New Contracts and Options Picked Up - Former SKC Wizards Update

It's that time of year when MLS teams that are no longer in the playoffs announce their roster news for the offseason, the players that they have under contract for next season, those out of contract, those with options picked up and those with options declined. There's a lot of players on their way out. A number of former players though have had their options picked up, including three for the Swope Park Rangers. For the Rangers, Amer Didic, Christian Duke, and Nansel Selbol were just three of six players who were on last year's team that will return for the 2017 season. In terms of MLS players, Teal Bunbury had his option picked up by the New England Revolution while Jalil Anibaba and Mikey Lopez both signed new deals with Houston and New York City respectively.

In other news this week, on loan Erik Palmer-Brown made the bench for Porto for the first time. After spending most of his loan so far with Porto B, Palmer-Brown was on the bench for Porto's 0-0 cup draw with Belenenses.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Neven Markovic
Victor Munoz
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Did not dress in Montreal's 5-2 loss to Toronto.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 1-0 win over Colorado.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 5-2 loss to Toronto.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.

USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio- Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tyler Pasher - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - Swope Park - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Did not play in the Rampage's 7-5 win over Milwaukee.
Mike Jones - Dallas - No game this week.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - Playd in San Diego's 12-6 win over El Paso.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina -Started and played 90 minutes in Belgrano's 0-0 draw with Atletico Tucuman.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Fall season over.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Started and played 85 minutes in Mumbai's 2-0 win over Chennaiyin.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 70 minutes in Alajuelense's 0-0 draw with Herediano.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Defeate4d San Juan Jabloteh 3-0.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in either of Leganes' games.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Fall season over.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Started and played 90 minutes in Fluminense's 1-0 loss to Figueirense.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Started and played 90 minutes in Slavia's 1-0 win over Dinamo Minsk.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 1-0 loss to Huachipato.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 62 minutes in Al Gharafa's 2-1 win over Al Khor.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Dressed but did not play in Porto's 0-0 cup draw with Belenenses.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - Did not play in Metapan's 2-1 loss to Santa Tecla.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Started and played 90 minutes in Belenenses' 0-0 league draw with Porto. Did not dress in Belenenses' 0-0 cup draw with Porto.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Offseason.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - Started and played 79 minutes in Gyirmot's 2-0 loss to Ferencvaros.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 5-1 loss to FC Viktoria Koln.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 2-1 loss to Morecambe.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Did not play in Deveronvale's 2-2 draw with Nairn County.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in Atromitos' 4-3 win over PAOK.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Kickers' 3-2 loss to Saarbrucken.

Jewsbury to Retire at the End of the Season - Former SKC Wizards Update

Another long time MLS player is hanging up their cleats at the end of the season, former Kansas City Wizards' midfielder, Jack Jewsbury announced this past week that this year would be his final year in MLS. Jewsbury announced that he would retire at the end of the season at Portland's Stand Together Banquet on Sunday, it will bring to an end a career that has seen the 35 year old play 14 seasons in MLS, his first eight were in Kansas City where he's on the club's top 10 list in terms of starts, appearances, and minutes played. He's one of only nine players who have played in 200 games across all competitions for the club. In 2011 when he seemed to be losing his minutes on the field as KC started to go another direction he was traded to the Portland Timbers where he was the club's first captain when they joined MLS. He's since gone on to be a main part of their team and for his career is in MLS' all time top 10 in terms of appearances (348) and 29th all time in minutes played (25,363 up to this point. Congrats to Jewsbury on a fantastic career.

Here is the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Neven Markovic
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 1-0 win over RSL.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Came off the bench and played 8 minutes in New England's 3-1 win over Montreal.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 4-1 loss to Columbus.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and played 63 minutes in New York's 1-0 win over Alianza. Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 3-3 draw with Toronto.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Did not dress in Vancouver's 1-0 loss to Seattle.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Did not dress in Montreal's 3-1 loss to New England.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 1-0 win over Vancouver.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Started and played 76 minutes in Chicago's 2-2 draw with DC.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 4-2 loss to Saprissa. Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.
Kei Kamara - New England - Started and played 90 minutes, recording a goal and an assist in New England's 3-1 win over Montreal.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Dressed but did not play in either of Portland's games.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 3-1 loss to New England.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Dressed but did not play in NYCFC's 2-2 draw with Dallas.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 1-0 loss to Houston.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 4-2 loss to Saprissa. Did not dress in Portland's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Started and played 45 minutes in Orlando's 4-1 loss to Columbus.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 74 minutes in Philadelphia's 2-1 loss to Portland.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 4-1 win over Orlando.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 1-0 win over Alianza. Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in New York's 3-3 draw with Toronto.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Out injured.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 1-0 win over Carolina.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Carolina's 1-0 loss to Miami. Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 1-0 loss to Tampa.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Jacksonville's 3-3 draw with Puerto Rico.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Started and played 90 minutes in Puerto Rico's 3-3 draw with Jacksonville.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Started and played 76 minutes in Carolina's 1-0 loss to Miami. Came off the bench and played 23 minutes in Carolina's 1-0 loss to Tampa.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Dresed but did not play in either of OKC's games.

