Sporting Kansas City releases Alex Martinez

Alex Martinez - Sporting KC vs FC Dallas - March 15, 2014

Sporting Kansas City announced on Monday that the club has released midfielder Alex Martinez and recalled midfielder Mikey Lopez from his loan to OKC Energy FC.

Sporting KC drafted Martinez with the No. 57 overall pick (third round) in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. The rookie midfielder started three regular season matches and scored his first professional goal in a 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup fourth round win over NASL club Minnesota United FC.



Lopez returns to Kansas City after scoring his first goal in Energy FC's 2-0 win over Sacramento Republic on Saturday. The 2013 MLS SuperDraft first round pick appeared in 14 matches while on loan with USL PRO affiliates Orlando City SC and Energy FC and tallied one goal and one assist.

Sporting Kansas City will host the Chicago Fire Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Sporting Park. Limited tickets are available for the match and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.