In the aftermath of Sporting Kansas City's 4-1 comeback road win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday, much of the postgame buzz surrounded 16-year-old Gianluca Busio. The Sporting KC Academy product had become the second-youngest goal scorer in MLS history, helping the club vault into second place in the Western Conference ahead of the final two games of the regular season.
And while no one will question the deservedness of Busio's plaudits, he wasn't the only member of Sporting KC to reach a noteworthy milestone at BC Place.
Let's start with Manager Peter Vermes, who took sole possession of fifth place in Major League Soccer's all-time charts with his 131st regular season coaching win. The longest tenured manager in MLS finds himself among elite company as one of the winningest American coaches in the sport. Among the top five, Vermes is the only coach to accumulate all of his wins at at the same club.
WINNINGEST COACHES IN MLS REGULAR SEASON HISTORY
<strong>Coach</strong> |
<strong>Wins</strong> |
<strong>Seasons</strong> |
Sigi Schmid |
240 |
1999-2004; 2006-2018 |
Bruce Arena |
202 |
1996-1998; 2006-2016 |
Dominic Kinnear |
168 |
2004-present |
Bob Bradley |
140 |
1998-2006; 2018-present |
Peter Vermes |
131 |
2009-present |
Two of the most influential players during Vermes' reign as Sporting KC Manager have been World Cup veterans Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza, both of whom hit impressive milestones of longevity on Wednesday.
- Zusi became the second player in team history to reach 250 regular season appearances, joining fellow teammate and all-time leader Matt Besler (255).
- Espinoza became the seventh player in team history to reach 200 regular season starts, joining teammates Besler (249) and Zusi (210) as active players on the list.
Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia may not rank as highly in career appearances, but he is nonetheless part of an important veteran core that has helped steer the team to an eighth straight playoff berth. He has also flourished into one of the club's most successful players between the sticks. Melia logged his 50th regular season win for Sporting KC against Vancouver, passing Sporting Legend Tony Meola for second place on the club's all-time charts.
SPORTING KC: MOST GOALKEEPING WINS IN REGULAR SEASON
<strong>Player</strong> |
<strong>Wins</strong> |
<strong>Seasons</strong> |
Jimmy Nielsen |
57 |
2010-2013 |
Tim Melia |
50 |
2015-2018 |
Tony Meola |
49 |
1999-2004 |
Mike Ammann |
33 |
1996-1998 |
Bo Oshoniyi |
33 |
2000-2006 |
Wednesday's triumph sets up a pivotal clash on Sunday as Sporting KC (16-8-8, 56 points) visits first-place FC Dallas (16-7-9, 57 points) at Toyota Stadium, kicking off at 4 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest.
Vermes' side will then conclude their 2018 regular season campaign on Sunday, Oct. 28, against LAFC in an all-important Decision Day matchup at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the highly anticipated showdown, which could decide which team clinches a top-two finish and the Knockout Round bye that goes with it, are on sale now via SeatGeek.com. Supporters who attend the Fan Appreciation Match, slated to kick off at 3:30 p.m. CT, are guaranteed to win a prize exclusively through the Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app, available for free download on the App Store and Google Play.
