Jimmy Medranda and Graham Zusi scored spectacular goals in either half as Sporting Kansas City fell to the New England Revolution 6-2 in Wednesday’s Desert Diamond Cup match at Kino Sports Complex.
Daigo Kobayashi gave New England the lead within the first minute, but Medranda drew Sporting Kansas City level with a stunning blast from 25 yards. The Colombian settled a long diagonal pass from Benji Joya and pulled the trigger with the outside of his patented left boot, curling the ball just inside the far right post past outstretched goalkeeper Brad Knighton in the 21st minute.
The sides remained deadlocked through halftime before New England took control in the second period. Juan Agudelo bagged a quick-fire brace before Lee Nguyen added a pair of his own. Diego Fagundez also got in on the scoring act as the Revolution claimed their first Desert Diamond Cup victory.
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes handed starts to 10 players who came off the bench in the club’s previous two Desert Diamond Cup matches, with winger Latif Blessing the lone player to earn his third consecutive start.
Mass substitutions in the 76th minute saw a strong Sporting Kansas City lineup enter the fold. Among the late introductions was Zusi, whose long-range thunderbolt in the 88th minute caromed off the underside of the crossbar and into the net for his team’s second goal of the afternoon.
Sporting Kansas City will conclude its 2017 preseason Saturday in the Desert Diamond Cup finale. The opponent and kickoff time will be announced by Thursday morning, and the match will stream live on SportingKC.com and FOX Sports GO.
2017 Desert Diamond Cup
Kino Sports Complex | Tucson, Arizona
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
<p>Sporting Kansas City (1-1-1)</p> |
<p>1</p> |
<p>1</p> |
<p>2</p> |
<p>New England Revolution (1-2-0)</p> |
<p>1</p> |
<p>5</p> |
<p>6</p> |
Sporting Kansas City: Andrew Dykstra (Tim Melia 76); Saad Abdul Salaam (Igor Juliao 38 [Graham Zusi 76]), Amer Didic (Ike Opara 76), Kevin Ellis (Matt Besler 76), Tyler Pasher (Seth Sinovic 76); Soni Mustivar, Benji Joya (Benny Feilhaber 76), Jimmy Medranda (Roger Espinoza 76); Cameron Porter (Christian Volesky 46 [Gerso Fernandes 76]), Soony Saad (Dom Dwyer 76), Latif Blessing (Daniel Salloi 63)
Scoring Summary:
NE -- Daigo Kobayashi (unassisted) 1
SKC -- Jimmy Medranda (Benji Joya) 21
NE -- Juan Agudelo (Lee Nguyen) 54
NE -- Juan Agudelo (Kei Kamara) 60
NE -- Diego Fagundez (Lee Nguyen) 67
NE -- Lee Nguyen (penalty kick) 73
NE -- Lee Nguyen (Diego Fagundez) 81
SKC -- Graham Zusi (Daniel Salloi) 88
