One last look back at 2016, here are my end of year awards for moment of the year in 2016.
Game of the year - Comets vs Mustangs 12/3/16 - Shutouts don't happen often in indoor soccer, since the Kansas City Comets rebirth back in 2010, the Comets had never had one. That changed in December of this year when the Comets defeated the previously unbeaten Chicago Mustangs 6-0 at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Comets jumped out to a two goal lead in the first quarter thanks to goals by Ignacio Flores and Lucas Rodriguez. After a scoreless second quarter, Rodriguez scored his second goal of the game off a set piece with a second assist to John Sosa and the Comets were up 3-0.
The Comets extended their lead early in the fourth quarter as Odaine Sinclair scored two minutes in to make it 4-0. Vahid Assadpour added a goal before Ramone Palmer scored with less than a minute left against the sixth attacker to make it 6-0. For his part in goal for the Comets, Stephen Paterson faced 19 shots, saving all of them in route to the shutout.
Goal of the Year - Brad Davis vs Galaxy - When Sporting KC brought in Brad Davis, Sporting was expecting to get another player to help set up goals while scoring a few himself. The assists never really came for Davis in Kansas City, but he did score some important goals for KC early on against LA and Toronto. The one that wins goal of the year is his finish against the LA Galaxy that seemed to even impress him. In the 30th minute of a scoreless game, Graham Zusi headed a long ball into the path of an on-rushing Davis. Davis chased the ball into the box and took a single touch, cutting the ball back that allowed him to beat both Emmanuel Boateng and Jelle Van Damme. With his second touch he curled a beautiful shot with his left foot that curled around goalkeeper Brian Rowe as he dove for the ball, and inside the far post to put Sporting up 1-0 on the Galaxy. Davis didn't have a ton of highlights in his final season of professional soccer, but this was certainly one of them.
Assist of the Year - Benny Feilhaber vs Orlando - I'm cheating just a little bit because it's the secondary assist, but I'm a sucker for Feilhaber's scoop passes. Down 1-0 in the 74th minute, Feilhaber received a ball just outside the top of the box, took a touch and scooped the ball into the box for substitute, Jacob Peterson, who headed the ball back into the middle for Dom Dwyer, who headed the ball in to tie the game at 1-1 in a game KC would eventually win 2-1.
Single Game Performance of the Year - Nicole Barnhart vs Western New York - It wasn't the greatest season for FC Kansas City as they missed out on the playoffs for the first time in their history, but there were some bright spots. From the emergence of Shea Groom, to the return of Desiree Scott, to the defensive performance, FCKC had plenty of highlights. One of those was Nicole Barnart against the Wester New York Flash in July of this year. Playing against the highest scoring team in the league, KC sat a little deeper and absorbed a lot of pressure in the game. That led to a number of opportunities for the Flash. Barnhart though was up to the task, making 14 saves against the Flash in route to a 1-0 win. The performance was enough to earn Barnhart player of the week honors.
Low Point of the Year - Sporting KC vs DC United 5/27 - Heading into the game, at Children's Mercy Park, Sporting KC had won just one game in their last nine after starting the season 3-1. KC had gone 1-6-2 in the nine games priorgoing 1-2-1 at home in that stretch. KC had scored more than one goal just once in that nine game stretch (their only win) and had been shutout three times, scoring just seven goals while allowing 14. Welcoming a DC United team that was 0-2-3 on the road heading into the game. KC completely controlled the game (as KC tends to do in a lot of home games) with 58% of the possession, out shooting DC 18-5, and creating the better of the opportunities. But KC paid for putting just three of their 18 shots on goal as DC United struck late to steal all three points as Alhaji Kamara beat Tim Melia to a ball near the penalty spot, knocking the ball down and then burying his shot into the net as Melia was on the ground after coming for the ball and missing. The 1-0 loss mean that KC had won just one of their last 10, a streak that would turn into 11 games the following week after a 0-0 draw in LA before KC got back to winning against FC Dallas on June 19th.
Non-Kansas City-KC Player Moment of the Year - Matt Besler Scores First International goal - 2016 probably isn't going to go down as the best year in Matt Besler's professional soccer career. He started 2016 as Sporting KC's captain, but then lost it to Roger Espinoza, lost his starting spot with Sporting KC for a time and played the fewest games for his club since his second season as a pro in 2010. It'll still be a memorable year for Besler though as he welcomed his first child.
In early September, Besler had been called up for US national team qualifiers against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Besler traveled to the game in St. Vincent and while there heard that his wife was having their first child. Due to travel, Besler was unable to leave to get home in time for the birth of his daughter so instead took the field for the US, starting in central defense for Klinsmann's side. Already up 1-0 in the 32nd minute, Graham Zusi chipped a free kick into the box where a St. Vincent defender cleared the ball right into the path of Besler who chested the ball down and blasted it into the net for his first international goal. He followed it immediately with a celebration with his teammates in honor of his just becoming a father. The US went on to win the game 6-0 and Besler left to be with his family instead of flying to Jacksonville for the second game.
KC Soccer Player of the Year - Amer Didic - No player on the KC soccer scene probably had a better year than Amer Didic did for the Swope Park Rangers and Sporting KC. The Baker product started the season as a bench player for the Rangers, getting garbage minutes at the end of the game to preserve the lead and kill some time off the clock. After a string of three straight losses and a red card to Oumar Ballo, Didic got a start in Swope's 2-1 win over Tulsa and never looked back. He started 21 of the final 24 games in the regular season for SPR and started all four of their playoff games. He formed a strong partnership with Ballo that helped carry the SPR defense to the USL final, going 13-1-2 when paired together, the only loss in the USL final. Didic's play with SPR earned him a call up to Sporting KC where he started three of KC's four CONCACAF Champions League games, the only game he didn't was the final meaningless one, just days before the USL final. Didic has already signed on to return to SPR in 2017 and continued solid performances should see him up with Sporting KC either on a temporary contract or full time soon enough.
Sporting KC Player of the Year - Dom Dwyer - Dwyer had his second most successful season in terms of goal scoring in his career this past season. Take out Dwyer's penalty kicks in 2014 and Dwyer actually scored more goals from the run of play in 2016 than he did in 2014 (16 to 15). This despite not having a secondary threat to really take the pressure off and being on Dwyer Island for long periods of time in the season.
FCKC Player of the Year - Shea Groom - The second year forward had the unevnyable task of having to try to replace the scoring of Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux, who both missed the season. Groom didn't miss a beat though, scoring eight goals for the Blues in 2016, good for fifth in the league. Groom's eight goals were good for 44% of the Blues' offense in the 2016 season. Add in Rodriguez and Leroux in 2017 and the Blues look to have a strong offense.
Comets Player of the Year - Vahid Assadpour - The Comets captain and assistant coach is one of the few remaining players who have been with the Comets since their rebirth in 2010. He finished last season third in the league in points with 23 goals and 27 assists and was a first team all league selection. So far in the 2016-2017 season he has added five goals and four assists, which is fifth on the team in goals and fourth in assists.
Newcomer of the Year - Didic - Didic does the double winning the player of the year award, and winning that it's easy to see why he's also newcomer to professional soccer in Kansas City in 2016. Didic is probably one of the leading candidates to be the next player to make the jump from the Rangers to Sporting KC permanently.
Showing posts with label FC Kansas City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FC Kansas City. Show all posts
Monday, January 02, 2017
Sunday, January 01, 2017
2017 Wants and Wishes
A new year means that it's time to reset and look towards the future. With that said, here are my wants and wishes for 2017.
1. Silverware - Always the number one priority, winning trophies, painting the wall. Kansas City has made a habit of winning trophies over the last few years, hopefully KC's teams can return to that in 2017.
2. Secure a home playoff game - Children's Mercy Park hasn't hosted a home playoff game for Sporting Kansas City since the 2013 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake. In the three seasons since, Sporting KC has qualified for the playoffs each year, but as the fifth or sixth seed an been required to play the first round on the road. KC has lost all three of those games to New York, Portland, and Seattle. CMP hasn't been a complete fortress for Sporting KC like people would like it to be, but playing a playoff game at home is a distinct advantage for Sporting. That means the club's regular season for has to improve in 2017.
3. Find a secondary goal scorer - Dom Dwyer had his second best goal scoring season of his career, scoring 16 goals for KC in 2016, none of them from the penalty spot. KC's second leading scorers last year were Jacob Peterson and Benny Feilhaber, both scoring six goals, one of those players is gone, and the other had five of his six goals come from the penalty spot. Teams were able to key in specifically on Dwyer most of the time, and while he rose to the occasion, varying KC's attack is going to be better overall for the team. Only three teams scored fewer goals than the 42 that Sporting KC scored in 2016, Sporting is going to have to find a secondary goal threat to not only take some pressure off of Dwyer, but to create a duel threat that will keep other teams more honest, and probably open up more chances for Dwyer. It could be one of the two guys that KC is reportedly set to sign, Gerso Fernandes or Latif Blessing, although I have worries about both being able to do it, or it could be someone new that KC brings in. Either way, KC can't rely on 16 goals from Dwyer and the next highest scorer having 10 fewer and hope to do much next season.
4. A consistent center back pairing - Sporting KC's defense was strong last season, allowing just 41 goals, good for sixth in the league, but as I mentioned in my review of my 2016 wishes, the club had a lot of rotation at the center back position, with seven different pairings being used throughout the season due to injuries, form and national team call ups. Of all the pairings, the Matt Besler/Nuno Coelho was the most used, and that was only used about 11 times all of last season. KC managed with the shuffling of players last season, but really need to have a consistent center back pairing going forward. If you look at the better teams in the league, they all have a consistent pairing that starts the majority of the games, with a third and maybe fourth option available should they be needed. KC used this strategy to great success in 2012 through 2014 with the pairing of Besler and Aurelien Collin. Right now the first team pairing would appear to be Besler and Ike Opara, although Kevin Ellis being preferred to Opara late last season could be seen as a sign for the season. There are also still the questions about Opara's ability to stay healthy over the course of an entire season, as 2016 was the first time Opara has played more than 1,500 minutes in a single season in his seven year MLS career.
The other possibility is a returning Erik Palmer-Brown, who played consistently for Porto's reserve team while on loan. If he returns though, Palmer-Brown looks set to miss a good portion of preseason and a chunk of the regular season with the US U20 national team for World Cup qualifying and the World Cup this summer, which would obviously limit his time and ability to play for Sporting.
5. Quick decision on EPB - Before people can begin to dream about Palmer-Brown having a big impact on Sporting KC this season, his future with the team needs to be decided. With Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto now being up, it's down to negotiations between the two sides on whether Palmer-Brown will return to Kansas City or whether he'll be making a permanent move to the Portuguese power house. Palmer-Brown is reportedly in the last year of his contract, which Porto will use as an argument to get a lower price on the defender as he'd be available on a free next winter, but they also run the risk of Palmer-Brown having a breakout performance with the U20 team and being outbid by other clubs if they go that route. Either way, KC needs to resolve it quickly as selling Palmer-Brown leaves KC again a little thin along the back line in terms of depth.
6. Swope Park Rangers continues to play the "kids" and develop the likes of Amer Didic and Kevin Oliveira - Marc Dos Santos is off to San Francisco and the Rangers have a new coach this year. Taking over for him is Nikola Popovic, an assistant with the Rangers' last year, he came to SPR from Benfica B, where he was an assistant coach. Popovic having that experience with the Portuguese reserve side should bode well for the continued youth mindset the Rangers had last season. That should mean players like Amer Didic, Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Nansel Selbol, and Kevin Oliveira (when he returns), all under the age of 23 should continue to get time to prove themselves and use SPR as a stepping stone to reach Sporting KC. Hopefully SPR also continue to bring in young players to develop them, along with a few players that are maybe a step away from the jump up to help Sporting. Also hopefully the Rangers' players that are signed to academy contracts get more time in 2017.
7. US qualify for Russia 2018 - Well, I (and many other anti-Klinsmann fans) got their wish, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach of the US national team after the US started the "Hex" 0-2 losing at home to Mexico and in Costa Rica. With qualification for the World Cup important, the US went with the "safe" pick for a new head coach in Bruce Arena. He's not a head turning signing, but the expectation is to get things straightened out and get the US to the World Cup. The route back to the World Cup will start in March when the US will host Honduras in San Jose before traveling to Panama in a pair of games that the US really need to get six points out of to get qualification back on track.
8. Comets start run in second half of season - The Kansas City Comets have been one of the dominate forces in the MASL since it was founded, losing just three times in the regular season in their first two seasons in the league. Through 10 games this season they've already surpassed that loss total, having lost four times, and currently sit in third place in the five team Central division behind both Cedar Rapids and Chicago, the later of which still has two games in hand. The swagger that the team had the last two seasons doesn't seem to be there, they've lost talented players like Max Touloute and Coady Andrews, and the players that they've replaced them with haven't hit the same stride. At the same time, teams like Cedar Rapids and Chicago have really stepped up their game and brought in good talent to compete with the Comets in the Central division. Both of those teams have done so well that it appears like one of the Comets or the Milwaukee Wave are likely going to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in a long time this season. Something that most indoor fans would have thought next to impossible a couple years ago.
9. FCKC return to playoffs in 2017 - The Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in their history last season after losing five expected starters before the season to retirement or pregnancy and then lost a sixth early in the 2016 season. FCKC's defense stepped up big time last season to be one of the best in the league, but the offense struggled greatly. In 2017 the offense looks set to get a big boost as both forwards Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux will be returning to the team after both giving birth in 2016. The pair will join with last season's leading scorer, Shea Groom to give the Blues some more offense. In fact, as long as the Blues can stay healthy, they should be in great shape in 2017, with the three previously mentioned players up top and a defense that includes Becky Sauerbrunn and Desiree Scott along with goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. The Blues should be able to get themselves back into the playoffs in 2017.
1. Silverware - Always the number one priority, winning trophies, painting the wall. Kansas City has made a habit of winning trophies over the last few years, hopefully KC's teams can return to that in 2017.
