Sporting Kansas City now know their opponent next Tuesday at Sporting Park in the third round of the US Open Cup. Tonight in Minnesota, PDL side (US 4th division), the Des Moines Menace beat NASL (US 2nd division) Minnesota United 1-0. The win will see the Menace travel to KC next week for a game. The 1-0 win came off an 86th minute goal off a header from former KC academy player, Brandon Fricke.
It'll be the 3rd time that Kansas City and Des Moines will meet up in US Open Cup play. Kansas City won the first match up between the two in 2005 at Park University 6-1 off braces by Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff. The second match up came a year later at Blue Valley District Athletic Complex. KC won that match up as well, 2-1 off a stoppage time winner by Scott Sealy.
This year's match up will be two days after Sporting KC's game Sunday against Houston. But with the number of call ups that Kansas City has, some of KC's first team is likely going to have to play both games on short rest.
In other US Open Cup news, two of Sporting KC's loaned players, Jon Kempin and Dom Dwyer became cap-tied to Orlando City for this year's US Open Cup. Both played in Orlando's 2-1 win over PDL side, Ocala Stampede. Dwyer had Orlando's first goal.
And in news that will make some people in Kansas City happy, the Dearborn Stars, who advanced over the KC Athletics after a protest lost 4-1 to Dayton in extra time. Dearborn had 3 players sent off, finishing the game with 8 players.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
More Call Ups for KC, and its Affect
Sporting Kansas City today announced three more players had been called up to represent their national team today. Mikey Lopez, Kansas City's first round draft pick this year has been called up to the US U20 team for the upcoming Toulon Tournament in France. The tournament in France goes from May 28th through June 8th and is a warm up for the U20 World Cup this summer in Turkey. For the Toulon tournament, the USA is grouped with Colombia, Congo, South Korea, and France. The US will France on the 28th, Colombia on the 30th, Congo on the 1st, before closing out group play on the 5th vs South Korea. If the US finishes in the top two in their group they'll advance to play in either the finals or the third place match on the 8th. With travel, Lopez is likely to miss the league games vs Houston and Montreal as well as KC's first US Open Cup match on the 28th. The last is probably the most disappointing as Lopez likely would have made his debut if he'd stayed with the team.
The other two call ups are KC's Haitian contingent, Mechack Jerome and Peterson Joseph. Both are back with the national team for two games against the previous two World Cup champions. Haiti will play Spain at Sun Life Stadium down in Miami on June 8th. Haiti will then travel to Brazil where they will take on the 2006 World Cup champions Italy on the 12th in the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro as Italy prepares for the Confederations Cup. The pair would not miss any league games, but the two would miss a potential 4th round US Open Cup match on the 12th should Sporting win their first game.
The win puts Kansas City in an interesting position team wise. That gives KC a total of 7 players currently on the roster that will be traveling with their national team over the next month or so, with Matt Besler, Kei Kamara, Soony Saad, and Graham Zusi being the other four. If those 7 were all to be gone at the same time, KC would only have 17 available players in Kansas City when you don't count the 4 players on loan in Orlando and Teal Bunbury recovering from his ACL tear still.
There is some good news in this though. First, there is no time during this stretch that Kansas City that all seven of those players will be gone. For Houston only Saad and Lopez are likely to be unavailable. For the US Open Cup game on Tuesday the 28th those two plus Besler and Zusi will not be available. The June 1st game against Montreal will see three, Lopez, Besler, and Zusi. Should KC win their third round US Open Cup match, they'll be missing five for the fourth round match on the 12th as Besler and Zusi will be joined by Mechack Jerome, Peterson Joseph, and Kei Kamara for that match. The other good news is that KC's schedule during this run is fairly light. KC only has two league games and potentially two Open Cup games affected by these call ups. It could certainly have been a lot worse for Kansas City.
To see the break down of about when players will be gone check out the below graph I crudely drew up. (Click to see full size.)
The other two call ups are KC's Haitian contingent, Mechack Jerome and Peterson Joseph. Both are back with the national team for two games against the previous two World Cup champions. Haiti will play Spain at Sun Life Stadium down in Miami on June 8th. Haiti will then travel to Brazil where they will take on the 2006 World Cup champions Italy on the 12th in the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro as Italy prepares for the Confederations Cup. The pair would not miss any league games, but the two would miss a potential 4th round US Open Cup match on the 12th should Sporting win their first game.
The win puts Kansas City in an interesting position team wise. That gives KC a total of 7 players currently on the roster that will be traveling with their national team over the next month or so, with Matt Besler, Kei Kamara, Soony Saad, and Graham Zusi being the other four. If those 7 were all to be gone at the same time, KC would only have 17 available players in Kansas City when you don't count the 4 players on loan in Orlando and Teal Bunbury recovering from his ACL tear still.
