SPORTING KC HOSTS LEAGUE LEADERS SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC ON SATURDAY
Sporting Kansas City will look to extend the club's six-game unbeaten run when they host MLS leaders Seattle Sounders FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Sporting Park. A limited number of tickets, including Standing Room Only tickets, are available via Ticketmaster.com and the first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive a commemorative Matt Besler poster courtesy of Sprint.
Saturday's match will be televised locally on KMCI-TV 38 the Spot and across the Midwest on SKCTV with three hours of live coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT. Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish) will also provide live broadcasts for listening audiences in the Kansas City area.
Sporting KC (5-2-6, 21 points) is the highest scoring team in MLS this season and the team's two losses are fewest of any club through Week 13. Meanwhile, Seattle boasts the league's best record (8-3-2, 26 points) and their 10 goals conceded are fewest in MLS. Saturday marks the second meeting between the clubs in the span of two weeks, as Sporting KC and Sounders FC battled to a scoreless draw on May 23 in Seattle.
Manager Peter Vermes, who collected his 100th coaching win for Sporting KC last Friday, will look for his 101st victory against a Seattle side he has never beaten (0-7-2) in league play. Sporting KC's nine-game winless run against Sounders FC in MLS is the longest against any opponent in club history and includes an 0-4-0 mark in Kansas City.
SPORTING KC COMPLETES UNBEATEN MAY WITH 4-0 WIN OVER FC DALLAS
Sporting KC stretched the team's unbeaten run to six games, the longest active streak in MLS, with a 4-0 victory over FC Dallas last Friday at Sporting Park. Krisztian Nemeth scored the game winner in the 19th minute with his team-leading sixth goal of the season, while Benny Feilhaber, Kevin Ellis and Graham Zusi all added goals of their own in the second half.
Tim Melia made one save for the team's sixth clean sheet of the season and earned $500 in soccer equipment for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City through the Every Save Makes a Difference initiative. Melia is now unbeaten (3-0-2) as the team's starter and becomes the second goalkeeper all-time to go without a loss in his first five appearances for the club.
Sporting KC has hit the four-goal mark on three occasions since April 25 and twice in a row at Sporting Park. By comparison, the club scored four goals three times in all of 2014 and three times from 2011-2013 combined. In addition, Peter Vermes' side has recorded four goals twice in one month for the first time since August of the inaugural 1996 MLS season.
KRISZTIAN NEMETH NOMINATED FOR MLS PLAYER OF THE MONTH IN MAY
Sporting KC forward Krisztian Nemeth is one of five finalists for Major League Soccer's Etihad Airways Player of the Month in May. The 26-year-old scored three goals and added two assists as Sporting KC went unbeaten in five matches, highlighted by three straight home victories and a pair of road results at each conference's top team.
Voting for MLS Player of the Month is conducted online at MLSsoccer.com and runs until 11:59 p.m. PT tonight.
Nemeth, acquired during the offseason from Roda JC Kerkrade in the Netherlands, ranks fourth in MLS with a team-leading six goals. May marks the third straight month for a Sporting KC player to be nominated for MLS Player of the Month after Ike Opara (March, third place) and Benny Feilhaber (April, first place). Three of the club's players won the award in 2014: Dwyer (May), Eric Kronberg (June) and Feilhaber (July).
KRISZTIAN NEMETH JOINS HUNGARY FOR UEFA EURO 2016 QUALIFYING
Forward Krisztian Nemeth has joined the Hungary Men’s National Team for two upcoming matches. Hungary will play an international friendly against Lithuania at 11:30 a.m. CT on Friday in Debrecen, Hungary followed by a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier versus Finland at 11 a.m. CT on June 13 in Helsinki, Finland.
Acquired in December with 10 years of professional experience in Europe, Nemeth has played in England, Greece, Netherlands and his native Hungary. He has 15 international appearances for the Hungary Men’s National Team, debuting in 2010 and most recently representing his country in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Nemeth join the Hungary Men’s National Team in Budapest on Monday and will miss Sporting KC’s regular season match against the Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday at Sporting Park while away on international duty.
SPORTING KC TO HOST ST. LOUIS FC IN U.S. OPEN CUP FOURTH ROUND ON JUNE 16
Sporting KC will host USL expansion side St. Louis FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on June 16 at Sporting Park in the fourth round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. St. Louis FC advanced past Minnesota United FC (NASL) last Wednesday in a penalty kick shootout (3-1) after a 1-1 draw through extra time at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri.
Tickets for the upcoming match start at $14 and less than 1,000 seats remain available via Ticketmaster.com for the first competitive meeting between Sporting KC and a club from St. Louis in team history. Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members will use Special Game A in their season ticket package for entry to the game.
