SPORTING KC ON THE ROAD TO FACE COLORADO RAPIDS ON SATURDAY
Sporting Kansas City will cap off seven games in the month of August when they travel to take on the Colorado Rapids at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The match will be shown live locally on KMCI-TV 38 the Spot and across the Midwest on SKCTV affiliates with three hours of on-site coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT. In addition, radio broadcasts will be available on 99.3 FM (English) and 1340 AM (Spanish).
Third-place Sporting KC (11-6-7, 40 points) and 10th-place Colorado (6-9-9, 27 points) meet Saturday for the second of three head-to-head meetings in 2015. This will be the 54th regular season meeting all-time (SKC leads 23-17-13) and 68th in all competitions (SKC leads 29-22-16). Sporting KC’s 67 matches against Colorado make the Rapids their most frequent opponent all-time.
Recent history in the head-to-head matchup favors Sporting KC, who are unbeaten in 11 straight MLS contests against Colorado dating back to 2009 with a 6-0-5 record (including postseason). Despite owning a 5-14-8 all-time regular season record in Colorado, Kansas City has not lost to the Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park since March 2009. That’s a run of five straight MLS matches including playoffs (2-0-3 record).
COMPLIMENTARY U.S. OPEN CUP FINAL TICKETS AVAILABLE ON SKCAWAYTICKETS.COM
Sporting KC supporters planning to attend the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at PPL Park can now reserve a complimentary ticket via SKCAwayTickets.com. Sporting KC will accommodate as many ticket requests as possible with Season Ticket Members receiving priority consideration. All requests must be submitted by 12 p.m. CT on Friday, Aug. 28.
The ticket allotment made available on SKCAwayTickets.com is reserved for Sporting KC supporters only. Ticket requests from outside parties will be subject to cancellation and all others should purchase tickets through the Philadelphia Union.
Visiting supporters will be placed in or around Section 132 in the southeast corner of PPL Park. Located at 1 Stadium Drive in Chester, Pennsylvania, PPL Park is five miles south of the Philadelphia International Airport and one mile from the Chester Transportation Center (6th & Welch Street), which provides free shuttle service to/from the stadium beginning four hours before game time. Additional gameday details for traveling supporters, including parking information, will be made available at a later date.
SPORTING KC DROPS CONSECUTIVE MATCHES TO SAN JOSE AND COLUMBUS
Sporting KC have suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in 2015 following a 3-2 defeat at the Columbus Crew SC last Saturday. Marcel de Jong and Graham Zusi twice gave Sporting KC leads on the road but Crew SC rallied in front of a sell-out crowd at MAPRE Stadium with two goals in the final 10 minutes.
The result in Ohio came three days after a 5-0 setback to the San Jose Earthquakes at Sporting Park. Sporting KC's club-record 16-game home unbeaten streak came to an end as Cordell Cato and Chris Wondolowski each scored twice for the visitors, who won in Kansas City for the first time since 2004 to snap a 10-game road losing streak in the series. Last Wednesday marked Sporting KC's first home loss of the 2015 season.
GRAHAM ZUSI UP FOR MLS GOAL OF THE WEEK
Online voting will end at 1:59 a.m. CT on Friday for MLS Goal of the Week, featuring Graham Zusi's superb strike against the Columbus Crew SC on Saturday. The World Cup veteran has won Goal of the Week honors four times during his career and is up against four other Week 25 nominees.
TIM MELIA LANDS MLS SAVE OF THE WEEK NOMINATION
Goalkeeper Tim Melia has earned his third MLS Save of the Week nomination of 2015 after making a reflex stop against the San Jose Earthquakes in last Wednesday's match at Sporting Park. Online voting will end at 1:59 a.m. CT on Friday.
NEMETH TO JOIN HUNGARY MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM FOR UEFA EURO 2016 QUALIFIERS
Sporting KC forward Krisztian Nemeth was named to the Hungary Men’s National Team roster last Wednesday for two upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. Hungary, in third place in Group F, will host group leaders Romania on Sept. 4 before traveling to take on second-place Northern Ireland on Sept. 7.
Nemeth has 17 career international appearances for the Hungary Men’s National Team. The 26-year-old debuted in 2010 and most recently played 45 minutes in Hungary’s 1-0 win over Finland in the team’s previous UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier on June 13.
Acquired in December with 10 years of professional experience in Europe, Nemeth has 12 goals and six assists in 24 appearances across all competitions during his debut season for Sporting KC. He was named MLS Player of the Month in May and ranks third among MLS newcomers in combined regular season goals and assists (13).
RENEWAL REWARDS FOR SEASON TICKET MEMBERS END FRIDAY
Friday is the final day for Sporting KC season ticket members to receive renewal rewards through the First Chance campaign. Season Ticket Members can renew their season tickets by calling their Client Services Executive or through their Sporting KC Account Manager online.
ESPINOZA AND FEILHABER AVAILABLE TONIGHT FOR AUTOGRAPHS
Sporting KC fans can meet midfielders Roger Espinoza and Benny Feilhaber at MO Sports new location (9767 N. Cedar Avenue) in Kansas City, Missouri during a free autograph session from 6:30-8 p.m. CT tonight. The pair of MLS All-Stars will sign up to two items per person and guests are welcome to bring their own personal items.
AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE OFFERING FREE ROAD TRIP TO SPORTING KC ROAD GAME
A partnership between Sporting KC and American Family Insurance now allows fans to register for a free road trip to see Sporting KC face the San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 16. The match will be played at Avaya Stadium, San Jose’s new state-of-the-art venue that opened in March.
The contest is open to all Sporting KC fans 21 years of age and older who live in Kansas or Missouri and will run through Sept. 13. Supporters can register by visiting https://contests.amfam.com/sportingkc. One contest will reward one grand prize winner who will receive free airfare, four game tickets, a $1,000 bank card and more. Visit SportingKC.com for additional information.
TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR 2015 NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE CUP AT SPORTING PARK
Tickets are now on sale for the 2015 NCAA Men's College Cup at Sporting Park via Ticketmaster.com. Ticket packages start as low as $27 for admission to the semifinal doubleheader on Friday, Dec. 11 and the national championship match on Sunday, Dec. 13 with passes also available for access to the Ameritas Shield Club and Boulevard Members Club.
The college soccer season officially kicks off on Aug. 28. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) released their 2015 preseason poll earlier this month with last year's College Cup finalists UCLA and Virginia atop the rankings.
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.