There is some good news in this though. First, there is no time during this stretch that Kansas City that all seven of those players will be gone. For Houston only Saad and Lopez are likely to be unavailable. For the US Open Cup game on Tuesday the 28th those two plus Besler and Zusi will not be available. The June 1st game against Montreal will see three, Lopez, Besler, and Zusi. Should KC win their third round US Open Cup match, they'll be missing five for the fourth round match on the 12th as Besler and Zusi will be joined by Mechack Jerome, Peterson Joseph, and Kei Kamara for that match. The other good news is that KC's schedule during this run is fairly light. KC only has two league games and potentially two Open Cup games affected by these call ups. It could certainly have been a lot worse for Kansas City.
To see the break down of about when players will be gone check out the below graph I crudely drew up. (Click to see full size.)
Sunday, May 19, 2013
S.A.S. Sunday of Stats
Matt Besler made his 130th appearance in all competitions, tying him with Jose Burciaga, Uche Okafor, and Roger Espinoza for 16th place on that list.
It was Besler's 112th league appearance, breaking his tie with Sean Bowers for 19th on that list.
Besler made his 123rd start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Burciaga for 14th place on that list.
Jimmy Nielsen made his 116th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Uche Okafor for 16th place on that list.
Besler and Nielsen made their 107th league start for KC, tying them with Okafor for 15th place on that list.
It was Besler's 112th league appearance, breaking his tie with Sean Bowers for 19th on that list.
Besler made his 123rd start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Burciaga for 14th place on that list.
Jimmy Nielsen made his 116th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Uche Okafor for 16th place on that list.
Besler and Nielsen made their 107th league start for KC, tying them with Okafor for 15th place on that list.
Controversial Call Limits KC to a Point in DC
In close games many times you'll see a questionable call by a referee help to decide the game. More often than not that quesitonable call is a judgment call by the referee that could be called either way and is usually argued as such depending which side of the call you're on. Then you have incidents like in today's game and you get offside calls that are blatantly wrong. KC defender Ike Opara had a legitimate goal ruled out due to an offside call that live looked totally wrong and on replay looked worse when there are at least 3 DC players between Opara and the goal (and potentially a 4th even with Opara depending on how you view the angle). PRO Executive Director, Peter Walton said it was "clearly a wrong call and one that cannot be justified."
Meanwhile the referee himself, Matthew Nelson said he "misjudged the play."
In the end the call helped to cost Sporting Kansas City 2 points as they and DC played to a 1-1 draw. And while there's no way to tell how the rest of the game would have gone if the goal had counted it's a frustrating situation with the game ending 1-1.
KC had a strong start to the game, pushing the game and putting DC on the back foot. It was DC on the counter though that created the first really good chance of the half in the 10th minute. After a cross was played back to an onrushing Nick De Leon, the midfielder fired a shot from outside the box that Jimmy Nielsen just palmed into the air and out for a corner, not attempting to hold the ball. KC kept pushing and in the 30th minute came the controversy. Off a corner the ball ended up wide with Seth Sinovic. Sinovic played the ball to Matt Besler who was racing towards the end line. Besler cut the ball back into the path of Jacob Peterson. Peterson played the ball to the back post where Opara had made his run. Opara tapped the ball into the net but was wrongly ruled offside and the score remained 0-0. KC tried to find a goal before half, Graham Zusi forced a decent save out of Bill Hamid in the 39th after DC turned the ball over in their own end. As the half wore down it was acually DC who almost grabbed the lead heading into the half. A deep cross made it into the box where Dwayne DeRosario found himself unmarked. DeRosario tried to head the ball back towards the near post, but put his header wide keeping the score 0-0.
KC continued their search for the first goal in the second half but struggled to create chances. Finally in the 60th minute they found it. Off a Zusi corner kick, Opara ran into the box and got a touch on the ball and deflected it onto the head of Ethan White who headed it past Hamid and into his own net to make it 1-0 Sporting. The lead only lasted 5 minutes though as in the 65th DC was level. Chris Pontius played a fantastic cross to the back post for Kyle Porter who one timed an effort into the far post past Nielsen to level the game at 1-1. After giving up the equalizer Kansas City again was pushing the game looking to retake the lead. A great ball into the box in the 77th minute. Opara knocked the ball into the middle where Claudio Bieler dummied the ball, unfortunately no one had made the run to the back post. Off the ensuing corner the ball ended up at the back post where Opara and Kei Kamara had cracks at the goal but saves by Hamid and the DC defense kept the score 1-1. DC came right back down the field off a long clearance from Hamid and almost took the lead themselves. The ball ended up at the feet of Porter who raced into the box and fired on Nielsen who made a good kick save. KC in the 81st had one of their better chances as a Zusi cross was knocked back to the top of the box to Bieler who fired a shot on goal that Hamid did very well to get down and tip around the post. Bieler could have had another chance or two but Bieler and Kamara both made the same runs a few times and Kamara ended up with the effort instead. KC pushed but couldn't find the winner their arguably deserved and had to settle for a point, leaving KC 1-1-3 against the bottom 4 in the East while they're 4-0 against the top 5 currently. KC is playing well against the opponents they should but more often than not appear to be playing down to the level of their competition when teams in the lower half of the table.
