Starting XI: Stalemate in San Jose

Starting XI, presented by Ford, 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.

A commanding performance from Sporting Kansas City resulted in a 0-0 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at Avaya Stadium, giving Peter Vermes’ men their MLS-leading ninth shutout of the year. The Earthquakes (5-6-5, 20 points) ended the match with just five shot attempts, their fewest all-time in an MLS regular season home game, as Sporting Kansas City (7-4-6, 27 points) remained atop the Western Conference standings.

Goalkeeper Tim Melia set a new single-season career-high with his ninth clean sheet of 2017, which is on pace to break the MLS record set by Kansas City’s own Tony Meola in 2000. Sporting KC also lowered its goals against average to 0.65 through 17 matches, marking their official halfway point of the regular season.

2. We Like Ike

Sporting Kansas City center back Ike Opara continued his stellar 2017 campaign on Saturday, helping his team to a league-leading ninth shutout with a commanding backline performance. Opara has anchored Sporting KC to a clean sheet in nine of his 15 MLS appearances this season in addition to scoring twice across all competitions, including the game-winner in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup fourth round against Minnesota United FC. Opara landed MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week recognition today, marking the fourth time this season that the defender has received the weekly honor.

3. Beat LA

Sporting Kansas City will return to California for the second straight weekend when they face five-time MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy at 9:30 p.m. CT Saturday. Kickoff at StubHub Center is set for 9:30 p.m. CT with three hours of live television coverage beginning at 9 p.m. on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO. Listeners can follow the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), while the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app will provide live updates.

Sporting KC and the LA Galaxy have combined to win seven MLS Cups and five Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups during their storied histories as charter members of Major League Soccer. The Galaxy are tied for the longest active postseason streak at eight seasons, while Sporting KC has advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs every year since 2011. Saturday’s official watch party will be held at No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District, featuring $4 Bud Light drafts and an all-you-can-eat buffet with bottomless domestic drafts.

4. You’re an All-Star

MLS on Saturday unveiled the latest voting update for the MLS All Star Fan XI, presented by Target. Sporting KC has three players in the top five of their respective positions, with Graham Zusi receiving the second-most votes among defenders and center back Matt Besler and goalkeeper Tim Melia both sitting in fourth place.

Melia is enjoying a career year in his third full season with Sporting Kansas City. The 31-year-old goalkeeper tallied his league-best ninth shutout on Saturday in a 0-0 road draw at the San Jose Earthquakes and also tops the MLS charts with an 82.8 save percentage and a 0.65 goals against average. Zusi and Besler, meanwhile, have anchored a defense that has conceded just 11 times in 17 games. Zusi leads all defenders in chances created from open play, while Besler leads all defenders in successful passes. Fans can vote at SportingKC.com/vote until July 1 at 2 a.m. CT.

5. Draw with Drogba

The Swope Park Rangers (5-4-2, 17 points) jumped to sixth place in the USL’s Western Conference with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Phoenix Rising FC (5-5-1, 16 points) on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park inside Swope Soccer Village. Kevin Oliveira and Nansel Selbol buried penalty kicks on either side of halftime for SPR, but African soccer icon Didier Drogba struck twice in the final period — including a controversial penalty kick in the 89th minute — to salvage a point for the visitors.

The Rangers will have just two days' rest before returning to action on Wednesday when they host Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com or at the venue box office on matchday, and a live stream will be available on SportingKC.com.

6. Yoga on the Pitch

The Victory Project will host its annual Yoga on the Pitch fundraising event on Tuesday from 7-8 p.m. CT at Children's Mercy Park. The 60-minute, all-levels yoga class will be conducted by certified Lululemon take place on the field to help raise funds for The Victory Project's Sporting Wishes initiative, which grants wishes to children who receive secondary cancer diagnoses or relapses.

Sporting KC players Graham Zusi, Cameron Porter, Tyler Pasher and Colton Storm will participate in the class and hold an autograph session afterwards, while DJ Ashton Martin will provide live music for the event. Yoga on the Pitch is $30 and includes complimentary snacks and beverages. Click here to sign up or receive more information.

7. Playoff Time

The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-18s and U-16s kick off the 2017 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs this week at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana. Both teams will play group stage matches on Thursday, Saturday and next Monday with hopes of advancing to the Development Academy quarterfinals in early July. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates.

8. Deals on Deals on Deals

Major League Soccer’s fiercest rivalries take center stage Friday through Sunday during Rivalry Week presented by Heineken. To celebrate the occasion, MLSstore.com is rolling out can’t-miss merchandise deals today through Sunday. Click here to access Sporting Kansas City’s online store, where supporters can take advantage of four separate discounts over the next seven days.

9. Sixteen Candles

The previous seven days saw American MLS clubs shuffle from U.S. Open Cup competition straight into Week 16 of the regular season slate. With games running thick and fast, MLSsoccer.com’s Matt Doyle offered 22 takes forl 22 clubs following a busy round of league action. At the forefront, the Chicago Fire continued their steep rise as the surprise package of 2017, LA and Houston played to a controversial 2-2 draw, New York City FC survived a rainstorm in a narrow win over Seattle, and FC Dallas failed to gain ground on Sporting KC after playing Vancouver Whitecaps FC to a 1-1 stalemate.

10. Ronaldo Out?

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with a transfer away from Real Madrid after the Portuguese forward was accused of tax evasion in Spain last week. According to numerous reports, Ronaldo has grown upset with the club climate at Real Madrid, leading to speculation that he will return to Manchester United or join another European powerhouse ahead of the 2017-18 season. As ESPN FC writes, however, Manchester United should be wary of pursuing Ronaldo given the club’s sour history of transfer business with Real Madrid. Elsewhere, German Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich has ruled itself out of the bidding war for Ronaldo, having erroneously been linked to the player late last week.

11. Russian Rundown

The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup kicked off this weekend in Russia as a precursor to next summer’s 2018 FIFA World Cup in the same country. Russia opened the tournament on Saturday with a 2-0 win over New Zealand before an exciting Sunday saw Portugal and Mexico battle to a 2-2 draw and Chile defeat Cameroon 2-0. This morning, Germany knocked off Australia 3-2 to round out the first of three group stage rounds. The eight-team competition will send the top two finishers from Groups and B into the semifinals, with the final scheduled for Sunday, July 2.

Games to Watch (June 20-22)