Sporting Blow Two Leads, Have to Settle for a Point vs Houston

After a strong start by Sporting Kansas City last night the club blew a pair of leads and ended up drawing in the final moments of the game as the Houston Dynamo came back to tie Sporting 3-3 at Children's Mercy Park. Sporting had a major let down after going up 2-0 and again in the final moments and it cost them two points at a critical point of the season when they need to get points, especially at home.

For their early pressure in the game, KC was rewarded with the opening goal just 13 minutes in. A Saad Abdul-Salaam cross found Jacob Peterson unmarked near the penalty spot, his initial shot was saved by Joe Willis, the rebound fell to Dom Dwyer who had two chances to put it away with both being blocked before the ball fell to Peterson again who buried it into the net to put KC ahead. KC was able to double their lead about 10 minutes later on a rocket by Roger ESpinoza as he stepped in front of a poor pass by Collen Warner and fired from about 25 yards out that flew into the top corner to make it 2-0. The two goal lead only lasted four minutes as Houston pulled one back in the 30th as Boniek Garcia found himself with all kinds of space near the top of the box before sliding a ball through to Mauro Manotas whose shot to the back post beat Alec Kann to make it 2-1. After the goal the Dynamo controlled the game, keeping KC pinned back in their own end through the rest of the half, but KC held the lead heading into the break.

Just before the hour mark though the lead was gone, after some work down KC's left the ball was crossed into the middle for Manotas who didn't get a good touch on it but it deflected into the path of Alex, who beat Kann to make it 2-2 with the Dynamo having all the momentum. KC finally started to come back into the game though after the equalizer with Dwyer forcing a good save from Willis in the 66th minute. As the minutes ticked by though it seemed KC would have to settle for a 2-2 draw, but in the 81st minute Dwyer found the back of the net off a Benny Feilhaber corner that was knocked into his path by Espinoza to give KC a 3-2 lead and possibly all three points. Unfortunately that wasn't to be either as Sporting again blew the lead, this time in stoppage time after a silly foul by Espinoza on Garcia. With the free kick about 40 yards out Garcia drove the ball into the box where Raul Rodriguez beat Matt Besler in the air, his header hit the cross bar, bounced off Kann and into the net to give the Dynamo a last gasp equalizer as the final whistle blew just seconds after the kick off by KC.

Wizards Man of the Match - Roger Espinoza - The foul on Garcia aside, Espinoza had himself a strong match with a wonder goal and an assist on Dwyer's goal in the second half.

Player Ratings - Kann 4, Ellis 2, Besler 2, Coelho 3, Abdul-Salaam 3, Feilhaber 5, Espinoza 7, Mustivar 5, Davis 4, Dwyer 5, Peterson 5. Subs Sinovic 3, Hallisey 3, Opara NR.

Match Day 29: Back Home

After a week off after a stretch of five games in 15 days, Sporting Kansas City return to Children's Mercy Park and MLS action tomorrow when they welcome the Houston Dynamo for a Western Conference match up. Both teams have had their troubles this season, the Dynamo more so than Sporting, but the Dynamo have won both match ups between the two teams so far this season, both by two goals, a 2-0 league win back in May and a 3-1 win in the US Open Cup in late June.

The Dynamo now travel to Kansas City and will be looking to claim just their second road win of the season. Houston actually won their last road game, 2-1 over the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium. Unfortunately, that's been their only win in their last nine league games as they've gone 1-3-5 in that stretch. While Houston have a slim chance of still making the playoffs this year, at this point they're starting to look more towards 2017, and that means players fighting for their jobs and interim head coach Wade Barrett is fighting to get the full time job with the club.  Unfortunately the Dynamo haven't exactly done great since relieving Owen Coyle of his position, Barrett has gone just 2-4-8 since taking over.

Kansas City is back home where the club has won nine games this season, tied for third in the league behind Dallas and New York. They've also won six straight at home, which should give the team and fans some confidence heading into this game. Also giving confidence is the lack of injuries, with just Lawrence Olum and the perpetually injured Justin Mapp having not participated in training this week. That should give Peter Vermes plenty of options, especially with a Champions League game at home coming on Tuesday. Tomorrow though I'd expect Vermes to throw out his best 11 to get all three points in league play tomorrow, although the club will be without the suspended Jimmy Medranda who was sent off against Philadelphia. The biggest question though for KC may be who starts in goal. While Tim Melia is the starter (and who I'd expect to start tomorrow) he looked very rusty in goal for the Swope Park Rangers last week. While Alec Kann turned in a solid performance last time out against Philadelphia.

Zusi - Dwyer - Peterson

Espinoza - Feilhaber

Mustivar

Sinovic - Besler - Opara - Abdul-Salaam

Melia

Number to Remember - 5 - That's how many years it will be since KC last won a home league game against the Dynamo. KC's last home win against Houston was a 3-0 win back on September 10th of 2011 when a Teal Bunbury brace led KC to a big win over the Dynamo. KC is 0-1-4 against the Dynamo since that win in league play.

Key Match Up - Benny Feilhaber vs Ricardo Clark - Clark has been one of the more consistent defensive midfielders in the league over his career. He's not always been a flashy player but he's always been a guy who shuts things down in the middle of the field. With Feilhaber he'll have to do it without allowing KC too many set pieces, which Feilhaber can punish from.

PREDICTION - Facing the last place team, at home, while that team has just one away win on the season, at the same time you're fighting to keep your playoff position ahead of a chasing pack. Really this is a game that Kansas City must win. A loss tomorrow is something that would be a blow to the club as they head into the final few weeks. While it won't kill their playoff chances, it will certainly make things a lot tighter for Sporting KC, and with just two home games left after tomorrow, and KC's poor road form, the team needs to get as many points at home as possible. That said, Houston isn't a very good team, and for all the issues KC have on the road they have been strong at home during their six game winning streak. I think tomorrow they get the job done against the visitors.

