SPORTING KC TO HOST SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC ON SUNDAY
Sporting Kansas City (8-10-4, 28 points) suffered a pair of 1-0 road losses last week at the Chicago Fire (recap) and Colorado Rapids (recap), falling to seventh place in the Western Conference standings. The club returns to Children's Mercy Park on Sunday for a nationally televised clash against Seattle Sounders FC (6-11-2, 20 points) on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT, and local radio broadcasts will air live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. In addition, The Final Whistle: Sporting KC Postgame Show will air immediately after the game on 810 WHB.
A limited number of tickets for Sunday's match are still available at Ticketmaster.com, and the first 10,000 supporters through the gates will receive a free lunch bag courtesy of match sponsor Mark One Electric. Seattle Sounders FC have advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs in all seven seasons of their existence and feature U.S. Men's National Team forwards Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris.
SPORTING KC LOANS FOUR PLAYERS TO SWOPE PARK RANGERS
Sporting KC announced Tuesday that the club has loaned four players — midfielder Emmanuel Appiah, defenders Kevin Ellis and Chance Myers, and goalkeeper Alec Kann — to the Swope Park Rangers ahead of tonight's USL match at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT at Switchbacks Stadium and the game will stream live on SportingKC.com.
Appiah, Ellis, Myers and Kann join Sporting KC defender Ever Alvarado and goalkeeper Jon Kempin on loan at the club's USL affiliate, which could leap into playoff position with a win on Wednesday. Following the road test, the Rangers will return home to face Orange County Blues FC at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Children's Mercy Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village. (Full story)
U.S. WNT TO PLAY COSTA RICA FRIDAY AT CHILDREN'S MERCY PARK
The United States Women's National Team will face Costa Rica on Friday at Children's Mercy Park in their final tune-up match before traveling to Brazil for the 2016 Olympics. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN, and tickets to see the reigning World Cup and Olympic champions can be secured at Ticketmaster.com. The U.S. Women's National Team is unbeaten in six all-time trips to Kansas City, including a win and a draw at state-of-the-art Children's Mercy Park. (Full story)
MATT BESLER NAMED TO MLS ALL-STAR GAMEDAY ROSTER
Major League Soccer announced on Sunday the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Gameday Roster, which features Sporting C defender Matt Besler. The 26-player squad will face storied English club Arsenal FC in the annual summer showcase on July 28 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN, UniMas, UDN).
The Gameday Roster consists of 24 players chosen by All-Star head coach Dominic Kinnear — taking into consideration the All-Star Fan XI and player voting — as well as the two Commissioner's Picks, midfielders Mauro Diaz (FC Dallas) and Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake).
2016 MLS All-Star Roster
Goalkeepers (2): David Bingham (SJ), Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union)
Defenders (8): Matt Besler (SKC), Steve Birnbaum (DC), Laurent Ciman (MTL), Andrew Farrell (NE), Liam Ridgewell (POR), Keegan Rosenberry (PHI), Brandon Vincent (CHI), Kendall Waston (VAN)
Midfielders (9): Kyle Beckerman (RSL), Mauro Diaz (FCD), Giovani dos Santos (LA), Jermaine Jones (COL), Kaka (ORL), Sacha Kljestan (NY), Darlington Nagbe (POR), Andrea Pirlo (NYC), Wil Trapp (CLB)
Forwards (7): Clint Dempsey (SEA), Didier Drogba (MTL), Sebastian Giovinco (TOR), Cyle Larin (ORL), Ignacio Piatti (MTL), David Villa (NYC), Chris Wondolowski (SJ)
Besler, 29, receives MLS All-Star honors for the fifth time in his career, third most in club history behind midfielder Preki (seven) and defender Jimmy Conrad (six). The center back has made 12 MLS appearances this season, helping a defense that has faced a league-low nine shots per game. (Full story)
SWOPE PARK RANGERS IN ACTION TONIGHT AND SATURDAY
The Swope Park Rangers will continue their inaugural season in the United Soccer League with a pair of matches this week against fellow Western Conference opponents. The Rangers (6-8-3, 21 points) first travel to face Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (9-5-3, 30 points) tonight at Switchbacks Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game will stream live on SportingKC.com.
Marc Dos Santos' team then returns home Saturday to face Orange County Blues FC (6-8-4, 22 points) at Children's Mercy Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and tickets, starting as low as $12, can be secured via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
DWYER AND ZUSI AMONG BEST-SELLING MLS JERSEYS
Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer and Graham Zusi made the list of the 20 best-selling adidas MLS jerseys halfway through the 2016 season. Dwyer currently ranks No. 10, up four spots from last year, and Zusi comes in at No. 15. New York City FC midfielder Andrea Pirlo leads the list, while Clint Dempsey falls to No. 2 after holding the top spot for each of the previous two seasons. (Full story)
GAIL'S HARLEY-DAVIDSON SWEEPSTAKES NOW OPEN
Sporting KC supporters can visit SportingKC.com/gailsharley and enter for a chance to win a brand new Sporting KC-branded Harley-Davidson Street 500 motorcycle and tickets to the club's regular season finale vs. San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 23.
FOLLOW SPORTING KC
For news, photographs and instant updates throughout the 2016 season, follow Sporting KC on its Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat (sportingkc) accounts and visit the club's social media page.