US
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 3-0 win over OKC.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Swope's 3-0 win over OKC.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 3-0 loss to Swope.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 1-0 win over Charlotte.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 73 minutes in Charlotte's 0-0 draw with Richmond. Came off the bench and played 8 minutes in Charlotte's 1-0 loss to Rochester.
Tyler Pasher - Swope Park - Started and played 85 minutes, recording a goal and an assist in Swope's 3-0 win over OKC.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 3-0 loss to Swope.
Kris Tyrpak - Swope Park - Started and played 82 minutes in Swope's 3-0 win over OKC.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Started and played 87 minutes in Swope's 3-0 win over OKC.
Yomby William - Richmond - Did not dress in Richmond's 0-0 draw with Charlotte. Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 loss to Charleston.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Started and played 68 minutes in AFC's 1-1 draw with Gais. Started and played 90 minutes in AFC's 1-0win over Sirius.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Lost 3-1 to Kraft.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Belgrano's 2-0 Copa Sudamericana win over Estudiantes. Did not dress in Belgrano's 0-0 draw with Olimpo.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in Belen's 2-2 draw with Municipal Liberia.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 1-0 win over Tampines Rovers.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Dressed but did not play in Alajuelense's 2-0 win over Santos de Guapiles
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - No game this week.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 5-1 loss to Barcelona.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 1-0 win over Pumas.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Came off the bench and played 32 minutes in RoPS' 1-0 win over PK-35 Vantaa.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in either of Fluminense's games.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Did not dress in Slavia's 6-2 loss to Minsk.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - No game this week.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Did not dress in RoPS' 1-0 win over PK-35 Vantaa.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Al Gharafa's 4-2 loss to Al Ahli.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Out injured
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 83 minutes in IBV's 2-1 loss to Stjarnan. Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 1-1 draw with Breidablik.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Belenenses' 1-1 draw with Vitoria Guimaraes.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Came off the bench and played 35 minutes in Pattaya's 4-0 loss to Sisaket.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - Defeated Zalakomar 7-0 in the cup. Started and played 81 minutes in Gyirmot's 0-0 draw with Paksi.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 2-0 loss to FC Schalke 04 II.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 2-0 win over Exeter City.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Did not dress in either of Deveronvale's games.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Forza 11-0, lost 1-0 to Kaya.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in Atromitos' 2-0 loss to Panaitolikos
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - Dressed but did not play in Kickers' 1-0 win over Stuttgarter Kickers. Started and played 59 minutes in Kickers' 1-1 draw with Waldhof Mannheim.

Bunbury, Kamara, Fall in US Open Cup Final - Former SKC Wizards Update

While Sporting Kansas City and the Vancouver Whitecaps were playing their CONCACAF Champions League game last night, two other MLS teams were competing in the US Open Cup final. FC Dallas and the New England Revolution played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco to decide who would succeed Kansas City as US Open Cup champions. Two former Sporting KC players were on the bench to start for their side as Teal Bunbury and Kei Kamara were both in the 18. Kamara was a first half sub, coming on for an injured Gershon Koffie. At the time Dallas was up 2-1, but went up 3-1 before the half time break. Bunbury was a second half sub, coming on with 21 minutes left, recording an assist on Juan Agudelo's second goal of the night to cut the lead to 4-2, but that's as close as the Revs would get.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Neven Markovic
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 3-3 draw with KC.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Came off the bench and played 8 minutes in New England's 3-1 win over NYCFC. Came off the bench and played 21 minutes, recording an assist in New England's 4-2 loss to Dallas.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 4-1 win over Montreal. Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 4-2 loss to LA.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 2-2 draw with DC.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Did not dress in Vancouver's 3-1 win over Columbus. Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 2-1 win over KC.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Did not dress in either of Montreal's games.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 1-1 draw with San Jose.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Dressed but did not play in Chicago's 2-1 loss to Toronto.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over RSL.
Kei Kamara - New England - Did not dress in New England's 3-1 win over NYCFC. Came off the bench and played 48 minutes in New England's 4-2 loss to Dallas.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 1-0 win over RSL.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Came off the bench and played 38 minutes in Montreal's 4-1 loss to Orlando. Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Philadelphia.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Dressed but did not play in NYCFC's 3-1 loss to New England.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Salt Lake's 3-3 draw with LA. Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 1-0 loss to Portland.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 1-0 win over RSL.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Orlando's 4-1 win over Montreal. Came off the bench and played 50 minutes in Orlando's 4-2 loss to LA.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 1-1 draw with Montreal.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 3-1 loss to Vancouver.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in New York's 2-2 draw with DC.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Out injured.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 0-0 draw with Puerto Rico.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Started and played 69 minutes in Carolina's 0-0 draw with Ottawa.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Started and played 90 minutes in Jacksonville's 3-2 loss to OKC.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Started and played 90 minutes in Puerto Rico's 0-0 draw with Ottawa. Started and played 90 minutes in Puerto Rico's 0-0 draw with Tampa.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 0-0 draw with Ottawa.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Dressed but did not play in OKC's 3-2 win over Jacksonville.

