Sporting Kansas City vs FC Dallas
Friday, September 18 - 6 p.m. CT
Sporting Park | Kansas City, Kansas
English TV: KMCI-TV
Spanish TV: UniMas
English Radio: Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio: La Grande 1340 AM
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Sporting Kansas City returns to Sporting Park after a four-game road swing to host FC Dallas at 6 p.m. CT on Friday. The Western Conference clash will be broadcasted locally on KCMI-TV's 38 the Spot and nationally on UniMas. Radio coverage will be available on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. A limited number of tickets remain available, including standing room only tickets, and can be purchased online at TicketMaster.com or at the stadium box offices on Friday.
FC Dallas sits in second place in the West with 47 points and a 14-8-5 record, while Sporting KC (11-8-8) sits six points back in fifth place. The sides meet for the fourth time in 2015 with Sporting KC winning the previous two meetings, outscoring FC Dallas 11-5 when including a 6-2 victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on July 1. Dom Dwyer scored a club record four goals in the Round of 16 victory, while Krisztian Nemeth added two more for Sporting KC.
The last regular season meeting in the series -- coming on May 29 at Sporting Park - ended in similar fashion with Sporting KC winning by a four-goal margin courtesy of strikes from Nemeth, Benny Feilhaber, Kevin Ellis and Graham Zusi.
FC Dallas carries a three-game winning streak into Friday's match, most recently earning a 2-1 victory against expansion side New York City FC. Tesho Akindele, the reigning MLS Rookie of the Year, opened the scoring in the 45th minute and Michel scored directly off a corner kick just four minutes later. FC Dallas is the only MLS club to have five players with at least five league goals this season (Fabian Castillo 9, Mauro Diaz 5, Blas Perez 5, Michael Barrios 5 and Akindele 5), while Sporting KC is the only club to have three players with at least eight league goals (Nemeth 9, Dwyer 9 and Feilhaber 8).
Sporting KC is amidst a five-game winless streak in the last month and suffered a 3-1 loss to former affiliate Orlando City SC in their last outing. Nemeth scored the lone goal for Sporting KC and his finish was nominated for MLS Goal of the Week for Week 28. However, Sporting KC is 12-1-4 at home this season in all competitions with 36 goals scored in 17 matches at Sporting Park.
Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia missed Sporting KC's last match after suffering a quad strain in a seven-save mid-week performance against the Portland Timbers and remains questionable for Friday. FC Dallas also has several notable players on the injury report including Mauro Diaz (right quad tightness), Dan Kennedy (right knee strain) and Victor Ulloa (hyperextended right knee).
Fans are encouraged to arrive early on Friday and the first 10,000 ticket holders through the gates will recieve a multi-use Sporting KC bandana courtesy of match sponsor U.S. Bank. In-game updates will be available online at SportingKC.com/GameOn, via Twitter @SKCGameday and through the Sporting Club Uphoria mobile app. Following the match, fans can tune in to The Final Whistle: Sporting KC Postgame Show on Sports Radio 810 WHB and join the conversation by calling 913-3-810-810.