Wizards Man of the Match - Ike Opara - Created the own goal and wrongly had one of his own ruled out. He also did a very good job of shutting down DC's attack. He's proven over the last few games that KC shouldn't have to worry too much when Besler is gone with national team duty.
Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Jerome 6, Besler 6, Opara 7, Sinovic 5, Nagamura 6, Joseph 6, Fielhaber 5, Peterson 5, Bieler 6, Zusi 7. Subs Olum 6, Kamara 5, Gardner 5.
Meanwhile the referee himself, Matthew Nelson said he "misjudged the play."
In the end the call helped to cost Sporting Kansas City 2 points as they and DC played to a 1-1 draw. And while there's no way to tell how the rest of the game would have gone if the goal had counted it's a frustrating situation with the game ending 1-1.
KC had a strong start to the game, pushing the game and putting DC on the back foot. It was DC on the counter though that created the first really good chance of the half in the 10th minute. After a cross was played back to an onrushing Nick De Leon, the midfielder fired a shot from outside the box that Jimmy Nielsen just palmed into the air and out for a corner, not attempting to hold the ball. KC kept pushing and in the 30th minute came the controversy. Off a corner the ball ended up wide with Seth Sinovic. Sinovic played the ball to Matt Besler who was racing towards the end line. Besler cut the ball back into the path of Jacob Peterson. Peterson played the ball to the back post where Opara had made his run. Opara tapped the ball into the net but was wrongly ruled offside and the score remained 0-0. KC tried to find a goal before half, Graham Zusi forced a decent save out of Bill Hamid in the 39th after DC turned the ball over in their own end. As the half wore down it was acually DC who almost grabbed the lead heading into the half. A deep cross made it into the box where Dwayne DeRosario found himself unmarked. DeRosario tried to head the ball back towards the near post, but put his header wide keeping the score 0-0.
KC continued their search for the first goal in the second half but struggled to create chances. Finally in the 60th minute they found it. Off a Zusi corner kick, Opara ran into the box and got a touch on the ball and deflected it onto the head of Ethan White who headed it past Hamid and into his own net to make it 1-0 Sporting. The lead only lasted 5 minutes though as in the 65th DC was level. Chris Pontius played a fantastic cross to the back post for Kyle Porter who one timed an effort into the far post past Nielsen to level the game at 1-1. After giving up the equalizer Kansas City again was pushing the game looking to retake the lead. A great ball into the box in the 77th minute. Opara knocked the ball into the middle where Claudio Bieler dummied the ball, unfortunately no one had made the run to the back post. Off the ensuing corner the ball ended up at the back post where Opara and Kei Kamara had cracks at the goal but saves by Hamid and the DC defense kept the score 1-1. DC came right back down the field off a long clearance from Hamid and almost took the lead themselves. The ball ended up at the feet of Porter who raced into the box and fired on Nielsen who made a good kick save. KC in the 81st had one of their better chances as a Zusi cross was knocked back to the top of the box to Bieler who fired a shot on goal that Hamid did very well to get down and tip around the post. Bieler could have had another chance or two but Bieler and Kamara both made the same runs a few times and Kamara ended up with the effort instead. KC pushed but couldn't find the winner their arguably deserved and had to settle for a point, leaving KC 1-1-3 against the bottom 4 in the East while they're 4-0 against the top 5 currently. KC is playing well against the opponents they should but more often than not appear to be playing down to the level of their competition when teams in the lower half of the table.
Wizards Man of the Match - Ike Opara - Created the own goal and wrongly had one of his own ruled out. He also did a very good job of shutting down DC's attack. He's proven over the last few games that KC shouldn't have to worry too much when Besler is gone with national team duty.
Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Jerome 6, Besler 6, Opara 7, Sinovic 5, Nagamura 6, Joseph 6, Fielhaber 5, Peterson 5, Bieler 6, Zusi 7. Subs Olum 6, Kamara 5, Gardner 5.
FC Kansas City Top Boston Move Into Third
FC Kansas City earned
three points and moved up the National Women’s Soccer League table by
defeating the Boston Breakers 2-0 tonight. Nicole Barnhart earns her
third ‘clean sheet’ with another shutout while Renae Cuellar and Lauren
Cheney scored their fourth and second goals respectively in front of
4,362 fans at Verizon Wireless Field.
The
win bumps FC Kansas City into third place in the NWSL standings with 10
points. The team will be at home again next week to face Sky Blue FC
on Saturday May 25th at 7:35pm. Tickets are available by calling 855.4KC.GOAL or emailing tickets@kcprosoccer.com.
Coming
into tonight’s match, the Boston Breakers were the last remaining
undefeated team in the NWSL, while FC Kansas City was recovering from
their first loss last week. While still early in the season, this game
had the feel of a ‘must-win’ situation for both sides. To make matters
more complicated for Kansas City, center-back and U.S. National Team
allocation, Becky Sauerbrunn, was unavailable due to an injury suffered
against Western New York last week. Taking her place on the back line
tonight was Jen Buczkowski, while Casey Loyd stepped in to fill her role
in the midfield.