US
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Started and played 45 minutes in Swope's 3-0 win over Tulsa.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Swope's 3-0 win over Tulsa.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-2 draw with Seattle.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 1-1 draw with New York.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 72 minutes in Charlotte's 4-0 win over Pittsburgh.
Tyler Pasher - Swope Park - Started and played 45 minutes in Swope's 3-0 win over Tulsa.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in OKC's 2-2 draw with Seattle.
Kris Tyrpak - Swope Park - Just loaned to Sporting for the first time.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Started and played 45 minutes, recording an assist in Swope's 3-0 win over Tulsa.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-0 loss to Louisville.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Started and played 90 minutes in AFC's 0-0 draw with Assyriska.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Lost 2-0 to GBK.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Did not dress in Belgrano's 3-0 loss to Boca Juniors.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Did not dress in Belen's 1-0 loss to Limon.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - No game this week.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Alajuelense's 3-2 win over UCR.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - No game this week.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain -Did not dress in Leganes' 2-1 loss to Sporting Gijon.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 4-1 loss to Pumas.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Dressed but did not play in RoPS' 2-1 loss to Ilves. Started and played 79 minutes in RoPS' 1-1 draw with SJK.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in either of Fluminense's games.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Did not dress in Slavia's 4-1 loss to Dinamo Brest.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 2-0 win over San Luis.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Did not dress in either of RoPS' games.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar -  No game this week.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Out injured
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 2-0 loss to KR.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Started and played 45 minutes in Belenenses' 2-1 win over Nacional.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Pattaya's 1-1 draw with Ratchaburi.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Gyirmot's 1-0 win over Diosgyor.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund II.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 2-1 win over Cambridge United.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Started and played 75 minutes in Deveronvale's 2-0 loss to Huntly.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - No game this week.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in Atromitos' 3-0 loss to PS Giannina.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - Started and played 84 minutes in Kickers' 1-1 draw with Eintracht Trier.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Here is this week's former Sporting KC Player Update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Neven Markovic
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 1-1 draw with Seattle. Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 3-1 loss to Dallas.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Came off the bench and played 35 minutes in New England's 0-0 draw with San Jose. Started and played 60 minutes in New England's 1-0 loss to New York.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 loss to Toronto. Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 win over NYCFC.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 1-0 win over New Englan.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 0-0 draw with LA.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Did not dress in either of Montreal's games.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 1-1 draw with Houston. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Seattle's 4-2 loss to Portland.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Dressed but did not play in either of Chicago's games.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Portland's 4-2 win over Seattle.
Kei Kamara - New England - Started and played 90 minutes in New England's 0-0 draw with San Jose. Started and played 90 minutes in New England's 1-0 loss to New York.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Dressed but didn't play in Portland's 4-2 win over Seattle.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in either of Montreal's games.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Dressed but did not play in NYCFC's 2-1 loss to Orlando.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 76 minutes, scoring 2 goals in RSL's 2-1 win over Colorado.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 4-2 win over Seattle.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 loss to Toronto. Came off the bench and played 22 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 win over NYCFC.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 2-1 win over Columbus. Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 2-0 win over KC.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 2-1 loss to Philadelphia. Did not dress in Columbus' 2-0 win over San Jose.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 1-0 win over New England.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Out injured.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 2-0 win over OKC.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Carolina's 6-1 loss to New York.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - No game this week.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Did not dress in Puerto Rico's 0-0 draw with Edmonton.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Did not dress in Carolina's 6-1 loss to New York.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Dressed but did not play in OKC's 2-0 loss to Tampa.

US
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 2-1 win over LA.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Swope's 2-1 win over LA.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-0 loss to Colorado Springs. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Tulsa.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 1-1 draw with Cincinnati. Started and played 63 minutes in Rochester's 2-2 draw with Wilmington.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 68 minutes in Charlotte's 1-0 loss to Charleston.
Tyler Pasher - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 2-1 win over LA.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-0 loss to Colorado Springs. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over Tulsa.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 2-1 win over LA.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 1-0 win over Orlando.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Offseason.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Did not dress in AFC's 2-1 cup loss to Nykoping. Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in AFC's 2-1 win over Ljungskile.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Defeated Virkia 3-0.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 89 minutes in Belgrano's 1-0 loss to Estudiantes. Started and played 75 minutes in Belgrano's 1-0 loss to Independiente.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Did not dress in Belen's 4-1 win over Cartagines.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - No game until 9/14.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 73 minutes in Alajuelense's 2-1 win over San Carlos.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Started and played 73 minutes in W Connection's 1-1 draw with Honduras Progreso.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in LEganes' 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 2-1 loss to Necaxa.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in RoPS' 1-1 draw with Ilves. Came off the bench and played 11 minutes in RoPS' 3-0 win over Lahti.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in Fluminense's 2-0 loss to Palmeiras.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Dressed but did not play in Slavia's 1-1 draw with Vitebsk.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 2-1 los to Cobresal.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Did not dress in either of RoPS' games.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar -  No game until 9/15.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Out injured
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 1-1 draw with Throttur Reykjavik.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Started and played 90 minutes in Belenenses' 1-0 win over Tondela.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - No game this week.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - No game this week.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 2-2 draw with SC Verl.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 1-0 win over Blackpool. Dressed but did not play in Plymouth's 4-1 cup win over Newport County.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Lost 2-1 to Rothes.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Started and played 120 minutes, losing 3-2 in extra time to Tampines Rovers.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Start of Greek season delayed.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - Started and played 45 minutes in Kickers' 2-1 loss to Teutonia. Started and played 71 minutes in Kickers' 1-0 win over Nottingen.

Swope Park Rangers Name First Coach, First Player Signing

The Swope Park Rangers, Sporting KC's USL team, today announced the club's first head coach and their first player signing. The team confirmed rumors that have been around for the last couple months about their head coach, as Marc Dos Santos was named the team's first coach. Dos Santos joins the Rangers from the Ottawa Fury, where he'd spent the last two seasons coaching the NASL side. This past season he won coach of the year helping lead the Fury to the NASL title game while finishing first in the fall season. He finished with a record of 22-18-17 with Ottawa, going 15-4-11 this season. From everyone that I've seen talk about Dos Santos, that follow him and the Fury more closely than I do, this is a steal, Dos Santos seems to be a very smart coach that will bring a lot of the same things that Peter Vermes brought to Sporting KC, but also new ideas as well.

