Sporting Kansas City
For this week's Prep Talk, I interviewed Washington Post writer Steven Goff and D.C. United television broadcaster Dave Johnson
Steven Goff
What's been the cause/reason for D.C. United's slow start?
"There's no one reason why this team has been so bad this year. It's really a collection of reasons. Partly in that last year's late season success was a product of to some extend overachievement and everything going their way, credit to them for it. Were they the third best team in MLS last year? Probably not. That was an issue. They rely heavily on Dwayne De Rosario, who's turning 35. They haven't gotten the production from a MLS Best XI player Chris Pontius this year so that's hurt them a lot. There's been no balance with their performances either. When the defense has played well, the attack has offered nothing. On those occasions when the defense has broken down, the offense has been ok but it's all of these little things that have gone wrong for them."
What do you expect to see on Sunday at RFK Stadium?
"My hunch is that it's going to be a tie and that D.C. will find a way to get a result. But are they good enough right now to beat a high quality opponent like Kansas City? I don't know. Can Nick DeLeon go more than 45 minutes? Can Pontius play at all after sitting out several games? There's a lot of questions out there and my hunch is that it will be a 1-1 tie."
Dave Johnson
What's been the cause for D.C. United's losing streak and is there any sense of panic with the team?
"I think it's enough of a slide that there's real concern that they don't get too far behind. There's been some subtle changes with certain people not coming back whether it's Branko Boskovic or Hamdi Salihi so it's not exactly the same team as last year. The reality is that they've just had some gaffes on defense that have been costly in this recent losing streak. They just have not found a way to really consistently threaten on offense. That's both sides of the game right there. Not much has been going well of late for them to point to. That's why they're in the position they're in right now."
What do you expect to see from Sunday's match?
"If D.C. United are going to have any success it's going to have to show discipline and focus on defense for 90 minutes. I'm not saying that means they are going to sit back. I just think that if you look at how FC Dallas' goal is scored (game-winning goal), it was on a corner kick. Showing better focus and attention to details on set pieces. Beyond that, it's hard to say what to expect because I think there are some open questions about who will be in or out of the D.C. lineup right now. There were changes last week that weren't necessarily precipitated by injury but precipitated by the need to find a better result. There's still questions about who will be in the starting 11 for D.C. United. I think that will also dictate how the game goes. I don't think that it's clear yet how the midfield will be constructed. I don't think it's clear yet who will be up top. In the state D.C. United is it, it's hard to say with any certainty what to expect. I think it's clear what needs to happen for D.C. United but it remains a lot of questions with this team right now."
Sporting KC will face Eastern Conference opponents D.C. United for the second time in as many months on Sunday afternoon. Let's take a closer look at D.C. ahead of the match.
Team News
Lewis Neal and Marcelo Saragosa are listed as out for Sunday while Chris Pontius, Carlos Ruiz, and John Thorrington are all questionable. Pontius has not played in the last three matches but could be in line to return, at least as a second half sub. Goalkeeper Bill Hamid did not play at Dallas due to a coach's decision but is expected to be available.
Recent Form/Results
D.C. United are currently on a seven match losing streak (which includes SKC's 1-0 win on April 5) and only scored four goals in that stretch. The team has struggled but were projected by many to make the playoffs in 2013 and still a side with plenty of talent. MLS is a league where it's always tough to get results on the road and Sunday should be no different at RFK Stadium.
Key Players
Dwayne De Rosario - One of the best attacking players in MLS who will be the main focus for the Sporting KC defense.
Perry Kitchen - A steady presence in central midfield who has started every match this season for D.C. United.
Recent Lineups
| May 8th vs Houston | May 11th at Dallas |
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Sporting Kansas City will face D.C. United for the 47th time MLS (regular season) on Sunday afternoon. It's the second of three meetings between the two sides in the 2013 regular season. The first match of 2013 was on April 5th at Sporting Park in which Sporting KC won 1-0 on an 89th minute winner from Claudio Bieler.
Sporting KC have won the last five consecutive matches in the head-to-head series including handing D.C. United their only regular season home loss in 2012.
