With a massive 3-1 road win over first-place Seattle Sounders FC in the bag, two members of Sporting Kansas City were selected to the MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi.
To that end, congratulations are in order for midfielder Remi Walter and assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin. Both were first-time honorees for the weekly award.
Walter delivered his finest performance in a Sporting uniform, commanding the midfield with precision, physicality and industriousness in a statement victory at Lumen Field. The Frenchman completed 51 of 54 passes at a 94.4% accuracy clip, won seven of eight duels, had a game-high nine recoveries and added four tackles for good measure.
“Remi’s got really good vision and he always makes really good passes and good decisions on the ball,” said Manager Peter Vermes, who watched the game from home due to health and safety protocols. “Now that he’s seeing the pace and the physicality – and also you’ve got to take into consideration the climate in which we deal in (because) for our new guys it’s completely different – but I think they’re all getting there and I think he finished the game really strong today.”
Team of the Week (3-4-3, left to right): Alex Bono (TOR) – Malte Amudsen (NYC), Jonathan Mensah (CLB), Justin Che (DAL) – Maxi Moralez (NYC), Remi Walter (SKC), Emanuel Reynoso (MIN), Julian Gressel (DC) – Gustavo Bou (NE), CJ Sapong (NSH), Ricardo Pepi (DAL)
Coach: Kerry Zavagnin (SKC)
Joining Walter on the Team of the Week was Zavagnin, who led Sporting from the sidelines in Vermes’ absence. His side showed tactical soundness and efficiency in attack as Sporting turned three of their seven shots into goals and delivered the Sounders their first home loss at Lumen Field since last September. Prior to Sunday, the last time Seattle had suffered a multi-goal home defeat was June 25, 2016, a run of 96 competitive matches.
Riding a palpable wave of momentum, Walter, Zavagnin and Sporting will look to continue their winning ways Saturday when they host FC Dallas (3-7-5, 14 points) in the annual Sporting Salutes match sponsored by Hallmark. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. CT showdown at Children’s Mercy Park are available at SeatGeek.com, including Family Four-Packs consisting of four general admission tickets, four Coca-Cola products and four Domino’s pizzas.
Fans can also catch the action live on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app as well as Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Vermes is slated to return to the sidelines this weekend after clearing health and safety protocols set by MLS.
