SPORTING KC TO HOST LA GALAXY ON SUNDAY
Sporting Kansas City (11-12-6, 39 points) continues its playoff push in the MLS regular season on Sunday, facing the second-place LA Galaxy (11-4-14, 47 points) in a 1 p.m. CT kickoff at Children's Mercy Park. American soccer legend Landon Donovan has come out of retirement to join the LA Galaxy for the remainder of 2016, adding gloss to a match that carries significant postseason implications in the Western Conference. The marquee matchup will be televised nationally on FOX, while local radio broadcasts will air on 99.3 FM (English) and 1340 AM (Spanish) with 99.3 running The Final Whistle: Sporting KC Postgame Show immediately afterward. A limited number of tickets for the high-profile clash are still available at Ticketmaster.com.
Sporting KC is currently fifth in the Western Conference standings, five points clear in a playoff race that will see the top six teams advance to the postseason. Peter Vermes' men are 4-0-4 at home against LA dating back to 2008, including a 3-0-2 record at Children's Mercy Park.
SPORTING KC ELIMINATED FROM CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Sporting KC crashed out of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League with a 2-1 defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Tuesday at Children's Mercy Park.
Diego Rubio scored for the hosts shortly after halftime, but a 41st-minute goal from Erik Hurtado and a 93rd-minute strike from 15-year-old Alphonso Davies clinched first place in Group C for Vancouver and eliminated Sporting KC from North America’s premier club tournament. Tuesday’s match was delayed for two hours in the 35th minute as inclement weather passed over the Kansas City area. (Full story)
ESPINOZA'S WONDERSTRIKE UP FOR MLS GOAL OF THE WEEK
Roger Espinoza's sensational strike against the Houston Dynamo in last Friday's 3-3 draw has been nominated for MLS Goal of the Week. Supporters can vote for the Sporting KC midfielder in the semifinal round through tonight at 10:55 p.m. CT. (Vote here)
Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo played to a thrilling 3-3 draw last Friday night in the 100th MLS regular season match at Children’s Mercy Park. Jacob Peterson’s early strike and Roger Espinoza’s wonder goal gave Sporting KC a first-half cushion, but the Dynamo hit back on either side of halftime through Mauro Manotas and Alex to level proceedings. Dom Dwyer restored the hosts’ lead in the 81st minute before Raul Rodriguez provided a last-gasp equalizer in the 94th minute to split the points. (Full story)
DOM DWYER EARNS TEAM OF THE WEEK HONORS
The night before the birth of his firstborn son, Dom Dwyer continued one of his favorite pastimes: scoring against the Houston Dynamo. Sporting KC's center forward notched his 13th goal of the season and the 49th of his regular season career in a pulsating 3-3 draw with Houston on Friday at Children's Mercy Park. The Englishman, who celebrated his 81st-minute strike with a salute to his wife Sydney Leroux Dwyer, was justly rewarded on Monday with a spot on Bleacher Report's MLS Team of the Week.
In addition to bagging Sporting KC's third goal in a back-and-forth affair, Dwyer equaled regular season career-highs with nine shot attempts and five shots on target. The 26-year-old was involved early and often, singlehandedly forcing goalkeeper Joe Willis into two saves on either side of halftime.
RANGERS TRAVEL TO FACE OKC ENERGY FC ON SUNDAY
The Swope Park Rangers (11-10-6, 39 points) travel to face regional rival Oklahoma City Energy FC (10-5-12, 42 points) at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, hoping to clinch a playoff berth in their inaugural USL season. Currently seventh in the Western Conference table, the Rangers can punch their ticket to the postseason with a victory over OKC and help from other teams this weekend. The Rangers have three matches remaining in the regular season and will battle OKC Energy FC for the fourth time in 2016. SportingKC.com will provide a live stream of the match at Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City.
2016 MLS EXPANSION DRAFT DETAILS ANNOUNCED
Major League Soccer announced Tuesday the details for the Expansion Draft as Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC prepare for their inaugural MLS seasons in 2017. The Expansion Draft will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. CT and consist of five rounds, allowing Atlanta and Minnesota to select up to five players each from the list of eligible MLS players.
The 20 current MLS clubs will have the ability to protect 11 players from their rosters. These 11 protected players, in addition to Generation adidas players who do not graduate from the program at the end of the season and Homegrown Players on a club’s Supplemental or Reserve roster, will not be eligible for selection in the Expansion Draft. All remaining MLS players will be available for selection by the two expansion clubs.
Each MLS club may lose a maximum of one player in the Expansion Draft. Once a player is selected from a club’s unprotected roster, that club is removed from the Expansion Draft process and may not lose any further players. For the full 2016 Expansion Draft Rules, click here.
DOM DWYER AND SYDNEY LEROUX DWYER GIVE BIRTH TO SON
Another Sporting KC player has become a father. Forward Dom Dwyer and his wife Sydney Leroux Dwyer shared exciting news Saturday night on social media, welcoming their new-born son Cassius Cruz into the world. Sydney — herself a forward on the U.S. Women's National Team — gave birth to a healthy Cassius the day afterDom scored his 58th career goal for Sporting KC in Friday's 3-3 draw against the Houston Dynamo at Children's Mercy Park.