2. Secure a home playoff game - Children's Mercy Park hasn't hosted a home playoff game for Sporting Kansas City since the 2013 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake. In the three seasons since, Sporting KC has qualified for the playoffs each year, but as the fifth or sixth seed an been required to play the first round on the road. KC has lost all three of those games to New York, Portland, and Seattle. CMP hasn't been a complete fortress for Sporting KC like people would like it to be, but playing a playoff game at home is a distinct advantage for Sporting. That means the club's regular season for has to improve in 2017.
3. Find a secondary goal scorer - Dom Dwyer had his second best goal scoring season of his career, scoring 16 goals for KC in 2016, none of them from the penalty spot. KC's second leading scorers last year were Jacob Peterson and Benny Feilhaber, both scoring six goals, one of those players is gone, and the other had five of his six goals come from the penalty spot. Teams were able to key in specifically on Dwyer most of the time, and while he rose to the occasion, varying KC's attack is going to be better overall for the team. Only three teams scored fewer goals than the 42 that Sporting KC scored in 2016, Sporting is going to have to find a secondary goal threat to not only take some pressure off of Dwyer, but to create a duel threat that will keep other teams more honest, and probably open up more chances for Dwyer. It could be one of the two guys that KC is reportedly set to sign, Gerso Fernandes or Latif Blessing, although I have worries about both being able to do it, or it could be someone new that KC brings in. Either way, KC can't rely on 16 goals from Dwyer and the next highest scorer having 10 fewer and hope to do much next season.
4. A consistent center back pairing - Sporting KC's defense was strong last season, allowing just 41 goals, good for sixth in the league, but as I mentioned in my review of my 2016 wishes, the club had a lot of rotation at the center back position, with seven different pairings being used throughout the season due to injuries, form and national team call ups. Of all the pairings, the Matt Besler/Nuno Coelho was the most used, and that was only used about 11 times all of last season. KC managed with the shuffling of players last season, but really need to have a consistent center back pairing going forward. If you look at the better teams in the league, they all have a consistent pairing that starts the majority of the games, with a third and maybe fourth option available should they be needed. KC used this strategy to great success in 2012 through 2014 with the pairing of Besler and Aurelien Collin. Right now the first team pairing would appear to be Besler and Ike Opara, although Kevin Ellis being preferred to Opara late last season could be seen as a sign for the season. There are also still the questions about Opara's ability to stay healthy over the course of an entire season, as 2016 was the first time Opara has played more than 1,500 minutes in a single season in his seven year MLS career.
The other possibility is a returning Erik Palmer-Brown, who played consistently for Porto's reserve team while on loan. If he returns though, Palmer-Brown looks set to miss a good portion of preseason and a chunk of the regular season with the US U20 national team for World Cup qualifying and the World Cup this summer, which would obviously limit his time and ability to play for Sporting.
5. Quick decision on EPB - Before people can begin to dream about Palmer-Brown having a big impact on Sporting KC this season, his future with the team needs to be decided. With Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto now being up, it's down to negotiations between the two sides on whether Palmer-Brown will return to Kansas City or whether he'll be making a permanent move to the Portuguese power house. Palmer-Brown is reportedly in the last year of his contract, which Porto will use as an argument to get a lower price on the defender as he'd be available on a free next winter, but they also run the risk of Palmer-Brown having a breakout performance with the U20 team and being outbid by other clubs if they go that route. Either way, KC needs to resolve it quickly as selling Palmer-Brown leaves KC again a little thin along the back line in terms of depth.
6. Swope Park Rangers continues to play the "kids" and develop the likes of Amer Didic and Kevin Oliveira - Marc Dos Santos is off to San Francisco and the Rangers have a new coach this year. Taking over for him is Nikola Popovic, an assistant with the Rangers' last year, he came to SPR from Benfica B, where he was an assistant coach. Popovic having that experience with the Portuguese reserve side should bode well for the continued youth mindset the Rangers had last season. That should mean players like Amer Didic, Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Nansel Selbol, and Kevin Oliveira (when he returns), all under the age of 23 should continue to get time to prove themselves and use SPR as a stepping stone to reach Sporting KC. Hopefully SPR also continue to bring in young players to develop them, along with a few players that are maybe a step away from the jump up to help Sporting. Also hopefully the Rangers' players that are signed to academy contracts get more time in 2017.
7. US qualify for Russia 2018 - Well, I (and many other anti-Klinsmann fans) got their wish, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach of the US national team after the US started the "Hex" 0-2 losing at home to Mexico and in Costa Rica. With qualification for the World Cup important, the US went with the "safe" pick for a new head coach in Bruce Arena. He's not a head turning signing, but the expectation is to get things straightened out and get the US to the World Cup. The route back to the World Cup will start in March when the US will host Honduras in San Jose before traveling to Panama in a pair of games that the US really need to get six points out of to get qualification back on track.
8. Comets start run in second half of season - The Kansas City Comets have been one of the dominate forces in the MASL since it was founded, losing just three times in the regular season in their first two seasons in the league. Through 10 games this season they've already surpassed that loss total, having lost four times, and currently sit in third place in the five team Central division behind both Cedar Rapids and Chicago, the later of which still has two games in hand. The swagger that the team had the last two seasons doesn't seem to be there, they've lost talented players like Max Touloute and Coady Andrews, and the players that they've replaced them with haven't hit the same stride. At the same time, teams like Cedar Rapids and Chicago have really stepped up their game and brought in good talent to compete with the Comets in the Central division. Both of those teams have done so well that it appears like one of the Comets or the Milwaukee Wave are likely going to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in a long time this season. Something that most indoor fans would have thought next to impossible a couple years ago.
9. FCKC return to playoffs in 2017 - The Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in their history last season after losing five expected starters before the season to retirement or pregnancy and then lost a sixth early in the 2016 season. FCKC's defense stepped up big time last season to be one of the best in the league, but the offense struggled greatly. In 2017 the offense looks set to get a big boost as both forwards Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux will be returning to the team after both giving birth in 2016. The pair will join with last season's leading scorer, Shea Groom to give the Blues some more offense. In fact, as long as the Blues can stay healthy, they should be in great shape in 2017, with the three previously mentioned players up top and a defense that includes Becky Sauerbrunn and Desiree Scott along with goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. The Blues should be able to get themselves back into the playoffs in 2017.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
A Look Back on my 2016 Wants and Wishes
On New Year's Eve, before we ring in the New Year, here's a look back at my 2016 wants and wishes and how each one turned out.
1. Silverware - I'm not counting the Swope Park Rangers' Western Conference championship unfortunately (more on that later), so this wasn't a wish that was met this year by any of KC's four teams. Three of the four made the playoffs, but none of them were able to come home with a championship in 2016.
2. Sorting KC address center back issues - This is an area that overall was probably addressed, but at the same time probably wasn't. Sporting KC was in the top half of the table in terms of fewest goals allowed, finishing sixth in that category allowing 41 goals. So on that stat alone it would seem that KC addressed their center back issues. But the issue for the center back situation was the inability to have a consistent starting pairing at center back whether it be form, injuries, or national team call ups, KC started five different players at center back in seven different combinations over the 34 game season. Nuno Coelho and Matt Besler started the season as the number one center back pairing and looked to be pretty good for KC in that situation, raising hopes for the season. Then Coelho got hurt in mid-May and made just one 90 minute appearance the entire rest of the season for KC, with his high salary Sporting passed on retaining the Portuguese center back. For a stretch in the middle of the season, Peter Vermes favorite pairing was Ike Opara and the returning Lawrence Olum as Besler was with the national team and struggling with his club form. Besler eventually won his spot back with Opara for a stretch before injuries brought down Opara again this season, although not long term like prior years). This allowed Kevin Ellis to step up and take the job next to Besler, which he didn't relinquish the rest of the season. The Besler/Ellis pairing KC through the end of the season and into the playoffs in 2016. Hopefully a more consistent pairing can work in 2017.
3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This one went out the window in late January as Sporting KC sold Nemeth to Al Gharafa SC in Qatar. Much has been made about how the move came about, whether Nemeth forced it, or whether KC did. KC reportedly went to Nemeth in good faith to offer him a new contract because of his performance in the 2015 season, but a deal couldn't be worked out. Nemeth (or his agent) posted a Facebook message saying that he wanted to stay but that the contract he was offered still wouldn't have made him one of the club's highest paid players. At the same times there were comments that Nemeth wanted to be released early to join the Hungarian team for camp ahead of the Euros. We never got the full story and likely never will, what we know for sure is that Nemeth left and his departure left a big hole in KC's right wing that the club never successfully filled in 2016.
4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Another one that didn't come true, Sporting got off to a poor start with their two road games, drawing 2-2 in Trinidad and then were taken apart 3-0 in Vancouver to put themselves firmly behind the eight ball. Needing a result at home against Vancouver to keep their faint hopes of advancing alive. Falling behind, clawing back to equalize, Sporting gave up a very late winner to Alphonso Davies to put the Whitecaps through. KC won their final group game, a meaningless encounter between Sporting and Central FC 3-1, playing a number of Swope Park Rangers.
5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - Almost, but not quite on this one, and certainly not in the way I expected with Palmer-Brown going on loan to Porto in 2016. Kempin started the season as the Rangers' starting goalkeeper, lost the job, won it back, then lost it again and never gained it back after an injury to Tim Melia forced him to be recalled from his loan. Combined between the Rangers and a couple of appearances for Sporting KC in the CCL, Kempin made 14 appearances in 2016, going 5-6-3 (5-4-3 for SPR, 0-2 for Sporting) and allowing 18 goals in those 14 games.
Palmer-Brown made 17 league appearances across two seasons for Porto's reserve team in the Portuguese second division, becoming a regular at center back for the club in their run to the Portuguese second division championship in the 2015-2016 season. After recovering from an injury early in the 2016-2017 season, Palmer-Brown again took his place in the center of defense and even earned a call up to the first team.
6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - I'd say a trip to the USL championship was a successful season, even if it didn't end in a trophy there was a lot of good that came out of the first season. For me, SPR's success had more to do with the players than the results on the field. SPR made a priority of getting a younger roster and really did, with only a handful of players over the age of 25 on the team. It also was able to shine the light on a number of players who could produce for Sporting KC in the years to come. From the likes of Tyler Pasher and Adrian Zendejas, who have both already signed with the first team to the likes of Amer Didic, Ualefi, and Nansel Selbol who all made appearances for the first team in the Champions League. Arguably the player I'm most excited about didn't even play for the first team though, Kevin Oliveira, tore his ACL near the midpoint of the season and missed out on the second half of the season. If he'd been healthy I have no doubts he'd have also appeared for Sporting KC this past season. Hopefully a swift return from his ACL tear will see him getting time with Sporting in 2017.
7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - I'd classify a fourth place finish as respectable, at least from looking at it from the outside it certainly was. Advancing to the semifinals before losing to world power Argentina is certainly a good run. Arguments can be made about the USA's performance in that 4-0 loss to Argentina as well as the two losses to Colombia (2-0 in group play and 1-0 in third place game), and how they were some of the final moments of Jurgen Klinsmann's time in charge of the US team, but in the end even someone anti-Klinsmann like myself, has to admit fourth was respectable, especially given the draw.
8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Unfortunately another Comets season ended with a loss to the Baltimore Blast. The Missouri (now Kansas City) Comets won the Central Division last year with a 17-3 record, four games ahead of second and third place Chicago and Milwaukee. After the Milwaukee Wave topped the Chicago Mustangs in a three game series, the Comets swept the Wave aside 2-0 winning 10-5 on the road and 8-2 at home to set up a match up with the Baltimore Blast for the fourth straight season. Unfortunately just like two of the previous three, the Blast topped the Comets, this time with a pair of overtime victories both by a 4-3 score line for the Blast.
9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - Unfortunately the Blues couldn't overcome the loss of so many important pieces. FC Kansas City even lost a fifth likely regular as the club acquired Sydney Leroux in January last year, from the Western New York Flash, to replace Amy Rodriguez, but later in January she too announced that she would miss the 2016 season as she was pregnant. They also lost midfielder, Jen Buczkowski, who retired five games into the season to return to school. The Blues finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history, finishing in sixth place with 26 points, six points behind fourth place Western New York. In the absence of both Rodriguez and Leroux, Shea Groom stepped up, scoring eight of FCKC's 18 goals on the season to lead the Blues in scoring. The return of Desiree Scott helped to ease some of the defensive losses in the offseason, as the Blues' defense allowed the second fewest goals in the league in 2016. Unfortunately the loss of Rodriguez, Leroux, and Lauren Holiday couldn't be overcome on the offensive end.
Overall, it wasn't a great year for my wants and wishes with only one, the Swope Park Rangers having a successful first season being my one real win out of all of them.
1. Silverware - I'm not counting the Swope Park Rangers' Western Conference championship unfortunately (more on that later), so this wasn't a wish that was met this year by any of KC's four teams. Three of the four made the playoffs, but none of them were able to come home with a championship in 2016.
2. Sorting KC address center back issues - This is an area that overall was probably addressed, but at the same time probably wasn't. Sporting KC was in the top half of the table in terms of fewest goals allowed, finishing sixth in that category allowing 41 goals. So on that stat alone it would seem that KC addressed their center back issues. But the issue for the center back situation was the inability to have a consistent starting pairing at center back whether it be form, injuries, or national team call ups, KC started five different players at center back in seven different combinations over the 34 game season. Nuno Coelho and Matt Besler started the season as the number one center back pairing and looked to be pretty good for KC in that situation, raising hopes for the season. Then Coelho got hurt in mid-May and made just one 90 minute appearance the entire rest of the season for KC, with his high salary Sporting passed on retaining the Portuguese center back. For a stretch in the middle of the season, Peter Vermes favorite pairing was Ike Opara and the returning Lawrence Olum as Besler was with the national team and struggling with his club form. Besler eventually won his spot back with Opara for a stretch before injuries brought down Opara again this season, although not long term like prior years). This allowed Kevin Ellis to step up and take the job next to Besler, which he didn't relinquish the rest of the season. The Besler/Ellis pairing KC through the end of the season and into the playoffs in 2016. Hopefully a more consistent pairing can work in 2017.