Also as part of Dos Santos signing on with the Swope Park Rangers is that he will become an assistant for Peter Vermes and Sporting KC at the same time. This makes the deal look that much better.

The club also announced today the signing of their first player. Returning to Kansas City after being waived last year, Christian Duke was the Swope Park Rangers first player signing. Duke spent two years with Sporting KC, never appearing for the first team in a league game. He spent a lot of time those two years on loan with Sporting's two USL affiliates, Orlando City and Oklahoma City Energy. After being waived by Sporting, Duke signed on with the Energy for the 2015 season, becoming a key part of their 2015 run to the Western Conference finals.

It is two strong starts for the club as they build for the 2016 season.

OKC Playoff Run Ends - Former SKC Wizards Update

 The USL Cup final will be this coming weekend. Unfortuantely for a group of former Sporting players they just missed out. Sporting KC USL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Energy fell 2-1 to the LA Galaxy II over the weekend, sending the Galaxy to the USL Cup against Rochester. OKC fell behind 2-0 in the first half before a goal by another local player, Missouri Comet, Coady Andrews cut the lead to 2-1. The Energy continued to fight but couldn't find the second goal. The season ends for Christian Duke, Cyprian Hedrick, Michael Thomas, and head coach Jimmy Nielsen.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Mitchell Cardenas
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Lawrence Olum
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - No game this week.
Teal Bunbury - New England - No game this week.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - No game this week.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - No game this week.
Daneil Cyrus - Chicago (Loan) - Came off the bench and played 35 minutes in Trinidad's 2-1 win over Panama. Started and played 90 minutes in Trinidad's 0-0 draw with Nicaragua.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Away with the US U23 team.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - No game this week.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Season over, injury.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - No game this week.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - No game this week.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - No game this week.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in either of Montreal's games.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - No game this week.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Loaned to San Antonio.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - No game this week.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 2-1 win over Montreal.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 1-1 draw with Ottawa.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Started and had a goal in Haiti's 3-1 win over El Salvador.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Started and played 90 minutes in Atlanta's 3-0 loss to New York.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Dressed but did not play in Atlanta's 3-0 loss to New York.
Khari Stephenson - San Antonio - Out injured.

US
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to LA.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Season over.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to LA.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Season over.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Season over.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Season over.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Season over.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to LA.
Yomby William - Richmond - Season over.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Offseason.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Tacoma - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United - Sweden - No game this week.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Dressed but did not play in KPV's 1-0 win over Honka.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - No game this week.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - No game this week.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Belen's 2-1 loss to Cartagines.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in India's 2-1 loss to Turkmenistan. Started and played 90 minues in India's 3-0 loss to Oman.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - No game this week.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Tied Defensores Unidos 0-0.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 0-0 draw with Tenerife.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Lost 2-0 to Arnett Gardens.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game this week.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - No game this week.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game this week.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - No game this week.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - No game this week.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Dressed but did not play in Armenia's 4-0 loss to France. Started and played 59 minutes in Armenia's 3-0 loss to Albania.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and scored a goal in El Salvador's 3-1 loss to Haiti. Played in El Salvador's 1-1 draw with Guatemala.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal -
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 3-0 loss to VfR Fischeln.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Started and played 90 minutes in the Philippines 0-0 draw with North Korea. Started and played 90 minutes in the Philippines' 2-0 loss to Bahrain.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - No game this week.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Saarbrucken's 3-0 loss to Astoria Walldorf.

Duke on Trial with OKC - Former SKC Wizards Update

The MLS season is supposed to start in a little over a week, which means more former Sporting players will be back in action. While that's going on, another looks set to attempt to continue his career in the lower divisions, Christian Duke, who had been in camp with Sporting KC for a while was in the Oklahoma City Energy squad today that took on HB Køge from Denmark. Duke would continue the tradition of the Energy being Sporting OKC becoming another former player to play under former player, Jimmy Nielsen should he sign.

Meanwhile, another former draft pick was back in town this past week. Michal Mravec, Sporting's third round pick in the 2011 MLS Supplemental draft was back in own with the Tacoma Stars to play the Missouri Comets at the Independence Events Center. It wasn't a great night for Mravec or the Stars. Tacoma lost the game 17-1, and in the fourth quarter, Mravec picked up a blue card for a pushing foul on Comets Leo Gibson. As Mravec was walking to the box, pleading his case, he grabbed he hand of referee Ron Cory and looked to attempt to show him what happened, mimicking kicking out. Mravec struck Cory in the shin while the referee reached for his red card. You can see the video of it below.

Post by Comets Nation.

Here's the rest of this week's update.


Active without a club or unknown
Federico Bessone
Bobby Convey
Christian Duke
Mechack Jerome
Will John
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Igor Kostrov
James Marcelin
Rauwshan McKenzie
Nelson Pizarro
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - DC - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Capped tied to Kansas City, could not play for Montreal vs Pachuca
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Kyle Miller - Atlanta - Offseason.

