Sporting Kansas City enters the final five days of the 2021 MLS regular season with two matches - tonight in Texas before hosting RSL on Sunday - with two major goals within reach: a first-place finish in the Western Conference, which would secure a first round bye in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and home field advantage through the Western Conference Championship, and secondly, a berth in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League, which SKC can secure with a top-two finish in the Western Conference.
The magic numbers? Three points guarantees a CCL spot and six points guarantees a No. 1 seed in a tightly-contested Western Conference that sees Seattle Sounders FC (17-8-8, 59 points), Sporting KC (17-8-7, 58 points) and the Colorado Rapids (16-7-10, 58 points) in a three-team race atop the table.
Ahead of the frantic finish, Sports Radio 810 WHB welcomed three key figures in Sporting KC's bid to repeat as the best in the West for a second straight year and third time in the past four seasons.
On Wednesday, captain Johnny Russell joined The Border Patrol with Nate Bukaty and Manager Peter Vermes was a guest on The Program with Soren Petro. On Tuesday, MLS Defender of the Year candidate Andreu Fontas made an appearance on the Sporting Kansas City Show presented by Michelob Ultra with the broadcast team of Bukaty, Aly Trost and Jacob Peterson.
Sporting Kansas City closes out the club’s road slate tonight with the team’s first-ever trip to Austin FC (8-20-4, 28 points) at Q2 Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on Bally Sports KC and Bally Sports Midwest with local radio coverage available on ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
