Running throughout the season on Sports Radio 810 WHB, the Sporting Kansas City Show is available on several podcast hubs including Spotify and iTunes as well as SportingKC.com/SportingKCShow. With Nate Bukaty, Carter Augustine and Aly Trost hosting the weekly program, Sporting fans have a place to go to catch up on club storylines, guest interviews and more.
Not too surprisingly, compelling storylines came thick and fast in Tuesday's new episode of the Sporting Kansas City Show, presented by Michelob Ultra.
Serving as a comprehensive recap of Sporting's MLS is Back Tournament opener —a bitterly frustrating 2-1 loss against Minnesota United FC on Sunday—and a preview of Friday's pivotal Group D clash against the Colorado Rapids, hosts Nate Bukaty, Carter Augustine and Aly Trost had plenty to discuss.
Reporting from the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World in Florida, Augustine said Sporting had a spirited and intense training session Tuesday and have shown no signs of feeling sorry for themselves after falling to the Loons. Khiry Shelton opened the scoring Sunday off a clever feed from Alan Pulido, but Minnesota struck twice in second-half stoppage time to steal all three points.
With Tim Melia serving a red card suspension on Friday, 26-year-old goalkeeper Richard Sanchez is set to make his first Sporting Kansas City start. Sanchez already has nine seasons of professional experience under his belt, including a three-year stint with the Chicago Fire prior to arriving Kansas City last November.
Sanchez was the subject of a long-form interview during the podcast and declared his excitement and confidence ahead of the Colorado matchup. He also shared details about his soccer upbringing as a Mexican American, reflected on Sporting's inspirational involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement, and provided a quasi-scouting report of a Rapids team that excels on set pieces.
"What I've learned is you always have to be prepared because incidents like these can happen," said Sanchez, who has started 26 of 28 career MLS appearances. "For me, I'm just excited by the opportunity. It was obviously unfortunate in the way that this happened, but now it's just taking advantage of the opportunity to help my team win against Colorado."
Sanchez said he has received plenty of support from his teammates, including winger Gerso Fernandes, who backed the goalkeeper in an interview earlier this week on Sports Radio 810 WHB.
"The support from the guys has been absolutely great, and it's very telling of the group in general," Sanchez said. "It's a very united group and a locker room where I've felt very welcome from the beginning. I'm very appreciative of the support, and now it's just a matter of going out and performing."
