept. 18, and Esteli on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Both matches will kick off at 7 p.m.

Tickets for both group stage home matches are included in season ticket member packages. Tickets will go on sale to the public at a later date.

Sporting Kansas City will conclude the group stage of the tournament on Thursday, Oct. 23, against Saprissa at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Ayma. Saprissa won the 2014 Clausura in Costa Rica and are three-time CONCACAF Champions’ Cup winners.

The team with the most points at the conclusion of the CCL group stage will advance to the quarterfinal round. Sporting Kansas City advanced to the quarterfinals of last year’s tournament, finishing first in a group that included Real Esteli and Honduran club CD Olimpia. Sporting KC faced Mexican club Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals in March and lost 5-2 on aggregate.

– Story from Sporting KC