USL
Brian Fekete - Pittsburgh - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Jonathan Leathers - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Orange County - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - Had an assist in Ontario's 3-1 loss to San Diego.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in St. Louis' 14-9 win over Tulsa. Did not play in St. Louis' 13-3 win over Tacoma.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Had three goals and an assist in Missouri's 17-1 win over Tacoma.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Had an assist in Baltimore's 24-0 win over Chicago. Had three assists in Baltimore's 25-5 win over Harrisburg.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Did not play in Dallas' 6-2 loss to Monterrey.
Michal Mravec - Tacoma - Played in Tacoma's 13-3 loss to St. Louis. Played and received a red card in Tacoma's 17-1 loss to Missouri.
Boris Pardo - Wichita - Did not play in Wichita's 12-6 win over Tulsa. Did not play in Wichita's 22-4 win over

Tulsa.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Game this week was postponed.
Scott Angevine - Vasa - Finland - No games until 4/12
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Did not play in either of Blooming's games.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Quilmes' 2-2 draw with River Plate.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-1 win over Cruz Azul.
Reinaldo Brenes - Saprissa - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Saprissa's 2-0 win over Alajuelense.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Bengaluru's 4-1 loss to Mohun Bagan. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Bengaluru's 2-1 win over Maziya.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Just signed for the club.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Defeated Juventud Unida 2-1.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - No game until 4/3
Toni Dovale - CD Lugo - Spain - Started and played 86 minutes in Lugo's 2-1 win over Recreativo Huelva.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 1-1 draw with Boyaca Chico. Started and played 90 minutes in Cucuta's 0-0 draw with Cortulua.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla - Mexico - Dressed but did not play in Puebla's 2-1 win over Morelia. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring two goals in Puebla's 4-3 loss to Toluca.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Lost 7-2 to Waterhouse.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Did not dress in either of Boavista's games.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Drew 0-0 with Tanzania Prisons.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Did not dress in either of Fluminense's games.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in SAn Martin's 1-0 win over Melgar.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Did not dress in Servette's 2-1 win over Schaffhausen.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - No game until 3/6.
Lawrence Olum - Kedah FA - Malaysia - No game until 2/28.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - No game this week.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Lost 2-0 to IA.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Started and played 80 minutes in Sporting's 2-0 loss to Wolfsburg. Did not dress in Sporting's 2-0 win ovr Gil Vicente.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned fromBEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Defeated Assumption College 2-0.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Lost 1-0 to Sonsbeck.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Did not dress in either of Blackburn's games.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - No game this week.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - On break until 2/27
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/28.

Sporting Blue Wedding Continues, Sporting Waive 2 More, Will Have New Announce Team

The changes to Sporting KC roster continue, and they've now expanded beyond the field to the broadcast booth as well.

The team has made no formal announcement, but with the waiver draft this afternoon, after the expansion draft, two more Sporting KC players appeared on the list available to be drafted, Christian Duke and Martin Steuble.

Duke, a Sporting KC academy product that the team drafted in the 2013 Supplemental Draft. He never appeared in a competitive game for Sporting Kansas City but has spent part of the last two seasons on loan to Sporting's two USL affiliates, Orlando City and Oklahoma City.

Steuble, a midseason acquisition along with Jorge Claros, made just three appearances for the club after signing, one start. The other two were late game substitutes, totaling just 69 minutes for the club. Recently he's been away with the Philippines national team at the AAF Cup where he'd played every minute of their three group games. In the semifinals, he played 90 minutes in their 0-0 draw with Thailand, but in the return leg was sent off in the 82nd minute as the Philippines fell 3-0.

Williams and Gutierrez Will Not Be Back

The other news today was that Sporting KC's broadcast team of Callum Williams and Diego Gutierrez would not be back next season. Williams had been with the team since the 2011 season, covering play-by-play duties for SKCTV. He'd developed a following of fans in KC and around the league. One thing I've heard consistently was his even balanced commentary that was never too bias for the home team. Whoever replaces him will certainly have some big shoes to fill in the eyes of the fans.

Gutierrez, the former KC Wizards captain, was in his first season in the booth. He'd replaced Jake Yadrich, who moved from the booth to the sideline this season. Gutierrez didn't have as many fans as Williams did, a lot of the comments regarding him was that his commentary was too bias towards Kansas City and that he struggled to stay in the flow of the game. There's been no announcement on who will replace them in 2015.

What Happened and Where Do We Go From Here - Midfield

Part three of my look at what happened to Kansas City in the 2014 season and where to look at going forward is taking a look at Kansas City's midfield. While Sporting's midfield wasn't hit nearly as hard by injuries as the defense was, other factors led to Sporting's issues in midfield this season.

The biggest issue for Kansas City ended up coming early in the season. Sporting sold Oriol Rosell, the team's deep lying defensive midfielder to Sporting Portugal in June. Rosell played just seven games for Sporting in the 2014 season before the club approved the transfer. With his departure, Kansas City's passing seemed to go down field. Rosell set an MLS record for passes attempted, completed, and had a 96% passing accuracy in KC's 3-0 win over Montreal this season. Once KC sold him to Portugal, KC never really found a true replacement. The main player that filled in for Rosell was Lawrence Olum. The Kenyan is a decent player, but he's not Rosell and he couldn't fill the shoes that the Spaniard left. Peter Vermes also brought in long term target, Jorge Claros during the summer window. Claros did okay, but not great in his appearances for KC. But really, not many of Vermes' mid-season signings have really ever had much of an immediate impact on the team. Usually it's taken until the next year for those players to step up, play more, and really get into KC's system (see Rosell or Kei Kamara).

In front of whoever was manning the deep role was originally supposed to be Paulo Nagamura. The Brazilian performed well until summer when he again had an ankle injury that caused him to miss 10 games for Kansas City. Once he returned, KC's midfield improved, but he couldn't carry the team out of the slump that it was in for the second half of the season. With Nagamura out, Mikey Lopez, the team's lone Generation Adidas player started to get some more time. Lopez did well, but from the games he's played, the bite that KC has needed out of that position hasn't been present. KC's other midseason signing; Martin Steuble also got a run out in the box-to-box role in KC's system, but didn't have much of a role to play for KC.

