Sporting Kansas City opened its 2016 preseason, presented by Children's Mercy, with a 4-0 win over PDL side FC Tucson on Saturday at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. Connor Hallisey tallied twice and Dom Dwyer and Brad Davis each scored once in the victory.
The newly acquired Davis wasted little time getting on the scoresheet in his first preseason appearance for Sporting KC after a 10-year career with the Houston Dynamo. Honduran midfielder Roger Espinoza started the scoring play by playing Dwyer into space. The 25-year-old forward won the ball off an FC Tucson defender by the corner flag and found Davis crashing the six-yard box. The 15-year MLS veteran one-timed his finish to the near post.
Two minutes later, Dwyer doubled the lead for Sporting KC and this time it was Davis playing the facilitator role. Major League Soccer's all-time active assist leader found Dwyer just outside the penalty box and the England-born forward ripped his shot past the FC Tucson goalkeeper to increase the lead to 2-0.
Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes used two different lineups on Saturday with each group playing one 30-minute period. Hallisey first goal came seven minutes into the second period and began when fellow 2015 first round SuperDraft pick Saad Abdul-Salaam found Hallisey darting down the left flank. The University of California product drove inside, played a give-and-go with midfielder Benny Feilhaber and calmly placed his shot into the right corner of the net. Hallisey added a second goal only minutes later to complete the brace and give Sporting KC the 4-0 victory.
Ike Opara and Roger Espinoza, who each suffered season-ending injuries for Sporting KC in 2015, played the first 30 minutes of Saturday's scrimmage. Sporting KC is off on Sunday and will resume training on Monday at Kino Sports Complex. Wednesday's scrimmage against FC Tucson has been canceled so Sporting KC's final scrimmage before the Desert Diamond Cup will be Sunday, Feb. 7 against South Korean side Seongnam FC. As preseason training ensues in Tucson, supporters are encouraged to follow Sporting Kansas City on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (sportingkc) for the latest news and updates.
Sporting KC's first-half lineup (L-R): Tim Melia; Chance Myers, Nuno Andre Coelho, Ike Opara, Amadou Dia Lawrence Olum, Roger Espinoza, Jordi Quintilla, Brad Davis, Dom Dwyer, Graham Zusi.
Sporting KC's second-half lineup (L-R): Alec Kann; Seth Sinovic, Tommy Meyer, Kevin Ellis, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Soni Mustivar, Paulo Nagamura, Benny Feilhaber, Connor Hallisey, Jacob Peterson (Faik Hajderovic), Justin Mapp
Swope Park Rangers player
Trialist