SKC - 3 (Dwyer, Feilhaber, Zusi)
HOU - 1 (Bruin)

Dynamo End Sporting's Cup Defense

After it looked like Sporting Kansas City just might be turning a corner, after a big win over FC Dallas at home and a good draw on the road with Montreal, Sporting KC fell back into the form that the team has been in most of this season, falling 3-1 on he road to the Houston Dynamo ending their defense of the US Open Cup.

Houston started out quickly and grabbed the lead in only the seventh minute as some work down Kansas City's right side allowed Abdoulie Mansally to get wide open on the wing where he crossed the ball in to Mauro Manotas who beat Alec Kann to give the Dynamo the early lead. The Dynamo continued the early pressure and easily could have put the game away in the first half but some missed opportunities by Manotas and Cristian Maidana kept Kansas City in the game. After a water break in the 30th minute Kansas City came out and finally started to get involved in the game. Diego Rubio forced a good save from Joe Willis on cross into the box, while Roger Espinoza forced turnovers in the Dynamo end with some high pressure. Sporting though was unable to find a goal in those final 15 minutes and went into the half down a goal.

In the second half the Dynamo came out again and looked the more aggressive side. That aggression paid off as Manotas forced a good save out of Kann for a corner. Off the ensuing corner though KC couldn't clear the ball as it went to the back post, where it was headed back into the middle for Alex who just got enough on it to direct it past Kann and into the net to double Houston's lead. From there Kansas City picked up their play and started to come into the game more as Houston sat back trying to kill the game off. Sporting found some chances and in the 61st minute found a way back into the game. Rubio did well cutting into the box and getting some space on his defender sliding a ball across where Brad Davis stepped in front of his defender and tapped the ball home to make it 2-1. Kansas City continued the pressure from there looking to find an equalizer but the Houston defense stepped up and was able to shut down Sporting's attack. Late on it became apparent that KC's chasing the game had taken a toll on them as they were unable to get the ball out of their own end, and the Dynamo took advantage. In the 84th minute Manotas was played in behind the KC defense again and beat Kann for his second goal of the night. The Dynamo continued to pressure and almost added a fourth late on but had to settle for advancing easily over a listless Sporting side.

Wizards Man of the Match - Diego Rubio - Did a great job setting up Kansas City's loan goal of the night with some good dribbling and was a threat when KC was able to get the ball up to him, which as has been the story of the season, was not nearly enough.

Player Ratings - Kann 3, Medranda 4, Olum 2, Besler 3, Ellis 3, Mustivar 4, Feilhaber 4, Espinoza 5, Hallisey 3, Rubio 5, Zusi 2. Subs Davis 4, Dwyer 2.

Match Day USOC: On the Road Again

For the first time since the club rebranded, Sporting KC will play two games in a single US Open Cup run on the road. The last time this happened for Kansas City was in the 2009 US Open Cup when the then Wizards also played on the road in Minnesota against the Minnesota Thunder, topping them in penalty kicks 4-2 after a 3-3 tie. KC then went on the road and lost 1-0 to the expansion Seattle Sounders. This year KC heads to play the Houston Dynamo again after defeating a team from Minnesota, this time Minnesota United.

The Dynamo have changed a bit since Kansas City last played them in early May. The big news is that the club agreed to part ways with their coach, Owen Coyle, who is now back in the UK. The move hasn't helped a lot to change their fortunes in the league, while they have only lost once since Wade Barrett replaced Coyle as coach, a 3-2 loss on Sunday to Portland, the Dynamo haven't won a league game either. Since the change, the Dynamo are 0-1-3. They did pick up a win in the US Open Cup, topping San Antonio FC 4-0 in the fourth round.

KC has been in some better form of late, having gone four unbeaten in all competitions, including their 2-1 win over Minnesota in the last round of the US Open Cup. Sporting also earned a 2-2 draw in Montreal in their last outing and looked much better than they have heading into the game. Kansas City will also welcome back their two US internationals as Matt Besler and Graham Zusi will be be available for selection tomorrow according to Peter Vermes. With Besler going 90 minutes in the USA's game against Columbia I think his presence in the game will be minimal at most. Zusi though could contribute more to the team in the game tomorrow having not played in the third place game. Whether he starts though is up to Peter Vermes with his lack of time with the team recently.

Hallisey - Rubio - Peterson

Espinoza - Feilhaber

Olum

Medranda - Ellis - Opara - Abdul-Salaam

Kann

Number to Remember - 2002 - That's the last time Kansas City has won back to back road games in the US Open Cup. That year Kansas City did it against two minor league opponents, first defeating the Rochester Raging Rhinos 3-2 in extra time before defeating the Milwaukee Rampage 2-0 in Milwaukee. Kansas City ended up losing in their third road game of that year's run, 3-2 in extra time to the eventual winners, the Columbus Crew.

Key Match Up - KC attack vs Houston defense - The Kansas City offense is back to averaging a goal a game after Dom Dwyer's brace against Montreal. That said, Kansas City is still struggling to score goals and to create dangerous chances. They're playing a Houston team though that has allowed 25 goals this season, KC should be able to find some space against the Dynamo, it's going to come down to whether they can exploit it.

