Sporting KC Weekly Schedule: Feb. 13-19, 2017

Sporting Kansas City has arrived in Tucson, Arizona for the second leg of the club's 2017 preseason, presented by Children's Mercy. Manager Peter Vermes' men kick off the Desert Diamond Cup this week, facing the Colorado Rapids at noon CT Wednesday and the New York Red Bulls at 4:30 p.m. CT Saturday. Both games at Kino Sports Complex will be streamed live on SportingKC.com and FOX Sports GO. Sporting KC will play two more matches in the Desert Diamond Cup on Feb. 22 and 25 before returning to Kansas City ahead of the club's season opener on March 4 at D.C. United.

Sporting KC defender Erik Palmer-Brown will captain the U.S U-20 Men's National Team for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in San Jose, Costa Rica, set for Feb. 17 - March 5, 2017. The U.S. will kick off the tournament at 3 p.m. CT Saturday, facing Panama at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Ayma. Fans can follow the action on Twitter at @ussoccer_ynt. 

The Swope Park Rangers continue preseason training this week under first-year head coach Nikola Popovic. The Rangers will play their first preseason scrimmage on Sunday against UMKC at Swope Soccer Village. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT and admission is free to the public.

The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-16s will travel to Houston this weekend to compete in qualifying matches for the 2016-17 Generation adidas Cup, an elite international tournament featuring the best youth clubs across the globe. Between Friday and next Monday, the U-16s will face Toronto FC, Houston Dynamo and Chicago Fire with hopes of advancing to the Generation adidas Cup Finals from April 7-15 in Frisco, Texas. Click here for this weekend's tournament schedule.

Other Sporting KC Academy teams, including the U-18s, U-14s and U-13s, will compete at the U.S. Youth Futsal National Championships, which run Friday through Monday (Feb. 17-20) at New Century Fieldhouse in Gardner, Kansas, and Roeland Park Dome in Roeland Park, Kansas. Click here for the complete tournament schedule and follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for updates.

Sporting KC and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City are teaming up in 2017 to recognize Blue KC Sporting Samaritans, honoring students and teachers who make the Kansas City community a better place to live, work and play. Once a month, a Samaritan will be recognized on the pitch at Children's Mercy Park before a Sporting KC home game. Once a month, a Samaritan and up to three guests will receive a behind the scenes VIP experience, four tickets to the game, a parking pass and a $50 gift card redeemable for Sporting KC merchandise. Supporters can nominate members of their community to be the next Blue KC Sporting Samaritan at SportingKC.com/bluekc. 

Single-game tickets for Sporting Kansas City’s first 10 home matches of the 2017 MLS regular season are now on sale to the general public at seatgeek.com, the club’s new and official ticketing provider that allows supporters to buy, share and sell tickets easier than ever before. For more ticket information, call 888-4KC-GOAL.

Away ticket requests are open for Sporting Kansas City’s first two road games of 2017 — at D.C. United on March 4 and at Toronto FC on March 31. Requests for the match at D.C. United will close this Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Fans can utilize the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app or click here to submit their away ticket requests.

For news, photos and instant updates throughout the 2017 season, follow Sporting KC on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat (sportingkc), and download the club’s official mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria on the App Store or Google Play.