SPORTING KC HOSTS THE PHILADELPHIA UNION TONIGHT
Sporting Kansas City will look to add to their League-leading four shutouts at home this season as they host the Philadelphia Union tonight at Sporting Park. The match, presented by Price Chopper is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on KMCI's 38 The Spot and SKCTV with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
A limited number of tickets are still available for the match including an exclusive $40 ticket package. The offer features a reserves seat, free drink coupon and entrance to "Art in the Park" on the Ivy Funds Executive Level. Click here for more details about the event.
SPORTING KC DEFEATS MONTREAL IMPACT BEHIND RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE
Sporting KC defeated the Montreal Impact 3-0 last weekend at Stade Saputo. The visitors played 73 minutes with a man advantage after Collen Warner was issued a red card for handling the ball on the goalline. Dom Dwyer converted the ensuing Penalty Kick to open the scoring for Sporting KC. Paulo Nagamura doubled the lead for Sporting KC, marking his first goal of the season and second in regular season play since joining Sporting Kansas City. Spanish midfielder Toni Dovale recorded his first assist for Sporting KC when he found Dwyer behind the Impact's defensive line in the 64th minute. Dwyer calmly pushed the ball past Troy Perkins leading Sporting KC to a 3-0 victory on the road.
ROSELL & DWYER NAMED TO MLS TEAM OF THE WEEK
Midfielder Oriol Rosell and forward Dom Dwyer were each named to the MLSsoccer.com's Team of the Week for their performance on Saturday. Rosell completed 96.39% of his passes, topping Kyle Beckerman for the MLS single game record since OPTA began tracking stats in 2011. Rosell had a hand in two of Sporting KC's three goals, successfully threading passes during the scoring sequences that led to Paulo Nagamura's goal and Dwyer's second goal.
Dwyer tallied two goals on Saturday to increase his goal-scoring total to six this season. The third-year midfielder recorded his second multi-goal game in as many months and now has four goals againast the Montreal Impact in 2014.
The Team of the Week honor is Dwyer's second in 2014 and Rosell's first. Both players were also honored by Goal.com for their performance vs. Montreal. Read more about the honorees.
MATT BESLER AND GRAHAM ZUSI NAMED TO U.S. 30-PLAYER PRELIMINARY ROSTER FOR 2014 WORLD CUP
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler and midfielder Graham Zusi are among 30 players on the United States Men's National Team's preliminary roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, U.S. Soccer announced on Monday. Both players will join the United States' World Cup preparation camp on Thursday at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
More details can be found here.
MLS AND U.S. SOCCER SIGN LANDMARK TV AND MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERSHIPS WITH ESPN, FOX AND UNIVISION DEPORTES
Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer have signed new television and media rights partnerships with ESPN, FOX Sports and Univision Deportes, reaching eight-year agreements with the networks to televise MLS and U.S. Soccer matches in the United States through the end of 2022. The announcement was made on Monday by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, U.S. Soccer CEO/General Secretary Dan Flynn, ESPN, Inc. President and Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman John Skipper, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 General Manager and Chief Operating Officer David Nathanson and Univision Deportes President Juan Carlos Rodriguez.
ERIC KRONBERG CLAIMS FIRST CAREER MLS SAVE OF THE WEEK HONOR
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Eric Kronberg claimed the first MLS Save of the Week honor of his career on Friday, collecting the Week 9 award for his 31st minute save on Bernardo Anor in Sunday's 2-0 win over Columbus.
BESLER AND ZUSI ON AIR
Hosts Callum Williams, Andy Edwards and Carter Augustine heard from Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler and midfielder Graham Zusi on their selection to Jurgen Klinsmann's 30-player preliminary roster on The Sporting KC Show Tuesday night. The trio were also joined by Philadelphia Union broadcaster JP Dellacamera ahead of Wednesday's Eastern Conference match-up at Sporting Park. Full episode available at SportingKC.com.
Besler and Zusi also joined Sports Radio 810 WHB host T.J. Carpenter earlier this week. The interviews aired on SportsNight on Monday. Besler was also a guest on The Border Patrol with Steven St. John and Nate Bukaty on Monday morning. Listen to both audio archives here.
USL PRO AFFILIATES BEGIN U.S. OPEN CUP TONIGHT
OKC Energy FC will begin the team's first ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament at 7:30 p.m. CT tonight against the Tulsa Athletics (NPSL), while Orlando City SC also open play in the competition's second round against Ocala Stampede (PDL) at 6:30 p.m. CT tonight. Midfielder Mikey Lopez, on loan to Orlando City SC, played the final 10 minutes of the Lions' 1-0 win over Pittsburgh at Highmark Stadium on Friday and earned his first start in Orlando City's 1-1 draw at Rochester on Saturday. Orlando City SC, the reigning USL PRO champions, remain in first place in the standings and are unbeaten through their first nine matches of the season (6-0-3).
All three Sporting KC loanees in Oklahoma City -- Kevin Ellis, Jon Kempin and Christian Duke -- featured for OKC Energy FC (2-5-0, 6 pts) over the weekend as the first-year affiliate lost 1-0 to Orange County Blues FC Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Pribil Stadium. Kempin is not eligible for tonight's U.S. Open Cup match per the loan agreement and therefore would remain available to Sporting KC for the competition should he be summoned.
On Thursday, U.S. Soccer will announce the fourth-round scenarios and locations for the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Sporting KC will enter this year's tournament during the fourth round, to be held June 10-18, in hopes of reaching the final on Sept. 30 or Oct. 1.
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.
