Category: Sporting KC

LA Galaxy to visit Sporting KC tonight

The LA Galaxy will visit Sporting Kansas City at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive Sporting Salutes lapel pins as the club recognizes local Purple Heart recipients in conjunction with Purple Heart Day on Sunday.

Because of possible high temperatures, all ticket holders will be allowed to bring one bottle of water, sealed and no larger than 20 ounces, into the stadium on Saturday.


Tickets are available online at SeatGeek.com.

The Western Conference clash will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 7 p.m. In addition, UniMas and TUDN will nationally televise the match and provide an English-language live stream on Twitter. Radio coverage of Saturday’s showdown will also air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

A pair of MLS charter clubs, Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy are historically two of the most successful teams in Major League Soccer. Both sides have reached the MLS Cup Playoffs on 19 occasions in the past 26 years – tied for the second most postseason appearances behind the New York Red Bulls – and have combined to win more than 700 regular season matches.

MOST WINS ALL-TIME

  1. LA Galaxy 372
  2. NY Red Bulls 348
  3. Sporting KC 344

Sporting swept the Galaxy in 2022 with a pair of 2-0 wins, improving to 6-2-4 against LA in the last dozen regular season meetings overall and 6-1-6 in the last 13 regular season home matches in the series. A win on Saturday would level the all-time series as the Galaxy currently hold a narrow advantage with a 26-25-15 record in the 66 regular season encounters.

Johnny Russell has scored five goals in six career appearances against the Galaxy, including three goals in the two match-ups last season. The Sporting KC captain bagged a brace in the most recent meeting last October while John Pulskamp, an LA Galaxy Academy product, became the youngest goalkeeper in team history to record a shutout in the 2-0 victory at Children’s Mercy Park.

Russell ranks third in club history with 46 regular season goals and leads the team with eight goals in all competitions in 2022. The Scottish winger has become the first player in club history to score six goals in five straight regular season campaigns and his 77 combined goals and assists in the regular season are third most in MLS since the start of 2018.

On the opposite wing, Daniel Salloi has six goals in all competitions and the Sporting KC Academy product could make his 100th career regular season start for the club on Saturday. Roger Espinoza is also on the cusp of breaking a tie with LA legend Cobi Jones for third on the league’s list of most regular season appearances all-time among one-club players.

MOST GAMES PLAYED BY ONE-CLUB PLAYERS

  1. Graham Zusi 335 with Sporting KC
  2. Diego Chara 329 with Portland
  3. Roger Espinoza 306 with Sporting KC
  4. Cobi Jones 306 with LA Galaxy

Alongside Espinoza, the midfield duo of Remi Walter and Felipe Hernandez are the only two players to appear in all 24 matches for Sporting Kansas City this season. Hernandez leads the team in assists and interceptions, while Walter leads MLS in distance covered and ranks second among field players in the league in recoveries. Walter, the only Sporting player to start in all 24 regular season matches this year, also leads Sporting with 25 key passes.

Sporting, who rank last in MLS in points and goals, will be looking to snap a pair of unwanted streaks on Saturday. The club has lost five consecutive regular season home matches for the first time since the shootout era amidst a scoreless rut in which Sporting has gone 417 minutes in all competitions without a goal.

While Sporting has lost five of the team’s last seven matches, LA has fallen in five of the team’s past six fixtures – including three straight road defeats. The five-time MLS Cup champions have missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons and currently sit two points outside of playoff position with two months remaining until Decision Day.

The Galaxy roster is headlined by club captain – and newly-named MLS All-Star captain — Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, whose 23 non-penalty goals are second most in MLS over the past two seasons. Fellow forward Dejan Joveljic leads LA with nine goals, however the Serbian striker is yet to score outside Los Angeles since arriving to MLS last August.

Left back Raheem Edwards has a team-high six assists, while right back Julian Araujo will join Chicharito at the 2022 MLS All-Star Game next week. Joveljic, 22, and Araujo, 20, are part of a youthful Galaxy contingent that also includes Young Designated Player Kevin Cabral and 20-year-old Mexican international Efrain Alvarez. In addition, LA signed 22-year-old midfielder Riqui Puig from FC Barcelona this week.

Sporting KC will be without six 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) are questionable after missing last week’s match. On the opposite side, three players are sidelined for the LA Galaxy due to injury including former MLS Best XI selection Victor Vazquez.