3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This one went out the window in late January as Sporting KC sold Nemeth to Al Gharafa SC in Qatar. Much has been made about how the move came about, whether Nemeth forced it, or whether KC did. KC reportedly went to Nemeth in good faith to offer him a new contract because of his performance in the 2015 season, but a deal couldn't be worked out. Nemeth (or his agent) posted a Facebook message saying that he wanted to stay but that the contract he was offered still wouldn't have made him one of the club's highest paid players. At the same times there were comments that Nemeth wanted to be released early to join the Hungarian team for camp ahead of the Euros. We never got the full story and likely never will, what we know for sure is that Nemeth left and his departure left a big hole in KC's right wing that the club never successfully filled in 2016.
4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Another one that didn't come true, Sporting got off to a poor start with their two road games, drawing 2-2 in Trinidad and then were taken apart 3-0 in Vancouver to put themselves firmly behind the eight ball. Needing a result at home against Vancouver to keep their faint hopes of advancing alive. Falling behind, clawing back to equalize, Sporting gave up a very late winner to Alphonso Davies to put the Whitecaps through. KC won their final group game, a meaningless encounter between Sporting and Central FC 3-1, playing a number of Swope Park Rangers.
5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - Almost, but not quite on this one, and certainly not in the way I expected with Palmer-Brown going on loan to Porto in 2016. Kempin started the season as the Rangers' starting goalkeeper, lost the job, won it back, then lost it again and never gained it back after an injury to Tim Melia forced him to be recalled from his loan. Combined between the Rangers and a couple of appearances for Sporting KC in the CCL, Kempin made 14 appearances in 2016, going 5-6-3 (5-4-3 for SPR, 0-2 for Sporting) and allowing 18 goals in those 14 games.
Palmer-Brown made 17 league appearances across two seasons for Porto's reserve team in the Portuguese second division, becoming a regular at center back for the club in their run to the Portuguese second division championship in the 2015-2016 season. After recovering from an injury early in the 2016-2017 season, Palmer-Brown again took his place in the center of defense and even earned a call up to the first team.
6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - I'd say a trip to the USL championship was a successful season, even if it didn't end in a trophy there was a lot of good that came out of the first season. For me, SPR's success had more to do with the players than the results on the field. SPR made a priority of getting a younger roster and really did, with only a handful of players over the age of 25 on the team. It also was able to shine the light on a number of players who could produce for Sporting KC in the years to come. From the likes of Tyler Pasher and Adrian Zendejas, who have both already signed with the first team to the likes of Amer Didic, Ualefi, and Nansel Selbol who all made appearances for the first team in the Champions League. Arguably the player I'm most excited about didn't even play for the first team though, Kevin Oliveira, tore his ACL near the midpoint of the season and missed out on the second half of the season. If he'd been healthy I have no doubts he'd have also appeared for Sporting KC this past season. Hopefully a swift return from his ACL tear will see him getting time with Sporting in 2017.
7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - I'd classify a fourth place finish as respectable, at least from looking at it from the outside it certainly was. Advancing to the semifinals before losing to world power Argentina is certainly a good run. Arguments can be made about the USA's performance in that 4-0 loss to Argentina as well as the two losses to Colombia (2-0 in group play and 1-0 in third place game), and how they were some of the final moments of Jurgen Klinsmann's time in charge of the US team, but in the end even someone anti-Klinsmann like myself, has to admit fourth was respectable, especially given the draw.
8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Unfortunately another Comets season ended with a loss to the Baltimore Blast. The Missouri (now Kansas City) Comets won the Central Division last year with a 17-3 record, four games ahead of second and third place Chicago and Milwaukee. After the Milwaukee Wave topped the Chicago Mustangs in a three game series, the Comets swept the Wave aside 2-0 winning 10-5 on the road and 8-2 at home to set up a match up with the Baltimore Blast for the fourth straight season. Unfortunately just like two of the previous three, the Blast topped the Comets, this time with a pair of overtime victories both by a 4-3 score line for the Blast.
9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - Unfortunately the Blues couldn't overcome the loss of so many important pieces. FC Kansas City even lost a fifth likely regular as the club acquired Sydney Leroux in January last year, from the Western New York Flash, to replace Amy Rodriguez, but later in January she too announced that she would miss the 2016 season as she was pregnant. They also lost midfielder, Jen Buczkowski, who retired five games into the season to return to school. The Blues finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history, finishing in sixth place with 26 points, six points behind fourth place Western New York. In the absence of both Rodriguez and Leroux, Shea Groom stepped up, scoring eight of FCKC's 18 goals on the season to lead the Blues in scoring. The return of Desiree Scott helped to ease some of the defensive losses in the offseason, as the Blues' defense allowed the second fewest goals in the league in 2016. Unfortunately the loss of Rodriguez, Leroux, and Lauren Holiday couldn't be overcome on the offensive end.
Overall, it wasn't a great year for my wants and wishes with only one, the Swope Park Rangers having a successful first season being my one real win out of all of them.
Friday, August 12, 2016
Missouri Comets Lawsuit Brings Out Sexually Suggestive FC Kansas City Emails
Things aren't so rosy right now for Kansas City's other professional soccer owners, the Likens family and Brian Budzinski, owners of NWSL side FC Kansas City and the MASL's Missouri Comets. Last night the Kansas City Business Journal posted an article about a lawsuit that Budzinski has brought against his fellow owners, seeking $3.75 million in damages. Budzinski claims in the lawsuit that all decisions require a 75 percent approval by management which includes Budzinski, Brad Likens and Greg Likens (sons of Chris Likens who is also an owner of FC Kansas City). In the lawsuit though Budzinski says that he has been kept out of key negotiations like the Comets league, arena lease, and employment agreements with players.
In a letter exchanged between the two groups' lawyers, it said the Comets had borrowed $3.17 million to continue operating the club, a decent amount of money for the minor league Comets. With that amount of money lost, it's a wonder that the Comets have lasted as long as they have, and points to the continued struggles that indoor soccer have had since it's heydays in the 80's.
Budzinski has been the more visible of the owners, having taken over color commentary duty on the Comets broadcasts when the team is at home. While he's done well in the roll, it's certainly weird to have one of the owners as part of the broadcast team for games.
The larger issue facing the owners, at least in the public eye was mentioned at the end of the article, and expanded upon in an article today on Excelle Sports. Budzinski claims that the Likens had used the Comets' computers and servers (and by extension FCKC's computers and servers) to transmit sexually suggestive pictures of female soccer players, and references to "riding them like horses."
The Excelle Sports article includes screen shots of the alleged emails, provided by an anonymous source, a former employee at National Holdings, another company the Likens own. Budzinski for his part is a recipient of the emails in the Excelle Sports story, but does not respond. He was concerned that the actions could have a negative effect on the Comets (and probably FC Kansas City as well).
While the KC Business Journal focuses on the Comets portion of the lawsuit, the FC Kansas City stuff in there will be the stuff that gets people talking, especially with the emails from Excelle Sports. It doesn't quite rise to the level of magicJack owner Dan Borislow in the WPS, but depending on what continues to come out from the lawsuit it certainly could put the NWSL and by extension US Soccer in a tough spot and require a response. The league and federation has to be hoping that Sporting Club would be willing or interested in stepping up and taking over the NWSL club. The club already runs the Swope Park Rangers out of their Swope Park complex, adding could certainly make some sense for the club.
In a letter exchanged between the two groups' lawyers, it said the Comets had borrowed $3.17 million to continue operating the club, a decent amount of money for the minor league Comets. With that amount of money lost, it's a wonder that the Comets have lasted as long as they have, and points to the continued struggles that indoor soccer have had since it's heydays in the 80's.
Budzinski has been the more visible of the owners, having taken over color commentary duty on the Comets broadcasts when the team is at home. While he's done well in the roll, it's certainly weird to have one of the owners as part of the broadcast team for games.
The larger issue facing the owners, at least in the public eye was mentioned at the end of the article, and expanded upon in an article today on Excelle Sports. Budzinski claims that the Likens had used the Comets' computers and servers (and by extension FCKC's computers and servers) to transmit sexually suggestive pictures of female soccer players, and references to "riding them like horses."
The Excelle Sports article includes screen shots of the alleged emails, provided by an anonymous source, a former employee at National Holdings, another company the Likens own. Budzinski for his part is a recipient of the emails in the Excelle Sports story, but does not respond. He was concerned that the actions could have a negative effect on the Comets (and probably FC Kansas City as well).
While the KC Business Journal focuses on the Comets portion of the lawsuit, the FC Kansas City stuff in there will be the stuff that gets people talking, especially with the emails from Excelle Sports. It doesn't quite rise to the level of magicJack owner Dan Borislow in the WPS, but depending on what continues to come out from the lawsuit it certainly could put the NWSL and by extension US Soccer in a tough spot and require a response. The league and federation has to be hoping that Sporting Club would be willing or interested in stepping up and taking over the NWSL club. The club already runs the Swope Park Rangers out of their Swope Park complex, adding could certainly make some sense for the club.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Lopez Says Good-Bye, Rangers Sign Defender, and Dwyers Hear Pitter Patter
Busy night in terms of news for all three of Kansas City's professional outdoor teams.
Lopez says good-bye
Most people could probably guess the likely outcome when Sporting Kansas City put out their preseason roster this weekend and it didn't include Mikey Lopez. Today Lopez's departure from Kansas City was confirmed by the player himself as he posted his good-bye to his teammates and fans in a post on Instagram.
Lopez was Kansas City's first round draft pick in the 2012 Superdraft, the 14th overall pick. A Generation Adidas player he only appeared in one game his rookie season, a US Open Cup game against the Des Moines Menace. Over his final two season with Kansas City Lopez spent time on loan with both of KC's USL affiliates, Orlando City and Oklahoma City. Each year though Lopez ended up getting recalled by Sporting because of the club's injury issues. In the end Lopez made 14 league appearances, starting 10, playing 964 minutes over that stretch. He'll certainly find a spot to catch on whether it is in MLS, the NASL, USL, or abroad, he'll be playing professionally next year.
Rangers Add Experienced MLS Vet
The Swope Park Rangers continue to build their roster ahead of their first season and today added an MLS veteran to their roster signing defender Tommy Meyer. Meyer, a St. Louis native has spent the last four seasons with the LA Galaxy winning two MLS Cups and gaining international experience playing in the CONCACAF Champions League. Over his our seasons Meyer played 33 times for the Galaxy starting 26 of those games playing both as a center back and an outside back. The 25 year old gives the Rangers more experience along the back line.
Meyer right now is in camp with Sporting KC along with new teammate Zac Lubin as SKC's camp kicked off this weekend.
Dwyers' Announce New Edition Coming
Sydney Leroux and Dom Dwyer announced today that the couple is expecting their first child in September of this year. The couple got married in January of 2015 and since then Leroux had been trying to get a trade to FC Kansas City so that she live with her husband. That trade happened on January 13th of this year when FCKC worked out deals with the Houston Dash and Western New York Flash to bring Leroux to Kansas City.
The announcement today coming just two weeks after being traded to Kansas City has led some people already to question if this was already known to Leroux when the trade was made. With how far along she would need to be at this point to have a September baby it is a little hard to see how that fact wouldn't have come up.
For FCKC it likely sends the two time defending NWSL champions scrambling a bit. The club traded forward Sarah Hagen to the expansion Orlando Pride, then found out that forward Amy Rodriguez was going to miss the 2016 season as she's pregnant with her second child, the club then traded to get Leroux to help fill the gap but are now looking for a forward again with the announcement by Leroux. It's certainly a completely different dynamic for Vlatko Andonovski to deal with.
Lopez says good-bye
Most people could probably guess the likely outcome when Sporting Kansas City put out their preseason roster this weekend and it didn't include Mikey Lopez. Today Lopez's departure from Kansas City was confirmed by the player himself as he posted his good-bye to his teammates and fans in a post on Instagram.
Lopez was Kansas City's first round draft pick in the 2012 Superdraft, the 14th overall pick. A Generation Adidas player he only appeared in one game his rookie season, a US Open Cup game against the Des Moines Menace. Over his final two season with Kansas City Lopez spent time on loan with both of KC's USL affiliates, Orlando City and Oklahoma City. Each year though Lopez ended up getting recalled by Sporting because of the club's injury issues. In the end Lopez made 14 league appearances, starting 10, playing 964 minutes over that stretch. He'll certainly find a spot to catch on whether it is in MLS, the NASL, USL, or abroad, he'll be playing professionally next year.
Rangers Add Experienced MLS Vet
The Swope Park Rangers continue to build their roster ahead of their first season and today added an MLS veteran to their roster signing defender Tommy Meyer. Meyer, a St. Louis native has spent the last four seasons with the LA Galaxy winning two MLS Cups and gaining international experience playing in the CONCACAF Champions League. Over his our seasons Meyer played 33 times for the Galaxy starting 26 of those games playing both as a center back and an outside back. The 25 year old gives the Rangers more experience along the back line.
Meyer right now is in camp with Sporting KC along with new teammate Zac Lubin as SKC's camp kicked off this weekend.
Dwyers' Announce New Edition Coming
Sydney Leroux and Dom Dwyer announced today that the couple is expecting their first child in September of this year. The couple got married in January of 2015 and since then Leroux had been trying to get a trade to FC Kansas City so that she live with her husband. That trade happened on January 13th of this year when FCKC worked out deals with the Houston Dash and Western New York Flash to bring Leroux to Kansas City.
The announcement today coming just two weeks after being traded to Kansas City has led some people already to question if this was already known to Leroux when the trade was made. With how far along she would need to be at this point to have a September baby it is a little hard to see how that fact wouldn't have come up.
