Category: Sporting KC

Two Sporting KC players, Graham Zusi and Matt Besler, are on the U.S. Men’s National Team today as the team takes on Germany in the World Cup at 11 a.m.

The U.S. team is trying for a win or a draw today so that it can get a berth in Round 16 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. If Germany wins, the U.S. team’s fate will depend on the outcome of the Portugal-Ghana game played at the same time.

The game is being played in Recife, Brazil. The game is on ESPN and Univision, WHB-AM 810, and on ESPN Radio. It is online at WatchESPN.

A watch party has been planned in the Kansas City Power and Light District in Kansas City, Mo. There is no admission charge. Food and drink will be available for purchase.

Sporting Kansas City fell to the Portland Timbers 3-1 Tuesday evening at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., in the fifth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Soony Saad scored the lone goal and Andy Gruenebaum made three saves in his second appearance for the club.

Sporting KC will return to action Friday night when it plays the Portland Timbers in the club’s first MLS match since June 6. The match will kick off at 10 p.m. and can be seen locally on KMCI’s 38 the Spot and across the Midwest on SKCTV.

The home side nearly jumped out to an early lead and former Timbers winger Sal Zizzo was in the thick of the action. Spanish midfielder Antonio Dovale played a corner kick to the near post and Zizzo’s diving header was tipped over the crossbar by goalkeeper Andrew Weber.

Sporting KC continued to create chances in the first half, but the Timbers got on the board first in the 30th minute. Kalif Alhassan’s cross from the endline fell into the path of Gaston Fernandez. The Argentine striker controlled the deflected ball and placed his shot into the far corner past goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.

Portland doubled its lead in the 57th minute when Will Johnson converted a penalty kick. Referee Ricardo Salazar pointed to the spot after Aurelien Collin challenged Steve Zakuani inside the 18-yard box.

Fernandez scored his second goal of the match in the 68th minute, taping home a rebound attempt after Gruenebaum stopped Maximiliano Urriti’s initial strike.

Sporting KC made things interesting late as Timbers defender Danny O’Rourke was whistled for a handball inside the penalty box. Saad converted the spot kick for his third goal in as many games in all competitions and his fourth goal overall in the U.S Open Cup.

Following Friday night’s match at Portland, Sporting KC will return home to play host to the Chicago Fire on July 6. Limited tickets are available for the match, including recently released standing room only tickets, and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
– Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City plays host to the Portland Timbers in the fifth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday.

The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Kansas City, Kan., and can be seen live on SportingKC.com or heard locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB.

Should Sporting Kansas City defeat the Timbers on Tuesday, the club will advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament and travel to the winner of the San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders FC on July 8 or 9.

Sporting KC advanced to the fifth round of this year’s tournament after defeating North American Soccer League opponent Minnesota United FC 2-0 at Sporting Park.

Minnesota’s Cristiano Dias was shown a red card just after the halftime intermission. 21-year-old striker Soony Saad opened the scoring for Sporting Kansas City in the 76th minute and 11 minutes later, Alex Martinez doubled the lead with his first professional goal.

Portland defeated USL Premier Development League side Orlando City U23’s in their fourth round match by a scoreline of 3-0. Timbers forward Gaston Fernandez scored two first half goals and rookie Taylor Peay added an insurance goal in the second half in his first professional appearance.

Portland’s roster features two players who combined for more than 350 appearances in Kansas City in Jack Jewsbury and Michael Harrington. The two players each won an Open Cup while playing for Kansas City with Jewsbury winning in 2004 and Harrington in 2012.

Sporting Kansas City is a two-time U.S. Open Cup champion, having defeated the Chicago Fire at Arrowhead Stadium in 2004 and Seattle Sounders FC in a penalty kick shootout in 2012. The Timbers are seeking the club’s first Open Cup title. In 2013, Portland advanced to the semifinals of the tournament falling 2-1 to eventual runners-up Real Salt Lake.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Club Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The oldest annual team tournament in American sports history, the U.S. Open Cup has origins in 1914 and is named after Lamar Hunt, the original founder of Sporting Kansas City.

This year’s competition began on May 7 with the largest field in the modern era (1995-present) featuring 80 teams. The single-elimination tournament will continue through the championship match on Sept. 30 or Oct. 1 with the winner receiving $250,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League and their name on the Dewar Challenge Trophy.

Sporting Kansas City will face a short turnaround this week as following Tuesday’s match, the club will travel to Portland to play the Timbers in the first league match following Major League Soccer’s two-week World Cup break. That match will kick off Friday night at 10 p.m. and can be seen on KMCI’s 38 the Spot and across the Midwest on SKCTV.

Tickets for Tuesday’s match, starting at $14, are available online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
– Story from Sporting KC