SPORTING KC TO HOST NEW YORK RED BULLS ON SUNDAY IN 2015 SEASON OPENER
Sporting Kansas City opens their 20th season in Major League Soccer on Sunday against the New York Red Bulls at Sporting Park. The match will be broadcast live at 6 p.m. CT on Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340 AM. A limited number of tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com and the first 10,000 fans inside the stadium will receive a 2015 schedule magnet courtesy of Dairy Farmers of America.
Sunday's curtain-raiser features the top two goal scorers from 2014 as All-Stars Dom Dwyer and Bradley Wright-Phillips go head-to-head in Sporting KC’s first of 10 nationally-televised regular season matches in 2015. New York won three of four meetings between the clubs in 2014, including a 2-1 victory in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round that eliminated Sporting KC from the playoffs.
SPORTING KC TO UNVEIL NEW PRIMARY JERSEY TONIGHT AT SPORTING EVOLUTION
Sporting KC will unveil its new primary jersey at Sporting EVOLUTION tonight at the Uptown Shoppes Event Space (3600 Broadway Avenue, Kansas City, MO). Doors will open at 6 p.m. CT, one hour prior to the show’s start at 7 p.m. CT.
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com or at the Uptown Theater box office (hours), and can also be purchased tonight prior to entry. Sporting EVOLUTION is open to all ages and the $10 cost of admission comes with a $10 Sporting Style gift card to be used toward Sporting KC and/or Sporting Club merchandise purchased at the party. Parking for the event is free and available on site.
The season kick off celebration will transform the Uptown Shoppes Event Space through use of video mapping technology, lasers and lighting effects, as well as electronic concert level sound. Sporting KC players and coaches will be in attendance to interact with fans and the team’s brand new primary jersey will be available to purchase for the first time.
SPORTING KC SIGNS CANADIAN MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM DEFENDER MARCEL DE JONG
Sporting KC announced the signing of 28-year-old defender Marcel de Jong on Monday. A member of the Canadian Men’s National Team, de Jong will occupy an international roster spot pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa.
De Jong has made 31 appearances for Canada with two goals since his international debut at age 21 in 2007. He has represented his country at each of the past three CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments, as well in 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
De Jong has logged more than 225 club appearances over his past 10 professional seasons in Netherlands and Germany, including stints with Dutch side Roda JC Kerkrade (2006-10) and German Bundesliga club FC Augsburg (2010-14). He joined Sporting Kansas City on trial last month for the second leg of the team’s 2015 preseason in Tucson, Arizona and appeared in four matches at outside back.
SPORTING KC ENDS PRESEASON WITH THIRD PLACE FINISH IN DESERT DIAMOND CUP
Sporting KC concluded the 2015 preseason with a pair of matches on Saturday in Tucson, Arizona. Manager Peter Vermes split the team into two squads, with one side defeating NASL club Minnesota United FC 1-0 and the other securing third place in the Desert Diamond Cup with a 1-1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC. Forward Bernardo Anor scored the game-winner Saturday morning against Minnesota United FC, while rookie Connor Hallisey was on target in the nightcap to give Sporting KC a first-half lead over Seattle.
Head coach Peter Vermes fielded 35 players over the course of seven preseason matches as the team logged a 3-2-2 record. Sporting KC recorded 12 goals and 10 assists, with nine goals (Krisztian Nemeth 5, Bernardo Anor 2, James Ansu Rogers 1, Connor Hallisey 1) and four assists (Anor 1, Ansu Rogers 1, Nemeth 1, Amadou Dia 1) coming from players who joined the club this offseason.
TWO SPORTING KC ACADEMY PLAYERS TO JOIN U.S. U-15 NATIONAL TEAM
Sporting KC Academy players Cameron Duke and Jaylin Lindsey were named to the United States Under-15 Boys' National Team roster on Monday for a training camp from March 7-15 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Lindsey, currently a freshman at Blue Valley West High School, returns to the U.S. U15's after receiving his first invitation at that age level in December. He has appeared in the last four matches for the Sporting KC Academy U16's and scored the game-winning goal in a 5-2 victory over the San Antonio Scorpions Youth Academy last month.
Defender Cameron Duke will make his international debut at the U15 age level as the youngest player in the 36-player camp. Duke captained the U.S. U14's last month during a series of three matches held in Madrid, Spain.
SPORTING KC ACADEMY GOES 1-0-1 IN WEEKEND SERIES WITH LONESTAR SC
The Sporting KC Academy U18's and U16's continued their respective unbeaten streaks on Saturday at the Swope Soccer Village. The U18's defeated Lonestar Soccer Club 4-2 while the U16's drew their Texas opponents 3-3.
The U18's are 3-0-1 in their last four games and climbed to seventh place in the Central Conference standings. Hector Solorio, Nic Jaimes, Daniel Salloi and Fernando Borges found the back of the net with two goals coming in either half. The U16's are unbeaten in their last six matches and have scored 13 goals in their past four. Will Little, Andrew McLeod and Ezra Armstrong were on the scoresheet.
Both teams will travel south this weekend for matches against Texas Rush (The Woodlands, Texas) on Saturday and Texans SC (Tomball, Texas) on Sunday. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter and Instagram for updates.
38 THE SPOT TO AIR "CHASE FOR THE CUP" SPECIAL ON THURSDAY
On Thursday, 38 the Spot will televise a 30-minute "Chase for the Cup" special at 7 p.m. CT featuring Jack Harry, Frank Boal, Dee Jackson and Kacie McDonnell. KMCI-TV (38 the Spot), a member of the SKCTV Network, will again serve as the team's local broadcast partner in 2015 and will carry all regular season matches not nationally televised.
SPORTING KC AMONG 64 COMPANIES IN KC SOURCE LINK'S BATTLE OF THE BRANDS
Voting is open through 4 p.m. CT on Thursday in the opening round of KCSourceLink's Battle of the Brands. Sporting KC is one of 64 companies currently in the competition after finishing runners-up in last year's edition of the online battle.
TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR SPORTING KC’S FIRST 10 HOME GAMES OF 2015 SEASON
Single-game tickets for Sporting KC’s first 10 home matches of the 2015 MLS regular season are now on sale at Ticketmaster.com. Individual match tickets for fixtures in the opening four months of Sporting KC’s 2015 home schedule can be secured at the links below:
March 8 vs. New York Red Bulls
March 21 vs. Portland Timbers
April 5 vs. Philadelphia Union
April 11 vs. Real Salt Lake
May 3 vs. Chicago Fire
May 16 vs. Colorado Rapids
May 20 vs. New England Revolution
May 29 vs. FC Dallas
June 6 vs. Seattle Sounders FC
June 27 vs. Colorado Rapids
For information on group ticket packages and partial season ticket packages for the 2015 season, call 888-4KC-GOAL.
Single-game tickets for Sporting KC’s final seven regular season MLS home games will go on sale to the general public in June. Visit SportingKC.com/schedule for the club’s full 34-game regular season schedule in 2015.
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR SPORTING KC YOUTH CAMPS IN 2015
Sporting KC is offering a series of youth camps to foster the next generation of soccer players in the region. Registration for upcoming camp opportunities is now open at SportingKC.com/camps, beginning with the Spring Break Development Camp from March 16-18 at Swope Soccer Village. For more information on the youth camps available to boys and girls, visit 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.
