Category: Sporting KC

Major playoff implications are on the line Wednesday as second-place Sporting Kansas City (16-7-7, 55 points) plays host to fifth-place LA Galaxy (13-11-7, 46 points) in a 7:55 p.m. kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Tickets are available at SeatGeek.com. The Western Conference clash will air nationally on FS1 and FOX Deportes with coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. Fans can also stream the action live on the FOX Sports app or on FOXSports.com. There will be live updates throughout the contest from @SKCMatchday on Twitter.

Looking to finish atop the West for the third time in four seasons, Sporting Kansas City picked up three major points from first place Seattle Sounders on Saturday. The attention now turns to the LA Galaxy in a midweek match between MLS originals.

Having clinched a playoff berth, Sporting KC is one of seven teams in the West who following Decision Day on Nov. 7 will advance to the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs.

The top-seeded club receives a bye to the conference semifinals. Sporting can clinch a home playoff match with a result against the Galaxy or a Portland draw or loss to San Jose on Wednesday evening. Sporting’s 10 postseason appearances over the 11 years are second-most among Western Conference teams behind only the Sounders, who have reached the playoffs every year since joining MLS in 2009.

Saturday will mark the second meeting between Sporting and the Galaxy this year. Sporting took all three points in the previous meeting on July 4 in a 2-0 victory.

Forwards Johnny Russell and Khiry Shelton netted late goals while Tim Melia saved seven shots for the clean sheet. At home, Sporting has lost just one of 12 regular season games against the Galaxy dating back to 2008.

Manager Peter Vermes has had the squad playing high-caliber soccer all season long. With three wins in their last four matches, Sporting will look to knock Seattle out of the top spot in the West. Just three points back and with a game in hand, Sporting has a chance to make a run at the Western Conference No. 1 seed.

With goals in his last seven appearances, Russell now holds the longest scoring streak in MLS this season. He is one of six MLS players with 12 goals and seven assists this year alongside Daniel Salloi, whose 24 combined goals (16) and assists (eight) tie the league lead with Gustavo Bou of New England. Russell and Salloi have paced a Sporting attack that leads the West with 54 goals scored and 1.8 goals per match.

Holding down the midfield on Saturday, Sporting’s Remi Walter received an MLS Team of the Week selection as a starter. His first career MLS goal helped lift Sporting past the Sounders, as he provided excellent support in the midfield.

First-year head coach Greg Vanney has the Galaxy in form. After a poor September in which the Galaxy only collected two points, the team has earned results in four straight games. The Galaxy rank in the top 10 in MLS in goals scored with 46.

Led by Mexican international Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez (14 goals, three assists), midfielder Sacha Kljestan (five goals, four assists), U.S. MNT player Sebastian Lletget (two goals, four assists), defender Julian Araujo (five assists) and goalkeeper Jonathan Bond, the Galaxy find themselves in the thick of a playoff battle.

Fifth place is above the playoff line but would force the Galaxy into a first-round road game. LA is tied on points with fourth-place Portland and will look to improve its place in the standings at midweek.

Both teams come into the match with injury concerns. On the Galaxy side, Jorge Villafana is listed as questionable while Nick DePuy will miss this match due to caution accumulation. Sporting will not have striker Alan Pulido (knee) and defender Jaylin Lindsey (hamstring). Salloi and midfielder Jose Mauri are questionable both with ankle ailments.

Sporting has been excellent at home, coming into its penultimate regular season home match with an 8-2-5 record. With just two weeks left in the regular season and both teams jockeying for higher seeds in the playoffs, everything is to play for Wednesday night.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (16-7-7, 55 points) punched its ticket to the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs in resounding fashion, earning a 2-1 road win over Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders FC (17-7-7, 58 points) on Saturday afternoon at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Remi Walter hammered home his first MLS goal in the fourth minute and captain Johnny Russell extended his club-record scoring streak to seven matches with a 79th-minute winner as second-place Sporting climbed within three points of Seattle at the top of the West and secured its 10th playoff appearance in 11 seasons.

Saturday’s result saw Sporting manager Peter Vermes take sole possession of fourth place in MLS history with 171 regular season coaching wins and set a league record by clinching his 17th appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs as a player or a coach.