American soccer's golden couple became parents just eight days after Sporting KC defender Matt Besler and his wife Amanda had their first child, a healthy daughter named Parker Rhea. Like Dwyer, Besler marked the occasion with a goal — opening his international scoring account as the U.S. Men's National Team beat St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
RANGERS ROLL PAST ROUGHNECKS FC WITH 3-0 WIN
The Swope Park Rangers played out a comfortable 3-0 victory over Tulsa Roughnecks FC at Swope Soccer Village on Saturday night. First-half goals from Christian Duke and Dane Kelly either side of a stunning strike from Kris Tyrpak were enough for SPR to take all three points and move up to sixth in the USL Western Conference. (Full story)
KRIS TYRPAK UP FOR USL GOAL OF THE WEEK
Swope Park Rangers forward Kris Tyrpak has been nominated for USL Goal of the Week after his stunning left-footed strike against Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Saturday. (Vote here)
The 24-year-old Texas native made his Sporting KC debut in Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, playing the final 45 minutes of the match.
SPR'S OUMAR BALLO NAMED TO USL TEAM OF THE WEEK
Swope Park Rangers defender Oumar Ballo has been named to the USL Team of the Week for Week 25. The Baltimore native earns his second Team of the Week inclusion after shutting out Tulsa Roughnecks FC and dangerous forward Sammy Ochoa (10 goals, 6 assists) in Saturday’s 3-0 victory. (Full story)
SPR SEASON TICKET RENEWALS NOW UNDERWAY
Swope Park Rangers season ticket renewals for the 2017 campaign are now underway, featuring exclusive renewal rewards for supporters from the club’s inaugural season.
Current Season Ticket Members can renew their season tickets for 2017 by logging onto their account manager or calling their client services representative at 888-4KC-GOAL. All season ticket members who renew prior to the Rangers’ regular-season finale against Seattle Sounders FC 2 on Sept. 24 will qualify for the below benefits:
- Opportunity for child(ren) to participate in Walk of Champions on September 24 (limited availability)
- Two complimentary tickets for any Swope Park Rangers 2017 home match
- Opportunity to attend a Swope Park Rangers training session followed by meet and greet with players/coaches
- Autographed Swope Park Rangers team poster
Season tickets start as low as $7 per game for all 16 home matches in 2017. Season ticket member benefits include discounted ticket and merchandise pricing, the right to exchange tickets for future home matches, preferred parking on gamedays and access to season ticket member events. More information regarding Season Ticket Member benefits is available here.
ACADEMY MAKES STRONG START TO 2016-17 USSDA SEASON
The Sporting KC Academy U-18s earned two emphatic victories on the opening weekend of the 2016-17 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season, while the U-16s took four points themselves during a successful road trip to Texas. The U-18s fired four first-half goals past Texans SC Houston en route to a 4-1 win on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park in College Station. Jon Parry's side carried its momentum into Sunday, hammering the Texas Rush 6-2 at Bear Branch Soccer Complex in The Woodlands.
The U-16s, coached by former Sporting KC midfielder Josh Gardner, also went unbeaten after drawing Texans SC Houston 1-1 on Saturday before blanking the Texas Rush 2-0 on Sunday. The weekend action concluded Sunday when the Sporting KC U-14s opened their 2016-17 campaign with a 4-2 loss to the Texas Rush. (Full story)
ACADEMY SIDES HIT THE ROAD FOR DOUBLEHEADER IN COLORADO
The Sporting KC Academy U-18s and U-16s continue regular season action in the 2016-17 U.S. Soccer Development Academy this weekend, traveling to face the Colorado Rapids in a pair of doubleheaders at Dick's Sporting Goods Park (Field 22) in Commerce City, Colorado. The U-18s will kick off at 11 a.m. CT before the U-16s take the field at 1:30 p.m. CT on both Saturday and Sunday. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates throughout the 2016-17 USSDA season.
GAIL'S HARLEY-DAVIDSON SWEEPSTAKES NOW OPEN
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.
KC STAYCATION MARRIOTT SWEEPSTAKES NOW OPEN
Kansas City Marriott Downtown and Sporting KC are launching a month-long, enter-to-win sweepstakes which will run during the month of September. Sporting KC fans can enter to win online by filling out the entry form on this page. The KC Staycation sweepstakes is offering up a prize package for one lucky Sporting KC supporter. The grand prize winner will receive the following:
- Two (2) complimentary nights at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown (Dates based on availability)
- One (1) complimentary dinner for two (2) at the MetropolitanKC
- Twenty-five (25) dollar voucher to CoffeeCentral
- Two (2) tickets to a Sporting KC home game
- One (1) VIP Parking pass
- Two (2) Sporting KC jerseys
- Two (2) Sporting KC scarves
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.