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Sporting KC shut out 2-0 by Austin FC

Daniel Salloi’s penalty kick was saved and bounced harmlessly away, denying Sporting Kansas City an equalizing goal in the second half of their match against Austin FC. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

Austin FC took advantage of a youthful indiscretion by Sporting Kansas City midfielder Cam Duke, scoring at the close of both halves on the way to a 2-0 win Saturday evening at Children’s Mercy Park.

Sporting started with a revamped front that included Marinos Tzionis on the left and Willy Agada up the middle and put some early offensive pressure on Austin. In the 19th minute, Felipe Hernandez streaked forward from midfield and played the ball through to Tzionis, who fired a shot that forced a diving save from Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

Duke was sent off in the 43rd minute when he picked up his second caution just four minutes after his first. The first yellow card was for a relatively soft tackle, as referee Fotis Bazakos handed out four in quick sequence to get control of a suddenly chippy match.

With a man advantage, Alex Ring scored for Austin in the first half’s single minute of stoppage time. His easily savable roller from 25 yards out squirted through the arms and between the legs of goalkeeper John Pulskamp.

Daniel Salloi and Erik Thommy were subbed on at halftime to generate some Sporting offense, and the home side earned the chance for an equalizer in the 61st minute when Austin committed a hand ball in the penalty area.

Stuver turned away Daniel Salloi’s low penalty kick to the left side, earning a loud “Stooooo” from the small but raucous Austin cheering section in the southeast corner of Children’s Mercy Park.

Austin closed out the scoring at the very end of regulation when Sebastian Driussi slipped the Kansas City back line and got a clean ball through from Diego Fagundez.

Sporting Kansas City will be back at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 6 to face the Los Angeles Galaxy, kicking off at 7:30 p.m.

Midfielder Cam Duke played the ball along the end line, covered by Austin defender Ruben Gabrielsen. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Forward Marinos Tzionis fired a shot from the left side that was saved by Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Midfielder Felipe Hernandez tried to speed past Austin forward Ethan Finlay. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Forward Johnny Russell played a cross in front of the Austin goal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Defender Ben Sweat fired a cross from the left side. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Austin visits Sporting KC tonight

Sporting Kansas City (5-13-5, 20 points) resumes the MLS regular season campaign with a Western Conference clash against Austin FC (12-5-5, 41 points) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Tickets are available online at SeatGeek.com.

Saturday’s showdown will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 7 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, the match will air live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

After playing first-place LAFC last Saturday, Sporting KC will welcome second-place Austin FC to Kansas City this Saturday in the first of two match-ups between the teams in the next two weeks.

The clubs met three times during Austin’s inaugural MLS season a year ago, splitting the series with 1-1-1 records, as Sporting earned a 2-1 win and a 1-1 draw in the pair of contests at Children’s Mercy Park.

Manager Peter Vermes’ squad will close out a busy stretch of the schedule on Saturday with the team’s seventh match of July and third in the past eight days after falling in penalties in the U.S. Open Cup Semifinal on Wednesday. Sporting has lost the team’s last four regular season home matches and will be aiming to snap the skid against Austin FC to avoid the team’s first five-game regular season home losing streak since 1999.

While Sporting ranks last in MLS in goals per match (0.83) this season, Austin FC lead MLS in goals scored (45) and goals per match (2.05). Designated Player Sebastian Driussi leads the MLS Golden Boot race with a league-high 13 goals to go along with seven assists, one shy of Diego Fagundez for the team lead in that category as well.

Two Austin FC newcomers have also bolstered the Austin attack in their debut seasons as Maxi Urruti has contributed seven goals and two assists alongside Ethan Finlay, who has five goals and five assists in 2022.

After going 2-13-2 away from home last season, Austin FC has an MLS-best 7-3-2 road record this year and enter Saturday’s match unbeaten in their past five road trips (4-0-1). The visitors are 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, returning to their old stomping grounds this weekend.

Sporting KC defender Ben Sweat played under Wolff and Arnaud last season and will have his first opportunity to face his former club on Saturday. The 30-year-old outside back led all players in both tackles won and interceptions in Wednesday’s scoreless draw in Sacramento.

Club captain Johnny Russell, who ranks third in club history with 46 regular season goals, leads Sporting with eight goals in all competitions. Midfielder Felipe Hernandez, who has appeared in all 27 matches this year, 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 is questionable with a calf injury sustained in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup Semifinal in Sacramento. On the opposite side, Austin FC defenders Hector Jimenez (groin) and Frederik Kleeman (knee) have been ruled out due to injury.

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