Dom Dwyer continued his remarkable scoring rate against the Montreal Impact on Saturday, netting a brace as Sporting Kansas City twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 road draw in an entertaining affair at Stade Saputo.
The Impact (5-4-6, 21 points) went ahead on two occasions through Lucas Ontivero and Ignacio Piatti, but Sporting Kansas City (6-8-4, 22 points) struck back with Dwyer’s eighth and ninth goals in just five meetings against Montreal. In doing so, the Englishman vaults into second place in Sporting Kansas City history with 53 career goals across all competitions and 44 in MLS regular season play.
PAPA JOHN'S: The day after Sporting KC scores two or more goals, use promo code SPORTINGKC at papajohns.com to get 50% off each regular menu prize pizza in an order placed at participating Kansas City area locations.
Manager Peter Vermes fielded the same lineup from Sporting Kansas City's 2-0 home win over FC Dallas last weekend. The lone positional change saw Soni Mustivar move into his conventional holding midfield spot, allowing Benny Feilhaber to assume a more advanced role in the middle of the field.
An enthralling first half unfolded with Montreal on the front foot, forcing Tim Melia to make more saves in the first 10 minutes than he had in his previous three MLS matches combined. His third save came in the ninth minute following a swift attack down the left side. Dominic Oduro neatly flicked Ambroise Oyongo’s low cross to Ontivero, whose curling strike was snagged by Sporting KC’s outstretched keeper.
The hosts were rewarded for their early pressure with an impressive go-ahead score in the 16th minute. Didier Drogba clipped a diagonal ball to Hassoun Camara, whose one-time cross from the right side of the box was nodded home by Ontivero. Ontivero's second goal of the campaign snapped Sporting Kansas City’s 199-minute MLS shutout streak dating back to May 27, the club’s longest of 2016.
Sporting Kansas City was undeterred, however, and would gain a foothold after falling behind. Roger Espinoza was given space to cross from the left channel in the 21st minute and took full advantage, delivering a brilliant ball into the penalty area for Dwyer. The Englishman rose above his marker and directed a precise header just inside goalkeeper Evan Bush’s lefthand post to level proceedings and notch his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Controversy marred the final moments of the opening stanza. Referee Mathieu Bourdeau awarded Montreal a 39th-minute penalty kick when Drogba fell to the turf under Jimmy Medranda’s challenge. Replays suggested there was minimal contact between the players, but Piatti nonetheless buried the spot kick to enter a tie for second in MLS with his ninth league goal.
Just three minutes later, Sporting Kansas City was denied a penalty of its own. Dwyer slipped a pass into the box for Feilhaber, who was chopped to the ground by the sliding Wandrille Lefevre. Bourdeau waved play to resume and the Impact took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Saturday’s match remained delicately poised after the restart, and parity was again restored just shy of the hour mark. Feilhaber carried the ball into the attacking third and spread it left to Dwyer, who squared up Lefevre before unleashing a brilliant strike that caromed into the net off the far righthand post. The 59th-minute equalizer was Dwyer’s sixth goal in three games at Stade Saputo, while Feilhaber picked up an assist for the third consecutive game. Feilhaber also passed Davy Arnaud for sole possession of fourth place on Sporting Kansas City’s all-time chart with 41 assists in all competitions.
The final half-hour left all to play for, and both sides had chances to snatch a winner. Melia produced another fine stop in the 69th minute, springing to grab Ontivero’s diving header after Drogba had whipped a clever cross into the danger area. Drogba caused more trouble four minutes later, finding an open Piatti on the left side of the box, but the Argentine couldn’t catch his strike cleanly.
At the other end, Feilhaber continued to orchestrate his team’s attacking forays. His cutback pass from the left byline in the 72nd minute was nearly met by Jacob Peterson, who couldn’t direct a shot on target.
Peterson came agonizingly close to giving Sporting Kansas City its first lead two minutes later. Medranda’s tantalizing cross from the left wing was palmed away by Bush, who then reacted quickly to save Peterson’s right-footed rebound on the edge of the six-yard box.
Two matches beckon next week for Sporting Kansas City, who continue their defense of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in Wednesday's Round of 16 clash at the Houston Dynamo. Captain Matt Besler and winger Graham Zusi are set to rejoin the club after spending the last month with the United States Men's National Team at Copa America Centenario. Sporting Kansas City will then return home to Children's Mercy Park, hosting Columbus Crew SC next Sunday, July 3. Tickets for that match can be secured via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
2016 MLS Regular Season
Game 18 of 34
Stade Saputo | Montreal, Canada
Attendance: 20,032
Weather: 82 degrees and sunny
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
Sporting Kansas City (6-8-4, 22 pts) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Montreal Impact (5-4-6, 21 pts) |
2 |
0 |
2 |
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Ike Opara, Lawrence Olum, Jimmy Medranda; Benny Feilhaber (Brad Davis 95+), Soni Mustivar, Roger Espinoza (C); Jacob Peterson, Dom Dwyer (Diego Rubio 84), Connor Hallisey (Kevin Ellis 91+)
Subs Not Used: Alec Kann, Seth Sinovic, Justin Mapp
Montreal Impact: Evan Bush; Hassoun Camara, Victor Cabrera, Wandrille Lefevre, Ambroise Oyongo; Lucas Ontivero (Johan Venegas 79), Kyle Bekker (Patrice Bernier 69), Eric Alexander, Ignacio Piatti; Didier Drogba, Dominic Oduro (Michael Salazar 89)
Subs Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Kyle Fisher, Maxim Tissot, Harry Shipp
<strong>Stats</strong> |
<strong>SKC</strong> |
<strong>MTL</strong> |
Shots |
14 |
14 |
Shots on Goal |
4 |
7 |
Saves |
5 |
2 |
Fouls |
11 |
12 |
Offside |
1 |
2 |
Corner Kicks |
6 |
2 |
Misconduct Summary:
MTL -- Lucas Ontivero (caution; unsporting behavior) 24
SKC -- Jimmy Medranda (caution; unsporting behavior) 38
MTL -- Ambroise Oyongo (caution; unsporting behavior) 43
MTL -- Didier Drogba (caution; unsporting behavior) 55
Scoring Summary:
MTL -- Lucas Ontivero 2 (Hassoun Camara 1, Didier Drogba 5) 16
SKC -- Dom Dwyer 7 (Roger Espinoza 2) 21
MTL -- Ignacio Piatti 9 (penalty kick) 39
SKC -- Dom Dwyer 8 (Benny Feilhaber 4) 59