PREDICTION - Kansas City has made the Open Cup a priority for themselves since the 2011 season, they've always put out a strong team, especially against MLS opposition. I don't think tomorrow will be too much different, but the question is can the offense get things done against Houston. Sporting's offense still doesn't do a lot for me, many times they look devoid of ideas other than playing the ball wide and crossing to a 5'9" Dwyer in the middle. With the schedule congestion coming should KC advance two more times I don't think Vermes will be too disappointed if KC fall out of the US Open Cup before that stretch in August. Unfortunately for KC I think that comes tomorrow, they just can't score enough goals right now.

SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
HOU - 2 (Bruin, Barnes)

Sporting to Travel to Houston for Next US Open Cup Game

Sporting Kansas City learned their opponent for the fifth round of the US Open Cup today. Sporting was grouped into the Plains regional that US Soccer begins at this stage of the tournament with FC Dallas, the Colorado Rapids, and the Houston Dynamo, the same three teams as they were in 2015. The four teams were then paired together with Kansas City being paired with the Houston Dynamo and Dallas taking on Colorado. The two Texas teams will play host, meaning that for the second straight Open Cup game Kansas City will have to go on the road in hopes of advancing.

The two teams met last year in the quarterfinals with Kansas City winning 3-1 thanks to second half goals by Benny Feilhaber, Dom Dwyer, and Krisztian Nemeth canceling out an earlier goal by Will Bruin. They'll now meet at BBVA Compass Stadium with a shot at the quarterfinals on the line. The winner of the Kansas City vs Houston game will be the ones that get to host the quarterfinal match up against either Dallas or Colorado.

The bracket has been laid out all the way to the finals now with the Plains group being grouped with the West group that includes the Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Portland Timbers, and Seattle Sounders for the semifinal.

Something Gives, But Not in KC's Favor

A pair of teams with a combined 11 games winless meeting in a game, while a draw was a possibility, something had to give. Unfortunately for Kansas City that didn't give in their favor as they fell on the road to the Houston Dynamo 2-0 to end the Dynamo's six game winless streak, and extended Kansas City's to six, their longest since 2011.

Kansas City controlled the majority of the game with over 65% possession over the course of the game, but again struggled to translate that possession into meaningful chances on goal, forcing Houston's Tyler Deric to make just three saves. KC did have chances though, Dom Dwyer set up Graham Zusi near the top of the box, but Zusi pulled his shot wide of Deric's post. Over the course of the half, KC dominated possession and looked more like the home team than the Dynamo. An inability to take advantage of that possession though came back to bite them in the 30th minute when the Dynamo took the lead. A long ball over the top to Cubo Torres was flicked into the path of Giles Barnes who fired a shot past Tim Melia and into the net to put Houston on top. While Kansas City couldn't take advantage of all their possession and put shots on goal, Houston didn't have that problem with their possession putting five of their six shots in the first half on frame. The last of those came in stoppage time and doubled Hoston's lead. After some good play by the Dynamo, Andrew Wenger won the  ball in front of Seth Sinovic, touching the ball into the box and roofing the ball into the net past Melia to make it 2-0 before half time.

The second half saw much of the same as Kansas City threw numbers forward looking to find a way back into the game, but their shooting struggles continued. The insertion of Diego Rubio and Jimmy Medranda did add some life to an offense that seemed to be devoid of creativity, but KC still couldn't find the final ball and still struggled to create chances as they failed to win for the sixth straight game.

Wizards Man of the Match - Jimmy Medranda - I almost gave this to no one for the play tonight, but Medranda was a bright spot for KC. I'm not sure if either of KC's starting wingers are the players Peter Vermes talked about not giving enough effort, but Medranda at this point for me as earned himself a run of starts for Kansas City up top.

Player Ratings - Melia 4, Sinovic 4, Besler 4, Coelho 3, Myers 3, Mustivar 4, Espinoza 4, Feilhaber 3, Davis 4, Dwyer 4, Zusi 4. Subs Rubio 5, Medranda 5, Abdul-Salaam 4.

Match Day 11: Something Has to Give

Tomorrow night in Houston two teams that are winless in a combined 11 straight games will square off a BBVA Compass Stadium when Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo face off. While Kansas City is winless in their last five games since a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls, the Dynamo are winless in six since a 5-0 win over FC Dallas. Saying the two teams aren't in form would be putting it politely.

Houston is currently sitting in last place in the Western Conference with just five points from their first eight games on the season. They're scoring plenty of goals on this season, 14 so far (although five came in one game), but at the same time cannot keep from giving up goals. Houston has allowed the third most goals so far this season, 16, one behind second place Dallas, and two behind league leaders, New York, although both have played two more games than Houston has at this early point of the season.

Kansas City for their part hasn't been playing poorly for much of their five game winless streak, they just are struggling to finish, having scored just four goals in their winless run. The defense has continued to play fairly well, they've allowed more than one goal just twice this season, and haven't let any games get away from them so far this season. The 3-4-3 lineup last week that KC pulled out last week surprised the LA Galaxy a bit and I think at this point is something that Peter Vermes can keep in his pocket to pull out when he needs to. This weekend though I'm not sure he goes with that lineup on the road. I have a feeling he's going to revert back to the 4-3-3 that he's used for the past few years as it will allow Kansas City more in the center of midfield against the Dynamo and allow their press that has been more successful on the road this year.

Davis - Dwyer - Zusi

Espinoza - Feilhaber

Olum

Sinovic - Besler - Coelho - Myers

Melia

Number to Remember - 1 - That's the number of home wins that host in this series has in the last nine league games in this series. The home team is 1-3-5 with the last home winning being a Dynamo win 1-0 last year at BBVA Compass Stadium. KC also had a draw there last year, the dramatic 4-4 draw that saw the end of the Luis Marin experiment.

Key Match Up - Brad Davis vs the Dynamo - Davis spent 10 years in Houston playing for the Dynamo, appearing over 250 times in league play. This will be the first time Davis goes back to Houston and the first time he'll face off against the team he spent so much time with.