Both
players played admirably and held Boston to only five shots on goal.
Nicole Barnhart easily earned her third win, all by shut-out. Renae
Cuellar returned to her goal scoring ways when she slotted home a
breakaway attempt against her teammate on the Mexican National Team,
Cecilia Santiago, in the 17th minute. Lauren Cheney was credited with
the assist on Cuellar’s goal and then notched a score of her own in the
64th minute when she guided in a cross from Casey Loyd on the
left side then using her upper body to deflect the ball inside the near
post.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
It's a Trap
Tomorrow's game against DC United at RFK Stadium is a classic trap game for Sporting Kansas City. Sporting comes into the game coming off a big win over Houston on the road last week. DC on the other hand comes in on the backs of a 7 game winless run and lost their last home game 4-0 to Houston. So DC is at a point of extreme pressure to get a result.
United's last game home game was a 4-0 loss to Houston at RFK. The pressure is mounting on DC coach Ben Olsen to begin to get results. DC has scored the fewest goals in the league heading into the game, having only scored 5 times through 10 games. They've struggled with some injuries as well, with Chris Pontius and Nick DeLeon missing time for the club during this stretch. They still have former MVP Dwayne DeRosario (and Carlos Ruiz although he is injured) on the roster and he seems to always cause KC some problems.
Kansas City comes in with a few issues of their own, specifically in defense. In the 1-0 win over Houston last week, both Aurelien Collin and Oriol Rosell picked up their 5th yellow cards of the season. That will see them both suspended for tomorrow's game. The two suspensions raise enough questions for Sporting's starting 11 on their own, but there are other questions for Sporting as well. Specifically the health of Matt Besler. Besler has missed the last few games with a knee injury. With Collin out Ike Opara is expected to get another start at center back. If Besler can't go, then Lawrence Olum looks set to get his first start of the season alongside Opara. The midfield could be a product of whether Besler can or cannot go. If Besler can go, Olum could slot directly into Rosell's spot in front of the back four. The other option is to have Paulo Nagamura play in the more withdrawn role and play the likes of Benny Feilhaber and Peterson Joseph in front of him. The other possibility is to drop Graham Zusi back into midfield, but I think that'd do more harm to the attack than good. The other question is whether Kei Kamara has been with the team long enough to get reinserted into the starting lineup.
Number to Remember - 5 - Kansas City has won 5 straight games in the series against DC United. They've won the two meetings each of the last two years as well as the one match up so far this year. In those 5 games, KC has shut out DC in four of them, all by a 1-0 score line. The only one that wasn't 1-0 was a 2-1 win at Sporting Park last year.
Key Match Up - Claudio Bieler vs Dejan Jakovic - Bieler so far this year has been as good as advertised, he's currently still second in the league in scoring and has been a handful for teams. He scored the winner when these two teams met at Sporting Park earlier this year and will be counted on again to find net.
PREDICTION - As I mentioned in the opening, this is a trap game for KC. KC is coming off a huge win against a rival in Houston now get to travel to play a team who is desperate. And KC gets to do it without two key defensive parts. The good news for KC is that the DC offense still don't strike me with a ton of fear. DeRosario is a threat, but the rest of the team offensively has struggled. Casey Townsend has done well early on in the lower division this year, he's not proven himself at the MLS level. The other option is Lionard Pajoy who doesn't strike a ton of free in teams.
SKC - 2 (Bieler, Kamara)
DC - 1 (DeRosario)
United's last game home game was a 4-0 loss to Houston at RFK. The pressure is mounting on DC coach Ben Olsen to begin to get results. DC has scored the fewest goals in the league heading into the game, having only scored 5 times through 10 games. They've struggled with some injuries as well, with Chris Pontius and Nick DeLeon missing time for the club during this stretch. They still have former MVP Dwayne DeRosario (and Carlos Ruiz although he is injured) on the roster and he seems to always cause KC some problems.
Kansas City comes in with a few issues of their own, specifically in defense. In the 1-0 win over Houston last week, both Aurelien Collin and Oriol Rosell picked up their 5th yellow cards of the season. That will see them both suspended for tomorrow's game. The two suspensions raise enough questions for Sporting's starting 11 on their own, but there are other questions for Sporting as well. Specifically the health of Matt Besler. Besler has missed the last few games with a knee injury. With Collin out Ike Opara is expected to get another start at center back. If Besler can't go, then Lawrence Olum looks set to get his first start of the season alongside Opara. The midfield could be a product of whether Besler can or cannot go. If Besler can go, Olum could slot directly into Rosell's spot in front of the back four. The other option is to have Paulo Nagamura play in the more withdrawn role and play the likes of Benny Feilhaber and Peterson Joseph in front of him. The other possibility is to drop Graham Zusi back into midfield, but I think that'd do more harm to the attack than good. The other question is whether Kei Kamara has been with the team long enough to get reinserted into the starting lineup.
