Category: Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (6-14-5, 23 points) will travel to Texas to take on second-place Austin FC (13-5-6, 45 points) at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.

The Western Conference clash will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. The broadcast will also stream live on SportingKC.com and in the Sporting KC app for viewers in Kansas and Missouri (excluding the St. Louis area per MLS policy), as well as ESPN+ for out-of-market subscribers. In addition, radio coverage of Saturday’s showdown will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

After a resounding 4-2 victory over the LA Galaxy last Saturday, Sporting KC will now travel to the Texas capital for a rematch with second-place Austin FC. The teams met two weeks ago at Children’s Mercy Park as Austin FC capitalized on a first half red card to Sporting KC midfielder Cam Duke.

Alex Ring scored in first half stoppage time and Sebastian Driussi sealed the road result with a goal in the 90th minute, while Brad Stuver made four saves in the shutout including a superb stop on Daniel Salloi’s penalty in the second half.

While Sporting ranks last in MLS in goals scored this season (23), Austin FC leads MLS in the category (50). Driussi, who has a goal or assist in each of his last seven appearances, sits atop the MLS Golden Boot race with a league-high 16 goals to go along with seven assists.

The designated player’s 23 goal contributions are most in MLS while teammate Diego Fagundez ranks fourth in MLS with 10 assists. Two Austin FC newcomers have also bolstered the Austin attack in their debut seasons as Maxi Urruti has recorded seven goals and two assists alongside Ethan Finlay, who has five goals and six assists.

With just one loss in the team’s last 10 matches, Austin FC is led by a pair of Sporting Legends with head coach Josh Wolff, who played seven seasons in Kansas City, and assistant coach Davy Arnaud, who played 10 seasons in Kansas City, guiding the club in its second season.

Sporting KC defender Ben Sweat played under Wolff and Arnaud last season and is set to return to Q2 Stadium for the first time since joining Sporting KC as a free agent in the offseason.

Having served as Sporting Kansas City manager since August 2009, Peter Vermes is the longest tenured head coach with one club in MLS history. Saturday will mark his 600th competitive match for the team as either a player or a manager.

The club is coming off an emphatic 4-2 win against the LA Galaxy last weekend in which newcomers Erik Thommy and Willy Agada opened their MLS scoring accounts. Thommy’s goal was an MLS Goal of the Week finalist while Agada scored twice to earn a spot on the MLS Team of the Week bench.

Fellow forward Daniel Salloi tallied a goal and two assists, giving him 46 goals for Sporting in all competitions and tying him with Wolff for fifth on the club’s all-time chart.

Club captain Johnny Russell, whose next goal will tie Arnaud for third most goals in club history in all competitions, leads Sporting with eight goals in all competitions this season. Midfielder Felipe Hernandez, who has appeared in all 29 matches this year, is on the cusp of his 50th career regular season appearance. The 24-year-old has recorded a team-best and career-high four assists in all competitions.

Sporting KC will be without five players on Saturday, including designated players Alan Pulido (knee) and Gadi Kinda (knee) as well as veteran goalkeeper Tim Melia (hamstring). Khiry Shelton (calf) and Logan Ndenbe (hamstring) remain questionable after missing the team’s last two matches. On the opposite side, Austin FC midfielder Hector Jimenez (groin) and defender Frederik Kleeman (knee) have been ruled out due to injury.

• Story from Sporting KC

by Brian Turrel

Sporting Kansas City ended its offensive drought with a shower of goals against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Recently signed forward Willy Agada made it rain with two first-half goals, on the way to a 4-2 win Saturday evening at Children’s Mercy Park.

Agada’s fellow newcomer Erik Thommy opened the scoring in the 10th minute, chesting a well-placed ball from Roger Espinoza and then blasting it on the volley inside the far post from the right corner of the 6-yard box, a move that manager Peter Vermes described as “a world-class finish.”

A handball in the penalty area by Galaxy defender Derrick Williams gave Sporting the chance to double the lead in the 24th minute, but Los Angeles goalkeeper Jonathan Bond knocked away Johnny Russell’s penalty kick attempt, the second consecutive match for Kansas City to be denied from the spot.

Agada opened his account for Kansas City in the 40th minute, knocking in a shot after being denied on his first attempt. Agada didn’t get to celebrate right away as his point-blank shot was waved off for offsides, but after a video review, the call was reversed and Kansas City granted a 2-0 lead.

The Nigerian striker added to his tally in first-half stoppage time. Graham Zusi started a brilliant sequence, firing the ball long down the right side of the pitch to Daniel Salloi. Salloi one-touched a cross that found Agada, who was on a perfectly timed run to the back post.

The visitors made the game interesting as the clock passed the 80th minute. Galaxy star Chicharito scored in the 83rd minute, drawing Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp away from goal and slotting the ball past him into the far corner.

Uri Rosell conceded a penalty kick on a hand ball in the second minute of stoppage, and Chicharito took the opportunity for another goal, narrowing the lead to one. Pulskamp correctly anticipated the direction of the kick, but his dive to the right was no match for the pace on Chicharito’s ball.

Salloi sealed the game late in stoppage time. Getting two chances from a narrow angle on the far left side, his first attempt curled just over the crossbar. His second shot sailed into the net past the goalkeeper to settle the final margin.

After the match, Agada described his first Kansas City goal.

“When the goalkeeper kept it out, I kept struggling,” said Agada, “fighting for the second goal. I thought it was a goal. You know how the VAR sometimes is, a little bit complicated, but thank God it went in. I’m so excited that that was my first goal. I’m so excited.”

Sporting Kansas City will play on the road next Saturday against Austin FC, a rematch of the July 30 game that Austin won 2-0. Kansas City will be back at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 21 to face the Portland Timbers. The Sunday evening match kicks off at 6:30 p.m.