For FCKC it likely sends the two time defending NWSL champions scrambling a bit. The club traded forward Sarah Hagen to the expansion Orlando Pride, then found out that forward Amy Rodriguez was going to miss the 2016 season as she's pregnant with her second child, the club then traded to get Leroux to help fill the gap but are now looking for a forward again with the announcement by Leroux. It's certainly a completely different dynamic for Vlatko Andonovski to deal with.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Dwyer and Leroux Finally Together, Rangers Fill Out Coaching Staff
A couple bits of news from yesterday that I didn't get to.
First, the Dwyer family is officially together. Since Dom Dwyer and Sydney Leroux got married both have talked about wanting to play in the same city so that they could actually be together. Last year Leroux tried to get herself traded to FC Kansas City from the Seattle Reign so that she could be with her husband. At the time there was a rumor that a deal was done but the Reign went shopping further and ended up trading Leroux to the Western New York Flash instead.
The inability to get Leroux to KC last season combined with the announcement that Orlando City would be adding a women's team in 2016, the Orlando Pride, brought back the rumors of Dwyer to Orlando as the expansion side would try to get Leroux to help with a trade for Dwyer. Instead it was announced yesterday that FC Kansas City had worked out a three team trade with the Houston Dash and the Flash to bring the Dwyer family together. Kansas City. First Kansas City sent their first round pick, the eighth pick and an international spot to Houston in exchange for forwards Tiffany McCarty and Jessica McDonald. FCKC then turned around and sent McDonald and a second round pick in 2017 to Western New York for Leroux.
This trade is big for FCKC as it gives the club a marquee forward who can hopefully replace the goal production that KC is losing with Amy Rodriguez sitting out the 2016 season. Just leaving the big hole in midfield where Lauren Holiday played. It's also big for Sporting KC fans as it should put an end for the time being to rumors of Dwyer's departure from Kansas City. With Leroux in town with him the two should be set, at least for a little bit.
Rangers Fill Out Coaching Staff
In news from the USL, the Swope Park Rangers filled out the rest of their coaching staff yesterday as well. The Rangers announced the addition of Nikola Popovic as an assistant coach and Alec Dufty as the club's goalkeeping coach. Popovic comes to Kansas City from Portugal where he was an assistant coach with the Benfica B side. He's spent most of his coaching career in Portugal with one side trip to Bulgaria in between stops.
Dufty joins the club not only as a goalkeeping coach for the Rangers, but also as a goalkeeping coach for the academy team as well. Dufty has plenty of experience in the US lower divisions playing for Toronto FC II and AC St. Louis. Dufty has also had a cup of tea with multiple MLS teams, New York, Houston, and Chicago. Dufty also has experience coaching as an assistant at Florida Gulf Coast University.
First, the Dwyer family is officially together. Since Dom Dwyer and Sydney Leroux got married both have talked about wanting to play in the same city so that they could actually be together. Last year Leroux tried to get herself traded to FC Kansas City from the Seattle Reign so that she could be with her husband. At the time there was a rumor that a deal was done but the Reign went shopping further and ended up trading Leroux to the Western New York Flash instead.
The inability to get Leroux to KC last season combined with the announcement that Orlando City would be adding a women's team in 2016, the Orlando Pride, brought back the rumors of Dwyer to Orlando as the expansion side would try to get Leroux to help with a trade for Dwyer. Instead it was announced yesterday that FC Kansas City had worked out a three team trade with the Houston Dash and the Flash to bring the Dwyer family together. Kansas City. First Kansas City sent their first round pick, the eighth pick and an international spot to Houston in exchange for forwards Tiffany McCarty and Jessica McDonald. FCKC then turned around and sent McDonald and a second round pick in 2017 to Western New York for Leroux.
This trade is big for FCKC as it gives the club a marquee forward who can hopefully replace the goal production that KC is losing with Amy Rodriguez sitting out the 2016 season. Just leaving the big hole in midfield where Lauren Holiday played. It's also big for Sporting KC fans as it should put an end for the time being to rumors of Dwyer's departure from Kansas City. With Leroux in town with him the two should be set, at least for a little bit.
Rangers Fill Out Coaching Staff
In news from the USL, the Swope Park Rangers filled out the rest of their coaching staff yesterday as well. The Rangers announced the addition of Nikola Popovic as an assistant coach and Alec Dufty as the club's goalkeeping coach. Popovic comes to Kansas City from Portugal where he was an assistant coach with the Benfica B side. He's spent most of his coaching career in Portugal with one side trip to Bulgaria in between stops.
Dufty joins the club not only as a goalkeeping coach for the Rangers, but also as a goalkeeping coach for the academy team as well. Dufty has plenty of experience in the US lower divisions playing for Toronto FC II and AC St. Louis. Dufty has also had a cup of tea with multiple MLS teams, New York, Houston, and Chicago. Dufty also has experience coaching as an assistant at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Saturday, January 02, 2016
2016 Wants and Wishes
The new year has started and with the new year come new wants and wishes for the year. With that in mind here are my wants and wishes for 2016.
1. Silverware - Always the main goal, more trophies, more painting the wall for Sporting Kansas City. In the past two years all three professional soccer teams in KC have won at least one trophy, fans have been a little spoiled lately, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't want more of them.
2. Sporting KC address center back issues - I like Ike Opara, I think he's a very good and capable center back when he's healthy. But that is the main problem, since coming into the league in 2010 he's made it through exactly one season without it ending early due to injury. And that one season was 2013 when he wasn't even the primary starter for Sporting KC. His replacement last year, Kevin Ellis performed admirably, but he's not a starter full time at this level for me.Erik Palmer-Brown could be the future at that position, but I'm not sure he's ready to be the starter there at 18, although I'd love for him to have a Matt Miazga type season. The team's other two potential center backs currently, Lawrence Olum and Amobi Okugo both seem likely to stay in midfield, although I feel Okugo's best games with the Philadelphia Union were at center back. Whether it's within MLS or elsewhere, KC needs to find someone that can consistently be the starter next to Besler at the MLS level.
3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This is going to be a two part wish, the first part is going to be going on now as the transfer window has reopened in Europe. There's been talk that Nemeth had some interest from teams in Europe after a season that saw him score 16 goals across all competitions for Kansas City. While Robb Heineman has said he expects Nemeth to be back in KC this year things could change if a team that really needs goal scoring comes calling. The second part of this will come this summer, which is usually a more active window for European teams when it comes to buy. Combine that with this summer's European Championships that Nemeth is likely to play in with Hungary, more offers could come in at that time. But keeping Nemeth in Sporting blue has to be a priority. Last year he took a lot of pressure off of Dom Dwyer, allowing both to play better.
4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Sporting KC is back into the CONCACAF Champions League in 2016 and after their last trip in 2014 ended with an elimination by Saprissa at the group stage I'd like to see Sporting get into the knock out phase this year. In the 2015 group stage ended with either an MLS team or a Mexican team on top of their group, I'd hate for KC to be the one that potentially breaks that streak.
5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - I wanted to make this 20 plus games but I'm going to make this a little lower. I don't mean that they play 15 plus games for Sporting KC this year, although that would speak wonders to what Peter Vermes sees in them, but I mean 15 plus games either for Sporting or for the new Swope Park Rangers. The key thing for both Kempin and Palmer-Brown at this point is to get them games. Kempin's games last year were cut after KC cut Luis Marin loose and recalled Kempin. And with Palmer-Brown being a teenager it's not surprising that Vermes wanted him closer to home where he could be more in control of his development. With the Rangers now in town and Vermes able to work directly with Marco dos Santos and observe practice more easily, there's no reason that these two should not be getting a lot more games now.
6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - Sporting KC's USL affiliate is set to debut in the USL this season playing at the Swope Soccer Village. While the team will certainly have some focus on winning considering who is in charge of the team, the main focus of their success should be on developing players for the first team. So far of the five players that the Rangers have signed, the oldest is 26 year old goalkeeper Zac Lubin, and the average age of he five is 23.8. Developing the younger talent like Kris Tyrpak and Johnny Grant could be a big boost to the first team.
7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - My interest in the US men's national team over the last two years plus has really started to wane. Last year's Gold Cup was a big let down as was the loss to Mexico in LA for the chance to make the Confederations Cup in 2017. At this point plenty of fans are frustrated with the performance that the team has put out under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. I'm not stupid enough to think that a poor performance here would get Klinsmann fired, and I'm not one to completely turn on the US hoping they fall flat on their face in the hopes that Klinsmann is fired. That said I want a respectable performance out of the US. For me that means at least making it out of their group, meaning finishing in the top two. They'll avoid Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina in group play which will help, but CONMEBOL is full of strong teams that will cause the US plenty of problems.
8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Last year the Blast ended the Comets season in the MASL semifinals falling in both games and losing their headers at home in the final game. This year the two teams again appear to be on a collision course to meet in the playoffs. The two will get a chance to see each other before the playoffs though as the teams meet three times in the final month or so of the season, with two of those games taking place at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.
9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - The Blues are going to have some rebuilding to do after winning back to back NWSL titles. FC Kansas City has lost a number of their starters from this past season and will have a number of holes to fill. The team is losing US women's national teamer, Lauren Holiday, and defenders Amy LePeilbet and Leigh Ann Brown to retirement . They'll also be losing Amy Rodriguez at least for the 2016 season as it was announced that Rodriguez will miss the 2016 season as she is pregnant with her second child. The team still has the likes of Becky Sauerbrunn, Heather O'Reilly, and Nicole Barnhart which will certainly help FCKC, but Vlatko Andonovski will have his work cut out for him as FCKC looks to go for the three peat.
1. Silverware - Always the main goal, more trophies, more painting the wall for Sporting Kansas City. In the past two years all three professional soccer teams in KC have won at least one trophy, fans have been a little spoiled lately, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't want more of them.
2. Sporting KC address center back issues - I like Ike Opara, I think he's a very good and capable center back when he's healthy. But that is the main problem, since coming into the league in 2010 he's made it through exactly one season without it ending early due to injury. And that one season was 2013 when he wasn't even the primary starter for Sporting KC. His replacement last year, Kevin Ellis performed admirably, but he's not a starter full time at this level for me.Erik Palmer-Brown could be the future at that position, but I'm not sure he's ready to be the starter there at 18, although I'd love for him to have a Matt Miazga type season. The team's other two potential center backs currently, Lawrence Olum and Amobi Okugo both seem likely to stay in midfield, although I feel Okugo's best games with the Philadelphia Union were at center back. Whether it's within MLS or elsewhere, KC needs to find someone that can consistently be the starter next to Besler at the MLS level.
3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This is going to be a two part wish, the first part is going to be going on now as the transfer window has reopened in Europe. There's been talk that Nemeth had some interest from teams in Europe after a season that saw him score 16 goals across all competitions for Kansas City. While Robb Heineman has said he expects Nemeth to be back in KC this year things could change if a team that really needs goal scoring comes calling. The second part of this will come this summer, which is usually a more active window for European teams when it comes to buy. Combine that with this summer's European Championships that Nemeth is likely to play in with Hungary, more offers could come in at that time. But keeping Nemeth in Sporting blue has to be a priority. Last year he took a lot of pressure off of Dom Dwyer, allowing both to play better.
4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Sporting KC is back into the CONCACAF Champions League in 2016 and after their last trip in 2014 ended with an elimination by Saprissa at the group stage I'd like to see Sporting get into the knock out phase this year. In the 2015 group stage ended with either an MLS team or a Mexican team on top of their group, I'd hate for KC to be the one that potentially breaks that streak.
5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - I wanted to make this 20 plus games but I'm going to make this a little lower. I don't mean that they play 15 plus games for Sporting KC this year, although that would speak wonders to what Peter Vermes sees in them, but I mean 15 plus games either for Sporting or for the new Swope Park Rangers. The key thing for both Kempin and Palmer-Brown at this point is to get them games. Kempin's games last year were cut after KC cut Luis Marin loose and recalled Kempin. And with Palmer-Brown being a teenager it's not surprising that Vermes wanted him closer to home where he could be more in control of his development. With the Rangers now in town and Vermes able to work directly with Marco dos Santos and observe practice more easily, there's no reason that these two should not be getting a lot more games now.
6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - Sporting KC's USL affiliate is set to debut in the USL this season playing at the Swope Soccer Village. While the team will certainly have some focus on winning considering who is in charge of the team, the main focus of their success should be on developing players for the first team. So far of the five players that the Rangers have signed, the oldest is 26 year old goalkeeper Zac Lubin, and the average age of he five is 23.8. Developing the younger talent like Kris Tyrpak and Johnny Grant could be a big boost to the first team.
7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - My interest in the US men's national team over the last two years plus has really started to wane. Last year's Gold Cup was a big let down as was the loss to Mexico in LA for the chance to make the Confederations Cup in 2017. At this point plenty of fans are frustrated with the performance that the team has put out under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. I'm not stupid enough to think that a poor performance here would get Klinsmann fired, and I'm not one to completely turn on the US hoping they fall flat on their face in the hopes that Klinsmann is fired. That said I want a respectable performance out of the US. For me that means at least making it out of their group, meaning finishing in the top two. They'll avoid Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina in group play which will help, but CONMEBOL is full of strong teams that will cause the US plenty of problems.
8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Last year the Blast ended the Comets season in the MASL semifinals falling in both games and losing their headers at home in the final game. This year the two teams again appear to be on a collision course to meet in the playoffs. The two will get a chance to see each other before the playoffs though as the teams meet three times in the final month or so of the season, with two of those games taking place at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.
9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - The Blues are going to have some rebuilding to do after winning back to back NWSL titles. FC Kansas City has lost a number of their starters from this past season and will have a number of holes to fill. The team is losing US women's national teamer, Lauren Holiday, and defenders Amy LePeilbet and Leigh Ann Brown to retirement . They'll also be losing Amy Rodriguez at least for the 2016 season as it was announced that Rodriguez will miss the 2016 season as she is pregnant with her second child. The team still has the likes of Becky Sauerbrunn, Heather O'Reilly, and Nicole Barnhart which will certainly help FCKC, but Vlatko Andonovski will have his work cut out for him as FCKC looks to go for the three peat.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
A Look Back at my 2015 Wants and Wishes
With 2015 about to end, here's a look at my 2015 wants and wishes and how they turned out ahead of the calendar switch to 2016.
