"This Week in Sporting," presented by The Smile Generation, is a weekly series that highlights the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City.
1. Splitting the Points
Sporting Kansas City (11-4-6, 39 points) remained in second place in the Western Conference with a scoreless draw at Minnesota United FC (7-6-7, 28 points) on Saturday. Playing a man down for 70 minutes following the first-half ejection of Remi Walter, goalkeeper Tim Melia made a season-high seven saves as Sporting secured a sixth straight road result and a third consecutive clean sheet away from home. Melia, who joined Kansas City in 2015, now leads all MLS goalkeepers with 57 shutouts over the last seven seasons.
2. Retro Night on Saturday
Second-place Sporting (11-4-6, 39 points) will return to world-class Children's Mercy Park on Saturday for a pivotal Western Conference clash against the third-place Colorado Rapids (11-4-4, 37 points) at 8 p.m. CT.
Tickets for the marquee matchup are available at SeatGeek.com and the first 10,000 fans through the stadium gates will receive a vintage Sporting KC poster courtesy of match sponsor Children's Mercy. Saturday will also see Sporting celebrate Retro Night, featuring a wide selection of throwback merchandise from the Since '96 Collection (jersey, T-shirt, long sleeve T-shirt, jacket and headwear) and additional items with the classic Wiz logo and rainbow elements.
Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app will provide three hours of live coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. CT, while the Sporting KC app will deploy additional in-game updates and exclusive offers. Listeners can catch the action live locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM, with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB.
3. Salloi's All-Star Bow
Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi is set to participate in the 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target on Wednesday night as the MLS All-Stars face the LIGA MX All-Stars at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. The annual summer classic will kick off at 8:30 p.m. CT with national television coverage on FS1 and Univision and live streaming via the FOX Sports app.
Prior to Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game, the 2021 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G will take place Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT on FS1 and TUDN. The two-hour event will feature a team of eight MLS players battling eight LIGA MX players in five different challenges on the Banc of California Stadium field.
4. Sporting Signs Jake Davis
Sporting Kansas City has signed 19-year-old midfielder Jake Davis as a Homegrown Player, the club announced last week. Davis, who has signed an MLS contract through 2023 with an option for 2024, is the 19th Homegrown Player to emerge from the Sporting Kansas City Academy and the 12th Academy product on the club’s current roster, which now stands at 29 players.
5. U.S. WNT Coming to KC
The U.S. Women’s National Team, winners of four FIFA World Cups and four Olympic Games, will travel to Kansas City to play Korea Republic at 7 p.m. CT on Oct. 21 at Children’s Mercy Park, U.S. Soccer announced last week.
Tickets for the match will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Sept. 15 via Ticketmaster.com. Sporting KC Season Ticket Members will have access to a pre-sale beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Sept. 13 and fans can sign up now to be notified when tickets go on sale.
The U.S. roster will feature the players from this summer’s bronze-medal winning Olympic Team, which includes captain Becky Sauerbrunn, KC NWSL goalkeeper Adrianna Franch and four of the top scorers in U.S. Soccer history with Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Megan Rapinoe.
6. Variety KC Partnership
In an ongoing mission to foster inclusivity in the Kansas City region, Sporting Kansas City and Variety KC have partnered to provide part-time job opportunities at Children’s Mercy Park to individuals with disabilities and special needs.
The single largest minority group in the United States is the special needs community, which represents approximately 26% of the country’s population. To that end, Sporting and Variety KC are inviting people with disabilities and special needs ages 16 and up to apply for Fan Services Associate, Concessions and Cashier positions during Sporting Kansas City home matches at Children’s Mercy Park. Applicants can learn more and apply by visiting the links below:
