A new episode of The Sporting KC Show aired Wednesday on Sports Radio 810 WHB with hosts Nate Bukaty and Carter Augustine, providing a comprehensive preview of the high-level soccer that beckons at Children's Mercy Park.
The duo looked ahead to Saturday's pivotal Western Conference clash between third-place Sporting KC and first-place FC Dallas — set to kick off at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN — before casting anticipatory light on the Tournament of Nations doubleheader featuring the U.S. Women's National Team, which will unfold tonight as Children's Mercy Park welcomes four of the best women's national teams on the planet.
Bukaty and Augustine also heard from a trio of U.S. WNT members, including head coach Jill Ellis and veteran players Becky Sauerbrunn and Amy Rodriguez, both of whom formerly played for FC Kansas City at the club level. The USA has trained at Pinnacle, the state-of-the-art training home of Sporting KC, for the last week leading up to tonight's match at Children's Mercy Park against rivals Japan, which will kick off at 6 p.m. CT on FS1.
“It definitely still feels like home,” Sauerbrunn said of Kansas City. “I’ve had a few of those over the years, but landing in that airport and driving on those roads, I spent five years here. There are a lot of fond memories.”
Rodriguez echoed Sauerbrunn’s sentiments, reflecting positively on her time in Kansas City and lauding Pinnacle for its countless amenities and features.
“I’ve never trained here before, so this is wonderful,” Rodriguez said. “Great fields, great facility and the weather is beautiful, so we couldn’t be more excited to train out here. I absolutely love being back here because KC is so close to my heart. I love the fan base and I love the people. I’m just really excited to get back out there and hopefully play in front of these fans.”
The episode also included an appearance from Djorn Buchholz, the Executive Director of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. The brand-new National Soccer Hall of Fame, located at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, will open on the weekend of Oct. 19-21, in conjunction with Sporting KC's road match at FC Dallas on Sunday, Oct. 21. Fans can enter the National Soccer Hall of Fame Fly Away Sweepstakes for the chance to win an all-inclusive prize package, provided in partnership with the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Visit Frisco.
Listen to the full podcast below.
