SPORTING KC BACK HOME SUNDAY TO HOST CHICAGO FIRE AT SPORTING PARK
With two consecutive road matches in the books, Sporting Kansas City returns home to face the Chicago Fire at 4 p.m. CT on Sunday at Sporting Park in a nationally televised match on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. Radio partners Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM will also provide live broadcasts of the rivalry match. A limited number of tickets are available online at Ticketmaster.com, and the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive Sporting KC rally towels courtesy of Price Chopper.
Tied for fifth place in the Western Conference (2-2-4, 10 points), Sporting KC hosts Chicago as an inter-conference opponent for the first time since 2004. Peter Vermes' men have yet to lose at Sporting Park this season (1-0-3) and are unbeaten in four straight home games against the Fire. Midfielder Benny Feilhaber enters the match in a rich vein of form, leading MLS with five assists and recording his first MLS brace—including an MLS Goal of the Week nominee—in last Saturday's 4-4 draw at the Houston Dynamo. First-year forward Krisztian is also on an uptick with three goals in the team's last four matches.
Chicago (3-3-0, 9 points) missed out on the 2014 playoffs en route to an MLS record 18 draws last season and opened this year with three consecutive defeats. Since then, however, Frank Yallop's side has rattled off three straight home victories with two shutouts from United States international goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Homegrown midfielder Harry Shipp, who earned an MLS Rookie of the Year nomination in 2014, leads the Fire with three assists, while first-year Designated Players Shaun Maloney and David Accam have both opened their scoring accounts.
SPORTING KC TO DEBUT NEW THIRD KIT SUNDAY AT SPORTING PARK
Sporting KC released the club’s new third kit today featuring a monochromatic white and metallic silver jersey that will debut this Sunday at Sporting Park. The uniform will be available to purchase, while supplies last, at Sporting Style locations inside the stadium beginning at 2 p.m. CT when gates open 30 minutes early in anticipation of a sold out crowd to see Sporting KC host rivals Chicago Fire on ESPN2.
In conjunction with the jersey launch, a Sporting Style pop-up store will open in the Boulevard Members Club inside Sporting Park from 12-6 p.m. CT from Monday through Saturday starting on May 4. The limited edition third kit, also sold in youth and women’s replica versions, will be available along with a matching anthem jacket, henley shirt and team scarf.
The collared jersey’s signature argyle pattern, an iconic element from the third kit of the past two years, is showcased across the chest and is incorporated atop the back of the uniform, as well as on the reverse side of the socks. The silver metallic color scheme further showcases the player names/numbers, two MLS Cup championship stars above the club crest and all four distinctive logos: Ivy Funds, adidas, Sporting KC and MLS.
SPORTING KC RALLIES FOR DRAMATIC 4-4 DRAW AT HOUSTON WITH 95TH-MINUTE GOAL
Sporting KC battled back from a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the final 20 minutes for a thrilling 4-4 draw at the Houston Dynamo last Saturday. The eight-goal game equals the second-highest scoring MLS match in club history, a feat not seen since 1998, and was capped off by Benny Feilhaber's superb equalizer in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time.
Krisztian Nemeth opened the scoring just two minutes into the match, finding the net for the third time this month, before Dom Dwyer kick-started the comeback with his second goal of the year in the 74th minute. Feilhaber then recorded the first brace of his MLS career and did so in dramatic fashion with a penalty kick in the 80th minute before a stunning half-volley from 25 yards out with less than two minutes remaining.
Entering Saturday, Houston had allowed only four total goals in their first seven matches of 2015—including just one goal at home in four previous matches—and boasted the league's best goals against average with 0.57 goals allowed per game. Conversely, Sporting KC had won all 36 MLS matches (including postseason) in club history when scoring four or more goals prior to Saturday's 4-4 draw.
The rivals, who have played 16 times since 2011, are now tied for fourth place in the Western Conference standings with 10 points and will meet twice more in the regular season—Aug. 1 at Sporting Park and Sept. 23 back in Houston.
BENNY FEILHABER RECEIVES GOAL OF THE WEEK AND TEAM OF THE WEEK RECOGNITION
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber continued his strong start to the season in a 4-4 draw at the Houston Dynamo last Saturday. Major League Soccer's assist leader opened his 2015 scoring account with the first two-goal performance of his MLS career, landing him unanimous Team of the Week recognition from MLSsoccer.com, Goal.com, Bleacher Report and NBC Pro Soccer Talk. In addition, Feilhaber's spectacular volley in the 95th minute of the match has been nominated for MLS Goal of the Week. The late strike was the final goal in Sporting KC's second-highest scoring match in team history.