PREDICTION - Kansas City has trouble scoring goals, while Houston has trouble stopping them, something seems like it will give tomorrow. Either Kansas City's offense will wake up, or Houston's defense will. KC has offensive weapons that could take advantage of Houston's leaky defense if they can get going. That's a big question though the way the offense has played at times lately. Houston also has the ability to really hit KC hard on the counter with the likes of Giles Barnes. Unfortunately I don't see either team breaking their winless run tomorrow.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Davis)
HOU - 2 (Bruin, Barnes)

Sporting and Rangers End Preseason in Tucson Unbeaten

Sporting Kansas City and the Swope Park Rangers closed out their runs at the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson tonight. Both teams finished the run undefeated as the Rangers topped FC Tucson 1-0 while Sporting drew 2-2 with the Houston Dynamo.

The Rangers kicked off 30 minutes ahead of Sporting and controlled the game against the PDL side creating a number of chances. The opener for the Rangers came in the 32nd minute when former Sporting KC academy player Nansel Selbol won a ball off a Tucson defender near midfield. Selbol raced into the box holding off his defender before chipping a ball across the box for Dane Kelley who let the ball bounce before volleying the ball into the net to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. The Comets continued to pressure, not just in the first, but in the second as well with Tomas Granitto and Tommy Meyer both having good chances but neither able to put it in the net as the Rangers finished the Diamond Cup with a 2-0-2 record.

Sporting KC passed on playing in the Desert Diamond Cup final, passing on playing a second game against the New England Revolution, instead choosing to play the Houston Dynamo who KC had not yet played in preseason. The Dynamo had the better of the chances in the early going and center back Nuno Andre Coelho had to save a ball on the line after a header from Will Bruin. Shortly after Coelho was on the offensive end giving KC the lead in the 16th minute. Off a Connor Hallisey corner, Coelho made a near post run and flicked Hallisey's corner into the net to put KC on top 1-0. The Dynamo continued to control the game though after the goal and found a deserved equalizer when Jalil Anibaba crossed the ball for Giles Barnes to head past Tim Melia on an effort that he would say he should have done better with. The two teams went into the half tied at 1-1.

Kansas City came out better in the second half and was able to push forward more and create more opportunities in the second half. KC had a great opportunity to retake the lead in the 55th when Houston was called for a back pass when a cross was knocked back to Houston goalkeeper Calle Brown, who picked the ball up. On the restart the Dynamo lined up eight players on the goal line and instead of doing a touch and shoot like most teams do in that situation, Dom Dwyer fired the ball to the back post where Daniel Salloi just had to touch the ball home to give Sporting a 2-1 lead. The Dynamo picked up the pressure again and pushed Sporting looking for another equalizer. With all the pressure they found another one after some good interplay Erick Torres got in behind KC's defense and beat Melia to tie the game at 2-2. KC had to be strong defensively over the final 13 minutes to end the preseason unbeaten. Melia was called upon to make some big saves and KC finished the Desert Diamond Cup 1-0-3.

Both Sporting and the Rangers will return home to Kansas City with Sporting getting ready for their season opener against Seattle while the Rangers will continue preseason with a pair of games against local colleges set up over the next couple weeks.

Sporting KC Acquire Brad Davis From Houston

Sporting KC made the long rumored Brad Davis trade official today as the club sent two draft picks, a second round in 2017 and a third round in 2018, and future considerations to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for the 14 year veteran. The long time Dynamo midfielder recently turned 34, but still showed very well for the Dynamo last season scoring four goals and adding 10 assists. It was the sixth time in seven seasons that Davis has hit double digits in league assists, and the one season he didn't he got nine. All those assists have left him third all-time in terms of assists with 122, just 14 behind the all-time leader, Landon Donovan. His presence for KC will also give the club another threat when it comes to delivering set pieces into the box.

The move, which allows Davis to move closer to his hometown of St. Charles, MO, has been one that has been a rumored trade for years as Davis has continued to play in Houston. It is also one that Davis apparently approached the Dynamo about this offseason.

For Kansas City they add more depth and talent to their attack for very little in return as any draft picks after the first round are becoming less and less useful to MLS teams with academies. There are some questions about the move though, including where Davis would play in KC's system. Last year in Houston Davis played much more centrally than the wing position that he had played for much of his career. That would put him in a fight with the likes of Benny Feilhaber, who himself had a very good season in the attacking midfield position. He could also take on the attacking midfield role with Feilhaber sliding into the deep lying playmaker role that he played in early last season. Davis could also provide competition on the wing on the left where KC currently has Justin Mapp and Krisztian Nemeth available (although Nemeth is likely to miss time in 2016 with the Euros). If he is on the wing one issue that still isn't addressed is KC's lack of pace out wide, at 34 Davis isn't going to provide a whole lot of speed on the wing.

That leads to the question of his salary though. With KC seemingly having set starters at Davis' two best positions, is he worth the $400,000 salary he made last season according to the players' union numbers? Probably not, but if Davis is the one that really pushed for this trade then I'd assume that he was likely willing to take some sort of a pay cut. If not either KC is likely using general allocation money, or hopefully Houston is covering some of his salary.

One thing that Davis is going to have to overcome in KC, at least among a few fans there is still a lot of dislike for Houston, and Davis in particular. Davis didn't earn a lot of friends in KC during the height of the KC-Houston rivalry between 2011 and 2013. It will be interesting to see the type of reception he earns.

For me I don't dislike this trade as much as some do. I want to know what Davis is getting paid to play for Kansas City that will be a big sticking point. If he's still on $400,000 and KC is covering all of that I'm going to look at the trade a lot differently. But at the very least this helps to address some of the depth issues that people were unhappy about last year.

