Tag: Sporting KC

The dramatic final stretch of the 2020 MLS regular season will continue Saturday night when Western Conference contenders Sporting Kansas City (9-6-3, 30 points) host the Colorado Rapids (5-4-4, 19 points) at world-class Children’s Mercy Park.
Tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com with stadium capacity limited to 18% and comprehensive health and safety protocols in place.

Saturday’s showdown will kick off at 7:30 p.m. with three hours of live coverage beginning at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO. Listeners can catch the action locally on ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM — with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 94.5 FM — and viewers outside of the FOX Sports Midwest footprint can stream the contest on ESPN Plus.

Sporting was left frustrated by a pair of controversial outcomes last week, falling 1-0 at FC Dallas and claiming a 2-2 draw at Chicago FC.

Manager Peter Vermes’ men are just two points behind Western Conference co-leaders Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers, however, and a win over Colorado would vault Sporting into first place.

Saturday will notably serve as the club’s penultimate home match of the regular season, with fixtures at FC Cincinnati (Oct. 28), versus Minnesota United FC (Nov. 1) and at Real Salt Lake (Nov. 8) still on the docket.

Last Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to FC Dallas drew an end to Sporting’s 16-game scoring streak, tied for the third-longest in club history.

Vermes has plenty of firepower and one of the most balanced attacks in MLS at his disposal. Of the 26 clubs across the league, only Sporting has five players with at least four regular season goals this year.

Johnny Russell has six, newcomers Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda have five each, and forwards Khiry Shelton and Erik Hurtado have four apiece. Pulido has missed Sporting’s last four games due to international commitments with Mexico, but the 29-year-old star could make his return on Saturday night.

The Rapids were enjoying a strong run of form during the month of September, having lost just once in seven games, before a COVID-19 outbreak within the team prompted several matches to be postponed or rescheduled.

Head coach Robin Fraser’s men haven’t played since Sept. 23, a 5-0 thrashing of the San Jose Earthquakes, and face a formidable run-in of five matches over the next 16 days.

Saturday will showcase some of the finest young talent in MLS. Sporting Kansas City Academy products Gianluca Busio, Jaylin Lindsey, Felipe Hernandez and Cam Duke have all made strong impressions in recent weeks, and with newly signed, 20-year-old forward Wilson Harris joining the ranks, Sporting has another promising youngster to call upon.

On the opposite sideline, Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett is the only player with four goals and four assists in less than 10 regular season appearances this year. Outside back Sam Vines, meanwhile, has played every minute for the club and looks to be a U.S. Men’s National Team frequenter for the foreseeable future.

Sporting has faced Colorado 80 times in all competitions dating back to the inaugural 1996 MLS campaign, making the Rapids the most frequent opponent in Kansas City history.

Two of those meetings have taken place this year, including a five-goal thriller at the MLS is Back Tournament in which Sporting received second-half goals from Shelton, Pulido and Graham Zusi to prevail 3-2. Zusi underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a midfoot sprain in his left foot, and will miss the rest of the games this season.

The most recent meeting on Aug. 29 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park saw Bassett and Busio trade second-half strikes. On Thursday, Bassett and Busio were tabbed No. 7 and No. 9, in www.mlssoccer.com’s annual “22 Under 22” rankings.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (9-6-3, 30 points) moved into a tie for first place in the Western Conference following a tense 2-2 draw with Chicago Fire FC (5-8-5, 20 points) on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field in Chicago.

After Erik Hurtado’s 35th-minute opener was canceled out by a Robert Beric strike on the brink of halftime, Sporting took its second lead of the day thanks to a Gadi Kinda header in the 83rd minute.

However, manager Peter Vermes’ men were denied the full three points as Chicago substitute Djordje Mihailovic equalized on one of the final kicks of the match.

The result leaves Sporting on 30 points, level with Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers at the summit of the West. Chicago, meanwhile, has taken hold of the 10th and final playoff position in the East and snapped a four-game losing streak against Sporting that dated back to 2017.

Tasked with playing a fifth match in 15 days, Sporting Kansas City fielded a lineup that featured five changes from Wednesday’s controversial 1-0 loss at FC Dallas.

Center back Winston Reid reprised his role in place of Andreu Fontas, a new-look midfield featured three fresh faces in Kinda, Ilie Sanchez and 19-year-old Cam Duke, and forward Johnny Russell returned to the starting XI as part of a three-man attack alongside Hurtado and 18-year-old Gianluca Busio, who was notably deployed as a winger for the first time this season.

Hurtado made headlines for his Goal of the Week winner in last Sunday’s defeat of Nashville SC and almost bagged another wonderstrike in the 11th minute when he galloped onto Melia’s booming long ball over the top and fired a volley wide of the near post from a tight angle on the right flank.

A fleeting chance fell to Chicago four minutes later as Spanish playmaker Alvaro Medran whipped a free kick into the penalty area, and although a shot fell invitingly to former Sporting forward C.J. Sapong near the penalty spot, Ilie and Reid were both there to block the effort and extinguish the danger.

Sapong was stymied once more from point-blank range in the 19th minute when Melia produced a phenomenal reflex stop on the heels of a well-orchestrated set piece by Chicago.

The game’s first goal belonged to Sporting in the 35th minute. Kinda did brilliantly to steal possession in midfield, peel away from a defender and charge forward before rolling a ball into the path of Hurtado, who withstood a stiff arm from Chicago’s Wyatt Omsberg and poked a crisp finish past goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.