FAN VOTING OPEN FOR 2015 AT&T MLS ALL-STAR GAME
Major League Soccer has unveiled the fan ballot for the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game featuring eight representatives—as nominated by media—from all 20 teams. Sporting KC’s eligible players for fan voting are as follows:
- Goalkeeper (1): Tim Melia
- Defenders (2): Jalil Anibaba and Matt Besler
- Midfielders (3): Roger Espinoza, Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi
- Forwards (2): Dom Dwyer and Krisztian Nemeth
Voting is open through 2 p.m. CT on July 3 via MLSsoccer.com, social media and EA SPORTS FIFA 15. Eleven total players (one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards) with the highest combined votes will be named to the All-Star Fan XI.
In addition to votes cast online at MLSsoccer.com, fans can also vote through social media by mentioning an eligible player’s first and last name along with the hashtag #MLSAllStar on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Users may only vote for one player per post and votes are limited to one per account each day for up to 10 different players.
The 2015 MLS All-Stars will play Barclays Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur at 8 p.m. CT on July 29 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Four of Sporting Kansas City’s eight nominees are in contention for the first All-Star honors of their MLS careers, including World Cup veteran Benny Feilhaber who leads the League with a career-high seven assists this season. Besler and Zusi have each been named MLS All-Stars on three occasions while Dwyer (2014) and Espinoza (2012) have also received All-Star recognition during their respective careers.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE FOR SECOND HALF OF SPORTING KC'S SEASON
Single-game tickets for Sporting KC home matches from July through October are now on sale via Ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be available for the first time for the following matches:
- Sat., July 18: Sporting KC vs. Montreal
- Sat., Aug. 1: Sporting KC vs. Houston
- Sat., Aug. 15: Sporting KC vs. Vancouver
- Wed., Aug. 19: Sporting KC vs. San Jose
- Fri., Sept. 18: Sporting KC vs. FC Dallas
- Sun., Sept. 27: Sporting KC vs. Seattle
- Sun., Oct. 25: Sporting KC vs. LA Galaxy
THREE SPORTING KC PLAYERS TAKE TEAM OF THE WEEK HONORS
Three Sporting KC players marked their name on last Friday’s resounding 4-0 win over FC Dallas. Krisztian Nemeth, Kevin Ellis and Graham Zusi—all scorers and providers of goals in an impressive display at Sporting Park—received MLS Team of the Week recognition as Peter Vermes’ side extended their unbeaten run to six games.
Krisztian Nemeth’s hot streak continued with anther emphatic performance as he scored the team’s first goal and assisted the second to Benny Feilhaber after spinning past Matt Hedges inside the box. Homegrown defender Kevin Ellis set up Nemeth’s opener, nodded home his first career MLS goal and helped limit FC Dallas to a single shot on goal.
Friday was also a breakout game for Graham Zusi, whose goal and two assists made him the third player in Kansas City history to record 25 goals and 50 assists in all competitions.
ERIK PALMER-BROWN WITH UNITED STATES AT FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP
Sporting KC Academy product Erik Palmer-Brown is with the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, where the U.S. has opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over Myanmar last Friday and a 4-0 win over New Zealand on Tuesday. The U-20's will play their final group stage match this week, facing Ukraine at 2 a.m. CT on Friday. The match will be shown live on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Go and NBC Universo.
ACADEMY U-13S AND U-15S QUALIFY FOR REGIONALS AS KANSAS STATE CUP CHAMPIONS
The Sporting KC under-13 and under-15 Academy teams were crowned champions of Kansas State Cup this week at the Overland Park Soccer Complex. Both teams have now qualified to represent the state association at the US Youth Soccer Region II Championships from June 20-24 at USA Youth Sports Complex and Southwest Park in Fox Cities, Wisconsin.
Led by head coach Jon Parry, the U-15's scored 28 goals and won all five matches at this year's State Cup competition. Max Rugova, Abdu Kikhia and Colin Innes provided goals in a championship match that was decided in extra time on Sunday. The U-13's, coached by Matt Trumpp, also prevailed in their age group's final by a 3-1 scoreline after extra time to cap a run of four victories in as many days. Gabe Ramos, Tyler Freeman and Wes Sirivongxay each scored in the championship match held on Tuesday.
Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter and Instagram for all Academy updates.
SKC Academy U18's secure playoff berth with 6-2 win in regular season finale
ACADEMY U-18S WIN REGULAR SEASON FINALE TO SECURE PLAYOFF BERTH
The Sporting KC Academy U-18's secured a berth in the 2014-15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs with a 6-2 victory over the Dallas Texans on Saturday in the team's regular season finale at Swope Soccer Village. With the win, the under-18 squad finishes the regular season with an unbeaten 9-0-1 record at home and a 14-8-5 record overall.
The U-18's are assured of a wildcard berth into the Academy Playoffs with a 1.74 points per game average and are in position for placement into Pot #3 (teams seeded No. 17-24) pending results during the final week of the 2014-15 USSDA regular season, which is scheduled to end on June 8. A total of 32 teams qualify for the 2014-15 Academy Playoffs, to be from June 23-26 at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.
