PETER VERMES’ MEN TO VISIT D.C. UNITED
Sporting Kansas City will look to snap a four-game winless streak when they travel to D.C. United on Saturday. The match is set to kick off at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on KMCI 38 The Spot with pregame coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game can also be heard on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grand D 1340 AM. Sporting KC is second in the Eastern Conference with 19 points (5-4-4), while D.C. United is one point behind in third (5-4-3). Peter Vermes' men are 6-0-1 in their last seven meetings with D.C. United, including two wins at RFK Stadium.
The team's official watch party will be held at Johnny's Tavern in Overland Park (8719 W. 95th St.) on Saturday featuring food and drink specials.
SPORTING KC DRAWS TORONTO AND NEW YORK
Sporting KC played to a pair of draws at home this week. The defending MLS Cup champions tied Toronto FC 2-2 on Friday before drawing the New York Red Bulls 1-1 on Tuesday.
Forward Dom Dwyer scored twice against Toronto FC, becoming the third player in club history to score in four straight regular season appearances. However, the Canadian club came from behind twice, including an equalizer in second half stoppage time, to force the stalemate.
Midfielder Toni Dovale scored his first career MLS goal to give Sporting KC an early lead against the 2013 Supporters’ Shield champion New York Red Bulls, but Bradley Wright-Phillips struck his League-leading 11th goal of the season shortly after halftime to tie the match.
SPORTING KC SHOW AIRS TONIGHT
The Sporting KC Show will air tonight at 6 p.m. CT on Sports Radio 810 WHB. Hosts Callum Williams, Andy Edwards and Carter Augustine will be joined by Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin live at Jazz – A Louisiana Kitchen, located at 1859 Village West Pkwy. at The Legends. The hosts will also preview Saturday’s match at D.C. United with Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Listeners can join the conversation for tonight's show by calling (913) 3-810-810 or tweeting questions to @CalWilliamsSKC, @AndyEdMLS and @ElJefeAugustine. Live coverage of the show is available online at 810WHB.com or through the free 810 WHB Mobile App.
MLS ALL-STAR VOTING
Major League Soccer released the fan ballot today for the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game. The ballot features eight players from each of the 19 clubs as voted on by media. Sporting KC’s nominees eligible for selection are goalkeeper Erik Kronberg, defenders Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin and Seth Sinovic, midfielders Benny Feilhaer, Oriol Rosell and Graham Zusi, and forward Dom Dwyer. Fans can vote online at MLSsoccer.com through July 11. Votes will also be tallied via Twitter from July 2-6.
BESLER AND ZUSI FEATURE IN USMNT WIN
Sporting KC defender Matt Besler and midfielder Graham Zusi started for the U.S. Men’s National Team in a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan on Tuesday night. The friendly match at Candlestick Park in San Francisco was the first of three pre-World Cup warm-ups for the Americans. Besler played 90 minutes at center back and Zusi featured on the right side of a midfield diamond before subbing off at halftime.
Up next for the U.S. is a friendly match against Turkey on Sunday in Harrison, New Jersey. They will then face Nigeria on June 7 in Jacksonville, Florida before travelling to Brazil on June 9 for their seventh straight FIFA World Cup appearance.
OLUM TO PLAY ONE MORE MATCH FOR KENYA
Defender Lawrence Olum is also on international duty and will face Comoros in the second leg of a home-and-away African Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday. He is set to return to the club following the match. Olum made his competitive international debut on May 18, starting for Kenya in a 1-0 victory over Comoros.
CHANCE MYERS UNDERGOES SEASON-ENDING SURGERY
Sporting KC defender Chance Myers successfully underwent surgery earlier today to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon in his left ankle and will miss the remainder of the 2014 season. Myers suffered the season-ending injury in the 36th minute of Sporting KC’s 2-2 draw against Toronto FC on Friday.
ACADEMY CONCLUDES USSDA SEASON AT HOME THIS WEEKEND
The Sporting Kansas City Academy U16's and U18's will conclude their 2013-14 U.S. Soccer Development Academy seasons this weekend against the Houston Dynamo on the Championship Field at the Swope Soccer Village. The U18's remain in contention for a berth in the Development Academy Playoffs and are led by the team's top scorer, Zach Wright, with 15 goals.
The weekend kicks off on Saturday with the U18's playing at 11:30 a.m. CT, followed by the U16's at 2 p.m. CT. Sunday's doubleheader will begin with the U18's at 9 a.m. CT and will wrap up with the U16's at 11:30 a.m. CT. Admission is free and the MLS Cup trophy will be available for photo opportunities.
DOMINANT DWYER
Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer has reached multiple goal scoring milestones in recent weeks. After scoring his ninth and 10th goals of the season against Toronto FC on Friday, he temporarily took the lead in the MLS Golden Boot race for the League’s top scorer. Dwyer became the second-fastest player to reach 10 goals in club history, requiring just a dozen matches to do so, and stretched his goal-scoring streak to four straight games—tied for the longest stretch in MLS this season and second best in team history.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE & OPEN CUP OPPONENTS TO BE DETERMINED TONIGHT
Sporting KC will learn their opponents for the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage and the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round tonight.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football will conduct the Champions League draw at 6 p.m. CT tonight in Miami, dividing the 24 participating clubs into eight groups. The event will be streamed live on CONCACAF.com and SportingKC.com's Jonathan Kaplan will be on site providing updates via @SportingKC on Twitter. Sporting KC qualified for the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League as MLS Cup 2013 champions and will compete in the tournament for the second straight season.
Manager Peter Vermes’ squad will host the Des Moines Menace (USASA) or Minnesota United FC (NASL) in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round on June 18 at Sporting Park. Des Moines hosts Minnesota United FC in a third round matchup tonight at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the fourth round match-up can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.
The U.S. Open Cup, recognized as U.S. Soccer’s national championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional teams affiliated with U.S. soccer. The oldest annual team tournament in American sports history has its origins in 1914 and is named after Sporting KC’s original founder Lamar Hunt. Sporting KC are two-time champions in the competition, winning the title in 2004 and 2012.
FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE
Sporting KC fans looking to keep up with the club on the worldwide web now have a place to go. The social media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the club, its players as well as many staff members. Additionally, fans may take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage available online.
