"This Week in Sporting,” is a weekly series that highlights the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City.
1. Sporting Defeats the Dynamo
Saturday, Sporting KC welcomed the Houston Dynamo to Children’s Mercy Park for the club’s 2022 home opener and sent the Sporting KC faithful home happy with a 1-0 win. Remi Walter scored the match’s only goal by getting on the end of a loose ball and tucking it neatly into the lower-left corner of the goal with his left foot. Walter earned a spot on the MLS Week 2 Team of the Week bench for his performance in the match.
Sporting’s record in regular season home openers improved to 16-3-8 and the club snapped a 19-match winless run (0-12-7) when scoring one or fewer goals. Sporting also evened the regular season series against the Dynamo with both teams posting a 13-13-13 record. Sporting will face the Dynamo in Houston at PNC Stadium on Sep. 10.
2. Clash vs. Colorado
Following Saturday’s exciting 1-0 victory, Sporting now prepares for a matchup at the Colorado Rapids. Sporting and Colorado have played to a draw in the last four matches at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Sporting has not won at Colorado since March of 2014 when Graham Zusi scored once and assisted twice in a 3-2 Sporting KC victory.
The Rapids were knocked out of the Concacaf Champions League in the Round of 16 by Guatemalan Side Comunicaciones before opening their 2022 MLS regular season with a 3-0 loss at LAFC. They got into the win column with a 3-0 victory of their own against Atlanta United last Saturday in which former Sporting KC forward Diego Rubio opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with his first goal of the campaign.
3. KC Cauldon Streetcar Unveiled
The Kansas City Cauldron Streetcar officially went into service last Thursday. It is the first streetcar to feature different designs on either side of the car with one side dedicated to the Cauldron's creation during the KC Wizards era, and the other side dedicated to the current Sporting KC era.
The interior features 24 different seats brandishing the club’s most iconic kits with names of four current Sporting players (Johnny Russell, Daniel Salloi, Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi) and four All-Stars from the club’s past (Preki, Digital Takawira, Jimmy Conrad and Mo Johnston). Fans will be able to ride the KC Cauldron streetcar and can track the location of this specific streetcar (streetcar 802) online at KCStreetcar.org.
4. SKC II Preseason Marches On
While Sporting KC was claiming victory over Houston at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday, Sporting KC II took home their first preseason win while visiting FC Tulsa. As the match trudged on, a scoreless draw looked to be the result, until Mataeo Bunbury's 90th minute winner put SKC II ahead and gave them the win.
Sporting KC II is back in action with a preseason match at Swope Soccer Village’s Victory Field against 2021 USL League One champions Union Omaha at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday. This match will be open to the public as fans are invited to come watch Sporting KC II’s penultimate preseason match ahead of the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season beginning on March 27.
5. MLS NEXT is Back
Also making its 2022 return is MLS NEXT as Sporting KC’s U14’s, U15’s and U17’s host the Houston Dynamo FC Academy at Swope Soccer Village this weekend. The U14’sand U17’s kick at 9 a.m. with the U15’s starting at 11 a.m. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for updates throughout the match and for all news pertaining to the Sporting KC Academy.
6. Jake Reid Signs Contract Extension
Sporting KC President and CEO Jake Reid has signed a 5-year contract extension after serving in his current position since 2018. He joined the organization as the Vice President of Ticket Sales and Services in 2010, became the Chief Revenue Officer in 2012 and the club’s president in 2016. Under Reid, the club has won four major championships since 2012, enjoyed growth in key revenue areas and sold out more than 150 MLS matches.
7. Argyle Ace pres. by Mazuma Returns for 2022
The Victory Project, Sporting KC’s charitable foundation, announced the return of Argyle Ace presented by Mazuma. Argyle Ace is a fundraising raffle featuring weekly prizes and a progressive cash jackpot. In its debut last season, Argyle Ace raised over $13,000 for the Victory Project. Beginning March 15 and continuing throughout the season with a minimum $20,000 progressive jackpot, The Victory Project will have weekly raffles through the Argyle Ace presented by Mazuma platform.
Fans can join in on the fun online at ArgyleAce.com by purchasing a raffle ticket and picking an envelope numbered 1-54. The fan with the winning raffle number from the drawing will receive a Sporting Kansas City prize package and if they selected the envelope with the Argyle Ace in it they win half the jackpot.