Nielsen
Myers - Opara - Besler - Sinovic
Nagamura - Joseph
Feilhaber
Kamara - Bieler - Zusi
Number to Remember - 5 - Kansas City has won 5 straight games in the series against DC United. They've won the two meetings each of the last two years as well as the one match up so far this year. In those 5 games, KC has shut out DC in four of them, all by a 1-0 score line. The only one that wasn't 1-0 was a 2-1 win at Sporting Park last year.
Key Match Up - Claudio Bieler vs Dejan Jakovic - Bieler so far this year has been as good as advertised, he's currently still second in the league in scoring and has been a handful for teams. He scored the winner when these two teams met at Sporting Park earlier this year and will be counted on again to find net.
PREDICTION - As I mentioned in the opening, this is a trap game for KC. KC is coming off a huge win against a rival in Houston now get to travel to play a team who is desperate. And KC gets to do it without two key defensive parts. The good news for KC is that the DC offense still don't strike me with a ton of fear. DeRosario is a threat, but the rest of the team offensively has struggled. Casey Townsend has done well early on in the lower division this year, he's not proven himself at the MLS level. The other option is Lionard Pajoy who doesn't strike a ton of free in teams.
SKC - 2 (Bieler, Kamara)
DC - 1 (DeRosario)
Friday, May 17, 2013
Kamara and Saad Called Up for National Team Duty
Sporting KC have two more internationals for the upcoming international window. Joining Matt Besler and Graham Zusi on national team duty will be Kei Kamara and Soony Saad.
Kamara will be rejoining the Sierra Leone national team for their 2 upcoming qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. Currently Sierra Leone sit in 2nd place in their 4 team qualifying group on 4 points with a 1-1-1 record at the half way point. The first game is on June 8th when Kamara and Sierra Leone will host group leaders, Tunisia. Tunisia is currently on 9 points, so a loss by Sierra Leone would see them eliminated from qualification and almost assure Tunisia passage to the next round. The second match sees the Leone Stars travel to Cape Verde, who are currently winless in this round of qualifying, but the African Cup of Nations quarter-finalists will be a tough opponent for Sierra Leone. During the stretch, Kamara will not miss any league games as he'll not leave until after KC's game against Montreal on the first and return before KC's match in Dallas on the 22nd. He would miss a potential US Open Cup game should KC win their first match.
Saad is a new addition to the list of Sporting KC internationals. After representing the US at the U17 and U20 level, Saad has filed his one time switch with FIFA to represent Lebanon. Saad will be gone from May 25th through the 31st for a friendly against Oman. Saad will miss Sporting KC's match up against Houston on the 26th as well as KC's first US Open Cup game. The later of those two games is probably the bigger blow for KC because Saad was likely to be a starter for that game for KC.
Good luck to both players as they represent their country.
Kamara will be rejoining the Sierra Leone national team for their 2 upcoming qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. Currently Sierra Leone sit in 2nd place in their 4 team qualifying group on 4 points with a 1-1-1 record at the half way point. The first game is on June 8th when Kamara and Sierra Leone will host group leaders, Tunisia. Tunisia is currently on 9 points, so a loss by Sierra Leone would see them eliminated from qualification and almost assure Tunisia passage to the next round. The second match sees the Leone Stars travel to Cape Verde, who are currently winless in this round of qualifying, but the African Cup of Nations quarter-finalists will be a tough opponent for Sierra Leone. During the stretch, Kamara will not miss any league games as he'll not leave until after KC's game against Montreal on the first and return before KC's match in Dallas on the 22nd. He would miss a potential US Open Cup game should KC win their first match.
Saad is a new addition to the list of Sporting KC internationals. After representing the US at the U17 and U20 level, Saad has filed his one time switch with FIFA to represent Lebanon. Saad will be gone from May 25th through the 31st for a friendly against Oman. Saad will miss Sporting KC's match up against Houston on the 26th as well as KC's first US Open Cup game. The later of those two games is probably the bigger blow for KC because Saad was likely to be a starter for that game for KC.
Good luck to both players as they represent their country.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Besler and Zusi Called Up, Convey Traded
Jurgen Klinsmann today announced his camp roster ahead of a 5 game stretch for the US Men's national team that includes 3 World Cup qualifiers. Sporting KC will be represented in camp by two players, defender Matt Besler and midfielder/forward Graham Zusi. The camp kicks off on Sunday the 26th, but both Besler and Zusi will be a day late. The two will leave for camp after Sporting KC's game against Houston that day in Kansas City.
As part of the camp, the US have two friendlies scheduled. They'll take on Belgium in Cleveland on May 29th and then Germany in Washington DC on June 2nd. From there the US will jump back into World Cup qualifying with a match in Jamaica on June 7th. The US will then return home for 2 more qualifiers. They'll take on Panama on June 11th in Seattle and then play Honduras on the 18th in Salt Lake City. A busy stretch for the US. Last year they did a similar 5 game stretch although only 2 were World Cup qualifiers in that cycle. Unfortunately for the US by the last game the players were exhausted and certainly looked it in a loss to Jamaica. Hopefully a better performance over the 5 game stretch this year.
