"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. Falling to Philly
Sporting Kansas City’s run in the historic MLS is Back Tournament ended last Thursday with a 3-1 quarterfinal loss to the Philadelphia Union at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World. The Union struck three times in the space of 15 minutes to build a commanding first-half lead, and although Alan Pulido pulled a goal back on the stroke of intermission, Philadelphia emerged victorious to reach the semifinals and eliminate Sporting from the competition.
2. Onward and Upward
With Sporting’s participation in the MLS is Back Tournament now complete, the club will begin preparations for the resumption of the 2020 MLS campaign later this summer. MLS plans to continue its 25th season with a revised schedule, followed by the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and Audi MLS Cup. More details are expected to be announced in the near term.
3. Numbers Speak Volumes
As the calendar turns to August, Sporting will now prepare for arguably the most defining chapter of a wild and unpredictable 2020: the resumption of the MLS regular season. During this anticipatory waiting period, SportingKC.com has picked out the statistical highlights of Sporting’s excellent start to the year.
4. SKC II Streaking
Sporting Kansas City II enjoyed a brilliant four-day stretch last week by notching consecutive road wins over Louisville City FC and Indy Eleven in Group E of the USL Championship. Strikers Dominik Resetar and Wilson Harris scored in a 2-1 defeat of Louisville last Wednesday before defender Danny Barbir bagged a long-range stunner in Saturday's 1-0 result against Indy Eleven.
Head coach Paulo Nagamura's side will look to continue their winning ways Wednesday with a trip to rivals Saint Louis FC. Kickoff at West Community Stadium is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will stream live on ESPN Plus with additional updates via Twitter at @SportingKCII.
5. 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 comprehensive recap of Sporting's journey in the MLS is Back Tournament. Previous episodes of the podcast are available at SportingKC.com/SportingKCShow.
