Sporting Kansas City at San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, October 1, 2011 – 9:30 p.m. CT
Buck Shaw Stadium | Santa Clara, California
English TV: KSMO-TV
Spanish TV: Time Warner Cable Channel 5
Spanish Radio: La Gran D 1340 AM
Game Notes
Following a 2-1 win at home over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday that pushed the club into first place in the Eastern Conference, Sporting Kansas City are back in action at 9:30 p.m. CT on Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT with television coverage on KSMO beginning at 9:00.
Sporting Kansas City trails in the all-time series against San Jose with a record of 19-20-6 since the two sides first squared off in Major League Soccer's inaugural 1996 season, with an all-time road record of 4-13-5 in that span. This is the second meeting between the two sides in 2011. Rookie striker C.J. Sapong finished a first-half free kick from Graham Zusi and goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen made four saves as Sporting Kansas City recorded a 1-0 victory over San Jose on June 17th for the first-ever win at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
The Earthquakes (6-11-13), currently sitting in eighth place in the WesternConference, enter Saturday night’s contest following a 1-1 road draw with the Colorado Rapids last weekend. Chris Wondolowski opened the scoring with a strike that put him level with Landon Donovan on San Jose’s all-time goalscoring chart, but Drew Moor would equalize in the 71st minute to save a point for the home side.
Heading into Saturday’s match, the Earthquakes face a few worries on the injury front. Midfielder Bobby Convey (neck strain) is out, while defender Jason Hernandez (L quad strain) is listed as doubtful. Defender Justin Morrow (R hamstring strain) and forwardScott Sealy (L groin strain) are both currently listed as questionable for Saturday’s match.
For Sporting Kansas City, midfielder Luke Sassano is out after undergoing surgery to repair damage in his right meniscus, while midfielder Roger Espinoza is listed as questionable with a quad strain. Both Zusi and defender Aurelien Collin are on the verge of suspension, and will be forced to miss the home match against New York Red Bulls should they receive a yellow card during Saturday’s match.
Sporting Kansas City will host a watch party in the Members' Club at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on Saturday during the match. Admission is free and doors will open beginning at 8:30 p.m. CT.