The good news for Sporting KC is that during this stretch they are in a light cycle in their schedule. Besler and Zusi will only miss one game over the stretch, a June 1st match against the Montreal Impact. They could also miss 2 US Open Cup games. They will definitely miss the 3rd round match up against either Minnesota United or the Des Moines Menace. And should KC win, they'll also miss the June 12th 4th round match up.
Convey Traded
Before the announcement by US Soccer, KC made an announcement of their own. The team announced today that they had traded midfielder Bobby Convey to Toronto FC for a 3rd round SuperDraft pick (will be 1st round Supplemental draft pick as SuperDraft has been only 2 rounds the last few years) in 2014.
Convey started the first two games of the season for KC but lost his starting spot after that and only played 112 minutes for KC so far this season. The former US international has struggled to stay healthy after the team's stellar start to the 2012 season that saw them start 7-0. He'd fallen further down the depth chart for Kansas City with the healthy return of Jacob Peterson and the return of Kei Kamara. With young forward Soony Saad also competing for time moving Convey makes a lot of sense for KC.
On the other hand it is a little disappointing considering how well Convey had looked in preseason this year.
At it's base, this looks to just be a salary dump and a move to create an open roster spot with the trade from KC's perspective. Convey was making $200,000 this year. And while I can't see Toronto taking on all of his salary, that should still create some wiggle room for KC if they wanted to try to add talent come the summer window. With his salary currently I have no complaints about "only" getting a 1st round Supplemental Draft pick, unless Sporting is cover the majority of Convey's salary while he's in Toronto.
As part of the camp, the US have two friendlies scheduled. They'll take on Belgium in Cleveland on May 29th and then Germany in Washington DC on June 2nd. From there the US will jump back into World Cup qualifying with a match in Jamaica on June 7th. The US will then return home for 2 more qualifiers. They'll take on Panama on June 11th in Seattle and then play Honduras on the 18th in Salt Lake City. A busy stretch for the US. Last year they did a similar 5 game stretch although only 2 were World Cup qualifiers in that cycle. Unfortunately for the US by the last game the players were exhausted and certainly looked it in a loss to Jamaica. Hopefully a better performance over the 5 game stretch this year.
The good news for Sporting KC is that during this stretch they are in a light cycle in their schedule. Besler and Zusi will only miss one game over the stretch, a June 1st match against the Montreal Impact. They could also miss 2 US Open Cup games. They will definitely miss the 3rd round match up against either Minnesota United or the Des Moines Menace. And should KC win, they'll also miss the June 12th 4th round match up.
Convey Traded
Before the announcement by US Soccer, KC made an announcement of their own. The team announced today that they had traded midfielder Bobby Convey to Toronto FC for a 3rd round SuperDraft pick (will be 1st round Supplemental draft pick as SuperDraft has been only 2 rounds the last few years) in 2014.
Convey started the first two games of the season for KC but lost his starting spot after that and only played 112 minutes for KC so far this season. The former US international has struggled to stay healthy after the team's stellar start to the 2012 season that saw them start 7-0. He'd fallen further down the depth chart for Kansas City with the healthy return of Jacob Peterson and the return of Kei Kamara. With young forward Soony Saad also competing for time moving Convey makes a lot of sense for KC.
On the other hand it is a little disappointing considering how well Convey had looked in preseason this year.
At it's base, this looks to just be a salary dump and a move to create an open roster spot with the trade from KC's perspective. Convey was making $200,000 this year. And while I can't see Toronto taking on all of his salary, that should still create some wiggle room for KC if they wanted to try to add talent come the summer window. With his salary currently I have no complaints about "only" getting a 1st round Supplemental Draft pick, unless Sporting is cover the majority of Convey's salary while he's in Toronto.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Bitter Sweet Week for Espinoza - Former SKC Wizards Update
A bitter sweet week for Roger Espinoza and Wigan Athletic. On Saturday, Wigan pulled off a huge upset of Manchester City and won the FA Cup for the club's first silverware. Espinoza became only the second player to win the US Open Cup and FA Cup after Freddie Ljunberg. Unfortunately 3 days later Wigan hit a low as they were relegated from the Premier League and will be playing in the Championship next season. Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Edson Elcock
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Aaron Hohlbein
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowery
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Akeem Priestly
Scott Sealy
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Did not dress in Montreal's 3-2 win over Salt Lake. Did not dress in Montreal's 0-0 draw with Vancouver.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 3-2 loss to Montreal.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 83 minutes in Portland's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Kevin Hartman - New York - Did not dress in New York's 1-1 draw with New England.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 74 minutes in Portland's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Seattle's 4-0 win over San Jose.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Dressed but did not play in Philadelphia's 1-0 win over Chicago. Dressed but did not play in Philadelphia's 4-1 loss to LA.