Voting for MLS Goal of the Week opened on Monday and will run through Friday morning at 1:59 a.m. CT. Feilhaber's blast is the first MLS Goal of the Year nominee for Sporting KC in 2015.
ERIK PALMER-BROWN STARTS FOR U.S. U-20'S IN WIN OVER CROATIA
Sporting KC homegrown defender Erik Palmer-Brown celebrated his 18th birthday last Friday and started for the United States Under-20 Men's National Team last Saturday in a 1-0 win over Croatia's Under-20 squad. The international friendly, played at Red Bull Arena in Austria, concluded the team's final training camp before the FIFA Under-20 World Cup begins next month in New Zealand.
Led by head coach Tab Ramos, the United States Under-20 Men's National Team will play Myanmar (May 30), New Zealand (June 2) and Ukraine (June 5) in Group A of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Sixteen of the 24 teams in the competition will advance to the knockout stage in quest of a berth in the final on June 20.
The U.S. Soccer Federation will next submit the U-20's provisional list of 35 players for the tournament to FIFA before reducing that roster by May 20 to the final 21 players eligible to represent the United States.
Palmer-Brown debuted with the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team as a 16-year-old in January 2014. He participated in the 2014 Dallas Cup with the U-20's and has attended three international training camps in Argentina (August 2014), England (March 2015) and Austria (April 2015).
ACADEMY U-18'S BACK IN PLAYOFF POSITION WITH WIN OVER TEXANS SC HOUSTON
Thanks to a nine-game unbeaten run, the Sporting KC Academy U-18's are in playoff position entering the final month of the 2014-15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaign. The squad kept the streak—and their postseason pursuit—alive with a 2-1 victory over Texans SC Houston on Saturday at Swope Soccer Village.
The win propelled the Sporting KC U-18's (10-7-4, 5th place) past Texans SC Houston (11-9-2, 6th place) in the Frontier Division standings and above their opponents in the wildcard pool with six games remaining.
In the second match of Saturday's doubleheader, the Sporting KC Academy U-16's (4-7-10, 10th place) suffered their first loss of 2015 in a 2-0 defeat to Texans SC Houston (8-11-3, 8th place). The result ended a 10-game unbeaten streak and was the first loss for the U-16's since Dec. 3.
Both teams will now return to the road next weekend for a pair of matches in Texas on back-to-back days. First up is a trip to San Antonio to face the Scorpions youth sides on Saturday before traveling to Austin to play Lonestar SC Academy on Sunday. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates.
SKC ACADEMY'S JAYLIN LINDSEY WITH U.S. U-15'S FOR EUROPEAN TOURNAMENT
Sporting KC Academy U-16 defender Jaylin Lindsey is on the United States Under-15 Boys' National Team roster for the 12th Tournament Delle Nazioni that began last weekend in Europe. The U.S. kicked off the competition with a 4-1 win over Costa Rica on Saturday and a 6-2 victory against Croatia on Sunday with Lindsey starting both matches. The U.S. rounded out Group C play Monday with a 3-2 loss to Slovenia as Lindsey came off the bench. Despite finishing second in the group behind Slovenia, a 2-1-0 record was enough for the U.S. to finish as the top runner-up among the three groups. Lindsey and the U.S. will now meet Italy in today's semifinals, with the winner advancing to Friday's final against either Slovenia or Austria.
LOAN RECAP: SAAD ABDUL-SALAAM AND SAN ANTONIO STRIKE LATE TO SALVAGE DRAW
Following in the footsteps of Sporting KC, Saad Abdul-Salaam and the San Antonio Scorpions received an equalizer in second half stoppage time to salvage an exciting 2-2 draw on Saturday night.
The defending North American Soccer League champions (0-2-1) secured their first point of the 2015 season as a late penalty kick from Rafael Castillo denied Minnesota United (0-1-2) three points in front of a franchise record crowd of 9,233 at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota. Abdul-Salaam played the entire match at right back and has featured in every minute of San Antonio’s young NASL campaign, which continues Saturday at Jacksonville Armada FC.
In Oklahoma City, meanwhile, midfielder Mikey Lopez earned his fourth start in as many matches as OKC Energy FC (2-1-1) suffered their first defeat of the 2015 USL season, 2-1, against expansion team St. Louis FC (2-2-1) at Taft Stadium. Lopez played 56 minutes for Jimmy Nielsen’s men, who travel to face the Austin Aztex (3-3-0) on Friday.
