Starting XI: Hollywood Stars

Starting XI is a biweekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights 11 of the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City, MLS and soccer around the globe. Click here to visit the Starting XI archive.

Sporting KC extended the club's unbeaten run to five games on Sunday with a resounding 2-0 road win against the LA Galaxy to remain atop the Western Conference standings and move into a share of the Supporters' Shield lead.

Sporting KC Academy product Daniel Salloi scored the game-winning goal and Johnny Russell celebrated his 28th birthday with a stunning solo effort to double his team’s lead. Tim Melia also etched his name in the club record books with 10 saves in the match, the most by a Sporting KC goalkeeper in MLS regular season history.

2. Best of the Bunch

One was making his 100th appearance for Sporting KC in all competitions. The other was celebrating his 28th birthday. And both delivered brilliant performances to earn MLSsoccer.com MLS Team of the Week honors for Week 6. Tim Melia racked up a regular season club-record 10 saves and Johnny Russell scored a stunning solo goal to propel Sporting KC to a resolute 2-0 road win over the LA Galaxy on Sunday night at StubHub Center. Their MLS Team of the Week inclusion is the cherry on top of a sweet victory that lifts Manager Peter Vermes’ men into a tie for first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

3. Going Solo

Sporting KC winger Johnny Russell is one of five nominees for MLS Goal of the Week with voting open online at MLSsoccer.com through midnight PT on Wednesday. Russell celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday by scoring his second goal of the season — a phenomenal solo effort in the 61st minute of Sunday’s win — to go along with two assists in his maiden MLS campaign.

4. Faith and Family

Sporting KC returns home this week as back-to-back Western Conference champion Seattle Sounders FC visits Children's Mercy Park at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday in a nationally televised showdown on ESPN. Tickets for the marquee matchup are available on SeatGeek.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL to purchase the Coca-Cola Sunday Family Four Pack (four tickets, four Coca-Cola products, four chips and four hot dogs).

Sunday's contest will coincide with Faith and Family Day at Children's Mercy Park, featuring discounted South Stand tickets and pre-game speeches from Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley and former University of Kansas Big 12 Player of the Year and NBA champion Wayne Simien. 7eventh Time Down will perform a postgame concert on the Toyota Plaza and Sporting KC’s Seth Sinovic, Matt Besler and Ike Opara will also participate in a postgame Q&A with Simien.

5. eMLS in the Books

Sporting KC’s eMLS participant Alex “Alekzandur” Betancourt advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals of the inaugural eMLS Cup this weekend at the PAX East gaming festival in Boston. As one of 19 players in the high-profile EA SPORTS FIFA 18 tournament, Betancourt finished second among the 10 Western Conference players in the group stage and claimed a victory in the conference quarterfinals before exiting in the following round.

6. Rangers Return

The first-place Rangers, coming off a 1-1 draw in San Antonio on Kharlton Belmar's USL-leading fifth goal of the year, will host OKC Energy FC at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Shawnee Mission South District Stadium (5800 W. 107th St., Overland Park, KS) in a rematch of last year's Western Conference Championship. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive commemorative SPR champions t-shirts. Tickets, starting at $9, are available on SeatGeek.com.

7. Kids Cruise

The Sporting KC Academy enjoyed a three-game sweep of Solar Soccer Club (Dallas) on Saturday at Swope Soccer Village. The U-15s and U-17s earned narrow victories, prevailing 1-0 and 2-1, respectively, before the U-19s rounded out the afternoon with a 6-0 triumph.

8. Skip the Lines

This Tuesday, SportingStyle will reopen preorders for pickup at Sunday's match. Fans can shop a limited assortment of items and have first access to the new scarf of the match. The SportingStyle Pop in Store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Budweiser Brew House at Children's Mercy Park. Follow @SportingStyle on Twitter and Instagram for sneak peeks of all the latest club apparel, including the team's popular Scarf of the Match series.

9. Recapping Week Six

Another exciting weekend of Major League Soccer is in the books, and results certainly tilted in Sporting KC’s favor. In addition to prevailing 2-0 in LA, Vermes’ men saw many of their Western Conference foes drop points across the country. Among those matches, the craziest was Orlando City SC’s 3-2 comeback win over the Portland Timbers in which the Lions scored three times in the final 10 minutes. Elsewhere, Real Salt Lake beat Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-1, FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids split the points, and the Philadelphia Union came from behind to salvage a tie against the San Jose Earthquakes.

10. On the Brink

MLS is on the brink of making Concacaf Champions League history when Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls head into their respective second legs in the CCL Semifinals on Tuesday. Defending MLS Cup champion Toronto visits Club America at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City at 9 p.m. CT, while the New York Red Bulls host Chivas de Guadalajara at Red Bull Arena at 7 p.m. CT. Should the two MLS sides advance past the historic Liga MX franchises, it would set up the first all-MLS final in tournament history. Both games on Tuesday will stream live in English on Go90.com.

11. Uphill Battles

The decisive second legs of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals will take place this week, and four teams have their backs against the well against opponents who took commanding first-leg leads. On Tuesday, Roma has the monumental task of overturning a 4-1 deficit to Barcelona while Manchester City hosts Liverpool trailing 3-0 themselves. On Wednesday, Bayern Munich will take a 2-1 lead back home against heavy underdogs Sevilla while two-time defending champion Real Madrid holds a 3-0 advantage heading into their home tie with Juventus.

Games to Watch (April 10-12, 2018)