1. Silverware - Silverware is always fun and this year Kansas City soccer teams brought home two trophies. Sporting KC started the season off strong and for a period of time looked to be one of the favorites to win MLS Cup. Injuries though played a role in their downfall, but in the end were able to finish the season with their third trophy in four years, the US Open Cup. It was the club's third US Open Cup trophy to go with the 2004 and 2012 trophies, and as expected, came in a penalty kick shootout. Also this year FC Kansas City brought home their second straight NWSL title repeating as champions with a 1-0 win over Seattle thanks to an Amy Rodriguez goal.
2. Sporting KC improve their home form - I'd say this was a successful wish for 2015, Sporting KC. After going 6-5-6 in 2014, and losing 10 over the last two years, Kansas City lost just twice at home in 2015. Sporting finished with a 10-2-5 record, an 11 point positive swing in Kansas City's favor from their 2014 form. Add in their four US Open Cup wins at home and KC went 14-2-5 in 2015, tying a club record for home wins.
3. A little more balanced scoring - Overall scoring was much better for Kansas City in 2015. The club didn't have to rely solely on Dom Dwyer and ended up scoring 64 goals in all competitions, the second most in club history. Leading the way was Dwyer, Krisztian Nemeth, and Benny Feilhaber who all scored 10 goals or more in league play, becoming the first trio to accomplish that feat in one season for Kansas City. While Dwyer's scoring was down, he still led the team with 12 league goals, added another five in the US Open Cup, and one in the playoffs to finish the season with 16. Nemeth to go along with his 10 league goals scored five in the Open Cup for 15, while Feilhaber added two in the Open cup to finish with 12 on the season.
4. Finally defeat the Seattle Sounders at home - Sporting finally got their first home win against the Sounders thanks to a late Benny Feilhaber penalty kick back on June 6th. KC actually was unbeaten against the Sounders this year, going 1-0-2, drawing 0-0 in Seattle on May 23rd and earning a 1-1 draw at home on September 27th with a mostly reserve lineup three days before the US Open Cup final.
5. Ike Opara (or whoever partners Matt Besler) is fully recovered and starts 25-30 games - I guess I can't technically call this one a failure as Kevin Ellis started 26 games paired with Matt Besler in central defense for Sporting during the regular season, but the spirit of this wish didn't come true, especially after the way Ike Opara started the season. Opara had been Sporting's best player over the first month of the season, but another injury in early May put him out for the rest of the season leaving KC to lean heavily on homegrown player Kevin Ellis again. Ellis performed better than I think anyone expected, but was still prone to mistakes that a player with more size or experience at center back wouldn't make.
6. Luis Marin is available for all 34 league games, allowing Jon Kempin to start all but a game or two with Oklahoma City - Well this is another one that didn't come to be at all. We'll ignore the fact that Jon Kempin didn't go on loan at all to the Energy and instead focus on the fact that Luis Marin played just eight games for Kansas City before being benched in favor of Tim Melia. Marin just never seemed to adjust to the style of play of MLS very well. He did pick up three shutouts in his eight games, but two of those were at home against teams that seemed to have little to no interest in attacking on the road (Portland and Salt Lake) and the third came against New York City. The last straw for Marin came in the club's 4-4 draw with Houston where Marin was at least partially responsible for a few of the Dynamo goals. Marin though has rebounded well in Chile where he helped lead Palestino to the Apertura finals there.
And while Melia turned out to be a diamond in the rough as a starter for Kansas City, Kempin only appeared in three games for KC after being recalled from his loan to San Antonio. Peter Vermes says Kempin will challenge Melia for the starting job in 2016 preseason. If Kempin doesn't beat Melia out I hope he can spend quite a bit of time with the Swope Park Rangers getting plenty of minutes.
7. US Men's national team says perfect in Kansas City - Unfortunately the perfect run in Kansas City ended at five as the US national team drew with Panama 1-1 at Sporting Park in the final group play game of the 2015 Gold Cup. Falling behind on a first half goal by Blas Perez the US equalized early in the second half on a goal by Michael Bradley. The entire group stage of the Gold Cup didn't go that well for the US, and the problems were only compounded in the knock out round, but I'll get to that next.
8. US win the Gold Cup - I almost want to laugh at this wish now, after seeing how the 2015 Gold Cup played out. After getting out of Group A as the top seed going 2-0-1 but looking less than impressive in their wins against Honduras and Haiti, and draw against Panama, the US took Cuba behind the woodshed, winning 6-0 in the quarterfinals. This set up a semifinal match against Jamaica. The Jamaicans came out on the front foot and really pushed the game against the United States and were rewarded for it with goals from Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes putting them up 2-0 at half time. Michael Bradley scored very early in the second half to give the US hope, but they were unable to break down the Jamaican defense and missed the finals for the first time since 2003. Things got even worse for the US as they lost the third place game on penalty kicks to Panama after drawing 1-1 with Fabian Johnson, Bradley, and DeMarcus Beasley all missing.
9. Missouri Comets return to championship game - Unfortunately the Comets didn't make it back to the finals. After going undefeated in the regular season and defeating Milwaukee 8-2 in the Central Division final, the Comets met up with the Baltimore Blast, losing 6-4 in Baltimore then coming home and having the wheels completely come off their season with red cards and suspensions being issued to Brian Harris and John Sosa and then the headbutt incident involving Andre Braithwaite and Pat Healey after the game. Not the way you want to end your season with so much of a sour taste in the team's and fans' mouths.
10. FC Kansas City improve attendance - FC Kansas City played in their third stadium in three years as they moved from Durwood on UMKC's campus down the road to the newly completed Swope Soccer Village and played at the Championship field there. The move bumped the available capacity to 3,557 for the Blues in their third season. The move, coming off a championship, and a boost from the Women's World Cup helped FCKC up their average attendance by over 1,000, going from 2,018 to 3,091 in 2015.
11. US women's team wins World Cup - The United States made it through their group as the winners picking up wins over Australia and Nigeria with a draw against Sweden in between to finish with 7 points. They met the upstart Colombians in the round of 16 and needed two second half goals after Colombia's starting goalkeeper was sent off to see them through. The quarterfinals saw a rematch of the 1999 final against China with Carli Lloyd scoring the lone goal to send the US through to the semifinals. There they met two time winners, Germany. The US though played their best game of the tournament up to that point though and scored twice in the second half from a Lloyd penalty and a Kelley O'Hara goal to make the finals. There they met Japan, who had beaten them in the finals of the last World Cup in Germany. The knockout rounds though had become the Carli Lloyd show and she continued in the finals. Lloyd had had two goals in the first five minutes as the US jumped on Japan early. Lauren Holiday scored in the 14th to make it 3-0 and in the 16th Lloyd finished her hattrick with an outlandish shot from midfield that went over goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori and into the net to make it 4-0 to the US before Japan even knew what happened. Japan got a goal back on each side of halftime before Tobin Heath finished the scoring in the 54th to give the US the 5-2 win.
1. Silverware - Silverware is always fun and this year Kansas City soccer teams brought home two trophies. Sporting KC started the season off strong and for a period of time looked to be one of the favorites to win MLS Cup. Injuries though played a role in their downfall, but in the end were able to finish the season with their third trophy in four years, the US Open Cup. It was the club's third US Open Cup trophy to go with the 2004 and 2012 trophies, and as expected, came in a penalty kick shootout. Also this year FC Kansas City brought home their second straight NWSL title repeating as champions with a 1-0 win over Seattle thanks to an Amy Rodriguez goal.
2. Sporting KC improve their home form - I'd say this was a successful wish for 2015, Sporting KC. After going 6-5-6 in 2014, and losing 10 over the last two years, Kansas City lost just twice at home in 2015. Sporting finished with a 10-2-5 record, an 11 point positive swing in Kansas City's favor from their 2014 form. Add in their four US Open Cup wins at home and KC went 14-2-5 in 2015, tying a club record for home wins.
3. A little more balanced scoring - Overall scoring was much better for Kansas City in 2015. The club didn't have to rely solely on Dom Dwyer and ended up scoring 64 goals in all competitions, the second most in club history. Leading the way was Dwyer, Krisztian Nemeth, and Benny Feilhaber who all scored 10 goals or more in league play, becoming the first trio to accomplish that feat in one season for Kansas City. While Dwyer's scoring was down, he still led the team with 12 league goals, added another five in the US Open Cup, and one in the playoffs to finish the season with 16. Nemeth to go along with his 10 league goals scored five in the Open Cup for 15, while Feilhaber added two in the Open cup to finish with 12 on the season.
4. Finally defeat the Seattle Sounders at home - Sporting finally got their first home win against the Sounders thanks to a late Benny Feilhaber penalty kick back on June 6th. KC actually was unbeaten against the Sounders this year, going 1-0-2, drawing 0-0 in Seattle on May 23rd and earning a 1-1 draw at home on September 27th with a mostly reserve lineup three days before the US Open Cup final.
5. Ike Opara (or whoever partners Matt Besler) is fully recovered and starts 25-30 games - I guess I can't technically call this one a failure as Kevin Ellis started 26 games paired with Matt Besler in central defense for Sporting during the regular season, but the spirit of this wish didn't come true, especially after the way Ike Opara started the season. Opara had been Sporting's best player over the first month of the season, but another injury in early May put him out for the rest of the season leaving KC to lean heavily on homegrown player Kevin Ellis again. Ellis performed better than I think anyone expected, but was still prone to mistakes that a player with more size or experience at center back wouldn't make.
6. Luis Marin is available for all 34 league games, allowing Jon Kempin to start all but a game or two with Oklahoma City - Well this is another one that didn't come to be at all. We'll ignore the fact that Jon Kempin didn't go on loan at all to the Energy and instead focus on the fact that Luis Marin played just eight games for Kansas City before being benched in favor of Tim Melia. Marin just never seemed to adjust to the style of play of MLS very well. He did pick up three shutouts in his eight games, but two of those were at home against teams that seemed to have little to no interest in attacking on the road (Portland and Salt Lake) and the third came against New York City. The last straw for Marin came in the club's 4-4 draw with Houston where Marin was at least partially responsible for a few of the Dynamo goals. Marin though has rebounded well in Chile where he helped lead Palestino to the Apertura finals there.
And while Melia turned out to be a diamond in the rough as a starter for Kansas City, Kempin only appeared in three games for KC after being recalled from his loan to San Antonio. Peter Vermes says Kempin will challenge Melia for the starting job in 2016 preseason. If Kempin doesn't beat Melia out I hope he can spend quite a bit of time with the Swope Park Rangers getting plenty of minutes.
7. US Men's national team says perfect in Kansas City - Unfortunately the perfect run in Kansas City ended at five as the US national team drew with Panama 1-1 at Sporting Park in the final group play game of the 2015 Gold Cup. Falling behind on a first half goal by Blas Perez the US equalized early in the second half on a goal by Michael Bradley. The entire group stage of the Gold Cup didn't go that well for the US, and the problems were only compounded in the knock out round, but I'll get to that next.
8. US win the Gold Cup - I almost want to laugh at this wish now, after seeing how the 2015 Gold Cup played out. After getting out of Group A as the top seed going 2-0-1 but looking less than impressive in their wins against Honduras and Haiti, and draw against Panama, the US took Cuba behind the woodshed, winning 6-0 in the quarterfinals. This set up a semifinal match against Jamaica. The Jamaicans came out on the front foot and really pushed the game against the United States and were rewarded for it with goals from Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes putting them up 2-0 at half time. Michael Bradley scored very early in the second half to give the US hope, but they were unable to break down the Jamaican defense and missed the finals for the first time since 2003. Things got even worse for the US as they lost the third place game on penalty kicks to Panama after drawing 1-1 with Fabian Johnson, Bradley, and DeMarcus Beasley all missing.
9. Missouri Comets return to championship game - Unfortunately the Comets didn't make it back to the finals. After going undefeated in the regular season and defeating Milwaukee 8-2 in the Central Division final, the Comets met up with the Baltimore Blast, losing 6-4 in Baltimore then coming home and having the wheels completely come off their season with red cards and suspensions being issued to Brian Harris and John Sosa and then the headbutt incident involving Andre Braithwaite and Pat Healey after the game. Not the way you want to end your season with so much of a sour taste in the team's and fans' mouths.
10. FC Kansas City improve attendance - FC Kansas City played in their third stadium in three years as they moved from Durwood on UMKC's campus down the road to the newly completed Swope Soccer Village and played at the Championship field there. The move bumped the available capacity to 3,557 for the Blues in their third season. The move, coming off a championship, and a boost from the Women's World Cup helped FCKC up their average attendance by over 1,000, going from 2,018 to 3,091 in 2015.
11. US women's team wins World Cup - The United States made it through their group as the winners picking up wins over Australia and Nigeria with a draw against Sweden in between to finish with 7 points. They met the upstart Colombians in the round of 16 and needed two second half goals after Colombia's starting goalkeeper was sent off to see them through. The quarterfinals saw a rematch of the 1999 final against China with Carli Lloyd scoring the lone goal to send the US through to the semifinals. There they met two time winners, Germany. The US though played their best game of the tournament up to that point though and scored twice in the second half from a Lloyd penalty and a Kelley O'Hara goal to make the finals. There they met Japan, who had beaten them in the finals of the last World Cup in Germany. The knockout rounds though had become the Carli Lloyd show and she continued in the finals. Lloyd had had two goals in the first five minutes as the US jumped on Japan early. Lauren Holiday scored in the 14th to make it 3-0 and in the 16th Lloyd finished her hattrick with an outlandish shot from midfield that went over goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori and into the net to make it 4-0 to the US before Japan even knew what happened. Japan got a goal back on each side of halftime before Tobin Heath finished the scoring in the 54th to give the US the 5-2 win.
