"This Week in Sporting," presented by The Smile Generation, is a weekly series that highlights the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City.
1. Sunday in Vancouver
Second-place Sporting Kansas City (15-6-7, 52 points) can secure a berth in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs with a draw or win on Sunday as the club travels north of the border to take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC (9-9-10, 37 points) at BC Place. The match will kick off at 9 p.m. CT with live coverage on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest, ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish). Fans are invited to attend the club's official watch party at Austin's Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas (2103 East 151st Street).
2. Kinda and Salloi in Europe
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gadi Kinda and MLS MVP candidate Daniel Salloi remain on international duty as their respective national teams continue FIFA World Cup qualifying in Europe on Tuesday. Kinda and Israel will host Moldova, while Salloi and Hungary will travel to Wembley Stadium to play England. Both matches will kick off at 1:45 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus in the United States.
Kinda and Salloi both collected their fourth caps in narrow World Cup qualifying losses on Saturday. The former came off the bench in Israel's last-gasp 3-2 road loss to Scotland, while the latter earned his first career Hungary start as the Magyars fell 1-0 at home to Albania.
3. SKC II at Home
Midfielder Jake Davis scored two brilliant goals and rookie forward Jamil Roberts added a fantastic third as Sporting Kansas City II suffered a last-minute 4-3 loss to Central Division leaders Louisville City FC (16-5-7, 55 points) in an instant classic on Saturday night at Lynn Family Stadium.
Led by head coach Paulo Nagamura, Sporting KC II (4-17-8, 20 points) will continue their USL Championship campaign with a home finale at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday against Atlanta United 2 (7-12-10, 31 points) at Children's Mercy Park. The Central Division match-up will stream live on ESPN Plus and fans can follow @SportingKCII on Twitter for in-game updates.
4. Academy in Action
The Sporting Kansas City Academy enjoyed a successful road trip this weekend in Texas and Louisiana, combining for five wins and a Sunday clean sweep of Louisiana TDP Elite in Baton Rouge. The U-15s led the way with a pair of shutout victories, including a hard-earned triumph against Houston-based RISE Soccer Club on Saturday, while the U-17s and U-19s also went unbeaten across two matches as the 2021-22 MLS NEXT campaign continued.
Three Sporting Kansas City Academy teams will return to Swope Soccer Village on Saturday, hosting the San Antonio FC Academy. The U-17s and U-14s will kick off at 9 a.m. CT, followed by the U-15s at 11 a.m. CT. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for updates this weekend and throughout the season.
5. Hernandez Suspended
Major League Soccer has suspended Sporting Kansas City midfielder Felipe Hernandez without pay for the remainder of 2021 due to violations of the league’s gambling integrity rules and standards of conduct. Hernandez engaged in extensive and unlawful sports gambling while a member of Sporting Kansas City that included placing wagers on two MLS matches, in direct contravention of league rules.