Khari Stephenson - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Salt Lake's 3-2 loss to Montreal.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 70 minutes in Columbus' 2-0 loss to Colorado.
Konrad Warzycha - Columbus - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Columbus' 2-0 loss to Colorado.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Did not play in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Minnesota.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale.
Shavar Thomas - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Minnesota.
USL
Christian Duke - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 76 minutes in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle's reserves.
Dom Dwyer - Orlando (Loan) -Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle's reserves.
Brian Fekete - Orlando - Did not dress in Orlando's 2-0 win over Orlando.
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh. Dressed but did not play in Phoenix's 4-3 loss to Dayton. Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 2-1 loss to Tucson in the US Open Cup.
Jon Kempin - Orlando (Loan) - Did not dress in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle.
Nelson Pizarro - Los Angeles -
Mike Reidy - Rochester - Started and played 79 minutes in Rochester's 1-0 win over Wilmington.
Yann Songo'o - Orlando (Loan) - started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle's reserves.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 4-1 win over Antigua.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Charleston's 4-2 win over Wilmington. Started and played 87 minutes in Charleston's 1-0 loss to Charlotte.
PDL
Scott Angevine - Des Moines - Started and played 90 minutes in Des Moines' 1-1 draw with Springfield. Started and played 90 minutes in Des Moines' 1-0 win over Madison in the US Open Cup.
Michael Kraus - Tucson - Did not dress in Tucson's 1-1 draw with LA.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse - Offseason
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason
Craig Rocastle - Missouri - Offseason
Paul Wright - San Diego - Offseason
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in Haka's 3-1 win over OPS. Started and played 90 minutes in Haka's 1-0 loss to KooTeePee.
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Did not play in DPMM's 3-2 win over Homes United. Did not play in DPMM's 2-1 loss to Hougang United.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Did not play in either of Esteghlal's games.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Atlas' 0-0 draw with Santos. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Atlas' 3-1 loss to Santos.
Sunil Chhetri - Churchill Brothers - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Churchill's 3-0 win over Air India.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Beat CSyD Liniers
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Did not play in Huila's 6-1 win over over Deportivo Pasto.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Wigan's 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Started and played 90 minutes in Wigan's 4-1 loss to Arsenal.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 8 minutes in Santos' 0-0 draw with Atlas. Started and played 90 minutes in Santos' 3-1 win over Atlas.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Portmore United 0-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in either of Bahia's games.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Did not play in AZAL's 5-3 win over Revan.
Igor Kostrov - Dacia - Moldova - Beat Iskra-Stal 3-0.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 70 minutes in San Martino's 1-0 loss to Real Garcilaso.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Did not dress in Spartak's 1-1 draw with Krylya Sovetov.
Michal Mravec - Zilina - Slovakia - Lost 2-1 to Slate Moravce.
Pablo Punyed - Fylkir - Iceland - Started and played 67 minutes in Fylkir's 2-1 loss to Valur. Started and played 90 minutes in Fylkir's 1-1 draw with Fram.
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Xanthi's 3-0 loss to Panathinaikos.
Milos Stojcev - FK Leotar Trebinje - Bosnia - Started and played 90 minutes scoring a goal in Leotar's 1-1 draw with Zvijezda.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 3-0 loss to Unterhaching.
Ivan Trujillo - Llaneros - Colombia - Started and played 64 minutes in Llaneros' 0-0 draw with Deportivo Pereira.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Did not play in TOT's games.
Active without a club or unknown
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Edson Elcock
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Aaron Hohlbein
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowery
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Akeem Priestly
Scott Sealy
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Did not dress in Montreal's 3-2 win over Salt Lake. Did not dress in Montreal's 0-0 draw with Vancouver.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 3-2 loss to Montreal.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Started and played 83 minutes in Portland's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Kevin Hartman - New York - Did not dress in New York's 1-1 draw with New England.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 74 minutes in Portland's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Seattle's 4-0 win over San Jose.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Dressed but did not play in Philadelphia's 1-0 win over Chicago. Dressed but did not play in Philadelphia's 4-1 loss to LA.
Khari Stephenson - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Salt Lake's 3-2 loss to Montreal.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 70 minutes in Columbus' 2-0 loss to Colorado.
Konrad Warzycha - Columbus - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Columbus' 2-0 loss to Colorado.
NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Did not play in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Minnesota.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale.
Shavar Thomas - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Minnesota.
USL
Christian Duke - Orlando (Loan) - Started and played 76 minutes in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle's reserves.
Dom Dwyer - Orlando (Loan) -Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle's reserves.
Brian Fekete - Orlando - Did not dress in Orlando's 2-0 win over Orlando.
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh. Dressed but did not play in Phoenix's 4-3 loss to Dayton. Started and played 90 minutes in Phoenix's 2-1 loss to Tucson in the US Open Cup.