YOGA ON THE PITCH SET FOR SATURDAY AT SPORTING PARK
The Victory Project has announced that it will host a “Yoga on the Pitch” fundraising event at Sporting Park on Saturday.
The 60-minute all levels yoga class, held on the Sporting Park pitch, will help raise funds for The Victory Project and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Yoga will be led by lululemon athletica Ambassadors and Pop-Up Yoga KC. Select Sporting KC players will also participate in the class and will hold an autograph session afterwards.
Yoga on the Pitch is open to people of all ages. The cost for the event is $50 and includes yoga, an event tank top and the chance to win prizes courtesy of lululemon, Sporting KC and other local companies. Visit SportingKC.com/yoga to sign up for the event. To learn more about fundraising initiatives supporting The Victory Project, follow @VictoryKC on Twitter and visit VictoryKC.org.
TWO SPORTING KC PLAYERS TO ATTEND ART BRA 2015 ON FRIDAY
On Friday, two Sporting KC players will attend Art Bra 2015 at the TWA Signature Hangar at the Downtown Airport (10 NW Richards Road) in Kansas City, Missouri. The auction event and runway show features work-of-art bras modeled by breast cancer survivors to celebrate their triumph over cancer and raise money to support cancer patients in Kansas City. Visit artbrakc.com for ticket information.
VOTING OPEN FOR BENNY FEILHABER'S "MASTER THE MANE" INITIATIVE
This week is the final opportunity for fans to participate in Benny Feilhaber's "Master the Mane" initiative. Coming off a two-goal performance, the Sporting KC midfielder is helping to raise money for The Victory Project by allowing fan donations to determine his hairstyle for Sunday's nationally televised home match.
To cast a vote for The Mullet, The Bieber or The Mohawk, visit SportingKC.com/Benny and make a minimum $10 donation. In conjunction with the contest, Feilhaber will appear on KSHB-TV's Kansas City Live during Thursday's show from 10-11 a.m. CT.
VOTING OPEN FOR WESTLAKE ACE HARDWARE HELPFUL MOMENT OF THE MONTH
Voting is open for the Westlake Ace Hardware Helpful Moment of the Month featuring three Sporting KC plays in April. All fans will receive a $5 off coupon at Westlake Ace Hardware for voting and one lucky voter will receive a prize package that includes a $300 Westlake Ace Hardware gift card, a Sporting KC replica jersey and two tickets to an upcoming match.
TICKETS ON SALE FOR CONCACAF GOLD CUP DOUBLEHEADER ON JULY 13
Tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster.com for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader to be played at Sporting Park on July 13. The United States Men's National Team will face Panama at 8:30 pm. CT in the Group A finale after Haiti takes on either Honduras or French Guiana at 6 p.m. CT. CONCACAF announced the group stage matchups for the 12-team tournament last month.
All tickets provide entry to both matches with prices starting at $35 for general admission seating in the South Stand or Members Stand. Sporting KC could feature players on three of the teams competing at Sporting Park that evening—Matt Besler and Graham Zusi of the U.S., Haitian midfielder Soni Mustivar and Honduran midfielder Roger Espinoza.
The Gold Cup is the region’s marquee national team tournament and the headline competition for the United States Men’s National Team in 2015. This year’s tournament carries additional significance as it will determine CONCACAF's representatives at the Centennial Cup America in 2016 and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.
SPORTING KC TO HOST OPEN TRYOUTS JUNE 13-14
Sporting KC will host the team's 2015 open tryouts on June 13-14 at Swope Soccer Village (6310 Lewis Road) in Kansas City, Missouri. Online registration is now open and will be available to the first 200 players who are 18 years or older.
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The club first organized open tryouts in the buildup to the team's inaugural season in 1996. More recently, Sporting KC has welcomed prospective professionals each year since 2008 when two players, Nelson Pizarro and Kevin Souter, were signed by Vermes and went on to appear in 14 matches across all competitions.
Participants must pay all expenses (registration fee, travel costs, etc.), but discounted hotel rooms are available for out-of-town players. For more information, visit the 2015 Open Tryouts webpage on SportingKC.com.
FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE
Sporting KC fans looking to keep up with the club online have a place to go. The Social Media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the team, its players and several staff members. Supporters may also take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage.
