Category: Sporting KC

Sporting returns home Sunday to play Vancouver

Playing its third match in eight days, Sporting Kansas City (2-2-1, 7 points) will return to Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday to meet the Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2-2-1, 7 points) in a Soccer For All celebration.

Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. and a limited number of tickets for the contest are available at SeatGeek.com while supplies last.

Sunday’s encounter will be shown live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus and Bally Sports Midwest Plus with three hours of live coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. The game will also stream live on BallySports.com and the new Bally Sports app, while listeners can follow the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

Sporting will join a league-wide effort on Sunday to foster more inclusive and equitable communities by celebrating Soccer For All, signifying that everyone is welcome to the club regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation or economic status. The initiative is linked to “A Force for Good ,” a community campaign launched by Sporting in which The Victory Project joins community partners to meet crucial needs across the region and make the sport of soccer accessible to everyone.

At the forefront of Soccer For All, Sporting will launch its new Pride top at all SportingStyle locations inside the stadium. The Victory Project will also welcome four local partners to the match in Variety KC, Special Olympics, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City and The Whole Person.

Sporting and Vancouver enter Sunday with 2-2-1 records and have opened the 2021 campaign in identical fashion. Just as Sporting won, tied, lost, won and lost in its first five matches, so too did the Whitecaps.

Led by manager Peter Vermes, Sporting enjoyed the better of play against Houston Dynamo FC on Wednesday only to fall short in a 1-0 loss. The visitors outshot Houston 16-5 on the night, including a 14-2 advantage in the second half, but the Dynamo emerged victorious behind a 56th-minute goal from Maxi Urruti.

On the opposite touchline, third-year head coach Marc Dos Santos has guided Vancouver to impressive shutout home wins over the Portland Timbers and CF Montreal despite the fact that the Whitecaps have been forced to operate out of Salt Lake City due to COVID-related travel restrictions in Canada. Like Sporting, Vancouver took a 1-0 road loss Wednesday in a tightly contested game against Minnesota United FC.

Sporting has collected four wins and a draw in its last five regular season matches at Children’s Mercy Park dating back to 2020 and boast a 17-game regular season home scoring streak since August 2019, tied for the second-longest run in club history.

The most recent home fixture treated supporters to a thriller last Sunday as Sporting overturned a late deficit against Austin FC with goals from Kinda and Ilie Sanchez to prevail 2-1. It marked just the seventh time ever that Sporting had won a regular season match after trailing past the 80th minute.

The Whitecaps have missed the playoffs in three straight seasons, but early returns in 2021 suggest the Canadian outfit is capable of bouncing back into the upper half of the Western Conference. Vancouver is one of just five MLS teams to average less than a goal conceded per game, boasting a 0.8 goal against average through five matches. On the attacking side, Cristian Dajome has a team-best three goals and center forward Lucas Cavallini leads MLS in both duels won and fouls suffered.

Sporting has held an upper hand in the regular season series with Vancouver, posting a 10-3-4 record in 17 meetings.

Since falling to the Whitecaps on Sept. 30, 2017, Sporting has gone 4-0-1 in the fixture with 17 goals scored and only three conceded. That run includes a 6-0 thumping in April 2018, highlighted by captain Johnny Russell’s hat trick, as well as a season-opening 3-1 away win in February 2020 that saw Gadi Kinda and Alan Pulido score on their MLS debuts.

Sporting and Vancouver also met in the MLS is Back Tournament Round of 16 last July. Vermes’ side outshot Vancouver 36-8 but the match was ultimately decided in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw, with goalkeeper Tim Melia making two saves to propel Sporting to a 3-1 shootout win.

In accordance with updated health protocols issued by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Sporting Kansas City announced earlier this week that home matches at Children’s Mercy Park will return to full capacity beginning May 29 when the club plays Houston.

Capacity for Sunday’s contest against Vancouver will remain limited to approximately 6,500 fans with current health and safety protocols in place. Additionally, single-game tickets for all of Sporting’s remaining MLS home matches in 2021 are now available at SeatGeek.com.

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Sporting loses to Houston, 1-0

Sporting Kansas City (2-2-1, 7 points) took a narrow 1-0 loss to rivals Houston Dynamo FC (2-1-2, 8 points) on Wednesday night at BBVA Stadium in Texas.

Despite outshooting Houston 15-4, including a 14-2 advantage in the second half, Sporting succumbed to a 56th-minute strike from Dynamo striker Maxi Urruti as the hosts emerged victorious in the first of three head-to-head meetings between the clubs this season.

Manager Peter Vermes’ side will have an opportunity to bounce back Sunday when they play host to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2-2-1, 7 points) in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. A limited number of tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com while supplies last.

Fans can also catch the action live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com, the Bally Sports app, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

Just 72 hours removed from a last-gasp 2-1 home win over Austin FC on Sunday, Sporting Kansas City deployed a reshuffled lineup as manager Peter Vermes made four changes to the starting eleven.

