SPORTING KC AND REAL SALT LAKE PLAYED TO A 0-0 DRAW LAST WEEKEND AT SPORTING PARK
Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 draw at Sporting Park last weekend. The MLS Cup rematch on Saturday was the first time the cross conference foes have met since last December. Real Salt Lake backup goalkeeper Jeff Attinella made his fifth MLS start in place of the injured Nick Rimando and registered a career-high eight saves as Sporting KC outshot Real Salt Lake 20-5 with a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Sporting KC have a bye this weekend and will return to MLS competition to host the Montreal Impact on April 19. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
ERIK PALMER-BROWN NAMED TO U.S. UNDER-20 NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown was named to the United States Under-20 Men's National Team roster on Wednesday for the 2014 Dallas Cup. The Lee's Summit, Mo. native is one of 21 players selected by U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team head coach Tab Ramos for the prestigious international tournament and joins his first full camp at the under-20 level.
The 2014 Dallas Cup will be played from April 13-20 with the United States in Bracket C of the Gordon Jago Super Group alongside the U-19 sides from Argentina's River Plate, Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt and Mexico's Tigres UANL. Each of the three bracket champions, along with the best second-place finisher, will advance to the semifinals on April 18 to play for a berth in the final on April 20.
Palmer-Brown is the youngest active player in Major League Soccer and the youngest player on the U.S. U-20 roster at age 16. Read more on Palmer-Brown on SportingKC.com.
SETH SINOVIC TABBED FOR TEAM OF THE WEEK TRIFECTA
Sporting Kansas City defender Seth Sinovic's strong start to 2014 hasn't gone unnoticed and following his latest performance -- a 90-minute endline-to-endline shift on the left flank against Real Salt Lake on Saturday -- three different national media outlets selected the Rockhurst High School alum as the best player at his position in Week 5 of the MLS regular season.
Thomas Floyd (Goal.com), Ives Galarcep (Soccer by Ives) and Richard Farley (NBC Sports) all selected Sinovic for their respective Team of the Week and/or Best XI honors.
MLS CUP CHAMPIONS COMMEMORATIVE PEPSI CANS ARE NOW AVAILABLE
Pepsi released MLS Cup Champions commemorative cans on Monday. Fans should look for the Sporting KC label on the box, signifying which 12-packs will have the commemorative cans. Visit SportingKC.com for a chance to win tickets to Sporting KC's next home game (April 19) in conjunction with this promotion.
MATT BESLER AND GRAHAM ZUSI FEATURED IN USMNT 2-2 DRAW AGAINST MEXICO
Sporting Kansas City center back Matt Besler and winger Graham Zusi each clocked 59 minutes in the United States Men's National Team's 2-2 draw aganinst Mexico in an international friendly that took place last Wednesday at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Zusi set up the game's opening goal with a corner kick in the 15th minute that connected with Michael Bradley at the backpost for his fourth international assist in 20 appearances. Besler led all players with 10 clearances while successfully completing 26 of 29 passes in his 14th career cap.
SPORTING KC LOANEES FEATURE FOR USL PRO AFFILIATES
OKC Energy FC opened their inagural year on Saturday with a 2-0 win over the Orange County Blue at Anteater Stadium on the campus of the Univeristy of California - Irvine. Sporting KC midfielder Christian Duke started and played 89 minutes, tallying an assist and two shot attempts in the team's season-opening win.
Goalkeeper Jon Kempin was not with Energy FC for their inagural match after Sporting KC recalled the 21-year-old goalkeeper on loan last week. Kempin was part of the 18-man roster for Sporting KC's weekend match vs. Real Salt Lake, but did not feature in the 0-0 draw. Kempin returned to Energy FC and started Enerfy FC's 4-2 loss to LA Galaxy II on Monday. Duke started and played 90 minutes in the team's first loss (1-1-0).
Sporting KC midfielder Mikey Lopez saw his first minutes of 2014 last weekend, coming off the bench in Orlando City SC's 3-1 win over the Rochester Rhinos. Read more.
USSSA JOINS SPORTING CLUB NETWORK
The Sporting Club Network continues to grow as Sporting KC's athletic partnership program welcomes its newest member: the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA). USSSA Soccer is a non-profit, sports-governing body that aims to develop and expand the game of soccer in the United States. Find out more about the USSSA.
SPORTING KC ACADEMY PLAYED INAGURAL MATCHES ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD AT SWOPE SOCCER VILLAGE ON SATURDAY
Sporting Kansas City Academy was back in action last weekend as the U-16's and U-18's competed on the Championship Field at Swope Soccer Village for the first time since the stadium field's opening.
The U-18's remained in the hunt for an elusive spot in the USSF Development Academy Playoffs with a 4-1 win over Real Colorado. The team is currently in the 16th spot in the wild card standings (10-8-4), with the top 13 teams earning a berth in the playoffs.
The U-16's battled hard for a 0-0 draw vs. Real Colorado. The shutout was the team's fifth of the season. Click here for full details.
SPORTING KC ACQUIRES 19-YEAR-OLD IGOR JULIAO
Sporting KC has acquired 19-year-old Brazilian defender Igor Juliao on loan from Fluminense FC, the club announced last Friday. A member of Brazil's Under-20 Men's National Team, Juliao has been added to Sporting Kansas City's roster and will occupy an international roster spot.
DOM DWYER WON MLSSOCCER.COM'S GOAL OF THE WEEK FOR WEEK 4
Dom Dwyer won MLSsoccer.com's Goal of the Week for a 92nd-minute game-winner in a 3-2 win at Colorado last Saturday. Dwyer received nearly 30 percent of votes on MLSsoccer.com, finishing ahead of Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio.
SPORTNG KC PLAYERS AND SUPPORTERS FEATURED IN NEW TRADING CARDS FROM TOPPS
The 2014 Topps MLS Soccer card set is out and features 10 Sporting KC players, as well as the South Stand supporters group, among 25 different Sporting KC cards available in the new series. Graham Zusi's seven cards are the most of any player in the collection to go along with his inclusion in the "MLS Maestros" autograph subset along with Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin. Midfielder Oriol Rosell was also selected for the "24 under 24" autograph subset after being ranked No. 14 on MLSsoccer.com's list in 2013.
In all, the following Sporting KC players are showcased: Zusi (7), Besler (6), Collin (4), Rosell (2), C.J. Sapong, Benny Feilhaber, Soony Saad, Claudio Bieler, Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic. For a complete checklist of the new 2014 Topps MLS Soccer set, click here.
KERRY ZAVAGNIN ON SPORTING KC SHOW
Kerry Zavagnin joined The Sporting KC Show on Tuesday night with hosts Callum Williams, Andy Edwards and Carter Augustine to analyze Saturday's MLS Cup rematch with Real Salt Lake. The Sporting KC assistant coach -- a member of the club for each of the last 15 seasons -- assessed the team's start to the 2014 season, now seven games into the campaign and entering the team's bye in Week 6. Watch the podcast here.
FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE
Sporting Kansas City fans looking to keep up with the club on the worldwide web now have a place to go. The social media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the club, its players as well as many staff members. Additionally, fans may take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage available online.