Jon Kempin - Orlando (Loan) - Did not dress in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle.
Nelson Pizarro - Los Angeles -
Mike Reidy - Rochester - Started and played 79 minutes in Rochester's 1-0 win over Wilmington.
Yann Songo'o - Orlando (Loan) - started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-0 win over Seattle's reserves.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 4-1 win over Antigua.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Charleston's 4-2 win over Wilmington. Started and played 87 minutes in Charleston's 1-0 loss to Charlotte.
PDL
Scott Angevine - Des Moines - Started and played 90 minutes in Des Moines' 1-1 draw with Springfield. Started and played 90 minutes in Des Moines' 1-0 win over Madison in the US Open Cup.
Michael Kraus - Tucson - Did not dress in Tucson's 1-1 draw with LA.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse - Offseason
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason
Craig Rocastle - Missouri - Offseason
Paul Wright - San Diego - Offseason
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in Haka's 3-1 win over OPS. Started and played 90 minutes in Haka's 1-0 loss to KooTeePee.
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Did not play in DPMM's 3-2 win over Homes United. Did not play in DPMM's 2-1 loss to Hougang United.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Did not play in either of Esteghlal's games.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Atlas' 0-0 draw with Santos. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Atlas' 3-1 loss to Santos.
Sunil Chhetri - Churchill Brothers - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Churchill's 3-0 win over Air India.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Beat CSyD Liniers
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Did not play in Huila's 6-1 win over over Deportivo Pasto.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Wigan's 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Started and played 90 minutes in Wigan's 4-1 loss to Arsenal.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 8 minutes in Santos' 0-0 draw with Atlas. Started and played 90 minutes in Santos' 3-1 win over Atlas.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Portmore United 0-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in either of Bahia's games.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - Did not play in AZAL's 5-3 win over Revan.
Igor Kostrov - Dacia - Moldova - Beat Iskra-Stal 3-0.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 70 minutes in San Martino's 1-0 loss to Real Garcilaso.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Did not dress in Spartak's 1-1 draw with Krylya Sovetov.
Michal Mravec - Zilina - Slovakia - Lost 2-1 to Slate Moravce.
Pablo Punyed - Fylkir - Iceland - Started and played 67 minutes in Fylkir's 2-1 loss to Valur. Started and played 90 minutes in Fylkir's 1-1 draw with Fram.
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Xanthi's 3-0 loss to Panathinaikos.
Milos Stojcev - FK Leotar Trebinje - Bosnia - Started and played 90 minutes scoring a goal in Leotar's 1-1 draw with Zvijezda.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 3-0 loss to Unterhaching.
Ivan Trujillo - Llaneros - Colombia - Started and played 64 minutes in Llaneros' 0-0 draw with Deportivo Pereira.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Did not play in TOT's games.
Sporting Third Round US Open Cup Potential Draw Reveiled
US Soccer today announced the potential draw for the 3rd round of this year's US Open Cup. The third round is when all 16 US based MLS teams enter the competition. The defending US Open Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City learned who their potential opponents could be today. Sporting KC's draw will see them playing at Sporting Park in the 3rd round this year and will be playing a regional team after winning a coin flip with the Chicago Fire. Sporting could play one of three teams as the first round match takes place tonight. The match tonight sees the Des Moines Menace of the PDL taking on the Madison 56ers of the NPSL in Des Moines. The winner of that match will travel to Minnesota next Tuesday to take on Minnesota United in the 2nd round. The winner of that second round match up will travel to KC to play in Sporting Park on Tuesday the 28th
Of the potential opponents, KC has previously played one of those teams, the Menace. Kansas City played the Menace in the Open Cup in 2 straight years in 2005 and 2006. KC won both of those two games, winning 6-1 in 05 and 2-1 in 06. Minnesota United, Kansas City has never officially played, but they have played the Minnesota Thunder, the previous team in Minnesota, losing in 2005 3-1 and winning on penalty kicks in 2009 after drawing 3-3 over 120 minutes.
The game will come two days after Sporting takes on Houston at Sporting Park. Last year Kansas City played Orlando City in the 3rd round after only two days rest. In that game, only 3 players who started the previous league game started against Orlando (Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, and Seth Sinovic). Three starters entered that game as subs, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, and CJ Sapong.
Of the potential opponents, KC has previously played one of those teams, the Menace. Kansas City played the Menace in the Open Cup in 2 straight years in 2005 and 2006. KC won both of those two games, winning 6-1 in 05 and 2-1 in 06. Minnesota United, Kansas City has never officially played, but they have played the Minnesota Thunder, the previous team in Minnesota, losing in 2005 3-1 and winning on penalty kicks in 2009 after drawing 3-3 over 120 minutes.
The game will come two days after Sporting takes on Houston at Sporting Park. Last year Kansas City played Orlando City in the 3rd round after only two days rest. In that game, only 3 players who started the previous league game started against Orlando (Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, and Seth Sinovic). Three starters entered that game as subs, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, and CJ Sapong.
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