Early on in the season, Nagamura had gotten spelled at times by the team's third round draft pick, Alex Martinez. The North Carolina State graduate didn't look out of place, playing in 10 league games, starting three of them, but he was waived by Kansas City in late June without much explanation. Part of the gap in KC's midfield in this role certainly wasn't helped by the illness/injury that caused Peterson Joseph to collapse in practice and not allow him to play again for the club.


In the attacking midfield spot, KC got its most consistent performance for the entire season, with Benny Feilhaber being the main creator out of the midfield for KC. And Feilhaber wasn't just in the attacking role. Throughout the season due to all the injuries and call ups, Feilhaber played all three of KC's midfield positions. His influence in the offense did decrease some as the season went on. Part of this certainly would seem to fall on the sale of Rosell. With Rosell gone and Olum/Claros not being able to fill his shoes, Feilhaber was dropping himself deeper into KC's midfield to collect the ball from the team's defensive midfielder or from center backs. This pushed Nagamura or the box-to-box midfielder into a more advanced role where they may not be as good at creating and/or finishing chances that are created for them. Feilhaber was arguably Kansas City's best player all around over the course of the entire season. In the instances when Feilhaber would drop into deeper roles, many times the attacking role would fall to Graham Zusi. Zusi does well in the center of midfield can work with both sides of the field. But in a way I think it limits his play. I think he does a better job out on the wing where he can look up and see the entire field with one look instead of scanning across the field. It's been his best position for the US national team and I think while good at central midfield is much better for Kansas City when he's out wide.

The team's other four midfielders had little impact on the team this season. Christian Duke spent most of the season on loan to the Oklahoma City Energy as well as dealing with some injury issues. Another midseason signing, Michael Kafari only ever appeared in the team's friendly against Manchester City. Victor Munoz made just one appearance for KC after being picked up on waivers from DC. Munoz started KC's US Open Cup win over Minnesota, but came off in the first half with an injury, although he looked out of his element in the game as well. The fourth, Jimmy Medranda was the most involved with the team this year, appearing in six games, starting one, but played just 137 minutes this season. Like Duke he spent time in OKC with the Energy.

Heading into 2015 there are plenty of changes that could be needed in KC's midfield. One change may well already be set to happen. The return of Roger Espinoza has been rumored for a little while now. Espinoza has returned to the lineup for Wigan Athletic, but with him out of contract this summer a return could still be in the cards. If Espinoza ends up not returning to Kansas City I think Sporting needs to look elsewhere to get a box-to-box midfielder. While Nagamura has done quite well for Kansas City since coming here, he turns 32 early next season. His injury issues over the past two summers have coincided with a drop in form for Kansas City. Espinoza would seem to be the perfect candidate to replace him, but if he can't then another replacement needs to be found because I'm not sure that Lopez is going to be able to play the position the way Vermes wants.

Another question heading into 2015 is the deep midfield position. As I mentioned earlier, the loss of Rosell was a big blow to KC neither Olum nor Claros were able to fill the role well enough. Many people are saying that a deep midfielder needs to be brought in as well. With the addition of Claros in the summer though I'm willing to give him time in 2015 to prove he deserves the role. As I said earlier, most of Vermes' midseason signings do not contribute much or enough in their first half a season in KC. As for Olum, he could very well be taken in the expansion draft if he's exposed. He's a cheap, veteran who has played in Orlando previously and would give them some experience in midfield, especially after defensive midfielder Yordany Alvarez retired.

As for the attacking midfield spot, Feilhaber should be under contract one more year and while he had an MVP year for KC, I'm not sure I'd make an attempt to re-sign him quite yet. It's a question of what he'll do next year in a contract year before you decide to throw money at him to stay.

With the rest of the midfielders, I expect there to be some turnover with some of the end of the bench guys, most will probably come in to preseason next year and have to fight for a roster spot.

Duke Suffers Stress Fracture - Sporting Loan Update

Christian Duke is set to miss six weeks of action for the OKC Energy after he suffered a stress fracture.  Duke had been a consistent starter for OKC this season and will be a blow for the Energy. Replacing him in the lineup appears like it'll fall mainly to KC's other midfielder loaned to OKC, Mikey Lopez.

In action on the field, the Energy had just one game this past week, a home game against the Rochester Rhinos. Probably the biggest thing about the game is that it fell during the USA's game against Portugal. Certainly not the best time to get fans out. Jon Kempin and the Energy though pitched their second straight shutout in the 0-0 draw with the Rhinos. Lopez also started and played the full game in the draw.

Oklahoma City is back at home again this weekend when they'll host the Sacramento Republic again.

Lopez Recalled For Open Cup - Sporting Loan Update

There wasn't an official announcement, but last night one of KC's three loaned players returned to KC and was on the bench for Sporting's Open Cup game against Minnesota. Mikey Lopez who had only just gotten to Oklahoma City after spending time with Orlando earlier this year. But he was recalled with all of KC's injury and call up issues as KC only dressed 17 players for last night's game. The Energy don't play again until Sunday so the call up won't have a huge effect on OKC game plan wise.

KC's other two players on loan, Christian Duke and Jon Kempin along with Lopez all started in OKC's one game last week at home against the Sacramento Republic. Both Lopez and Kempin played the entire game for the Energy as they came away 2-0 winners with Kempin picking up the shutout. Duke only played the first 45 minutes for the Energy, but did provide the assist for OKC's opener, which came from former KC trialist, Adda Djeziri.

