SPORTING KC FACES NEW YORK THURSDAY IN EASTERN CONFERENCE KNOCKOUT ROUND
Defending MLS Cup champion Sporting Kansas City visits the New York Red Bulls Thursday in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. The 7 p.m. match will be televised nationally on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and online at Watch ESPN, with local radio coverage on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Gran D 1340 AM (Spanish).
The Boulevard Members Club at Sporting Park will open at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday for Sporting Kansas City's official watch party as the team begins its defense of MLS Cup. Food and drink will be available to purchase, including 12-ounce Boulevard KC Pils and Coors Light for only $3. Sporting Style merchandise will also be on sale during the event, including a limited edition playoff scarf.
The winner will advance to host No. 1 seed D.C. United at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Tickets for the potential home playoff match at Sporting Park are currently available via Ticketmaster.com.
Fifth place Sporting KC (14-13-7, 49 points) and fourth place New York (13-10-11, 50 points) are two MLS charter members that have met 51 times since 1996, but Thursday marks their first ever playoff matchup. New York held the upper hand in the 2014 regular season series, defeating Sporting KC 2-1 at home Sept. 6 and 2-0 Sunday at Sporting Park to go along with a 1-1 road draw on May 27. Forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, who tied the single-season MLS record with 27 goals in 2014, scored four goals in those three contests.
However, Peter Vermes' men have lost just one of their last four matches at Red Bull Arena, a venue in which New York is 0-4-0 all-time in the postseason. The Red Bulls have not won a home playoff game since October 2005. Furthermore, Sporting KC notched an MLS-best eight road wins in 2014 and conceded a league-low 20 road goals.
GRAHAM ZUSI UP FOR MLS GOAL OF THE YEAR
Winger Graham Zusi has been nominated for AT&T MLS Goal of the Year. Fans can cast their vote for Zusi's Week 20 strike at Toronto FC (July 26) at MLSsoccer.com until 1.59 a.m. Thursday.
Zusi's goal is one of 64 up for the annual award. The field is comprised of 32 Goal of the Week winners and 32 additional goals chosen by MLSsoccer.com editors. The goals are divided into 16 groups of four, with Zusi's goal placed in Group A. The top two goals from each group will advance to the second round of voting.
Sporting KC has at least three goals in contention. Zusi earned Goal of the Week after his Oct. 10 strike against Chicago, and Dom Dwyer received the honor for his game-winner against Colorado on March 29.
GRUENEBAUM AMONG TRIO NOMINATED FOR MLS SAVE OF THE YEAR
Goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum is one of three Sporting KC nominees on the ballot for MLS Save of the Year. The field is comprised of 32 Save of the Week winners, and Gruenebaum (Week 31), Jon Kempin (Week 22-23) and Eric Kronberg (Week 9) all earned the recognition this season.
Gruenebaum is the club's first nominee available for voting at MLSsoccer.com. His 21st-minute stop against Chicago on Oct. 10 was placed in Group B. Voting for Groups A and B is open until 1.59 a.m. Thursday.
SPORTING KC TO REJOIN WESTERN CONFERENCE IN 2015
Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo will re-join Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in 2015, MLS announced on Monday as part of conference re-alignment plans for the league’s highly anticipated 20th season. Expansion clubs Orlando City SC and New York City FC will be added to the Eastern Conference for their inaugural MLS seasons.
One of 10 charter members of Major League Soccer, Sporting Kansas City played the team’s first nine seasons (1996-2004) in the Western Conference and reached the postseason on seven occasions. The club shifted to the Eastern Conference prior to the 2005 season and has played each of the past 10 seasons in the East.
As it currently stands, 13 of the past 15 MLS Cup champions will compete in the Western Conference in 2015. Amongst the 10 teams, five reside in the Pacific Time Zone, three in the Central Time Zone and two in the Mountain Time Zone.
Visit SportingKC.com for more information on the conference alignments, regular season schedule format and other highlights of the 2015 MLS season.
SPORTING KC SETS ATTENDANCE RECORD AT SPORTING PARK IN 2014
Sporting KC set a new club attendance record of 340,058 (20,003 per match) for the 2014 MLS regular season. The state-of-the-art stadium has sold out 53 straight MLS matches dating back to March 2012.