Sporting also became just the second club in MLS history to win at Seattle twice in the same regular season and equaled a single-season club record with its eighth away victory of the 2021 campaign.

Boasting a perfect 7-0-0 record in matches immediately following losses this season, Sporting will return to Children’s Mercy Park on Wednesday to host longtime rival LA Galaxy.

The contest will kick off at 7:50 p.m. Wednesday with national coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. on FS1 and FOX Deportes. Tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com.

Vermes made two injury-induced changes to the Sporting lineup from a 2-1 loss at Vancouver Whitecaps FC last Sunday. Jose Mauri and MLS MVP candidate Daniel Salloi missed with ankle problems, prompting the return of center back Nicolas Isimat-Mirin — who landed his first start since Aug. 7 — and veteran midfielder Roger Espinoza, who logged his 250th regular season start in a Sporting uniform.

Ilie Sanchez moved from central defense into his long-held holding midfield spot and Gadi Kinda was deployed as a false nine up top.

Walter landed an absolute haymaker inside four minutes to give the upstart visitors a 1-0 lead. Khiry Shelton and Russell combined neatly on the right edge of the box before the latter swung a low delivery across the face of the six-yard area.

Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei punched clear only as far as Kinda, whose rebound effort near the penalty spot was blocked through traffic. Luis Martins converged on the ball and crucially won possession by poking the ball to Walter, who lashed a left-footed strike into the top left corner to open his MLS scoring account.

Brimming with confidence, Sporting could have doubled its advantage after seven minutes. Russell was once again a danger man, flicking a pass into the path of Kinda. He swiftly beat a defender at the top of the box and uncorked a right-footed blast that screamed narrowly high.

The Sounders were kept at bay in the opening stages, although Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia was called to action in the 15th minute when he corralled Nicolas Benezet’s well-struck shot. The 35-year-old veteran picked up another first-half save near halftime, thwarting U.S. international Cristian Roldan.

Near the half-hour interval, Russell asked further questions of the Seattle backline by chipping in a cross from the right endline. Espinoza was there to pull the trigger, but his effort was deflected behind for a corner kick.

On Russell’s ensuing delivery, the ball skipped through a swarm of bodies and was nearly prodded home by Sounders defender Shane O’Neill, whose blushes were saved as his redirect carried inches over the bar.

Outplayed in the first half, Seattle responded in the early moments of the second period with a deluge of attacking pressure.

Melia and Alex Roldan were shown yellow cards after a hasty altercation in which Cristian Roldan blundered into Melia amid a goalmouth scramble.

Shortly thereafter, Sporting center back Andreu Fontas blocked a side volley attempt from former Kansas City midfielder Jimmy Medranda, who was deployed as a left wing back on Saturday.

The Sounders restored parity in the 58th minute as Sporting came undone on a corner kick. Cristian Roldan glanced Joao Paulo’s service to the back post where Benezet nodded into a gaping net for his third goal of the campaign.

Cristian Roldan almost went from provider to goal scorer in the 64th minute, planting a powerful header on target, but Melia produced a phenomenal reflex save at point-blank range and Isimat-Mirin ushered clear upfield to extinguish the danger. Sporting’s gloveman racked up another stop on Roldan 10 minutes later, dropping low to his right to smother a seething turf-trimmer.

Russell had bagged seven goals in his previous six games, and fired Sporting back in front with 11 minutes remaining. In a move that punctuated a dazzling 38-pass sequence, Espinoza charged into the attacking third and played an inch-perfect diagonal through ball to Russell. The Scottish winger took a touch on the right side of the box and sent a side-footed effort past Frei for his 12th goal of 2021, all of which have come since the start of July.

Sporting defended bravely to the very end as Seattle piled numbers forward in search of a late lever. The Sounders went close to leveling terms in the 93rd minute, but Cristian Roldan’s booming strike rattled the crossbar and referee Ismail Elfath blew the full-time whistle seconds later.

• Story from Sporting KC

A Western Conference showdown will unfold Saturday afternoon as second-place Sporting Kansas City (15-7-7, 52 points) visits first-place Seattle Sounders FC (17-6-7, 58 points) in a 2:50 p.m. kickoff at Lumen Field.