Thursday, February 05, 2015
FC Kansas City Schedule Released
The NWSL unveiled their schedule for the 2015 season, the league's third, a telling year for the league as a whole. The prior two women's professional leagues, the WUSA and WPS both lasted just three seasons before going under. So it's a big test for the league to make it past the failures of the other two. They'll do it this year by having to play around the Women's World Cup this summer in Canada. The league is set to take a 12 day break from June 7th to June 18th during the group stages of the World Cup.
The teams will play 20 games, home and away against every team, with a third match against four other teams, for FC Kansas City, that includes playing Washington and Western New York at home twice, while traveling to Houston and Boston twice.
Previously announced, the Blues kick off their season on Sunday, April 12th at Sporting Park against Sky Blue FC. They'll also end the season against Sky Blue, this time on the road. The team's first game at the Swope Soccer Village will be Thursday, April 23rd, a matchup of the NWSL final last year as they'll host the Seattle Reign. That's the first of three Thursday night games at home for KC and one of five week night games (they have two Wednesday night games as well). They break down as having three Saturday home games, three Thursday home games, two Wednesday games, one Friday, and one Sunday. Not an ideal schedule with only three Saturday home games for the Blues. The good news for the Blues is that four of their last five games at the Swope Soccer Village.
Here is the full schedule, times are all Central.
vs Sky Blue FC - Sunday, April 12th 3pm - Sporting Park
at Washington - Saturday, April 18th 6pm
vs Seattle - Thursday, April 23 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Houston - Saturday, May 2nd 7:30pm
at Western New York - Friday, May 8th 6pm
vs Western New York - Thursday, May 14th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Chicago - Saturday, May 23rd 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Boston - Saturday, May 30th 6pm
at Portland - Friday, June 19th 9pm
at Seattle - Saturday, June 27th 9:30pm
vs Washington - Friday, July 3rd 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Boston - Saturday, July 11th 5pm
vs Houston - Wednesday, July 15th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Houston - Wednesday, July 29th 7:30pm
at Chicago - Saturday, August 1st 7pm
vs Western New York - Saturday, August 8th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Portland - Wednesday, August 12th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Boston - Saturday, August 22nd 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Washington - Thursday, August 27th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Sky Blue FC - Sunday, September 6th 5pm
at Washington - Saturday, April 18th 6pm
vs Seattle - Thursday, April 23 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Houston - Saturday, May 2nd 7:30pm
at Western New York - Friday, May 8th 6pm
vs Western New York - Thursday, May 14th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Chicago - Saturday, May 23rd 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Boston - Saturday, May 30th 6pm
at Portland - Friday, June 19th 9pm
at Seattle - Saturday, June 27th 9:30pm
vs Washington - Friday, July 3rd 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Boston - Saturday, July 11th 5pm
vs Houston - Wednesday, July 15th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Houston - Wednesday, July 29th 7:30pm
at Chicago - Saturday, August 1st 7pm
vs Western New York - Saturday, August 8th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Portland - Wednesday, August 12th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Boston - Saturday, August 22nd 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
vs Washington - Thursday, August 27th 7pm - Swope Soccer Village
at Sky Blue FC - Sunday, September 6th 5pm
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
FCKC Home Opener to be at Sporting Park
FC Kansas City and Sporting KC announced today that the Blues' home opener will in fact be played at Sporting Park. The plan since the two clubs formed their partnership had been to have the home opener at Sporting Park to start the Blues' 2014 season as they look to defend their NWSL title. With the Blues at home the first weekend of the season against Sky Blue FC the question was all about the date.
Sporting KC is set to play Real Salt Lake at home on Saturday April 11th, and with that game and easy sell out for Sporting there was no reason to do a double header and double up on games when SKC sells out without an extra game. So the best option for the Blues was to play the day after. So FCKC will kick off their season on Sunday afternoon at 3pm against Sky Blue FC at Sporting Park.
It should be a good opportunity for the women to play in the stadium and its amenities. No offense to their prior stadiums, but it will also give a more professional feel for the game as well. Hopefully they can pull in a good crowd.
Friday, January 16, 2015
FC Kansas City Draft Five in NWSL Draft
FC Kansas City again went local in this year’s NWSL draft.
The Blues, without a first round pick though were still able to get players
they wanted.
With their first pick, the third overall and the third of
the second round, FCKC grabbed forward/midfielder from Liberty, Missouri, Shea
Groom. While KC didn’t necessarily need a lot of help at the forward
department, Groom as a good local talent was too god for FCKC to pass up.
Four picks later, the Blues had back to back picks at 16 and
17. With the 16th pick, FCKC drafted Groom’s college teammate at
Texas A&M, Meghan Streight. Streight was an All American and a three time
first team All-SEC selection during her time with the Aggies. The next pick,
FCKC added to their goalkeeping depth, selecting Katelyn Rowland from UCLA. Rowland
was considered the best goalkeeper in the draft, and a member of the US women’s
U20 team. With Nicole Barnhart potentially missing time this summer during the
women’s World Cup, Rowland could see plenty of time for the Blues.
With their third round pick, the Blues went with Colorado
College midfielder, Jessie Ayers.
With their final pick, FCKC went local again, drafting Groom’s
youth club teammate, Kaysie Clark from Missouri. Clark a midfielder, scored
three goals and assisted on 11 this past year for the Tigers.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
FC Kansas City Announce Partnership with Sporting KC, New Home
FC Kansas City has a new home, and a new partner. One day after their home opener was announced with a TBD for the date/time, we find out the reason why. The Blues have entered into a partnership with Sporting Kansas City that will see the team move their home venue to the Championship stadium at the Swope Soccer Village in Swope Park. The partnership will also see FCKC play at least one regular season game at Sporting Park as well as playoff games at the facility as well. The pair are in negotiations to host FCKC's home opener at Sporting Park. With SKC set to take on Real Salt Lake on Saturday, April 11th at 7:30pm, a double header with FCKC's home opener against Sky Blue FC would make for a fun afternoon/evening of soccer.
Overall though this is a great move for the Blues ahead of the 2015 season. They get to train at the Swope Complex, where Sporting currently trains, which will be an upgrade over their facilities they've used the past two years. They'll also now be playing games on a natural grass surface, which is something that can't be played down enough. They'll become only the fourth team in the nine team league to play on a grass surface, something that players with the US women's national team and other players have been arguing for ahead of this summer's women's World Cup in Canada. So that will be a major plus for the women. Then there's the games at Sporting Park, which I'm sure will get plenty of push from not just the Blues but Sporting as well.
After three stadiums in now three years, hopefully this move for the Blues last for a while, or until the need arises for them to play every game at Sporting Park as the Portland Thorns do.
Overall though this is a great move for the Blues ahead of the 2015 season. They get to train at the Swope Complex, where Sporting currently trains, which will be an upgrade over their facilities they've used the past two years. They'll also now be playing games on a natural grass surface, which is something that can't be played down enough. They'll become only the fourth team in the nine team league to play on a grass surface, something that players with the US women's national team and other players have been arguing for ahead of this summer's women's World Cup in Canada. So that will be a major plus for the women. Then there's the games at Sporting Park, which I'm sure will get plenty of push from not just the Blues but Sporting as well.
After three stadiums in now three years, hopefully this move for the Blues last for a while, or until the need arises for them to play every game at Sporting Park as the Portland Thorns do.
Monday, January 12, 2015
FCKC Home Opener Announced, but Date/Location TBD
The NWSL today announced that home openers for their nine franchises heading into their third season of play this year. It's an important season for the league as the prior two women's professional leagues in the US, the WUSA and the WPS lasted just three seasons each. So the NWSL will look to stop that trend this year.
The Blues will begin their title defense at home the first weekend against Sky Blue FC. The schedule does not give an exact date of the game though, just that it will be week 1, which will be the weekend of April 10th through the 12th. The other unknown is where the game will be played. That too on the schedule is listed as TBD. Could FCKC be looking for a new home venue after playing at Durwood Stadium on UMKC's campus last year?
After finishing second in the league in attendance in 2013 with 4,626 while playing at the Shawnee Mission District Athletic site at Shawnee Mission North, the Blues moved to Durwood Stadium in 2014 and saw their attendance more than cut in half, falling to the second lowest in the league at 2,018 during the regular season.
So where will FCKC play in 2015? The team signed a two year agreement to play at Durwood last year ahead of the 2014 season, but they certainly can't be happy with the nose dive that attendance took. Does the team look to move out to the Kansas suburbs, which would likely mean a return to a field with football lines painted on? Does the team try to find a way to play at the Soccer Village at Swope Park on the Championship field there? Or do they try to work out a deal with Sporting KC to utilize Sporting Park in the 2015 season? The final option is the only one of the options I listed that would include a natural grass surface for the Blues to play on. It would also give FCKC the opportunity to sell alcohol on site.
Not only do we know the Blues' first game, but we also know their first away game of the season as the Blues will be the opponent for the Washington Spirit in their home opener on April 18th.
The Blues will begin their title defense at home the first weekend against Sky Blue FC. The schedule does not give an exact date of the game though, just that it will be week 1, which will be the weekend of April 10th through the 12th. The other unknown is where the game will be played. That too on the schedule is listed as TBD. Could FCKC be looking for a new home venue after playing at Durwood Stadium on UMKC's campus last year?
After finishing second in the league in attendance in 2013 with 4,626 while playing at the Shawnee Mission District Athletic site at Shawnee Mission North, the Blues moved to Durwood Stadium in 2014 and saw their attendance more than cut in half, falling to the second lowest in the league at 2,018 during the regular season.
So where will FCKC play in 2015? The team signed a two year agreement to play at Durwood last year ahead of the 2014 season, but they certainly can't be happy with the nose dive that attendance took. Does the team look to move out to the Kansas suburbs, which would likely mean a return to a field with football lines painted on? Does the team try to find a way to play at the Soccer Village at Swope Park on the Championship field there? Or do they try to work out a deal with Sporting KC to utilize Sporting Park in the 2015 season? The final option is the only one of the options I listed that would include a natural grass surface for the Blues to play on. It would also give FCKC the opportunity to sell alcohol on site.
Of course this could just be the team looking for a way to get the home opener at somewhere like Sporting Park. SKC is actually at home on the 11th against Real Salt Lake so the potential for a double header that day could exist if a deal could be worked out.
I know originally I'd thought the idea of a double header with FC Kansas City and Sporting KC would be a good idea as a one off, but it'd be a question of whether Sporting would want to allow more games on a field that over the past few years has not stood up that well (although last year saw an improvement after the surface change).
Whatever is happening, the fact that the home location is currently TDB is an interesting one.
Not only do we know the Blues' first game, but we also know their first away game of the season as the Blues will be the opponent for the Washington Spirit in their home opener on April 18th.
Saturday, January 03, 2015
2015 Wishes
Time to make my wishes for the year 2015. Yesterday I reviewed my wishes for 2014, so let's move forward.
1. Silverware - As always, number 1 on the list is trophies. I want more trophies. For a period of time last year, Kansas City held the MLS Cup, NWSL championship, and MISL title all at the same time. While I'd prefer it to be Sporting KC bringing home more silverware, I'd be thrilled to see FCKC and/or the Missouri Comets repeat.
2. Sporting KC improve their home form - Last year, Sporting was a mediocre 6-5-6 at Sporting Park. Over the past two years, Sporting KC has lost 10 league games at home, that's almost 30 percent of the team's home games over that two year stretch. With Sporting moving to the Western Conference, which on paper looks to be a brutal conference next year, Kansas City will need to take advantage of their home games.
3. A little more balanced scoring - Not saying that I want Dom Dwyer's scoring in 2015 to drop off, but Sporting needs a little more balance in their attack in 2015. While Dwyer scored 22 goals for KC, the next highest scorer in league play was Graham Zusi with 5. For Dwyer to have continued success, someone needs to pick up the scoring a little bit and get closer to 10-12 goals than anyone did this past season.
4. Finally defeat the Seattle Sounders at home - With the move to the Western Conference, Sporting KC will get to face the Seattle Sounders at least once at home in 2015. Since the Sounders came into the league in 2009, Sporting is 0-4 at home against the Sounders and 0-4-1 in all competitions (the US Open Cup goes in the record books as a draw). In face, KC has just one win period against the MLS incarnation of the Sounders, in the team's first match up in 2009. Since then, KC is 0-7-1 in league play and 0-8-2 in all competitions. It's about time to end that losing streak, both at home and overall.
5. Ike Opara (or whoever partners Matt Besler) is fully recovered and starts 25-30 games - I'm not foolish enough to think that Opara will make Sporting fans forget Aurelien Collin, but Opara is a talented center back. The question with him has always been his health. Like with Chance Myers, hopefully Peter Vermes' patience with him pays off this season when he's likely to be the starting center back. If he's not, hopefully whoever does replace Collin can be solid enough so that I don't see tons of "Collin wouldn't have made that mistake" comments this season.
6. Luis Marin is available for all 34 league games, allowing Jon Kempin to start all but a game or two with Oklahoma City - At this point in Kempin's development he needs to be regularly playing. With Marin the clear number 1 on the roster I'd like to see Kempin loaned out to OKC again for the season. Unlikely last year hopefully Marin can stay healthy which will allow Kempin to spend the entire season in OKC starting pretty much every game. That way, either late in Marin's contract or when it runs out, Kempin is ready to step up and take over the starting job.
7. US Men's national team says perfect in Kansas City - This summer, for the sixth time in KC and fourth time in Sporting Park's history, the US men's national team will be playing here. So far the US is 5-0 in Kansas City, and with the US hosting a group stage game, no matter who it's against the US should be able to beat them at Sporting Park.
8. US win the Gold Cup - A win in the Gold Cup would guarantee them a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. Thanks to their 2013 win though if they lose they still have a chance to make it, but the easier option is to just win the Gold Cup this year.
