Sporting Kansas City’s 2015 preseason campaign ended Saturday with a pair of matches at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. Manager Peter Vermes split the team into two squads, with one side defeating NASL club Minnesota United 1-0 and the other securing third place in the Desert Diamond Cup with a 1-1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC.
After seven matches played in the desert, one statistical storyline stands out: the positive impact of Sporting KC’s newcomers over the course of preseason. The team recorded 12 goals and 10 assists across the board, with nine goals (Krisztian Nemeth 5, Bernardo Anor 2, James Ansu Rogers 1, Connor Hallisey 1) and four assists (Anor 1, Ansu Rogers 1, Nemeth 1, Amadou Dia 1) coming from players who joined the club this offseason.
Performances from the likes of Nemeth and Anor, along with the fact that Sporting KC signed four SuperDraft picks to professional contracts—the most from one draft class since 2012—suggest that Sporting KC has added both quality and depth ahead of their return to the Western Conference in 2015.
- Most games started: Jalil Anibaba, Dom Dwyer, Paulo Nagamura (5)
- Most minutes played: Amadou Dia (342)
- Most goals: Krisztian Nemeth (5)
- Most assists: Benny Feilhaber, Jimmy Medranda (2)
Check out the full preseason stat sheet below...
<strong>Name</strong> |
<strong>Pos</strong> |
<strong>GP</strong> |
<strong>GS</strong> |
<strong>MINS</strong> |
<strong>G</strong> |
<strong>A</strong> |
Saad Abdul-Salaam |
D |
3 |
2 |
181 |
0 |
0 |
Jalil Anibaba |
D |
6 |
5 |
313 |
0 |
0 |
Bernardo Anor |
F |
6 |
4 |
299 |
2 |
1 |
James Ansu Rogers |
F |
6 |
2 |
327 |
1 |
1 |
Matt Besler |
D |
4 |
3 |
224 |
0 |
0 |
Servando Carrasco |
M |
6 |
4 |
285 |
0 |
0 |
Marcel de Jong |
D |
4 |
3 |
176 |
0 |
0 |
Amadou Dia |
D |
6 |
2 |
342 |
0 |
1 |
Dom Dwyer |
F |
6 |
5 |
299 |
1 |
0 |
Kevin Ellis |
D |
5 |
4 |
241 |
0 |
0 |
Roger Espinoza |
M |
5 |
4 |
269 |
0 |
0 |
Benny Feilhaber |
M |
6 |
3 |
299 |
0 |
2 |
Connor Hallisey |
M |
6 |
3 |
331 |
1 |
0 |
Mikey Lopez |
M |
6 |
1 |
221 |
0 |
0 |
Jimmy Medranda |
M |
5 |
2 |
301 |
1 |
2 |
Paulo Nagamura |
M |
5 |
5 |
271 |
0 |
0 |
Krisztian Nemeth |
F |
6 |
3 |
299 |
5 |
1 |
Ike Opara |
D |
3 |
2 |
166 |
0 |
1 |
Erik Palmer-Brown |
D |
6 |
2 |
301 |
0 |
0 |
Jacob Peterson |
F |
6 |
3 |
246 |
0 |
0 |
Seth Sinovic |
D |
6 |
4 |
303 |
0 |
0 |
Graham Zusi |
F |
3 |
2 |
118 |
1 |
1 |
<em>Jorge Claros*</em> |
M |
1 |
0 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Alex Dixon*</em> |
F |
1 |
0 |
60 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Christian Duke*</em> |
M |
2 |
0 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Brent Griffiths*</em> |
D |
1 |
1 |
60 |
0 |
0 |
<em>James Marcelin*</em> |
M |
3 |
1 |
120 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Santiago Otero*</em> |
M |
1 |
0 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Tony Rocha*</em> |
D |
1 |
0 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Daniel Rodriguez*</em> |
D |
1 |
0 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Felipe Hernandez**</em> |
M |
1 |
0 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
<em>Marquis Brooks***</em> |
F |
1 |
0 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
<strong>Name</strong> |
<strong>Pos</strong> |
<strong>GP</strong> |
<strong>GS</strong> |
<strong>MINS</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
<strong>GAA</strong> |
Jon Kempin |
GK |
2 |
0 |
75 |
3 |
3.60 |
Luis Marin |
GK |
6 |
5 |
314 |
3 |
0.86 |
Tim Melia |
GK |
5 |
2 |
241 |
5 |
1.87 |
Player no longer with Sporting KC
Member of Sporting KC Academy
Guest player from FC Tucson
2015 Preseason Results (3-2-2)
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Opponent</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
<strong>Scorers</strong> |
Jan. 31 |
Portland Timbers |
<a href="//www.sportingkc.com/news/2015/01/preseason-recap-sporting-kc-falls-2-0-portland">L 0-2</a> |
--- |
Feb. 9 |
FC Tucson |
<a href="//www.sportingkc.com/news/2015/02/preseason-recap-sporting-kc-defeats-fc-tucson-4-2">W 4-2</a> |
Nemeth 60 (PK)<br>
Nemeth 75 (Ansu Rogers)<br>
Medranda 77 (Nemeth)<br>
Nemeth 90 (Dia) |
Feb. 18 |
Colorado Rapids |
<a href="//www.sportingkc.com/news/2015/02/preseason-recap-sporting-kc-comes-behind-tie-colorado-rapids-desert-diamond-cup-opener">T 2-2</a> |
Nemeth 77 (PK)<br>
Anor 78 (unassisted) |
Feb. 21 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
<a href="//www.sportingkc.com/news/2015/02/preseason-recap-sporting-kc-defeats-seattle-sounders-3-2-desert-diamond-cup">W 3-2</a> |
Zusi 34 (Feilhaber)<br>
Nemeth 39 (Anor)<br>
Ansu Rogers 73 (Medranda) |
Feb. 25 |
Real Salt Lake |
<a href="//www.sportingkc.com/news/2015/02/preseason-recap-sporting-kc-falls-real-salt-lake-2-1-desert-diamond-cup">L 1-2</a> |
Dwyer 66 (Feilhaber) |
Feb. 28 |
Minnesota United FC |
<a href="//www.sportingkc.com/news/2015/02/preseason-recap-sporting-kc-logs-1-0-win-over-minnesota-united-fc">W 1-0</a> |
Anor 8 (Opara, Zusi) |
Feb. 28 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
<a href="//www.sportingkc.com/news/2015/02/preseason-recap-sporting-kc-ties-seattle-sounders-desert-diamond-cup-finale">T 1-1</a> |
Hallisey 8 (Medranda) |