MLS regular season Head To Head
Overall: 19-18-9
Home Matches: 13-6-5 (46 goals scored, 28 goals conceded)
Away Matches: 6-12-4 (25 goals scored, 33 goals conceded)
Team Leaders
| Sporting KC | Stat | D.C. United |
| Claudio Bieler 6 | GOALS | Lionard Pajoy 2 |
| Graham Zusi 4 | ASSISTS | Six players tied 1 |
| Claudio Bieler 32 | SHOTS | Dwayne De Rosario 21 |
| Aurelien Collin 26 | FOULS | Lionard Pajoy 16 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 22 | SAVES | Bill Hamid 25 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 0.75 | GAA | Bill Hamid 1.89 |
Season Stats
| Sporting KC | D.C. United | |
| Shots (on goal) | 168 (49) | 106 (34) |
| Fouls Committed (Suffered) | 186 (172) | 108 (137) |
| Duels Won (Avg) | 51.5% | 50.3% |
| Completed Passes (Avg) | 428 | 399 |
| Passing Accuracy (Avg) | 76.1% | 75.7% |
| Possession (Avg) | 55.9% | 51.2% |
Last 10 MLS regular season matches
| Date | Score | Result | Location |
| 09/07/2008 | 1-1 | T | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 07/04/2009 | 1-0 | L | RFK Stadium |
| 10/04/2009 | 2-2 | T | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 03/27/2010 | 4-0 | W | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 05/05/2010 | 2-1 | L | RFK Stadium |
| 08/21/2011 | 1-0 | W | Sporting Park |
| 10/22/2011 | 1-0 | W | RFK Stadium |
| 03/10/2012 | 1-0 | W | RFK Stadium |
| 08/11/2012 | 2-1 | W | Sporting Park |
| 04/05/2013 | 1-0 | W | Sporting Park |
Sporting Kansas City will face D.C. United for the second time this season as the two teams meet on Sunday afternoon at RFK Stadium. What matchups and players will be crucial for each team to get a result from Sunday's match? Check out the video below to find out featuring MLSSoccer.com's Greg Lalas and Matt Doyle.
It's not every day you get invited to sit in the Victory Suite at Sporting Park. So when eight-year-old Joseph -- a local soccer player diagnosed with leukemia in December -- was the Victory Suite's special guest last week for Sporting Kansas City's match against the Seattle Sounders, he made the most of his moment.
Check out Joseph showing off for the cameras during his pre-game recognition on the videoboard...
Visit VictoryKC.org for more information on The Victory Project, a new community-driven foundation to impact children with cancer in the Kansas City region. Follow @VictoryKC and @SportingCares on Twitter.
Fifteen years ago today, Digital Takawira scored one of the most impressive hat tricks in MLS history. The striker scored three goals in a nine-minute span to lead Kansas City to a 3-1 victory over the New England Revolution.
Digital stopped by Sporting Park earlier this year and reminisced on the feat, saying, "It was like boom, boom, boom!" Enjoy today's Throwback Thursday featuring his signature "Digital Crawl" celebration.
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler joined The Border Patrol on Sports Radio 810 WHB this morning, chatting with show hosts Steven St. John, Nate Bukaty and Jake Gutierrez. The 15-minute segment touched on several topics, including the win in Houston last Sunday and Besler's eagerness to return to the lineup after missing the last three matches with a knee injury. Listen to the audio archive here.
Besler is also in the national discussion today as U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann revealed his roster for the team's five upcoming matches. Besler and Zusi are two of five MLS field players on the list and SportingKC.com caught up with both players after today's Sporting KC training session to get their reaction:
Suds and summer with a splash of Sporting KC.
For the second straight year, Sporting Kansas City is proud to present the annual Summer Beer Festival, a tribute to craft beers and benefit for AIDS Walk Kansas City. The event will take place on Saturday, June 15th from 5-9 p.m. CT on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of McCoy’s in Westport.
Over 30 breweries from around the world will be highlighted during the event and all in attendance -- including Sporting Kansas City's Jimmy Nielsen, Benny Feilhaber and Seth Sinovic -- will receive a commemorative Sporting KC tasting glass, have the chance to sample more than 70 exclusive beers and enjoy the opportunity to mingle with the creators of the beers being poured. Visit BeerKC.com for a list of participating breweries.
Tickets for the Summer Beer Festival are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Get them here and RSVP on Facebook!
Photo by Graham Green
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber joined hosts Callum Williams and Andy Edwards on this week's edition of The Sporting KC Show on Sports Radio 810 WHB last night live from Em Chamas Brazilian Grill. The playmaker is second on the squad with three assists this season, one behind League leader Graham Zusi, and he shared his thoughts on the team's start to the 2013 season, the emergence of Peterson Joseph in the midfield and his U.S. Men's National Team hopes for the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. His 10-minute interview comes from 2:30-12:30 in the audio archive.
The show also spoke with D.C. United midfielder and Canadian international Kyle Porter. The 23-year-old has started each of D.C. United's last four games, pairing with fellow Canadian Dwayne De Rosario in the midfield, and he provided the view from the opposition's side ahead of Sporting Kansas City's trip to RFK Stadium on Sunday. That segment can be found from 30:45-36:30 in the podcast.
Or, of course, you can listen to the full show online at 810whb.com.
Paulo Nagamura stepped up in Sunday's match and now it's time once again for #VoteSporting.
The midfielder's goalline clearance in the second half against the Houston Dynamo has been nominated for this week's MLSSoccer.com Save of the Week. The save was in the 80th minute and prevented a Jason Johnson header from crossing the goalline.
Voting is open until Thursday evening with the winner to be announced on Friday.
You can view the full list of nominees below and submit your vote using the poll on the right or on MLSSoccer.com.