Sporting KC Weekly Schedule: June 18-24, 2018

Sporting Kansas City earned a dramatic 3-2 home victory over FC Dallas on Saturday night in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, punching their ticket to the tournament quarterfinals where they will travel to face either the Houston Dynamo or Minnesota United FC on a date to be determined. Manager Peter Vermes' men ((8-2-5, 29 points) will remain at Children's Mercy Park this Saturday for the resumption of the MLS regular season, hosting rivals Houston (6-5-3, 21 points) at 7:30 p.m. CT.

FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO will show three hours of live coverage on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. CT, while listeners can catch the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish). A limited number of tickets for the Western Conference clash, including standing-room only tickets, are available via SeatGeek.com. Sports Radio 810 WHB will also air The Final Whistle postgame show immediately after the game.

Following Saturday's contest, supporters are encouraged to stay in their seats for the Special Olympics Unified Exchange game between athletes from Special Olympics Kansas City and Special Olympics Houston, starting at approximately 10 p.m. CT.

SportingStyle has reopened matchday pre-orders for pickup at Saturday's showdown between Sporting KC and Houston. Fans can shop a limited assortment of items between now and Saturday, including the new scarf of the match. The SportingStyle Pop in Store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Budweiser Brew House at Children's Mercy Park. Follow @SportingStyle on Twitter and Instagram for sneak peeks of all the latest club apparel.

Eight Sporting KC players are eligible for selection in the online voting ballot for the 2018 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target. Fans can visit MLSsoccer.com to vote Sporting KC players into the Fan XI before the poll closes at 1:55 a.m. CT Thursday.

The Swope Park Rangers (7-4-4, 25 points) split a pair of matches last week, defeating USL Western Conference leaders Real Monarchs 3-2 last Wednesday at Children's Mercy Park before falling 4-1 at Fresno FC on Sunday night. Led by head coach Paulo Nagamura, the Rangers will return to Children's Mercy Park this Saturday for a 4 p.m. CT kickoff with expansion side Las Vegas Lights FC. The game will stream live on ESPN+ and tickets are available at SeatGeek.com.

In conjunction with Sunday's match, the Rangers Matchday Soccer Clinic will take place from 3:30-7:30 p.m. CT at Children's Mercy Park. Player registration is now open and all participants will receive two general admission tickets to Sunday's game before taking the field for a 60-minute clinic on the pitch, which includes autograph and photo opportunities with Rangers players.

Sporting KC players Tim Melia, Seth Sinovic and Graham Zusi will visit Children's Mercy Hospital (2401 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO) from 2-3:30 p.m. CT Tuesday to participate in a variety of activities with youth patients, including arts and crafts and board games. For more information, contact Sporting KC Community Programs Director Brandi Thomas at bthomas@sportingkc.com.

A new episode of the Sporting KC Show will air at 7:15 p.m. CT Tuesday on Sports Radio 810 WHB. Hosts Nate Bukaty and Carter Augustine will recap Satuday's thrilling Open Cup encounter between Sporting KC and FC Dallas, preview this weekend's matchup against the Dynamo and reflect on the first week of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

At 11:15 a.m. CT Wednesday, Sporting KC President Jake Reid and Kansas City Bid Director David Ficklin will conduct a Reddit AMA interview about Kansas City's role in the United Bid, which successfully brought the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the United States, Canada and Mexico in a vote among FIFA-sanctioned nations last Wednesday. Kansas City is one of 23 cities identified as a potential host city for the 2026 World Cup. FIFA is expected to select 16 of the 23 as official host cities some time in 2020.

The Sporting KC Academy U-17s and U-19s are set to compete at the 2018 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs this week at the SoCal Sports Complex in Oceanside, California. Both teams will play three group stage matches between Monday and Sunday prior to the quarterfinal knockout round, which also takes place in Oceanside on June 25-26. The four quarterfinal winners will advance to the Development Academy semifinals, slated to kickoff at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday, July 8, followed by the championship games on July 10.

While the U-17s and U-19s battle in the playoffs, the Sporting KC U-15s will participate in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Showcase, featuring U-15 academy clubs from across the country. The U-15s will finish their 2017-18 campaign with round-robin matches on Thursday, Friday and Sunday in Oceanside.

While three Academy clubs compete in California, the Sporting KC U-14s will travel to Westfield, Indiana to compete in the 2018 US Youth Soccer Midwest Regional Championships. The U-14s will play group stage matches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with hopes of advancing to the semifinals and finals on June 26-27.

Sporting Fields + Athletics is offering free pickup soccer Thursday from 6-8 p.m. CT at Wyandotte Sporting Fields for players age 18 and up. The open summer league will feature 5-v-5 games on five separate Thursdays throughout June and July, taking place on Field 6 at Wyandotte Sporting Fields (1500 N. 19th St., Kansas City, KS). For more information, visit SportingAthletics.com.

Sporting KC is a presenting sponsor of the Sunset Music Fest, which will run from 6-9:30 p.m. CT Thursday at Town Center Plaza in Leawood, Kansas (5000 W. 119th St.). The family-friendly outdoor concert is free of charge, featuring a Sporting KC futsal court, fan giveaways, aerial artists, pace painters, inflatables and more.

Scooter's Coffee will host a Day of Giving this week for The Victory Project, an initiative from Sporting KC that unites players, staff and fans to help children battling cancer. On Friday, Kansas City area Scooter’s Coffee locations will donate 20 percent of proceeds to the foundation to help further its mission.

Sporting KC will host its second King of the Court futsal tournament on Saturday at Edwardsville Park in Edwardsville, Kansas (1200 Blake St.), consisting of 5-v-5 matches for age groups 8-12 as well as 13 and up. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT, featuring a block party complete with music, yard games, skills challenges, food trucks, music DJs and more. Tournament registration is free for all teams and now open at SportingKC.com/kingofthecourt.

For news, videos, photos and instant updates throughout the 2018 season, follow Sporting KC on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat (sportingkc), and download the club’s official mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria on the App Store or Google Play.