The match will air regionally on Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest and nationally in Spanish on Univision and TUDN with coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. Fans can also stream the action live on Twitter at @TUDNUSA, while viewers with Bally Sports Midwest can catch the game on BallySports.com or the Bally Sports app. La Grande 1340 AM will carry the match locally over the radio in Spanish. Supporters also may access the Sporting KC mobile app.

Looking to finish atop the West for the third time in four seasons, manager Peter Vermes’ side trails the conference-leading Sounders by six points in the standings with one game in hand.

A road win this weekend would shift momentum toward Sporting Kansas City heading into the final fortnight of the regular season, while a Seattle victory would strengthen their status in pole position.

The top seven teams in the West following Decision Day on Nov. 7 will advance to the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs, with the top-seeded club receiving a bye to the conference semifinals. Sporting has yet to officially punch its playoff ticket and can do so with a win against Seattle or if any one of several results go their way this weekend.

Sporting’s nine postseason appearances over the last decade are second-most among Western Conference teams behind only the Sounders, who have reached the playoffs every year since joining MLS in 2009.

Saturday will mark the third head-to-head meeting between Sporting and Seattle this year. Aiming to keep their first-place hopes alive, Vermes’ men will be encouraged that the away team has won on both previous occasions.

Forward Johnny Russell, MLS MVP candidate Daniel Salloi and Academy product Cam Duke scored in a 3-1 victory at Seattle on July 25, while the Sounders returned the favor with a 2-1 triumph on Sept. 26 at Children’s Mercy Park as Cristian Roldan and Will Bruin found the back of the net.

Sporting has gone 7-3-3 in the last 13 regular season games against Seattle since 2015, including victories in each of their last two visits to Lumen Field. In addition to sinking the Sounders in July, Sporting claimed a 3-2 win in August 2019 against a Seattle outfit that lifted the MLS Cup three months later.

Sporting’s 2-1 loss at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday saw one of the league’s hottest attacking players etch his name into the Kansas City history books. With 43 minutes on the clock, Russell received a pass from Salloi and sent a fantastic curler in off the post to cut his team’s deficit in half.

By doing so, the Scottish captain became the first player in Sporting history to score in six consecutive MLS regular season matches.

With goals in his last six appearances, Russell is now tied with Ola Kamara of D.C. United for the longest scoring streak in MLS this season.

He is one of six MLS players with 11 goals and seven assists this year alongside Salloi, whose 24 combined goals (16) and assists (eight) lead the league. Russell and Salloi have paced a potent Sporting attack that leads the West with 52 goals scored and 1.79 goals per match.

Led by sixth-year head coach Brian Schmetzer, the Sounders have hoisted the Western Conference crown in four of the last five seasons, adding MLS Cup titles in 2016 and 2019. This year’s iteration of of the team appears capable of adding to the trophy cabinet, having opened the year with a record-setting 13-game unbeaten run and more recently winning eight of their last 12 matches.

Striker Raul Ruidiaz (16 goals), U.S. international midfielder Roldan (six goals, five assists), playmaker Joao Paulo (three goals, 10 assists), defender Yeimar Gomez Andrade and goalkeeper Stefan Frei have kept Seattle punching among the heavyweights, while former Sporting utility men Jimmy Medranda and Kelyn Rowe have also contributed to a team that wields a league-low 0.87 goals against average.

Both teams enter the weekend with lingering injury concerns. On the Seattle sideline, Ruidiaz is a question mark after sustaining an injury with the Peru national team earlier this month. Sporting will continue to play without the services of striker Alan Pulido (knee) and defender Jaylin Lindsey (hamstring). Salloi and midfield newcomer Jose Mauri are listed as questionable with ankle problems.

Beyond the context of the 2021 campaign, Sporting and Seattle have earned the right to call themselves two of the best MLS clubs over the last 10 seasons. Each team boasts four major cup titles since 2011 and the sides have combined for 19 of a possible 20 playoff appearances over the previous decade.

Sporting hoisted the 2013 MLS Cup as well as Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017. Seattle has secured two of each, winning MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019 and the Open Cup in 2011 and 2014.

• Story from Sporting KC