Kinda tabbed his third assist on the play, while Hurtado provisionally became the only MLS player to notch four goals in less than 300 regular season minutes this year.

In first-half stoppage time, VAR Hilario Grajeda aided the Fire in their bid for a leveler. Medran’s looping corner was headed high into the air by Duke, kept alive by Omsberg and fired goalward by Beric on the left side of the box.

The piledriver beat the outstretched Melia, and although Amadou Dia thought he had conjured a heroic goal line clearance, video review prompted official David Gantar to award the equalizer.

After neither side carved out an opening through the first 20 minutes of the second stanza, another point of controversy arose when Duke won a challenge inside the box and was whacked by Medran. Much to Sporting’s dismay, the official waved play to resume and video review did not take place.

Sporting retained attacking initiative despite the denial of its penalty protests, and substitute Roger Espinoza gave Chicago a scare in the 78th minute when his long-range missile screamed a few feet off target. Sapong then tried his luck at the opposite end, his low-driven attempt dragging wide of Melia’s right-hand post.

The 83rd minute delivered Sporting’s second go-ahead goal of the afternoon. Russell’s near-post corner kick was glanced across the face of goal by the head of Ilie, allowing Kinda to nod home on the doorstep for his fifth tally of the campaign.

The play marked the seventh time Sporting has scored from a corner kick this season, tied for the most in MLS. Additionally, Kinda is one of four MLS newcomers — including Sporting striker Alan Pulido — with five goals and three assists in 2020.

Faced with its second deficit of the day, Chicago took swing in the 84th minute as substitute Elliot Collier settled a cross at the far post, cut onto his right boot and curled inches over the crossbar.

Busio then went close to sealing all three points, but his 30-yard sledgehammer skipped marginally wide in the 86th minute.

The Fire stole an unlikely equalizer deep into added time. With 95 minutes on the clock, Mihailovic raced onto a floated ball in behind the Sporting defense, rounded Melia, took another touch and slotted into the gaping net to ensure a splitting of the points.

With a grueling run of matches in the rearview mirror, Sporting will have a full week to prepare for its next fixture against the Colorado Rapids (5-4-4, 19 points).

Next Saturday’s clash at Children’s Mercy Park is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with tickets available at SeatGeek.com and live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports GO.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City saw its three-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night following a controversial 1-0 defeat to FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Sporting (9-6-2, 29 pts.) fell behind late in the first half after Ryan Hollingshead put FC Dallas (6-4-6, 24 pts.) ahead, but Sporting was denied a late equalizer when referee Armando Villarreal, and his video assistant referee, Malik Badawi, decided to chalk off Johnny Russell’s goal for what they deemed a foul by Gadi Kinda.

Sporting rotated the starting lineup with five changes from Sunday’s victory over Nashville SC, as defender Andreu Fontas and forward Daniel Salloi each made their first regular-season starts of 2020, while Felipe Hernandez, Roger Espinoza and Erik Hurtado were also restored to the lineup.

The two sides traded decent chances early on, as Sporting right back Jaylin Lindsey blazed over the bar before Dallas’ Ryan Hollingshead nodded a corner over the bar within the opening 10 minutes.

Much-changed Sporting continued to soak up pressure as the half wore on, with Melia called into four saves – including a pair of impressive interventions to deny Franco Jara who had scored three goals in his previous two matches against Sporting KC.

Dallas eventually took the lead in the 43rd minute, and it took a major stroke of luck to beat Melia on the night. Bryan Reynolds floated cross from the right wing found Hollingshead crashing in at the far post, and his low finish rattled off the post before hitting Melia on the back and nestling into the corner of the net, giving Dallas a 1-0 lead at the break.

Peter Vermes introduced regular trio Ilie Sanchez, Gadi Kinda and Johnny Russell at halftime but it was Dallas that produced the first big chance of the second half. With the ball pinballing around the edge of the area, it eventually fell to Michael Barrios whose first-time shot from close range flashed wide of the post.

In the 57th minute, Jara spurned a golden opportunity to double the hosts’ lead, firing wide with only Melia to beat after being slipped through on goal by Barrios. Two minutes later, Melia was forced into action once again, diving to his left to claw away Fafa Picault’s effort from the edge of the area.

Sporting forced Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer into his first save of the game in the 62nd minute. Russell pounced on a poor Dallas pass in the midfield before finding Kinda on the left wing, but the Israeli’s powerful attempt was held by Maurer.

Hurtado, who scored a goal of the season candidate on Sunday, almost brought Sporting level in the 82nd minute when he fought off a center back to set up an open look at goal, but he blazed his volley over the bar.

Sporting had the ball in the net and thought they’d equalized in the 87th minute when Russell slammed home a loose ball after Maurer had spilled Luis Martins’ shot.

However, referee Armando Villarreal decided that Kinda had fouled Maurer while challenging for the ball and chalked the goal off. When the final whistle blew, it also snapped Sporting’s run of scoring in all 16 regular-season games in 2020.

Sporting KC remains on the road this weekend as the side travels north to take on Eastern Conference foe the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, and will air nationally on Univision and TUDN, as well as locally on FOX Sports Kansas City and Sports Radio 810 WHB.

• Story from Sporting KC