Sporting KC to Trade for Brad Davis?

Sporting KC's season ended a week ago, and eyes have already stopped looking back and are looking forward to next season. And with the eyes toward next season, the rumors have already started. Reports out of Houston today are that the Dynamo are looking to get rid of their captain, Brad Davis this winter via a trade. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that KC is the rumored location that Davis will land in. Davis played in 30 of Houston's 34 league games this year, scoring four goals and adding 10 assists as the Dynamo finished in eighth place in the Western Conference, nine points outside a playoff spot.

The St. Louis native, Davis isn't exactly loved in KC from his time with the Dynamo. From KC's first four years since the rebranding as Sporting KC, Davis was the face of a Houston Dynamo team that met KC in the playoffs three straight years, twice knocking KC out. I've seen the word hate thrown around quite a bit this morning in regards to Davis and this rumor. It'll probably take some convincing for KC fans to really come around to the idea of Davis in Sporting blue.

Beside his lack of popularity in KC, there are other questions about this potential move for KC. First, Davis turns 34 years in three days; questions have to be asked about his ability to make it through many more seasons, especially with KC's "Sporting fit" philosophy. The second big issue is that Davis had a base salary of $400,000 last season. On KC, that'd tie him with Dom Dwyer for the third highest paid player on the team. Going after him would seem to imply that either someone else in an attacking position (Dwyer, Benny Feilhaber, Krisztian Nemeth, or Graham Zusi) who is highly paid is moving or he'd come in as a depth signing. And if the latter is true it needs to happen with a significant pay cut. Finally the question for this move is what of KC's issues from this past season does it really help? Davis can still play in set pieces with the best of them, but with Feilhaber and Zusi to take free kicks, a move for Davis in that regard seems redundant. Also there would seem to be bigger holes that KC needs to fill than a midfielder/winger that is getting a little long in the tooth.

It'll be an interesting offseason as this is likely just the start of the rumors around this team.

A Game KC Deserved Nothing From

Sporting Kansas City is limping through the later half of the season once again and tonight in Houston, KC hit another low with an extremely uninspiring effort at BBVA Compass Stadium as KC fell 1-0 to the Dynamo. Peter Vermes may have said it best after the game, saying that it was horrific, and that KC didn't deserve anything out of the game, cause they really didn't.

The first half was dull half for both teams that was only highlighted by the fact that both teams combined for a total of 24 fouls. On top of the fouls there were three yellow cards, two to Kansas City, including Matt Besler who picked up his fifth yellow of the season and will have to sit out Sunday's game against the Sounders. The Dynamo controlled the half possession wise and KC really had struggles even stringing passes together as the two played a first half that could have put even the most die hard of soccer fans to sleep.

The second half saw Houston continue to control the game and began to stretch the KC defense. In the 52nd minute after a nice long ball over the KC back line the ball got played back to Ricardo Clark whose shot was blocked out for a corner by Benny Feilhaber was headed towards the lower corner. Ten minutes later the Dynamo had the best chance of the game up to that point. Clark made a good run down the KC right side with the ball. When Kevin Ellis seemed to freeze in place Clark ran by him and laid a ball off the Giles Barnes. Barnes one timed his effort on goal but Melia made a nice reaction save. the rebound fell to Davis who mishit his effort and Melia easily collected the ball. Five minutes later, the Dynamo got the goal that they deserved. And it again came from the Dynamo attacking the KC right side of defense. This time it was DaMarcus Beasley and Brad Davis playing a 1-2 around Jacob Peterson and Chance Myers to allow Beasley space to get to the end line. Beasely crossed the ball across the box. Melia got his hand on the ball but it fell to Will Bruin who calmly placed the ball into the corner to give Houston the 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, in the 70th it looked like KC might just get a life line, because for the fourth time in four meetings this year, the Dynamo picked up a red card against KC. Oscar Boniek Garcia picked up a second yellow card for an elbow to the face of Dom Dwyer. Garcia was given his marching orders and Houston was down to 10 men. Unfortunately all the man advantage did was help KC make the possession and passing accuracy stats look better for KC than they did in the first 70 minutes. KC also finally got a shot on goal after going up a man, but they never really threatened Tyler Deric in the Houston goal. In the 88th minute, KC got another blow for their game on Sunday as Feilhaber picked up his fifth yellow of the season for dissent. His certainly appeared to be a yellow card that he was trying to get, as if he was already planning on missing Sunday's game against Seattle to rest and be ready for Philadelphia and the US Open Cup final.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Cause really there's no one that played in front of him tonight that I can think to give it to. Made three saves tonight and there wasn't much he could have done with the goal that Houston did score.

Player Ratings - Melia 5, Sinovic 4, Besler 4, Ellis 2, Myers 3, Mustivar 4, Nagamura 3, Feilhaber 4, Zusi 3, Dwyer 3, de Jong 2. Subs Peterson 3, Quintilla 4, Anor NR.

Match Day 29: Making Up a Game in Hand

Tomorrow Sporting KC make up another one of their games in hand on the rest of the Western Conference. In fact after tomorrow KC will actually have played more games than second place FC Dallas. KC can move into a tie for second place with a win tomorrow in Houston. They would only move up to fourth place though as they lose out to FC Dallas on the first tiebreaker, wins, and to LA on the second tiebreaker, goal difference. To get to that point though they'll have to get by a Houston Dynamo team that will virtually be fighting for their playoff lives. Houston currently sit in ninth place in the Western Conference on 35 points through 29 games. A loss would leave them six points adrift of Portland for the sixth and final playoff spot, with just four games left. So while a win is a big need for KC, it's a must win for the Dynamo.