In addition to selling out 17 league games in 2014, Sporting Park hosted three CONCACAF Champions League matches, four CONCACAF Women's Championship matches, two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches and one international friendly between Sporting KC and English Premier League champion Manchester City FC.
Major League Soccer also set a new attendance record in 2014, totaling 6,184,350 (19,147 per match) with eight clubs averaging more than 20,000 fans per game.
SPORTING KC FALLS TO NEW YORK IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE
Sporting KC concluded the 2014 MLS regular season with a 2-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls Sunday at Sporting Park. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored in the 15th and 70th minute to tie the single-season MLS record with 27 goals.
Paired with Columbus's 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, the result dropped Sporting KC into the No. 5 seed in the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs. The club will begin its defense of MLS Cup against the very same Red Bulls team Thursday in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round.
DEFEAT AT SAPRISSA ELIMINATES SPORTING KC FROM CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Sporting KC's 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League run ended last Thursday with a 2-0 loss to Deportivo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica. Saprissa and Sporting KC each finished the group stage with seven points, but the Costa Rican side will advance to the quarterfinal round based on the tiebreaker rules. Sporting KC and Saprissa each finished with an even goal differential in matches between the two clubs, but Saprissa held the away goals advantage in matches between them, scoring one goal at Sporting Park on Sept. 18.
Goals from Heiner Mora and Ariel Rodriguez on either side of halftime sealed the result, while Sporting KC suffered further blows when Benny Feilhaber (ankle sprain) and Igor Juliao (hamstring strain) exited in the first half with injuries. Sporting KC's one remaining path to gaining entry into the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League is winning 2014 MLS Cup.
SPORTING KC AND SABATES TEAM UP FOR BETTER VISION SWEEPSTAKES
Sporting Kansas City and Sabates Eye Centers have teamed up in October for the Better Vision sweepstakes. One winner will receive either a $500 gift certificate to Sabates Eye Centers' Optical Centers and $500 worth of contacts OR one free basic LASIK procedure. In addition, the winner will also receive two co-branded t-shirts, two tickets to a Sporting KC home match (based on availability), one VIP parking pass, a pregame tour of Sporting Park and on-field access during warm-ups. The sweepstakes ends at 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday.
SPORTING CLUB AND WWI MUSEUM TO CO-HOST SECOND ANNUAL TRUCE TOURNAMENT
Sporting Club and the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial will host the second annual Truce Tournament on Dec. 26. The Kansas City soccer community is invited to participate in the 3v3 tournament that will be played on Liberty Hill and attend an English Premier League Watch Party inside the WWI Museum.
Following a tradition that began last year, the 2014 Truce Tournament comes on the 100th Anniversary of World War I and pays homage to the time-honored story of the Christmas Truce. According to legend, WWI battles temporarily ceased around Christmas 1914 as members of both warring armies ventured into No Man’s Land to exchange gifts, sing carols and play soccer.
Registration for the event is now open at www.TheTruceKC.com. Click here for more information on the Truce Tournament.
TICKETS ON SALE FOR 2014 BIG 12 SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Tickets for the 2014 Big 12 Soccer Championship are now available at Big12sports.com/buytickets or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL. The Championship will take place Nov. 5, 7 and 9 at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City. Day passes are on sale for $9 with three-day tournament passes available for $14. A 15-ticket group package is also available for $90.
Sporting Club and the University of Kansas will again co-host this year’s championship, which will feature the Big 12’s top eight teams competing for the Conference’s postseason title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
SPORTING CLUB RELEASES NEW CLOTHING LINE
Sporting Club has released its new fashion line for the defending MLS champions, offering fans an extensive selection of new clothing and merchandise. The Sporting Club brand -- featuring recently released men's and women's items -- is available for purchase on Sporting Style’s website and at Sporting KC’s remaining home games while supplies last.
TICKETS ON SALE FOR NCAA D-II FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP AT SPORTING PARK
Tickets are on sale to the general public for the NCAA Division II Football Championship to be played at Sporting Park on Dec. 20. Hosted by the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Associations and the Kansas City Sports Commission, the championship game will be held inside the state-of-the-art stadium for the next four years. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com while supplies last.
FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE
Sporting KC fans looking to keep up with the club online now have a place to go. The Social Media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the club, its players and several staff members. Fans may also take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage.