9. Missouri Comets return to championship game - The Comets are 10-0 at this point with 10 games left in the season. And looking at the schedule of remaining games, I can't see the Comets not making the playoffs at this point. With that, the next step should be to get back to the championship game. That should see the Comets have to face the winner of the match up between 2nd and 3rd place in the Central Conference, which could see another game against the Milwaukee Wave. From there the Comets are likely to have to face the Baltimore Blast out of the Eastern Conference, who at this point are also undefeated. Getting past them would see a final against the winner of the Southern Conference (either Monterrey or Dallas) and the Western Conference (likely San Diego). Still, the way the Comets are playing this season a trip to the finals should be expected of this team.
10. FC Kansas City improve attendance - With the move to Durwood Stadium last year, the Blues went from the second highest attended team, to the second lowest. Being the defending champion should help the team's attendance some, but there needs to be more to it than that. For this team, and league to continue, attendance needs to improve.
11. US women's team wins World Cup - The women didn't get an easy draw, having to face both Australia and Sweden before closing the group out against Nigeria. The team showed some weakness in the recent tournament in Brazil where the women finished second and there have been plenty of questions about coach Jill Ellis. But there's no reason the US shouldn't compete, and it's been too long (16 years) since the US last won the women's World Cup.
1. Silverware - As always, number 1 on the list is trophies. I want more trophies. For a period of time last year, Kansas City held the MLS Cup, NWSL championship, and MISL title all at the same time. While I'd prefer it to be Sporting KC bringing home more silverware, I'd be thrilled to see FCKC and/or the Missouri Comets repeat.
2. Sporting KC improve their home form - Last year, Sporting was a mediocre 6-5-6 at Sporting Park. Over the past two years, Sporting KC has lost 10 league games at home, that's almost 30 percent of the team's home games over that two year stretch. With Sporting moving to the Western Conference, which on paper looks to be a brutal conference next year, Kansas City will need to take advantage of their home games.
3. A little more balanced scoring - Not saying that I want Dom Dwyer's scoring in 2015 to drop off, but Sporting needs a little more balance in their attack in 2015. While Dwyer scored 22 goals for KC, the next highest scorer in league play was Graham Zusi with 5. For Dwyer to have continued success, someone needs to pick up the scoring a little bit and get closer to 10-12 goals than anyone did this past season.
4. Finally defeat the Seattle Sounders at home - With the move to the Western Conference, Sporting KC will get to face the Seattle Sounders at least once at home in 2015. Since the Sounders came into the league in 2009, Sporting is 0-4 at home against the Sounders and 0-4-1 in all competitions (the US Open Cup goes in the record books as a draw). In face, KC has just one win period against the MLS incarnation of the Sounders, in the team's first match up in 2009. Since then, KC is 0-7-1 in league play and 0-8-2 in all competitions. It's about time to end that losing streak, both at home and overall.
5. Ike Opara (or whoever partners Matt Besler) is fully recovered and starts 25-30 games - I'm not foolish enough to think that Opara will make Sporting fans forget Aurelien Collin, but Opara is a talented center back. The question with him has always been his health. Like with Chance Myers, hopefully Peter Vermes' patience with him pays off this season when he's likely to be the starting center back. If he's not, hopefully whoever does replace Collin can be solid enough so that I don't see tons of "Collin wouldn't have made that mistake" comments this season.
6. Luis Marin is available for all 34 league games, allowing Jon Kempin to start all but a game or two with Oklahoma City - At this point in Kempin's development he needs to be regularly playing. With Marin the clear number 1 on the roster I'd like to see Kempin loaned out to OKC again for the season. Unlikely last year hopefully Marin can stay healthy which will allow Kempin to spend the entire season in OKC starting pretty much every game. That way, either late in Marin's contract or when it runs out, Kempin is ready to step up and take over the starting job.
7. US Men's national team says perfect in Kansas City - This summer, for the sixth time in KC and fourth time in Sporting Park's history, the US men's national team will be playing here. So far the US is 5-0 in Kansas City, and with the US hosting a group stage game, no matter who it's against the US should be able to beat them at Sporting Park.
8. US win the Gold Cup - A win in the Gold Cup would guarantee them a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. Thanks to their 2013 win though if they lose they still have a chance to make it, but the easier option is to just win the Gold Cup this year.
9. Missouri Comets return to championship game - The Comets are 10-0 at this point with 10 games left in the season. And looking at the schedule of remaining games, I can't see the Comets not making the playoffs at this point. With that, the next step should be to get back to the championship game. That should see the Comets have to face the winner of the match up between 2nd and 3rd place in the Central Conference, which could see another game against the Milwaukee Wave. From there the Comets are likely to have to face the Baltimore Blast out of the Eastern Conference, who at this point are also undefeated. Getting past them would see a final against the winner of the Southern Conference (either Monterrey or Dallas) and the Western Conference (likely San Diego). Still, the way the Comets are playing this season a trip to the finals should be expected of this team.
10. FC Kansas City improve attendance - With the move to Durwood Stadium last year, the Blues went from the second highest attended team, to the second lowest. Being the defending champion should help the team's attendance some, but there needs to be more to it than that. For this team, and league to continue, attendance needs to improve.
11. US women's team wins World Cup - The women didn't get an easy draw, having to face both Australia and Sweden before closing the group out against Nigeria. The team showed some weakness in the recent tournament in Brazil where the women finished second and there have been plenty of questions about coach Jill Ellis. But there's no reason the US shouldn't compete, and it's been too long (16 years) since the US last won the women's World Cup.
Friday, January 02, 2015
Review of 2014 Wishes
With the calendar turned over to 2015, it's time to take a look back at my wishes for the year 2014. Back in January I posted my wishes for 2014. Here's how they turned out.
3. Whichever keeper gets established as the clear number 1 finishes in the top third of the league in most goalkeeper categories. Actually despite the issues that the two seemed to have, they both had decent numbers for a goalkeeper. Playing 1,800 minutes, Kronberg had the second lowest goals against average of regular goalkeepers (1.1), second only to Nick Rimando (1.04). Gruenebaum playing 945 minutes wasn't too far behind, finishing with 1.14 goals against average.
When it came to shutouts, Kronberg finished with seven for KC, tying him for 7th in the league. Unfortunately, none of those came after June 27th. Gruenebaum meanwhile picked up three. On the plus side you could say that combined, the 10 shutouts was good for a second place tie, unfortunately it was the lack of consistency more than anything.
When it comes to wins, Kronberg picked up just seven, while Gruenebaum picked up six. Again, combined as one keeper, that's not bad, it's the fact that it was split between two that's the problem.
The last stat I'll look at is save percentage. Here's an area where Kronberg especially struggled. His save percentage was just 62%, tied with Zac MacMath. The only regular starters with a worse save percentage were Dan Kennedy, Clint Irwin, and Tally Hall, all three from teams that missed the playoffs. Of the five goalkeepers mentioned, Kronberg faced the fewest shows, 73, 40 fewer than Hall who faced the least of the other four. Kennedy meanwhile faced boudle the shots. All but one of the keepers, Hall, made at least as many saves as Kronberg faced shots, with Kronberg saving just 45 of the 73 shots he faced. Gruenebaum meanwhile was actually a decent shot stopper for KC, with a save percentage of 76%, saving 34 of the 45 shots he faced. Only Andre Blake (90 minutes) and Brian Rowe (270 minutes) had a higher save percentage than Gruenebaum did.
So overall, in places Sporting's goalkeepers were still in the top third of the league, unfortunately stats don't tell the whole tale and both goalkeepers are out in KC for inconsistencies.
4. Whatever the Bieler situation, resolve it quickly - I guess the resolution here involved Bieler staying in Kansas City, so technically I guess it was resolved quickly. Bieler's time in KC this year though was rather rough. Thanks to the performance of Dom Dwyer this year, Bieler was limited to just 421 minutes over the course of the season and two goals. He started just 1 regular season game after the team's 2-1 loss in Chicago on 5/18, and that was due to the suspension of Dwyer.
5. Find a forward that will excel in this system - When I wrote this originally back in January, I'd said that Dwyer "provided that pressure from the forward spot, but didn't score enough." Well this year Dwyer added the scoring punch to his active pressure up top as he finished second in the golden boot race to Bradley Wright-Phillips and set a single season club record for goals. His extension that he signed in December shows that Sporting sees him as the forward who excels in this system, and who am I to argue.
6. USA gets out of their group at the World Cup - This was a success for the US, although there was plenty of disappointment. After Jozy Altidore went down with an injury, the US really struggled to create dangerous chances. In what was a fairly open World Cup, the US played very conservatively. But at that stage it's all about getting results and advancing, which the US did before losing to Belgium in extra time after a heroic performance by Tim Howard.
7. Besler and Zusi have stand out World Cups - Stand out may not be the best word, but I think both had decent ones. Besler started all four of the USA's games in the tournament, playing all but the second 45 minutes against Ghana after picking up an injury in the first half. Of the four expected center backs (Besler, John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, and Omar Gonzalez) Besler is the only one to play in all four games. Zusi finished the World Cup with two assists, including the game winner against Ghana on a goal by Brooks. Overall the two had solid efforts for their country. So much so that Sporting signed both to designated player deals to help keep the pair in Kansas City going forward.
8. Neither Besler or Zusi leave KC this year - This one was a win, neither player left KC after the two signed new deals with KC making them designated players. While the pair didn't look like DPs much after the World Cup, both looked exhausted but both will now be a big part of the club as they move forward.
9. Comets return to the MISL championship - Not only did the Comets return, but they won themselves the MISL championship, beating the Baltimore Blast in the mini-game game 3 to take home the title.
10. Amy Rodriguez becomes the goal scorer FCKC need to take pressure off Lauren Holiday - I'd say 13 goals, including three in the playoffs as FCKC won the NWSL title makes this one a success. Rodriguez was a tremendous pick up for the Blues and was a huge reason they won the title this year.
11. FC Kansas City top last year's attendance mark - After I'd originally posted this wish, it was made known that FCKC was moving venues from Shawnee Mission's district athletic complex at Shawnee Mission North High School to Durwood Stadium on UMKC's campus. With the move, FCKC made capacity at the stadium just 3,200, over 1,400 smaller than their average during the 2013 season.
Unfortunately for FCKC with the move attendance took a nose dive, falling over 50% from their average in 2013 to 2,018 in 2014. They went from the second highest attended team in the league in 2013, to the second lowest behind only Sky Blue FC (who finished last in 2013 too).
12. National training center gets go ahead and ground breaks - Well this one was half right. The training center did get the go ahead to move forward and be built. Unfortunately ground has not broken yet. But according to Robb Heineman's latest Q&A, it's coming in the first quarter of 2015.
1. Silverware - Elimination in the quarterfinals of the 2013-2014 CONCACAF Champions League, elimination from the US Open Cup at the hands of the Portland Timbers at home, the third time in four years KC's USOC run has ended at home, elimination in the group stage of the 2014-2015 CCL, finishing 5th in the Eastern Conference and 10th in the overall table, and elimination by the New York Red Bulls in the wild card round of the MLS Cup playoffs. So no, there was no silverware this year for Sporting KC.
On the other hand though, the Missouri Comets and FC Kansas City both brought titles to Kansas City this past year winning the MISL and NWSL respectively. So while it may not be as big as Sporting KC, I'm counting this one as a win.
On the other hand though, the Missouri Comets and FC Kansas City both brought titles to Kansas City this past year winning the MISL and NWSL respectively. So while it may not be as big as Sporting KC, I'm counting this one as a win.
2. Kronberg or Gruenebaum emerges as a clear number 1 goalkeeper - This turned into a negative as well. Eric Kronberg looked decent enough at the start of the season, although he had some shaky moments. But after an injury never seemed to get any sort of form back once he returned. After his return from injury he again lost the starting job after his performance in the 3-2 loss to the New England Revolution. Unfortunately Andy Gruenebaum didn't fare much better, missing time three separate times this season with injuries, including once after the Revolution game, after Vermes had named him the starter ahead of Kronberg, leading to Kronberg's third run as the starting goalkeeper.
3. Whichever keeper gets established as the clear number 1 finishes in the top third of the league in most goalkeeper categories. Actually despite the issues that the two seemed to have, they both had decent numbers for a goalkeeper. Playing 1,800 minutes, Kronberg had the second lowest goals against average of regular goalkeepers (1.1), second only to Nick Rimando (1.04). Gruenebaum playing 945 minutes wasn't too far behind, finishing with 1.14 goals against average.
When it came to shutouts, Kronberg finished with seven for KC, tying him for 7th in the league. Unfortunately, none of those came after June 27th. Gruenebaum meanwhile picked up three. On the plus side you could say that combined, the 10 shutouts was good for a second place tie, unfortunately it was the lack of consistency more than anything.
When it comes to wins, Kronberg picked up just seven, while Gruenebaum picked up six. Again, combined as one keeper, that's not bad, it's the fact that it was split between two that's the problem.
The last stat I'll look at is save percentage. Here's an area where Kronberg especially struggled. His save percentage was just 62%, tied with Zac MacMath. The only regular starters with a worse save percentage were Dan Kennedy, Clint Irwin, and Tally Hall, all three from teams that missed the playoffs. Of the five goalkeepers mentioned, Kronberg faced the fewest shows, 73, 40 fewer than Hall who faced the least of the other four. Kennedy meanwhile faced boudle the shots. All but one of the keepers, Hall, made at least as many saves as Kronberg faced shots, with Kronberg saving just 45 of the 73 shots he faced. Gruenebaum meanwhile was actually a decent shot stopper for KC, with a save percentage of 76%, saving 34 of the 45 shots he faced. Only Andre Blake (90 minutes) and Brian Rowe (270 minutes) had a higher save percentage than Gruenebaum did.
So overall, in places Sporting's goalkeepers were still in the top third of the league, unfortunately stats don't tell the whole tale and both goalkeepers are out in KC for inconsistencies.