Houston though has been dealing with a number of injury issues, over the past few weeks, especially on their back line. US international, DaMarcus Beasley has missed time with a calf strain, while another outside back, Kofi Sarkodie has a bone bruise that caused him to be subbed out at half time of their 2-0 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday. That will leave Houston short at the outside back position, but they will welcome back Raul Rodriguez in the center of defense after serving a one game suspension for yellow card accumulation on Sunday. On the other side though they'll lose midfielder, Luis Garrido who will serve a suspension for accumulation tomorrow.

KC, while getting healthier, faces their own selection issues for this game. KC has a very busy stretch right now, they have Houston tomorrow, Seattle Sunday, and then the US Open Cup final on Wednesday next week. To avoid completely exhaustion for the cup final as we saw a bit during the winless streak, KC might need to use a little more squad rotation to handle this stretch. The problem is I'm not sure that KC is deep enough to handle that much rotation. Plenty of players have gotten time over the course of the season that haven't been seeing much time lately, the likes of Jimmy Medranda, Marcel de Jong, and Amabou Dia just to name a few. Tomorrow may see some rotation with different rotation occurring on Sunday ahead of the final. With Krisztian Nemeth picking up a minor knock on Friday, resting him for the game tomorrow wouldn't be a surprise, but than again Peter Vermes may not do much of any rotation.

Anor - Dwyer - Zusi

Feilhaber - Nagamura

Mustivar

Sinovic - Besler - Ellis - Myers

Kempin

Number to Remember - 4 - Four of the last five games between these two teams across all competitions, have seen a red card issued. All three this season have been handed out to Houston Dynamo players, with the one to KC coming in the club's 2-0 win in Houston early in the 2014 season.

It's also the number of points that each team has over the last six games.

Key Match Up - KC Defense vs Brad Davis set pieces - In the three games this year, Brad Davis has three assists for Houston against KC all on set pieces, with a fourth goal coming immediately after a Davis set piece. KC has had a problem dealing with set pieces and while over the last couple games they haven't been made to pay too much for them (Adrian Winter goal in Orlando aside), Davie will certainly make KC pay for giving them too many set pieces within range of his left foot. KC's lack of height on the field for the most part could be a big disadvantage in this one.

PREDICTION - Both teams really could use three points in this game, KC to build momentum towards the US Open Cup final and continue to move up the playoff table, while Houston need this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Both teams have won just one of their last six games, so neither team's form is in good shape right now. With the way both teams looked in their last game though, Houston is in a much worse place at this point. That said, KC has been making teams that have been playing bad look extremely good this season (San Jose...). And their road form that had carried them at times last year has fallen closer to normal in MLS as KC has won just three games on the road this year. These two teams combined for eight goals the last time these two teams met, it was the end of the Luis Marin era for KC. Tomorrow I don't think will have that many goals, but I think we'll end up seeing another draw.

SKC - 1 (Feilhaber)
HOU - 1 (Bruin)

Referee the Talking Point in KC Draw with Houston

Last night was what you'd expect from KC game, a rough, tight game with a number of fouls, cards, and even a red card. It also had it's fair share of controversy through out the game and especially at the end of the game when a hand ball in the box was not called. Referee Jorge Gonzalez had a less than stellar night overall, but the think he'll most be remembered for will be the missed hand ball in the box by Luis Garrido in second half stoppage time.

KC jumped out to an early lead though in just the 6th minute. Off of a Benny Feilhaber free kick, the ball floated into the box where Dom Dwyer got his head on the ball, flicking it into the far corner out of reach of Tyler Deric. Trailing, Houston started to push the game more and for a moment thought they had a penalty kick in the 11th minute. A ball got played in behind KC's defense that Will Bruin ran onto. Bruin raced into the box with Matt Besler trailing. Bruin tried to round Tim Melia but the KC goalkeeper got down well and got his hand on the ball knocking it away before jumping on it. At first Gonzalez whistled the play a penalty kick for the Dynamo, but after consulting with his assistant waived the penalty off. The Dynamo continued to press the game looking for an equalizer. Brad Davis forced a good save out of Melia in the 32nd minute as he hit a strong shot from distance that Melia pushed away and then collected the rebound. KC was able to weather the pressure and head into half time up 1-0, but not before Dwyer picked up his fifth yellow card of the season after he challenged Deric for a ball in the air. Dwyer will now miss next week's game against Toronto.

KC attempted to make some adjustments at half time and came out better to start the second. They should have had a second in the 57th minute when Roger Espinoza got played in behind the Houston defense. Espinoza dribbled into the box, but before he could get a shot off, David Horst came sliding in and saved the chance. Minutes later, Dwyer had a good opportunity to make it 2-0, but off a cross from Feilhaber Dwyer missed it with his head and it went off his shoulder and wide of the goal. The failure to capitalize on those chances came back to bite KC in the 78th minute. Off a Davis free kick, Ricardo Clark out jumped Dwyer and headed the ball past Melia to tie the game at 1-1. In the 86th minute, KC picked up a man advantage, after losing the ball near midfield, Dynamo midfielder, Nathan Sturgis' tried to win it back going into a sliding challenge on Espinoza, sliding through Espinoza who had his feet planted. Gonzalez had no hesitation, immediately going to his back pocket and pulling out a red card. KC pushed forward more looking to find a winner and many thought they had in stoppage time as Feilhaber floated a ball into the box for Krisztian Nemeth who volleyed the ball into the net, but the goal was correctly ruled out due to Nemeth being offside. In the 4th minute of stoppage time came the hand ball incident. Off a Besler long throw the ball went all the way through where substitute Garrido was. The ball bounced up and hit Garrido's arm. Gonazlez immediately waived off any penalty shouts and motioned like the ball had hit Garrido's hip, not his arm. Gonzalez stood by that assessment immediately after the game telling both Besler and Peter Vermes that this was the reason that he didn't call the hand ball. But after the game, once the KC pool reporter was able to ask his three questions and one follow up, Gonzalez said that the handling was not deliberate, and his arm was judged to have been in a natural playing position.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Continues to be the difference maker that KC needs. A great free kick set up the goal and could have had another assist or two with some better finishing.