This coming weekend, the Energy will be at home again. They'll host the Rochester Rhinos, who will have one eye still on the Open Cup themselves as they'll play the New England Revolution in the fifth round after beating DC 1-0 on Tuesday.

Duke Recalled, Lopez Sent to OKC

With the sale of Oriol Rosell, Sporting KC have made some moves today to help to fill their midfield a bit ahead of Friday's MLS game against the Houston Dynamo. KC recalled midfielder, Christian Duke from his loan to Oklahoma City today. The move makes sense for KC, of KC's remaining midfielders, Lawrence Olum, Paulo Nagamura, Benny Feilhaber, Alex Martinez, Victor Munoz, and even Toni Dovale, only Olum, Nagamura and Feilhaber can really play the "defensive" midfield role the way Peter Vermes wants. Duke gives KC a bit of cover there, which will be needed if Olum has to slide into central defense on Friday.

The other move I think may be the more interesting of the two. Sporting recalled Mikey Lopez from his loan to Orlando City and turned around and loaned him to the Energy. Lopez so far this season has appeared in nine of the Lions 12 USL Pro games, but he's only gotten 169 minutes of game play. He's gotten just one start, so in his other eight appearances for Orlando he's averaged less than 10 minutes played per appearance. Probably not what Vermes wants from the loan. It's one thing in Jon Kempin's instance last year where he was mainly a backup to Miguel Gallardo for Orlando, there's only one keeper on the field, and Kempin still got a number of games over the course of the season. In OKC, Lopez is likely to get more time on the field, which is really what he needs at this point of his career. It will be interesting to see how much he contributes this weekend in OKC's two games in Wilmington and Charlotte.

Duke Sets Up Game Winner - Sporting Loan Update

Oklahoma City picked up their first home win in franchise history last week, a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls reserves. Loaned Sporting KC midfielder, Christian Duke picked up the assist on the lone goal of the game in second half stoppage time, finished by former KC midfielder, Michael Thomas. Duke played the full 90 minutes for the Energy. At the other end of the field, KC's other player loaned to OKC, Jon Kempin picked up his second shutout of the season in the win.

KC's other affiliate, Orlando City continues to stay at the top of the league, still undefeated on the season after beating the Charleston Battery 2-0. Sporting KC midfielder, Mikey Lopez continues to contribute off the bench for the Lions, coming on for Corey Hertzog in the 70th minute with OCSC, playing the final 20 minutes.

This week, OKC head to the East Coast for a pair of games against Wilmington on Friday and Charlotte on Saturday night. Orlando City remains at home with just a single game this weekend, taking on the Montreal Impact reserves on Saturday.

OKC Bow Out of the Open Cup - Sporting KC Loan Update

One of Sporting KC's two USL-Pro affiliates bowed out of the US Open Cup last night. Oklahoma City lost 2-1 in extra time to Arizona United to go out in the third round of the tournament. Sporting KC's Christian Duke had the opportunity late in extra time to send the game to penalties, but he had a 119th minute penalty saved by Arizona's goalkeeper. Duke played the full 120 minutes for the Energy in the loss while goalkeeper Jon Kempin did not dress for the game.

It was the second game of the week for OKC. Their first game was a league game on Sunday in LA against the Galaxy II. It wasn't a pretty game for the Energy. OKC lost to "Los Dos" 5-0. Duke started and played the first 57 minutes of the game before Jimmy Nielsen made three subs, including pulling the KC loaned player. Sporting KC goalkeeper, Kempin started in goal and played the full 90 minutes for OKC.

KC's other affiliate, Orlando City fared better in the US Open Cup, taking down NASL side, the Tampa Bay Rowdies 4-1. Sporting's loaned player, Mikey Lopez did not dress for the Lions in the game. He did contribute in Orlando's league game last Wednesday though. Lopez subbed into the game for the final 13 minutes and had an immediate impact as he picked up the assist on Orlando's third goal by Kevin Molino, his third of the night as well. Orlando ended up winning the game 3-1 over the Charleston Battery.

Both affiliates are back in league action on Saturday when Orlando City hosts the Battery this time, while OKC will be hosting the New York Red Bulls reserves.

Ellis Recalled from OKC - Sporting Loan Update

I quiet weekend for the most part for Sporting KC's four loaned players. The biggest news of the past week was the fact that after playing on Friday night against Richmond, defender Kevin Ellis was recalled by Sporting KC for their game Sunday in Chicago. Ellis came off the bench and played 23 minutes in KC's 2-1 loss to the Fire. With Erik Palmer-Brown picking up a red card, and depending on the health of Oriol Rosell and Aurelein Collin, Ellis may well stay with KC through Friday's game against Toronto at least.

In Friday's game, OKC continued their winless run at home. This time suffering a big 4-1 loss to the Richmond Kickers. Three first half goals and a late goal in the 88th were enough for Richmond to send the Energy to their third straight home loss. Once again Jon Kempin started in goal and played for full game for OKC. Ellis and Christian Duke both started for the Energy as well. Ellis played 86 minutes before subbing out of the game, while Duke played 75 in the loss.

Meanwhile, Mikey Lopez and Orlando continued their good run. Lopez though hasn't been playing a huge role. He's still just got the one start for the Lions. This past week in OCSC's 1-0 win over Arizona United, Lopez again came off the bench and played 15 minutes for the Lions.

