Sporting Kansas City at Real Salt Lake
Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018 | 9 p.m. CT
Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, Utah
Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs
Western Conference Semifinal Leg One
Broadcast Schedule:
English TV | FS1
Spanish TV | FOX Deportes
English Radio | ESPN 94.5 FM
Spanish Radio | ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM
Mobile | FOX Sports GO, Sporting KC Uphoria
Uphoria App | By The Numbers | Five Things to Know | Videos
Playoff Primer | Game Notes | Media Guide | MatchCenter
With a record-setting regular season in the books, top-seeded Sporting Kansas City will begin their playoff campaign Sunday when the club visits rivals Real Salt Lake in Western Conference Semifinal Leg One of the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
Sunday’s marquee showdown will kick off at 9 p.m. CT and will be televised live nationally on FS1 and FOX Deportes, while local radio broadcasts will air on ESPN 94.5 FM and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM. Viewers can stream the match live on FOX Sports GO, and the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app will provide in-game updates.
All supporters are invited to the official watch party for Sunday’s match at No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District. In addition to offering an all-you-can-eat buffet and a long list of drink specials headlined by $6 Till Vodka cocktails, No Other Pub will administer numerous giveaways for Sporting KC merchandise.
As the No. 1 seed in the West, Sporting KC earned a Knockout Round bye to the conference semifinals, their first appearance at this stage of the postseason since hoisting the MLS Cup in 2013. Guided by MLS Coach of the Year finalist Peter Vermes, Sporting KC set club records during the 2018 regular season campaign in goals, assists, goal difference and shots while amassing 18 victories and 62 points, both the second-most in team history. The club has saved its best form for the home stretch of 2018, going 9-2-2 since the start of August.
Sporting KC enters the playoffs on a three-game winning streak and a five-match unbeaten run, having earned a dramatic 2-1 win over LAFC in last Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park to secure a first-place finish in the West. Roger Espinoza opened the scoring with a long-range MLS Goal of the Week winner in the 37th minute before Daniel Salloi sealed the triumph—and Sporting KC Golden Boot honors—on 72 minutes with his team-best 11th league goal and his 13th in all competitions. Center back Matt Besler earned MLS Team of the Week honors for his role in anchoring a side that played a man down during the final half-hour after left back Seth Sinovic received a red card for a hand ball infraction in the penalty area.
With their spot at the top of the standings solidified, Sporting KC joined Seattle Sounders FC as the two Western Conference clubs to clinch byes to the two-legged conference semifinals. Vermes’ side didn’t learn its opponent until Thursday night, when No. 6 seed Real Salt Lake stunned No. 3 seed LAFC with a 3-2 Knockout Round victory in Los Angeles. Damir Kreilach fired the visitors ahead early, and although LAFC responded with two unanswered goals, Kreliach’s breathtaking volley in the second half leveled the score at 2-2. A fortuitous own goal restored RSL’s lead in the 69th minute, and despite getting outshot 21-4, head coach Mike Petke’s men held through the final whistle.
Sunday will serve as a rematch of the 2013 MLS Cup at Children’s Mercy Park, an epic encounter played amidst freezing conditions that saw Sporting KC prevail 7-6 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw through regulation and extra time. The encounter remains the most dramatic chapter of a rivalry that has seen RSL lose just once in 12 regular season meetings since 2014.
Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake are set to square off for the fourth and fifth times this season. Vermes’ men eliminated RSL from the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-0 fourth-round win on June 6 at Rio Tinto Stadium, spurred by Johnny Russell’s goal and assist in the second half, before suffering a 4-2 road defeat in the regular season on July 4. The sides most recently met at Children’s Mercy Park on Sept. 30, with RSL rookie Corey Baird’s early opener canceled out by Ike Opara’s header in the 52nd minute.
Following Sunday’s match in Utah, Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake will meet in the decisive conference semifinal second leg on Sunday, Nov. 11, at Children’s Mercy Park. Tickets for that game—Sporting KC's first home playoff tilt since the 2013 MLS Cup—are now available at SeatGeek.com. The team with the most total goals over the two legs will advance to the two-legged Western Conference Championship, set for Nov. 25 and 29.
Should Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake score an equal number of goals over the course of both 90-minute matches, the team with the most road goals in the series will advance to the next round. If at the end of 180 minutes the teams are level on both total goals and away goals, the teams will play two 15-minute extra time periods in which away goals do not count as a tiebreaker. If still tied, a penalty kick shootout will determine a winner.
Due to his red card ejection in Sporting KC’s regular season finale, Sinovic will serve a one-game suspension on Sunday and become available for selection ahead of the second leg at Children’s Mercy Park. Sinovic is one of four Sporting KC players, alongside fellow defenders Besler, Ike Opara and Graham Zusi, who were part of the team that captured the 2013 MLS Cup at RSL’s expense.
