Sporting Kansas City midfielder Felipe Gutierrez earned a spot on the MLS Team of the Week bench today after burying two penalty kicks in a 2-2 draw at Toronto FC on Friday night.
Gutierrez, who now ranks third on the team with six goals this season, became just the second player in Sporting history to convert two penalties in the same regular season match. The first such occurrence was also at Toronto's expense, as Dom Dwyer notched a pair in a 4-1 win at Children's Mercy Park on Aug. 16, 2014.
In a hotly contested battle that saw Toronto equalize in the 95th minute through Jordan Hamilton, Gutierrez also won a game-high five fouls and earned the club's second penalty with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Manager Peter Vermes' men may have left Toronto with sour tastes in their mouths, having conceded a late leveler, but they departed Canada having reached an unprecedented milestone in club history. Sporting's regular-season unbeaten run versus Toronto has now reached 10 matches, good for the team's longest against a single opponent all-time.
Sporting will now prepare for their opening fixture in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a fourth round matchup at Minnesota United FC on Wednesday. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT inside the new Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