The Sporting KC Academy U-16's also wrapped up their U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaign in successful fashion on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Texans to sweep the doubleheader at Swope Soccer Village. The U-16's finish the regular season with an 8-8-11 record, highlighted by an end-of-the-season run in which they lost only two of their last 17 games. They will next participate in the Academy Showcase, held from June 22-25 in conjunction with the Academy Playoffs in Westfield, Indiana.
ACADEMY DEFENDER JAYLIN LINDSEY JOINS U.S. U-15 BOYS' NATIONAL TEAM
Sporting KC Academy U-16 defender Jaylin Lindsey was named to the United States Under-15 Boys' National Team today for an 11-day training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina from June 4-14. The 20-player roster is led by head coach John Hackworth and will play the following three South American opponents in international friendlies during the training camp: Uruguay (June 8), Argentina (June 10) and Paraguay (June 12).
Lindsey, who recently completed his freshman year at Blue Valley West High School, debuted with the U.S. U-15's last December and will now be attending his third camp of 2015 at the age level. In March, he was part of the U.S. U-15's first training camp of the year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and returned to the squad for the Tournament delle Nazioni in Italy from April 25-May 1. The U.S. U-15's defeated Austria 3-2 in the championship to win the competition for the first time with Lindsey appearing in all five matches.
SPORTING PARK TO HOST WATCH PARTIES FOR USWNT DURING 2015 WORLD CUP
The Boulevard Members Club at Sporting Park will welcome U.S. Women’s National Team fans for 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup watch parties hosted by WIN for KC in conjunction with Sporting KC, FC Kansas City and the NSCAA.
2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: U.S. WNT SCHEDULE
Monday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT: vs. Australia in Winnipeg (RSVP)
Friday, June 12 at 7 p.m. CT: vs. Sweden in Winnipeg (RSVP)
Tuesday, June 16 at 7 p.m. CT: vs. Nigeria in Vancouver (RSVP)
The U.S. WNT watch parties at Sporting Park are open to fans of all ages and free to attend, with the exception of the final group stage match on June 16. In order to attend the watch party on June 16, fans must have a Members Stand ticket to Sporting KC's match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round that evening at Sporting Park. Food, drink and merchandise will be available to purchase at each event in addition to exclusive raffle giveaways and appearances by FC Kansas City and/or Sporting KC players. Doors open one hour prior to kickoff and parking will be available in Lot D.
The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be held in six cities across Canada from this Saturday, June 6, through July 5. All 52 games during the 24-team tournament will be nationally televised live on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 in the United States, in addition to live streams on FOX Sports GO and FOXSportsGO.com.
Reigning NWSL champions FC Kansas City are represented by four players on the United States’ World Cup roster: defender Becky Sauerbrunn, midfielder Lauren Holiday, midfielder Heather O’Reilly and forward Amy Rodriguez.
SPORTING CLUB NETWORK ADDS AFFILIATE FROM ARKANSAS
Northwest Arkansas Lightning has signed on as the 15th Academy Affiliate in the Sporting Club Network, presented by Price Chopper. Rebranded as Sporting Arkansas, the club is now the first Academy Affiliate of Sporting KC in the state of Arkansas.
The new affiliation with Sporting Arkansas offers Sporting KC further connections to a rich talent pool in the Midwest and beyond. Sporting Arkansas offers its members a wide range of platforms to compete through, including a strong recreational base beginning at age four to a competitive academy for boys and girls U-11 through U-19 teams.
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 in March.
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.
THREE SPORTING KC PLAYERS TO APPEAR TODAY AT GROWSTEM SUMMER CAMP
Sporting KC players Connor Hallisey, Tim Melia and Saad Abdul-Salaam will make a special appearance today at the growSTEM summer camp from 10-11:30 a.m. CT at Rosedale Middle School (3600 Springfield St.) in Kansas City, Kansas. Sporting KC partnered with Black & Veatch earlier this year to launch a series of summer camps at Kansas City, Kansas middle schools to enhance interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among students in grades 6-8.
SPORTING KC PROMOTIONAL VIDEO NOMINATED FOR A PEOPLE'S TELLY AWARD
Sporting KC's #REFLECTSKC promotional video for the team's new third kit is nominated for a People's Telly award and this is the final week of voting, conducted via a rating system. Click here to submit a rating and cast a vote in the annual awards.
JON KEMPIN TO APPEAR AT LEE'S SUMMIT DOWNTOWN DAYS ON SUNDAY
Sporting KC homegrown goalkeeper Jon Kempin will be in attendance at the Lee's Summit Downtown Days (226 SE Douglas St.) from 1-2:30 p.m. CT on Sunday to sign autographs and pose for photo opportunities. The three-day family-friendly festival begins Friday and will feature a full schedule of attractions.
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.