This coming week Orlando has a game on Wednesday when they'll host the Charlotte Eagles. Meanwhile OKC doesn't play until Sunday when they'll make another trip out to LA to take on the Galaxy II.

Orlando Still on Top of the USL - Sporting Loan Update

Sporting Kansas City affiliate Orlando City remains on top of the USL-Pro division after picking up four of an available six on the road this past week. In action for the Lions, Mikey Lopez made his first start of the season for Orlando in their second game of the weekend against Rochester.

First on Friday night though, Orlando City pulled off a 1-0 win on the road at Pittsburgh. Lopez came off the bench playing the final 10 minutes as Orlando killed the game off. Then on Saturday they played against the Rhinos in Rochester. Lopez started and played the full 90 minutes as Orlando came from behind to draw the Rhinos 1-1 and remain unbeaten.

KC's other affiliate hasn't played as well at the moment. The Energy returned home for their second home game of the season against Orange County. The game remained scoreless until second half stoppage time where the Blues scored to give themselves a 1-0 win. Once again all three of KC's loaned payers started for Oklahoma City. Both Kevin Ellis and Jon Kempin played the full 90 minutes for OKC. Meanwhile Christian Duke played 79 minutes before making way for former KC academy player, David Leichty.

Both teams are in action again this coming week. First both teams begin their US Open Cup campaigns on Wednesday. Orlando City will host PDL side Ocala Stampede while OKC will travel to Tulsa to take on NPSL side, the Tulsa Athletics. After the midweek game, both teams will return to league play on the weekend. Oklahoma City will host their third home game of the season, this time welcoming the Richmond Kickers. Orlando meanwhile will take the field on Saturday in Arizona. The Lions make a quick trip to the other side of the country to play Arizona United.

Orlando Tops OKC Again - Sporting KC Loan Update

For the second time in as many weeks, Sporting KC's two affiliates met in USL-Pro league play. And like last week in Oklahoma City, Orlando again came out on top. This time, Orlando picked up a 3-1 win over the Energy to keep them at the top of the league.

For the winners, midfielder Mikey Lopez played a minor role, coming off the bench and playing just one minute for the Lions.

KC's other three loaned players started for the Energy. Jon Kempin once again got the start in goal for the Energy. Kevin Ellis also got the start and played the full game on the back line for OKC. KC's final loaned player, Christian Duke returned from injury for OKC after missing the last few games. Duke started and played 74 minutes before being subbed out for the Energy as they chased the game down 3-1 at that time.

Orlando Win Affiliate Match Up - Sporting Loan Update

In the first match up between Sporting KC's two affiliate teams, Oklahoma City and Orlando City faced off on Saturday in OKC in the Energy's home opener. In the match up, Orlando City topped the Energy in front of a sell out crowd, topping the Energy 2-1.

Of KC's four players loaned to the two teams, three of them appeared in the game. The one player absent was Christian Duke who has still not returned from his injury. Oklahoma City's two other loaned players, Kevin Ellis and Jon Kempin both started for the Energy. Mikey Lopez came off the bench for OCSC, playing the last five minutes as Orlando held on for the win.

Earlier last week, Orlando had another game, taking on FC Dallas' reserves in Dallas. Once again Lopez came off the bench, playing 12 minutes as the Lions held on for a 3-2 win over FC Dallas.

This coming week the two teams will play the reserve fixture in Orlando as the two teams will play at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

Ellis Joins OKC on Loan - Sporting Loan Update

Sporting Kansas City announced today that the team had sent a third player on loan to their USL-Pro affiliate, Oklahoma City. The team is sending right back, Kevin Ellis to join Christian Duke and Jon Kempin with the Energy. Ellis had started three league games early in the season and both of the team's Champions League games against Cruz Azul. In those games Ellis had looked strong, like a solid back up to starter Chance Myers. Since the arrival of Igor Juliao though the Brazilian has been making the bench ahead of the home grown player. This move will prove to be a good one for Ellis, this should give him the game times that will give him the chance to continue to develop.

For the rest of KC's players loaned out, it was a quiet week.Mikey Lopez and Orlando City didn't have a game, while Oklahoma City's only game came on Tuesday against FC Dallas' reserves. And only one of KC's loaned players played. Duke missed the game due to the injury he picked up against Arizona last weekend. Kempin was the only player to play. He stopped a first half penalty by Andrew Jacobson to keep the score level at 0-0. OKC did give up a goal in the 53rd minute though and missed a late penalty as the Energy fell 1-0 to Dallas.

This week Orlando will get their turn at the FC Dallas reserves on Tuesday, before the affiliate match up on the weekend when Oklahoma City will host Orlando in their home opener.

Duke Leaves OKC Win Early with Injury - Sporting Loan Update

The Oklahoma City Energy picked up the biggest win of their young history this past weekend against Arizona United. It came at a bit of a cost though as one of KC's two loaned players, Christian Duke, left the game after only nine minutes. His replacement, former SKC academy midfielder, David Leichty, picked up the assist on OKC's first goal as they cruised to a 4-0 win on the road.

Goalkeeper, Jon Kempin picked up his first win and first shutout of the season in the game. Kempin had to make three saves in the win, but OKC played 47 minutes up a man after a first half red card. OKC is back in action tomorrow night as they travel to Dallas to take on FC Dallas' reserves in a game.

Meanwhile in Orlando, Mikey Lopez was again an unused substitute for Orlando City as they pulled out a 1-0 win over the Charleston Battery. The Lions next game isn't until a week from tomorrow when they too will take on the FC Dallas reserves down in Dallas.