Player Ratings - Melia 6, Dia 5, Ellis 5, Besler 5, Myers 5, Mustivar 5, Espinoza 6, Feilhaber 7, Zusi 4, Dwyer 5, Nemeth 5. Subs Abdul-Salaam 5, Nagamura NR, Peterson NR.

Match Day 20: A Busy Month Starts

Sporting Kansas City starts a busy month of August tomorrow at Sporting Park when they take on the Houston Dynamo at Sporting Park. KC play seven games this month, but the good news is that four of those seven games are at home, including three straight. In the stretch is also the club's US Open Cup semifinal against Real Salt Lake. With KC having played between one and four games fewer than the other teams in the Western Conference this will be a month that could make or break the season for KC. With teams in front of them like LA and Vancouver involved in the CONCACAF Champions League, KC has a chance to make a move. That starts tomorrow against the Dynamo.

The Dynamo come into the weekend game playing KC for the second time in a little over a week. After losing 3-1 to KC in the US Open Cup, Houston returned home to take out the LA Galaxy with a 3-0 win. While their designated player Erick Torres has only been coming off the bench, Will Bruin continues to find the net for the Dynamo as he scored his ninth of the season last week. The Dynamo will also welcome back Giles Barnes back from national team due with Jamaica at the Gold Cup along with DaMarcus Beasley. This Dynamo team that comes to KC will be quite different from the one that came to KC for the US Open Cup, they'll be a more dangerous team.

KC also welcomes back Graham Zusi from the Gold Cup as KC will be able to field their first choice lineup for the game as well. KC suffered just their second loss in their last 15 games in their last game out. Both of those losses came on the road against Salt Lake. KC is still unbeaten at home this season and will need to rely on that home form tomorrow against a very game Houston team. The team will have Zusi along with Benny Feilhaber and Matt Besler returning having all played 45 minutes on the midweek in the MLS All Star Game. All should though be ready for Saturday's game.

Melia

Myers - Ellis - Besler - Dia

Mustivar

Espinoza - Feilhaber

Zusi - Dwyer - Nemeth

Key Match Up - Soni Mustivar vs Giles Barnes - Barnes has returned from national team duty and will likely slot in with Bruin as a forward or right behind him.  If he's lined up behind Bruin, Mustivar will be tasked with keeping an eye on Barnes throughout the game. This will be key because as Barnes showed in the Gold Cup, giving him a free kick around the box is very dangerous.

Number to Remember - 2012 - Across all competitions Dom Dwyer and Krisztian Nemeth have both hit double digits for goals in a season, this is the first time since the 2012 season when CJ Sapong and Kei Kamara both his double digits. Along with both of them, Benny Feilhaber is not far off from becoming the third player to reach double digits with 8 goals. If he can reach double digits, it'll be the first time in club history that three players will hit double digits in 1 season.

PREDICTION - This will be a much different game than the one these two teams played a week and a half ago with both teams being closer to full strength than they were in the Open Cup. Houston always seems to be able o give KC a game. That doesn't seem to have changed with the managerial change from Dom Kinnear to Owen Coyle. Tomorrow's game will be tight with the Daynamo needing a win to really jump start t heir season if they want to make a playoff run. KC needs the game to put them in a good position for when they start to play those games in hand. I'm not sure that either team walks out with all three points tomorrow though.

SKC - 1 (Dwyer)
HOU - 1 (Torres)

The Name of the Game is Survive and Advance

Survive and advance, that's the cliche that a lot of people use went it comes to advancing in a knockout tournament, you don't always need to play well, you just need to survive and advance. That's exactly what Sporting KC did last night at Sporting Park against the Houston Dynamo. They weren't playing their best soccer of the year by far, but an early red card by the Dynamo and some tired legs late allowed KC to advance to the US Open Cup semifinals with a 3-1 win over the Houston club.

The first half of the game was an extremely ugly game to watch from both teams, neither side was creating much in the way of chances, and the build up play was not pretty either. The Dynamo controlled the early part of the game though, winning a number of set pieces and corners in KC's end of the field. It seemed that KC hadn't learned their lesson from their 4-4 draw in Houston earlier this year and not giving Houston a bunch of set pieces with Brad Davis serving in set pieces. The game changed in the 30th minute though as Luis Garrido tried to win the ball off Benny Feilhaber, the ball got played back to Amadou Dia, Garrido followed the ball and as Dia released it, Garrido came in with a sliding challenge with his studs up, going through Dia completely missing the ball. Referee Ted Unkel went to his back pocket and handed Garrido a straight red card for his actions putting the Dynamo down to 10 men. From there, KC started to control and dominate play, but they still struggled to create chances as the first half ended 0-0 with neither team recording a shot on goal.

