"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. To visit the series archive, click here.
1. Alone at the Top
Sporting Kansas City (5-1-0, 15 points) moved four points clear atop the Western Conference standings with a 2-1 road victory over second-place Minnesota United FC (3-1-2, 11 points) on Friday at Allianz Field. Gadi Kinda vaulted the visitors ahead early before the clubs traded own goals on either side of halftime, giving Sporting their first-ever away win against the Loons and avenging a loss to Minnesota by the same scoreline at the MLS is Back Tournament last month in Walt Disney World. The result also ended Minnesota’s unbeaten start to the regular season as Sporting stayed within a point of Columbus Crew SC in the Supporters’ Shield race.
2. Homegrowns in Action
The Sporting Kansas City Academy continues to bear fruit for the first team. On Friday, 20-year-old Jaylin Lindsey logged 90 minutes at left back and assisted Kinda’s go-ahead goal in the 12th minute. Gianluca Busio, 18, thrived in the holding midfield spot despite the fact that he had never played in that position at the professional level. Vermes also called upon a pair of Homegrown substitutes to help Sporting see out the result, as 19-year-old Cameron Duke earned his regular season debut and 22-year-old Felipe Hernandez also entered the contest. This marked the first time ever that Sporting finished a competitive game with four Homegrowns on the field.
3. Bring It on Home
Fresh off Friday's triumph, Western Conference leaders Sporting will resume their regular season campaign Tuesday against the Houston Dynamo (0-2-4, 4 points) in the club's first match at Children's Mercy Park since the home-opening 4-0 win versus the same team on March 7. Tuesday's highly anticipated clash will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT with three hours of live coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO. The match will also air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM, with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB.
Following detailed safety protocols developed in conjunction with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Sporting’s next three home matches at Children's Mercy Park will be held at a reduced capacity of approximately 14% with extensive safety protocols in place. Tickets for these games will be available exclusively to Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members via lotteries and no single-game tickets will be sold by the club on SeatGeek.com or at the stadium box office. For more information, Season Ticket Members can contact their Membership Service Executives.
4. Deja Vu?
By the time Sporting and Houston take the field on Tuesday, 171 days will have elapsed since the rivals last met at Children's Mercy Park. That was Sporting's final home game before league play was suspended for four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazingly enough, Manager Peter Vermes' men have played just once at home over the previous 11 months.
The 2020 home opener was one to remember for Sporting fans. Alan Pulido, Roger Espinoza, Gadi Kinda and Khiry Shelton all found the back of the net in a 4-0 victory, while goalkeeper Tim Melia set a club record with his 46th career regular season shutout. Pulido and Kinda both landed MLS Team of the Week honors for their scintillating Children's Mercy Park debuts as Sporting improved to 4-0-2 in their last six regular season meetings against the Dynamo.
5. Become One
A new episode of "Become One: Sporting Kansas City" will debut Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, offering behind-the-scenes footage of the club's participation in the MLS is Back Tournament and its preparation for the continued MLS regular season. The first two episodes of the documentary series are available to watch here.
6. "The Academy" Debuts
Audi and Bleacher Report released Episode 1 of "THE ACADEMY" last Wednesday, shining a spotlight on the Sporting Kansas City Academy and its youth talent development system. "THE ACADEMY" provides an all-access look at the commitments and sacrifices that young athletes make within the Sporting KC Academy. The five-part series will give fans a first-hand account of how Sporting Kansas City and Audi are working to ensure the next generation of athletes is ready to compete at an elite level.
7. Stroll for Sporting II
Sporting Kansas City II (3-5-1, 10 points) cruised to a 3-0 win over OKC Energy FC (1-5-3, 6 points) on Saturday night in the club’s final home match of the USL Championship regular season at Swope Soccer Village. A first-half brace from striker Wilson Harris and a Danny Barbir goal midway through the second period paced the hosts to victory in their most dominant performance of the 2020 campaign.
Saturday’s contest was Sporting KC II’s first at Swope Soccer Village since October 2017 and the club’s first at home since March 8, days before the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Head coach Paulo Nagamura’s side took full advantage by burying their Oklahoma rivals and securing their fourth result in six games.
Sporting KC II will conclude the regular season with seven consecutive away fixtures, the first of which will take place Saturday at FC Tulsa. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT with a live stream on ESPN Plus.
8. Open Cup Cancelled
Due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, which has impacted travel, limited or eliminated fans in the stands at games and necessitated strict testing protocols, U.S. Soccer’s Open Cup Committee has been forced to cancel the 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The cancelation of the tournament snaps a 106-consecutive-year run of crowning a national champion. The streak was the second-longest in soccer for national cup competitions worldwide, trailing only the Irish Cup in Northern Ireland.
