Category: Sporting KC

A marquee Western Conference matchup beckons on Saturday night as second-place Sporting Kansas City (5-2-2, 17 points) travels to face the Portland Timbers (3-4-0, 9 points) in a 9:30 p.m. showdown at Providence Park in Oregon.

Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest will provide three hours of live television coverage on Saturday beginning at 9 p.m.

Supporters can stream the contest on BallySports.com or the Bally Sports app, while the Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates. The game will also air live locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB.

Led by manager Peter Vermes, Sporting pushed its unbeaten run to four matches last Saturday with a 1-1 home draw against Austin FC that lifted the club within a point of first place in the Western Conference.

Daniel Salloi struck a second-half equalizer — converting one of 32 shot attempts for the dominant hosts — and is now tied for third in MLS alongside teammate Alan Pulido with six combined goals and assists this season.

Sporting leads MLS with 16 goals and a remarkable 13 points from losing positions, nine more than any other team.

One of the league’s best attacking teams will receive a further boost this weekend as Pulido returns to Sporting after a two-week stint with the Mexico Men’s National Team. The 30-year-old striker in May notched a league-best five goals and an assist while helping Sporting to four wins.

Midfielder Gadi Kinda, who ranks third on the team with three goals, is also back after a successful European trip that saw him score in his debut for Israel.

Kinda is questionable for Saturday’s clash with a foot ailment, as is veteran Sporting defender Graham Zusi as he recovers from a hamstring strain. French midfielder Remi Walter (knee) and backup goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh (adductor) will miss out through injury.

Portland reached impressive heights in 2020, securing the MLS is Back Tournament championship last summer and finishing with a formidable 11-6-6 regular season record under head coach Giovanni Savarese.

The Timbers have endured an up-and-down start to 2021 with three wins and four losses, including a 3-0 setback at the hands of reigning Supporters’ Shield champion Philadelphia Union in their most recent match on May 30. Portland has employed a balanced attack thus far, receiving nine goals from eight different scorers — tied for the most in MLS.

Forward Felipe Mora is the lone Portland player with two goals this season and is one of two Timbers who will miss Saturday’s contest on international duty. Mora has joined Chile for the 2021 Copa America in Brazil, while standout midfielder Yimmi Chara is competing in the same tournament with Colombia.

The Timbers have been injury-hit during the early stages of 2021. Star playmaker Sebastian Blanco and prolific forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda are still awaiting their season debuts after suffering serious setbacks last year, while veteran Diego Chara has been limited to three appearances and hasn’t played since early May.

Midfielder Eryk Williamson, forward Jeremy Ebobisse and talisman Diego Valeri — one of three MLS players all-time with 80 goals and 80 assists in the regular season — figure to play key roles as the Timbers enter the early summer.

Sporting owns a 4-3-2 regular season record at Providence Park, posting five shutouts in nine trips to the stadium. Goalkeeper Tim Melia has been particularly effective in road matches against Portland, earning clean sheets in four of five regular season appearances at Providence Park.

The Timbers, however, boast two postseason feathers in their cap. Portland notably defeated Sporting on penalty kicks in the 2015 Western Conference Knockout Round and prevailed in the 2018 Western Conference Championship behind a 3-2 win in the decisive second leg of the series at Children’s Mercy Park.

Sporting and Portland haven’t met since September 2019 when the sides met twice during the stretch run of the regular season. The Timbers claimed a dramatic 2-1 home win on Sept. 7, striking twice in the final 10 minutes, before the teams played to an entertaining 2-2 stalemate on Sept. 29 in Kansas City.

• Story from Sporting KC

Daniel Salloi bagged his fourth goal of the season as Sporting Kansas City (5-2-2, 17 points) came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Austin FC (2-4-2, 8 points) in an encounter on Saturday afternoon at sun-drenched Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

The 150th MLS sellout in stadium history saw Austin FC take a 1-0 lead in the first half through Cecilio Dominguez, but Sporting’s stranglehold on proceedings was rewarded in the 71st minute when Salloi cashed in on one of 32 shot attempts for the hosts, who pushed their unbeaten run to four games.

Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver made a career-high nine saves but was unable to prevent Sporting from extending their regular season home scoring streak to 20 matches, which ties a club record first set in 2011-2012.

The breathless stalemate moves Sporting within a point of Seattle Sounders FC in the Supporters’ Shield race ahead of a trip to the Portland Timbers (3-4-0, 9 points) next Saturday at 9:30 p.m.

The Western Conference clash will be shown live on Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest.

Presiding over his 450th competitive match as Sporting Kansas City’s manager, Peter Vermes was prompted to make two changes to his starting XI from a 3-2 home win over Houston Dynamo FC on May 29.

With forward Alan Pulido on international duty with Mexico and midfielder Gadi Kinda observing health and safety protocols following his stint with the Israeli national team, captain Johnny Russell and Frenchman Remi Walter jumped into the lineup for their first starts since May 12.

In defense, veteran right back Graham Zusi notably logged his 349th career appearance for Sporting in all competitions, passing Austin FC center back and former teammate Matt Besler for the most in club history.

The hosts seized attacking initiative and peppered Austin’s attacking third for the first 15 minutes, but the game’s first shot on target fell to the visitors when Jared Stroud cut centrally from the right side and forced Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia into a strong save at the near post.

Sporting remained dangerous on the opposite end and Russell nearly fired his team ahead in stunning fashion with 24 minutes on the clock. The winger did brilliantly to chest down a 50-yard long ball from Ilie Sanchez and uncork a left-footed volley that fizzed inches wide of Stuver’s left-hand post.

Despite conceding the lion’s share of possession and absorbing pressure in the early stages, Austin landed the first punch against the run of play in the 26th minute. Dominguez settled a pass from Zan Kolmanic at the top of the penalty area, took a touch and sent a low right-footed strike across Melia and into the corner.

Austin’s designated player bagged his third goal of the year on the play and snapped his team’s scoreless draught at 378 minutes — a run that dated back to May 9 when Jon Gallagher scored for Los Verdes in a 2-1 loss to Sporting at Children’s Mercy Park.

A spirited search for an equalizer saw Sporting threaten multiple times before intermission.

Near the half-hour mark, Walter beat his defender along the left side of the box and pulled the ball back to Salloi, who pirouetted past an opponent and dragged a shot that missed marginally. Stuver denied Roger Espinoza five minutes later after Russell leaped in the penalty area to head the ball into the path of his Honduran teammate.

On the cusp of halftime — shortly after Sporting was forced into a pair of injury-related substitutions as Felipe Hernandez and Jaylin Lindsey replaced Walter and Zusi — Salloi was left ruing his luck when Stuver touched his acrobatic shot onto the crossbar.

The game continued to stretch in frantic fashion and Gallagher spurned an opportunity to double Austin’s advantage in first-half stoppage time when his breakaway effort missed the target.

Hernandez had a positive effect in his cameo role and almost drew Sporting level in the 47th minute, latching onto a pass from Russell only to see his blast repelled by Stuver. Hernandez tried his luck again in the 54th minute but the shot was blocked through traffic and Salloi’s rebound attempt sailed high.

Austin was active on the counterattack and could have put the game out of reach after an hour, but Melia produced a reflex save with his outstretched mitt to thwart Dominguez one on one.

Salloi provided Sporting’s deserved breakthrough on 71 minutes.

Gianluca Busio advanced into the attacking third and had a long-range strike take a deflection goalward. Russell was quick to beat Stuver to the ball and an opportunity fell to Salloi, who slammed home the rebound to restore parity.

The homegrown winger is now tied for third in MLS with six combined goals (four) and assists (two), while Sporting leads MLS the league with 16 goals in 2021.

The final quarter-hour hung on a knife-edge as Sporting swarmed forward in search of a winner while Austin defended deep and broke on the counter. Substitute Manny Perez wasted a breakaway chance for Austin in the 76th minute, seconds before Stuver cast aside Russell’s thundering shot on the other end of the pitch.

The expansion side had another look go begging in the 81st minute when Rodney Redes couldn’t Perez’s cross on frame.

They were nearly made to pay for the miss on 85 minutes when Andreu Fontas — who completed 93 of 97 passes — picked out Russell, whose back heel flick to Khiry Shelton merely set up Stuver to make another heroic save.

