Sporting Kansas City opened the 2014 Disney Pro Soccer Classic with a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls Wednesday afternoon at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Jacob Peterson scored the team’s lone as goal as Sporting KC took three points and moved into first place in Group B.
In a match that pitted the defending MLS Cup champions vs. the defending MLS Supporters’ Shield winners, neither team was able to take the reigns of the first half.
Sporting KC’s best chance in the first half came in the 14th minute, when newly acquired winger Sal Zizzo attempted to thread a pass to Dom Dwyer in the Red Bulls’ penalty box. Spanish defender Armando intercepted the pass, but a poor touch allowed Dwyer to slide in for the loose ball before Robles was able to scoop it up.
The Red Bulls thought they had a lead in the 19th minute, but the assistant referee raised his flag to indicate an offside call as Bradley Wright-Phillips tucked a Lloyd Sam pass past goalkeeper Eric Kronberg.
The second half saw a host of changes for each side. Those changes nearly paid off for Sporting KC in the 60th minute as Aurelien Collin cleared a long ball up the field that hit off 18-year-old defender Matt Miazga’s leg and rolled toward the Red Bulls goal. Claudio Bieler, who entered the game in the 31st minute for Dwyer, tried to beat Homegrown product Santiago Castano from distance, but his outside-of-the-right-foot curler missed the far post.
Sporting Kansas City broke the deadlock minutes later. Colombian midfielder Jimmy Medranda, who Sporting KC purchased in the offseason from Deportivo Pereira, intercepted a clearance and found midfielder Christian Duke. The Overland Park native brought the ball down on his chest and played a square ball to Jacob Peterson at the penalty spot. Peterson pressured his defender into making a poor touch and poked the loose ball past Castano to give Sporting KC the 1-0 lead.
Bieler had two chances late in the game to add to the lead but the Argentine forward was unable to capitalize. In the 69th minute, Sporting KC strung a series of passes together and found Kevin Ellis alone down the right flank. The homegrown defender played a perfect ball to the back post, but Bieler’s volley was blocked by a Red Bulls defender and picked up by Castano.
New York pressed for the equalizer in the final few minutes but were unable to beat Kronberg, who played the full 90 minutes in a game for the first time this preseason.
Sporting KC’s win over the Red Bulls was their second win on a busy day in Florida. Wednesday morning, the Sporting KC Reserves defeated the Eastern Florida State College men’s soccer team 2-0 in a 60-minute match. Trialists Adnan Gabeljic and Carlos Sanchez provided the goals and goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum played the full match for the shutout.
Sporting KC will resume the Disney Pro Soccer Classic on Saturday when they play the Fluminense FC U-23s. The match will kick off from the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed live at SportingKC.com
2014 Disney Pro Soccer Classic
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Kissimmee, Florida
Weather: 81 degrees and sunny
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
<p>Sporting Kansas City</p> |
<p>0</p> |
<p>1</p> |
<p>1</p> |
<p>New York Red Bulls</p> |
<p>0</p> |
<p>0</p> |
<p>0</p> |
Sporting Kansas City: Eric Kronberg; Chance Myers (Kevin Ellis 61), Aurelien Collin (Erik Palmer-Brown 61), Ike Opara (Lawrence Olum 61), Seth Sinovic (Josh Gardner 61); Oriol Rosell (Jimmy Medranda 61), Paulo Nagamura (Mikey Lopez 61), Benny Feilhaber (Christian Duke 61); Sal Zizzo (Jacob Peterson 61), Dom Dwyer (Claudio Bieler 31), C.J. Sapong (Adnan Gabeljic 61)
New York Red Bulls (First Half): Luis Robles, Kosuke Kimura, Jamison Olave, Armando, Roy Miller, Lloyd Sam, Eric Alexander, Dax McCarty, Bobby Convey, Peguy Luyindula, Bradley Wright-Phillips
New York Red Bulls (Second Half): Santiago Castano, Chris Duvall, Matt Miazga, Ibrahim Sekagya, Nate Polak (Ambroise Oyongo* 76’), Connor Lade (Eric Stevenson* 69’), Michael Bustamante, Ruben Bover, Jonny Steele, Marius Obekop, Andre Akpan
Misconduct Summary:
NY - Michael Bustamante (caution; reckless tackle) 71
Scoring Summary:
KC - Jacob Peterson (unassisted) 65
