"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. Cracking Comeback
Three second-half goals lifted Sporting Kansas City to a pulsating 3-2 comeback victory over the nine-man Colorado Rapids in a Friday night classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World.
Facing a 1-0 halftime deficit after an early Kellyn Acosta strike, Sporting surged ahead with goals from in-form attackers Khiry Shelton and Alan Pulido. The shorthanded Rapids, who saw Danny Wilson and Jack Price receive straight red cards during the final half-hour, restored parity in the 84th minute through substitute Jonathan Lewis, but veteran defender Graham Zusi notched his first goal since April 2018 with 91 minutes on the clock to give Sporting a wild and much-needed win in the historic MLS is Back Tournament.
2. Making History
Not too surprisingly, Friday's thrilling defeat of the Rapids carried with it a slew of major milestones. Graham Zusi is the second player in team history to record 100 combined goals and assists in MLS play, striker Alan Pulido is the first Sporting player ever to score or assist in his first four club appearances, Khiry Shelton is amidst the best scoring form of his MLS career, and captain Matt Besler is the first Sporting player to cross the 25,000-minute threshold in the MLS regular season. Dive into the finer details here.
3. Early to Rise
Fresh off a dramatic win over Colorado, Sporting (3-1-0, 9 points) will face rivals Real Salt Lake (1-0-3, 6 points) in the club's all-important MLS is Back Tournament group stage finale on Wednesday morning. The earliest competitive match in team history is slated for 8 a.m. CT with live coverage on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, the ESPN app, ESPN 94.5 FM, 1510 AM and La Grande 1340 AM. Pregame and postgame coverage will be available on FOX Sports Kansas City, with Sporting KC Live presented by Michelob Ultra airing from 7-8 a.m. CT followed by 30-minutes of postgame action at 10 a.m. CT. A win or a draw on Wednesday would see Sporting qualify for the MLS is Back Tournament Round of 16. For a full rundown on qualification scenarios, click here.
4. Back in Action
With a four-month hiatus in the rearview mirror, Sporting Kansas City II resumed its 2020 USL Championship campaign on Saturday with a narrow 2-1 loss to Indy Eleven at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Twenty-year-old Sporting KC Academy product Wilson Harris wasted no time continuing his fine run of goal scoring form with a second-half equalizer, but Indy struck through former Sporting player Tyler Pasher and Paddy Barrett to nab all three points.
5. Expansion Update
Major League Soccer announced Friday a new timeline for the inaugural seasons of three of the four expansion clubs. The new timeline is the result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the commencement of business operations and stadium development of these clubs and will give the clubs an appropriate timeline for a successful launch.
Austin FC remains on schedule to begin competition in 2021 as planned. Charlotte, originally scheduled to begin MLS play next season, will now debut in 2022. St. Louis and Sacramento will begin play in 2023 instead of 2022.
6. Tune In Tuesday
A new episode of the Sporting KC Show will debut Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT on Sports Radio 810 WHB with hosts Nate Bukaty, Carter Augustine and Aly Trost, serving as a recap of Friday's victory over Colorado and a comprehensive preview of Sporting's showdown with Real Salt Lake. Augustine has traveled to Florida as part of Sporting's delegation and will provide first-hand updates from the club's camp in Disney World throughout the tournament. Previous episodes of the podcast are available at SportingKC.com/SportingKCShow.
7. Yoga on the Pitch
Sporting Kansas City and The Victory Project will host their annual Yoga on the Pitch fundraising event on Saturday, Aug. 8, at Children’s Mercy Park. The 60-minute yoga session will take place on the field of Sporting Kansas City’s world-class stadium, welcoming participants of all ages. Registration is now open at VictoryKC.org.
