Sporting KC vs Philadelphia Union
Friday, August 1 -- 7 p.m. CT
Sporting Park | Kansas City, Kansas
English TV: NBCSN
English Radio: Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio La Gran D 1340 AM
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First place Sporting Kansas City hosts the Philadelphia Union on Friday night at Sporting Park in search of the club's fifth consecutive League victory. The match will be nationally broadcast on NBCSN and available locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Gran D 1340 AM. A limited number of tickets remain for the match, including standing room only tickets for $20, which can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Offices on gameday.
Sporting KC has earned victories by a 2-1 scoreline in each of the club's last four MLS matches, defeating Montreal, Columbus, LA and Toronto. The most recent victory, at BMO Field, featured goals from Graham Zusi and Jacob Peterson, with Peterson tallying the game-winner five minutes after the ejection of captain Matt Besler. The U.S. MNT defender was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the game in the 75th minute and will not be eligible for Sporting KC on Friday.
Manager Peter Vermes will also be without potential centerback replacement Lawrence Olum due to international duty, while left back Seth Sinovic is questionable with a groin strain. The roster rotation could see opportunities for the MLS debuts of Jorge Claros, a member of the Honduras Men's National Team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and Philippine international Martin Steuble.
Philadelphia is undefeated in six of the club's last seven MLS outings and is one of just four teams remaining in contention for the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title. Sporting KC and the Philadelphia Union have already met at Sporting Park once in 2014 with the reigning MLS Cup champions suffering their only MLS home loss of the year, a 2-1 defeat despite an 80th minute equalizer from Dom Dwyer. The Englishman is second in MLS for goals scored this season with 14 and earned his first assist of the year on Peterson's game-winning goal against Toronto.
The Union earned a 1-1 draw against Chicago in the club's last MLS match as Sebastien Le Toux converted his team leading eighth goal of the season from the penalty spot. The goal was the Union's 33rd of the season, most by an Eastern Conference team, while Sporting KC has conceded a League-low 19 goals this season.
Parking lots open at 4 p.m. CT on Friday and Sporting Park gates will open an hour later with the first 10,000 fans inside receiving spirit sleeves courtesy of match sponsor UMB Bank. Fans are encouraged to remain seated at the start of halftime for a special induction ceremony honoring the Sporting Legends class of 2014: Lamar Hunt, Peter Vermes and Jimmy Conrad.
Follow the match online at SportingKC.com/GameOn or via Twitter @SKCGameday. Additional in-game information is available via the Sporting Club Uphoria mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