Defender Jaylin Lindsey, midfielder Gadi Kinda and forward Khiry Shelton stepped in for Graham Zusi, Roger Espinoza and Daniel Salloi, while midfielder Ilie Sanchez dropped into central defense — replacing the injured Roberto Puncec — and Remi Walter reclaimed a starting role in the center of the park.

A pedestrian first half produced zero shots on target from either team, but Houston nearly landed the first punch after 11 minutes when defender Tim Parker rose to nod a Joe Corona corner kick inches wide of the frame. Sporting was forced into an early substitute nine minutes later as Salloi relieved captain Johnny Russell, who exited with a groin problem.

Sporting created a spark in the 22nd minute with a flowing attack that saw Ilie, Walter and Alan Pulido combine intricately before Kinda was played into a pocket of space on the left side of the box. He cut onto his right foot and unleashed a curling effort that sailed marginally wide of the far post. At the opposite end, Sporting center back Andreu Fontas did well to block a low drive by Urruti on the half-hour mark.

The game sprung to life in the second period and Sporting almost landed the first punch with 51 minutes on the clock. Salloi had a breakaway shot saved following an incisive pass from Kinda, but the visitors retained possession through Pulido and Shelton ultimately flashed a shot across the face of the goal that failed to test Houston keeper Marko Maric.

Houston cashed in on a Sporting turnover at midfield for the game’s lone goal just shy of the hour mark. Derrick Jones won possession and drove centrally before spreading the ball to Urruti, who settled the ball on the run and hammered high into the roof of the net for his second goal of the season.

Sporting responded positively after going behind, manufacturing a flurry of chances between the 59th and 68th minutes.

Kinda, who bagged the 90th-minute winner against Austin on Sunday, went close to scoring again but his header off a Luis Martins cross lacked the direction to beat Maric. Shortly thereafter, Kinda’s acrobatic overhead kick off Lindsey’s delivery sailed over the crossbar.

Shelton successfully opened the Houston defense in the 66th minute, embarking on a 50-yard solo run down the right sideline and crossing low to Salloi inside the box. The Sporting KC Academy product cleverly prodded the ball into the path of Pulido, whose blast to the near post was parried away by an outstretched Maric. Salloi was on the receiving end of a notable chance a moment later, but his attempt from 12 yards was deflected and trickled wide.

Houston broke once on the counterattack as Sporting committed numbers forward in search of a leveler, as forward Fafa Picault darted through on the breakaway only to see his chipped effort float off target.

Sporting KC Academy product and 21-year-old Wilson Harris made his MLS debut as an 81st-minute substitute for Pulido. The visitors had the lion’s share of possession in the final moments but were unable to find an elusive equalizer.

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Sporting KC to have full capacity May 29

Sporting KC announced on Tuesday that it would return to full capacity at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, beginning May 29.

Sporting will entertain Houston Dynamo FC on May 29.

Upon returning to full capacity, Children’s Mercy Park will continue to adhere to a number of health and safety protocols, including mobile entry, cashless payments, hand sanitization dispensers throughout the stadium and increased cleaning and sanitization before, during and after matches, according to the announcement.

Mask wearing is strongly encouraged but not required under the Unified Government’s latest guidelines, and Children’s Mercy Park will offer a designated seating section where masks will be required for all ticket holders within that area.

Sporting’s home match on May 29 will see the club honor frontline health care workers by giving 1,000 tickets to local medical professionals. The occasion will serve as the newest initiative from “A Force for Good,” a newly launched campaign in which Sporting and The Victory Project join forces with local partners to serve the community.

“We are excited to welcome all of our season ticket members and passionate supporters back to Children’s Mercy Park and honor frontline workers who have sacrificed so much for the good of our community,” Sporting Kansas City President and CEO Jake Reid said. “Our transition to full capacity will be made in accordance with local health mandates and we encourage guests to continue wearing masks. We look forward to delivering the fan experience that makes Children’s Mercy Park so special.”

In conjunction with today’s announcement, Sporting Kansas City season ticket members will have all of their original season ticket seat locations automatically loaded into their SeatGeek accounts for 2021 home matches from May 29 onward. Season ticket members can contact their membership service executives for more information.

Additional single-game tickets for Sporting’s home match on May 29 and tickets for all remaining home games from June 12 onward will go on sale to the public at SeatGeek.com beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, May 14. Season ticket members will have an exclusive single-game presale opportunity for these matches beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 13.

A select number of single-game ticket buyers for the home match on May 29 will be relocated to a comparable seat location to accommodate season ticket seat priority. The new seat location will be automatically updated on their SeatGeek accounts by Friday, May 14.

Capacity at Children’s Mercy Park for Sporting’s home match on May 16 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC will remain limited to approximately 6,500 fans with current health and safety protocols in place.

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