Sporting KC vs Vancouver Whitecaps
Saturday, August 15 - 8 p.m. CT
Sporting Park | Kansas City, KS
Broadcast Schedule:
English TV: KMCI-TV's 38 the Spot
English Radio: 99.3 FM
Spanish Radio: La Grande 1340 AM
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Sporting Kansas City hosts first place Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Sporting Park on Saturday. The match, presented by Mark One, kicks off at 8 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on KMCI-TV's 38 the Spot with coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT. A limited number of tickets are still available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or the Sporting Park box offices on Saturday.
Sporting KC and Vancouver are both coming off midweek matches highlighted by Sporting KC advancing to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final with a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake. Vancouver earned a 2-2 draw against the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship Final.
Sporting KC's come-from-behind victory against Real Salt Lake saw three different goalscorers for the home side in Soni Mustivar, Benny Feilhaber and Krisztian Nemeth. The goal was Mustivar's first since signing with Sporting KC on February 12. The Haitian midfielder broke into the starting lineup on May 3 and since then Sporting KC has lost just two matches with a +12 goal differential in League play. Feilhaber and Nemeth lead Sporting KC's attack with eight goals each.
Vancouver's midweek match saw them get on the board first with goals from Darren Mattocks and Pedro Morales in the 65th and 72nd minute, respectively. The visitors conceded two goals within a minute of each other in the final 10 minutes of the match. The Whitecaps boast the best road record (7-4-2) in the League this season, while Sporting Kansas City is unbeaten at home (7-0-4) in MLS play in 2015 and in the midst of a 15-game home unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Saturday marks the second meeting between these two clubs this season, with Sporting KC earning the 1-0 victory in the first match of the series on July 12 at BC Place in Vancouver. Kevin Ellis tallied the game-winning header in the 52nd minute from a Nemeth cross.
Vancouver will be without Kendall Waston (yellow card accumulation), Andre Lewis (international duty) and Ben McKendry (left knee surgery) on Saturday. Sporting Kansas City will also be missing several key contributors due to injury including Roger Espinoza (tibial sesamoid fracture in left foot), Bernardo Anor (left ankle sprain) and Ike Opara (left achilles), while Jalil Anibaba (left thigh strain), Jacob Peterson (left hip pain) and Graham Zusi (left calf strain) are all listed as questionable on the injury report.
Parking lots open at 5 p.m. CT with gates opening at 6 p.m. CT. The first 10,000 fans through the gates will recieve a Sporting KC branded lunch bag, courtesy of Mark One. Fans are encouraged to remain in their seats at halftime because Sporting Club will induct former Kansas City midfilder Chris Klein into the Sporting Legends hall of honor.
In-game updates will be available at SportingKC.com/GameOn and via Twitter at @SKCGameday.