• Story from Sporting KC

The lone MLS match of the weekend will see Sporting Kansas City (5-2-1, 16 points) play for first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings when expansion side Austin FC (2-4-1, 7 points) visits Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Tickets for the Western Conference encounter are available at SeatGeek.com as Peter Vermes presides over his 450th competitive match as Sporting’s manager.

Supporters can catch Saturday’s showdown live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app, with three hours of live programming starting at 1:30 p.m. Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish) will carry local radio broadcasts, while the Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates.

All fans with tickets and eligible fans in attendance may get a free COVID-19 vaccine until match halftime at the Mazuma Plaza at Children’s Mercy Park. Fans who get a vaccine shot at the match will receive a free Sporting KC scarf. The clinic is in partnership with the Unified Government Health Department.

When Sporting and Austin lock horns on Saturday, ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase Sporting Kansas City’s new commemorative book. “One Club: The First 25 Years of Major League Soccer in Kansas City” will be available at all SportingStyle locations inside Children’s Mercy Park.

Additionally, The Victory Project and Charlie Hustle have partnered to create a limited-edition shirt that will be available while supplies last at the stadium’s new Charlie Hustle pop-up store on the south side of the Mazuma Plaza.

Sporting enters the weekend on a blistering run of form, having won four of the last five matches and each of their last three.

In Sporting’s May 29 match, the hosts erased a first-half deficit to claim a 3-2 victory over Houston Dynamo FC in the first full-capacity contest at Children’s Mercy Park since March 7, 2020.

The result gave Sporting its fourth comeback win of the 2021 campaign, three more than any other MLS team and already one shy of tying the single-season club record set in 1996 and 2007.

The triumph against Houston saw 19-year-old midfielder Gianluca Busio bury a free kick to level the score at 1-1 in the 51st minute before Alan Pulido converted a 61st-minute penalty and Gadi Kinda dispatched the game-winner four minutes later.

Sporting has now scored three goals in three consecutive regular season games for the first time in team history and leads MLS in both goals scored (15) and goals per game (1.88). The club’s attacking depth will be tested this weekend as Pulido is set to miss out due to national team commitments with Mexico.

A win on Saturday would give Sporting four straight regular season victories for the first time since August 2018 and vault the side ahead of unbeaten Seattle Sounders FC for first place in the Supporters’ Shield race.

Goalkeeper Tim Melia is also seeking his seven successive regular season win dating back to October 2020.

At the opposite end of the table, Austin FC occupies 11th place in the 13-team West.

They began their maiden MLS season by winning two of their first three games, including a 3-1 result at the Colorado Rapids on April 24 and a 1-0 shutout of Minnesota United FC on May 1.

Los Verdes have gone dry since then, going 0-3-1 in their last four and carrying a 353-minute scoreless drought into Saturday’s matchup. The expansion outfit could be turning the tide, however, as they snapped a three-match losing skid with a scoreless draw at Seattle on May 30.

Saturday will serve as the final fixture of an eight-game road swing to kick off the season for Austin FC, which is scheduled to open its new Q2 Stadium on June 19 against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Designated Player Cecilio Dominguez and MLS veteran Diego Fagundez lead the team with two goals apiece, goalkeeper Brad Stuver is third in the league with 29 saves, and midfielder Alex Ring ranks among the MLS leaders in duels won and passes completed.

Sporting and Austin waged their inaugural battle on May 9 as Vermes’ side fought back to prevail 2-1 at Children’s Mercy Park.

After Jon Gallagher gave the visitors an early 1-0 cushion — the most recent goal Austin has scored this season — Ilie Sanchez nodded home a late equalizer and Kinda struck in the 90th minute to mark the seventh time that Kansas City has overturned a deficit after the 80th minute to win an MLS match.

A Sporting reunion that first took place May 9 will repeat on Saturday when three club legends return to Kansas City as opponents.

Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff, assistant Davy Arnaud and defender Matt Besler, three of the most accomplished MLS players in team history, will descend on Children’s Mercy Park in white and green. All three individuals left indelible marks as Kansas City players, combining for 784 competitive appearances and seven MLS All-Star selections.