4. Whatever the Bieler situation, resolve it quickly - I guess the resolution here involved Bieler staying in Kansas City, so technically I guess it was resolved quickly. Bieler's time in KC this year though was rather rough. Thanks to the performance of Dom Dwyer this year, Bieler was limited to just 421 minutes over the course of the season and two goals. He started just 1 regular season game after the team's 2-1 loss in Chicago on 5/18, and that was due to the suspension of Dwyer.
5. Find a forward that will excel in this system - When I wrote this originally back in January, I'd said that Dwyer "provided that pressure from the forward spot, but didn't score enough." Well this year Dwyer added the scoring punch to his active pressure up top as he finished second in the golden boot race to Bradley Wright-Phillips and set a single season club record for goals. His extension that he signed in December shows that Sporting sees him as the forward who excels in this system, and who am I to argue.
6. USA gets out of their group at the World Cup - This was a success for the US, although there was plenty of disappointment. After Jozy Altidore went down with an injury, the US really struggled to create dangerous chances. In what was a fairly open World Cup, the US played very conservatively. But at that stage it's all about getting results and advancing, which the US did before losing to Belgium in extra time after a heroic performance by Tim Howard.
7. Besler and Zusi have stand out World Cups - Stand out may not be the best word, but I think both had decent ones. Besler started all four of the USA's games in the tournament, playing all but the second 45 minutes against Ghana after picking up an injury in the first half. Of the four expected center backs (Besler, John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, and Omar Gonzalez) Besler is the only one to play in all four games. Zusi finished the World Cup with two assists, including the game winner against Ghana on a goal by Brooks. Overall the two had solid efforts for their country. So much so that Sporting signed both to designated player deals to help keep the pair in Kansas City going forward.
8. Neither Besler or Zusi leave KC this year - This one was a win, neither player left KC after the two signed new deals with KC making them designated players. While the pair didn't look like DPs much after the World Cup, both looked exhausted but both will now be a big part of the club as they move forward.
9. Comets return to the MISL championship - Not only did the Comets return, but they won themselves the MISL championship, beating the Baltimore Blast in the mini-game game 3 to take home the title.
10. Amy Rodriguez becomes the goal scorer FCKC need to take pressure off Lauren Holiday - I'd say 13 goals, including three in the playoffs as FCKC won the NWSL title makes this one a success. Rodriguez was a tremendous pick up for the Blues and was a huge reason they won the title this year.
11. FC Kansas City top last year's attendance mark - After I'd originally posted this wish, it was made known that FCKC was moving venues from Shawnee Mission's district athletic complex at Shawnee Mission North High School to Durwood Stadium on UMKC's campus. With the move, FCKC made capacity at the stadium just 3,200, over 1,400 smaller than their average during the 2013 season.
Unfortunately for FCKC with the move attendance took a nose dive, falling over 50% from their average in 2013 to 2,018 in 2014. They went from the second highest attended team in the league in 2013, to the second lowest behind only Sky Blue FC (who finished last in 2013 too).
12. National training center gets go ahead and ground breaks - Well this one was half right. The training center did get the go ahead to move forward and be built. Unfortunately ground has not broken yet. But according to Robb Heineman's latest Q&A, it's coming in the first quarter of 2015.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
2014 Moments of the Year
With 2014 coming to an end, here's a look at my 2014 moments of the year.
Game of the Year
3/16/2014 vs Baltimore Blast
Start here in the game.
Not going with a Sporting KC game this year for the game of the year. Instead that honor goes to the Missouri Comets and the mini-game, game three against the Baltimore Blast that clinched the MISL championship for the Comets. The game took place immediately after Game 2, which the Comets had lost 19-4, and were thoroughly dominated by the defending champion Blast. The 15 minute mini game featured some good defense by both teams. The Blast took the lead 2-0 with just over six and a half minutes to play. The Comets equalized almost a minute later from a bicycle kick from Lucas Rodriguez.
The final five minutes became a hectic scramble of goals. First the Blast retook the lead with a goal at the back post. Then with just over a minute and a half left, and Vahid Assadpour on as the sixth attacker, the Comets found an equalizer as Stefan St. Louis knocked home a Rodriguez cross at the back post to tie the game at 4-4. Then with under a minute left, The Comets found a winner. A long ball up the field to Leo Gibson was touched into the path of Brian Harris who had made a run up the boards. Gibson's touch to Harris was perfect and the defender was able to fire the ball into the far corner to give the Comets the 6-4 lead. They were able to kill the last 54 seconds and claim their first (and last) MISL title.
Goal of the Year
Grhaam Zusi vs Chicago Fire 10/10/14
We didn't see a lot of this this year from Zusi. Running at defenders and shooting from distance, but we got it here. Collecting a pass from Kevin Ellis, Zusi fires from distance into the far corner to give KC a 1-0 lead over the Chicago Fire.
Assist of the Year
Lauren Holiday vs Seattle Reign 8/31/14
A fantastic play to secure a title, Lauren Holiday set up Amy Rodriguez in the NWSL final against the Seattle Reign. Receiving the ball, Holiday proceeded to turn and race towards goal. Over the course of that 25 yard run, Holiday was able to turn her two markers a number of times before getting into the box and laying off a nice ball to Rodriguez who made no mistake, firing home to give FCKC a 2-0.
Single Game Performance of the Year
Oriol Rosell vs Montreal Impact 5/10/14
Probably Sporting KC's best game of the season, KC won 3-0 over the Impact, and really completely dominated them the entire game. And at the center of it all, was KC's Spanish midfielder, Rosell. Rosell didn't score any goals, in fact he only had 1 shot, which coincidently led to the team's first goal as Collen Warner kept the ball out of the goal with his hand. But it was his passing that did it. Behind Rosell, KC passed the Impact to death, completing 739 of their 803 passing attempts and holding possession for over 78% of the game, all of those are MLS records, with quite a bit of distance to second place. The 92% passing accuracy is the second highest in league history (all since Opta started tracking MLS stats in 2011). Rosell himself set records for passing attempts (166) and completed passes (160, 96.4% completion percentage) in a game. his 160 completed passes were only 13 less than the entire Montreal Impact had as a team on that day. A dominating performance by him even if it doesn't show in the stats.
Low Point of the Year
2-1 Loss to New York 9/6/2014
This moment is not for this loss itself, but for this loss and the three games before it as well. Over that stretch from August 23rd through September 6th, Sporting went 0-4, conceding 11 goals while scoring just 3. This stretch was what really saw KC fall from grace as the season really hit it's tailspin. The first two of those games, a 3-0 loss to DC and a 3-1 loss to Houston were both at Sporting Park and two of the worse performances the team has put in at the new stadium. The 3-0 loss to DC was the worst in team history at Sporting Park. KC then followed those two up by losing both games of a East Coast road trip, losing 3-1 in New England and then the 2-1 loss in New York. KC did come out a week after this and romp Chivas USA 4-0, but it ended up being false hope for the rest of the season.
Non-Sporting KC, KC player moment of the year
6/16/14 Graham Zusi vs Ghana
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first minute, the US had been holding onto that lead for dear life against Ghana in their opening match of the 2014 World Cup. In the 82nd minute though Ghana equalized. It was only four minutes later though when the US reestablished their lead. Zusi, a substitute for Alejandro Bedoya, played a corner in to substitute, John Brooks (who'd come on at half time for Matt Besler). Brooks powered his header into the net giving the US a 2-1 lead and eventual win over the team that had knocked them out of the prior two World Cups.
KC Soccer Player of the Year
Brian Harris
The MISL finals MVP last year in the Comets victory over the Baltimore Blast, Harris has continued his superb form in the 2014-2015 season in the MASL. As the Comets have started the season 9-0, Harris has chipped in 15 goals and 6 assists for 21 points on the season. Many of those coming from big runs forward and blasts from long range.
Sporting KC Player of the Year
Dom Dwyer
Setting the single season scoring record for the club is definitely a big deal, KC has never been a club that's been known to have one dedicated goal scorer. They haven't been a club that has scored a lot of goals really since the Ron Newman days. But Dwyer had a season that many won't forget soon. At the half way point of the year I was ready to give the award to Benny Feilhaber, but the second half of the season, with Oriol Rosell gone, Feilhaber was forced to drop deeper in the field to help distribute, and his contribution to the team fell from there.
FCKC Player of the Year
Amy Rodriguez
I'd said in my wishes for 2014 that I wanted Rodriguez to become the goal scorer the Blues needed to take the pressure off of Lauren Holiday, and she certainly did that, finishing second in the league in goals with 13. Rodriguez played herself back onto the national team after missing the 2013 season after giving birth. Now if only Jill Ellis would get her on the field more.
Game of the Year
3/16/2014 vs Baltimore Blast
Start here in the game.
Not going with a Sporting KC game this year for the game of the year. Instead that honor goes to the Missouri Comets and the mini-game, game three against the Baltimore Blast that clinched the MISL championship for the Comets. The game took place immediately after Game 2, which the Comets had lost 19-4, and were thoroughly dominated by the defending champion Blast. The 15 minute mini game featured some good defense by both teams. The Blast took the lead 2-0 with just over six and a half minutes to play. The Comets equalized almost a minute later from a bicycle kick from Lucas Rodriguez.
The final five minutes became a hectic scramble of goals. First the Blast retook the lead with a goal at the back post. Then with just over a minute and a half left, and Vahid Assadpour on as the sixth attacker, the Comets found an equalizer as Stefan St. Louis knocked home a Rodriguez cross at the back post to tie the game at 4-4. Then with under a minute left, The Comets found a winner. A long ball up the field to Leo Gibson was touched into the path of Brian Harris who had made a run up the boards. Gibson's touch to Harris was perfect and the defender was able to fire the ball into the far corner to give the Comets the 6-4 lead. They were able to kill the last 54 seconds and claim their first (and last) MISL title.
Goal of the Year
Grhaam Zusi vs Chicago Fire 10/10/14
We didn't see a lot of this this year from Zusi. Running at defenders and shooting from distance, but we got it here. Collecting a pass from Kevin Ellis, Zusi fires from distance into the far corner to give KC a 1-0 lead over the Chicago Fire.
Assist of the Year
Lauren Holiday vs Seattle Reign 8/31/14
A fantastic play to secure a title, Lauren Holiday set up Amy Rodriguez in the NWSL final against the Seattle Reign. Receiving the ball, Holiday proceeded to turn and race towards goal. Over the course of that 25 yard run, Holiday was able to turn her two markers a number of times before getting into the box and laying off a nice ball to Rodriguez who made no mistake, firing home to give FCKC a 2-0.
Single Game Performance of the Year
Oriol Rosell vs Montreal Impact 5/10/14
Probably Sporting KC's best game of the season, KC won 3-0 over the Impact, and really completely dominated them the entire game. And at the center of it all, was KC's Spanish midfielder, Rosell. Rosell didn't score any goals, in fact he only had 1 shot, which coincidently led to the team's first goal as Collen Warner kept the ball out of the goal with his hand. But it was his passing that did it. Behind Rosell, KC passed the Impact to death, completing 739 of their 803 passing attempts and holding possession for over 78% of the game, all of those are MLS records, with quite a bit of distance to second place. The 92% passing accuracy is the second highest in league history (all since Opta started tracking MLS stats in 2011). Rosell himself set records for passing attempts (166) and completed passes (160, 96.4% completion percentage) in a game. his 160 completed passes were only 13 less than the entire Montreal Impact had as a team on that day. A dominating performance by him even if it doesn't show in the stats.
Low Point of the Year
2-1 Loss to New York 9/6/2014
This moment is not for this loss itself, but for this loss and the three games before it as well. Over that stretch from August 23rd through September 6th, Sporting went 0-4, conceding 11 goals while scoring just 3. This stretch was what really saw KC fall from grace as the season really hit it's tailspin. The first two of those games, a 3-0 loss to DC and a 3-1 loss to Houston were both at Sporting Park and two of the worse performances the team has put in at the new stadium. The 3-0 loss to DC was the worst in team history at Sporting Park. KC then followed those two up by losing both games of a East Coast road trip, losing 3-1 in New England and then the 2-1 loss in New York. KC did come out a week after this and romp Chivas USA 4-0, but it ended up being false hope for the rest of the season.
Non-Sporting KC, KC player moment of the year
6/16/14 Graham Zusi vs Ghana
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first minute, the US had been holding onto that lead for dear life against Ghana in their opening match of the 2014 World Cup. In the 82nd minute though Ghana equalized. It was only four minutes later though when the US reestablished their lead. Zusi, a substitute for Alejandro Bedoya, played a corner in to substitute, John Brooks (who'd come on at half time for Matt Besler). Brooks powered his header into the net giving the US a 2-1 lead and eventual win over the team that had knocked them out of the prior two World Cups.
KC Soccer Player of the Year
Brian Harris
The MISL finals MVP last year in the Comets victory over the Baltimore Blast, Harris has continued his superb form in the 2014-2015 season in the MASL. As the Comets have started the season 9-0, Harris has chipped in 15 goals and 6 assists for 21 points on the season. Many of those coming from big runs forward and blasts from long range.
Sporting KC Player of the Year
Dom Dwyer
Setting the single season scoring record for the club is definitely a big deal, KC has never been a club that's been known to have one dedicated goal scorer. They haven't been a club that has scored a lot of goals really since the Ron Newman days. But Dwyer had a season that many won't forget soon. At the half way point of the year I was ready to give the award to Benny Feilhaber, but the second half of the season, with Oriol Rosell gone, Feilhaber was forced to drop deeper in the field to help distribute, and his contribution to the team fell from there.
FCKC Player of the Year
Amy Rodriguez
I'd said in my wishes for 2014 that I wanted Rodriguez to become the goal scorer the Blues needed to take the pressure off of Lauren Holiday, and she certainly did that, finishing second in the league in goals with 13. Rodriguez played herself back onto the national team after missing the 2013 season after giving birth. Now if only Jill Ellis would get her on the field more.
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