The second half saw KC continue to dominate play and keep Houston in their end of the field. The Dynamo relied on counters to get any chances at KC's net. In the 58th they won themselves a corner after a poor back pass by Matt Besler. Off the ensuing set piece, the Dynamo made KC pay for one set piece too many. Davis played corner right into the middle of the box for Ricardo Clark, the midfielder put his header on frame but was blocked on the line by Roger Espinoza, the rebound fell to Will Bruin who knocked his effort between Espinoza and Tim Melia to make it 1-0 to the Dynamo. KC went back to the attack and minutes later had won a penalty kick and a chance to equalize after Davis brought down Chance Myers in the box. Dom Dwyer stepped up to take the spot kick, but his kick was poor, not in either corner and at a comfortable level for Joe Willis to make an easy save keeping Houston on top. It wouldn't be a Houston vs KC game without a small dust up though and in the 65th minute, Espinoza was taken down by an elbow by Clark. In the ensuing scuffle between the two teams, Davis and Espinoza got into it a bit and it appears that Espinoza threw a punch at Davis which none of the referees saw. Both Davis and Espinoza received a yellow card on the play. The Dynamo were starting to tire though, many of the players had gone 90 minutes on the weekend against Salt Lake and the heavy legs began to show. In the 71st, Clark was late to react to a through ball by Besler as he slid late, missing the ball as it slipped through to Feilhaber. The missed tackle gave Feilhaber time at the top of the box to pick his corner and he buried his shot low past Willis to tie the game at 1-1. From there Sporting continued to control and always looked the more likely team to find a second as they kept Houston pinned deep. Finally in the 86th, KC was able to capitalize on their possession again and take the lead. Dia played a nice ball into the middle for Krisztian Nemeth who flicked the ball with the outside of his foot into the path of Dwyer as he ran into the box. Dwyer took a touch and made no mistake slotting the ball into the near corner past Willis and giving KC a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later with the Dynamo looking tired and defeated, KC made it 3-1 as Dwyer received a pass from Espinoza and picked out Nemeth in the box, Nemeth settled the ball and fired a shot towards the far corner. On the way through though the ball took a big deflection off of Houston defender, AJ Cochran and deflected into the middle of the goal. With Willis having already commited on the initial shot he had no chance to adjust as the ball went into the net sealing the game for KC. KC now move on to the semifinals where they'll host Real Salt Lake for a chance at the finals.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Seemed to put the team on his back last night, especially after they had gone down a goal, he was trying to will a goal to happen with his play. He was rewarded with the tying goal, but overall carried the team last night when it looked sluggish.

Player Ratings - Melia 5, Myers 6, Ellis 4, Besler 4, Dia 5, Mustivar 5, Espinoza 5, Feilhaber 7, Hallisey 4, Dwyer 6, Nemeth 6. Subs Peterson 6, Nagamura NR, Abdul-Salaam NR.

Match Day USOC: KC Welcome a Familiar Rival

For the fourth time in five years, Sporting Kansas City welcome the Houston Dynamo to Sporting Park for a knock out game. This time the game is a US Open Cup quarterfinal match tomorrow night, with the winner hosting Real Salt Lake in the competitions semifinal.

Both teams come into the game having had a competitive game on the weekend, Houston was in Salt Lake for a league game against RSL. Houston put out the best lineup that they had available with injuries and call ups and ended up losing 2-0. They travel to KC for their second game in eight days in three cities when they come into Sporting Park tomorrow. They will have designated player, Erick Torres available for the game and he could make his debut for the Dynamo tomorrow night. With them having an important game against the Galaxy at home on Saturday, their lineup could be another mix, as much as they can.

KC is just as busy as Houston is, they're playing their second of three games in seven days tomorrow night before a trip to Salt Lake for a game this Friday. They're in a situation similar to Houston in the fact that they just don't have a lot of depth right now, although they're getting healthier with Paulo Nagamura and Chance Myers returning from injury and Marcel de Jong back from the Gold Cup. Two of those three I'd think would get the start tomorrow night and I wouldn't be surprised if all three of them start for KC tomorrow as Peter Vermes has to have a bit of an eye towards Friday and the trip to RSL, even if the Open Cup is a priority this year.

Melia

Myers - Ellis - Besler - de Jong

Mustivar

Nagamura - Feilhaber

Hallisey - Dwyer - Nemeth

Number to Remember - 29 - This is the number of times that KC and Houston will have played in all competitions after tomorrow's game. That's the most games against any team in the Dynamo's history.

Key Match Up - KC Defense vs Erick Torres - The former Chivas USA forward joined the Dynamo after Chivas ceased operations, but he's yet to play a game for the Dynamo as he's been on loan with Chivas Guadalajara as part of the deal that saw MLS permanently purchase his contract. He's not available to play for Houston and traveled with the club for this trip to Salt Lake and KC. If he plays tomorrow, KC's defense is going to need to be on top of their game to take care of business.

PREDICTION - Both teams are in an extremely busy part of the their schedule and both will probably need to use some of the depth that neither really has at the moment. Still, at home, with the home form that KC has shown this year, this is a game that KC should be able to win, they haven't had to travel from Saturday to today, they've gotten to stay at home. It may not be pretty tomorrow, but it's a game that KC should be able to take.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Feilhaber)
HOU - 1 (Davis)

A Roller Coaster Ride to Secure a Point

I don't know if I have the words to accurately describe the way I went through the game between Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo as they played to the highest scoring draw in KC's history, drawing 4-4. It was a roller coaster throughout, from the highs of an early lead through Krisztian Nemeth, to giving up three straight, to KC clawing their way back only to fall back behind, to finally ending up level thanks to an amazing strike by Benny Feilhaber. It wasn't the best game that KC played, marred by defensive mistakes, goalkeeper mistakes, and missed chances, but for the neutral, it would have been a fun game to watch.

KC was able to jump out to an early lead against the Dynamo thanks to Nemeth. A give away at midfield led to Nemeth leading a counter the other direction. Nemeth dribbled in on Raul Rodriguez, causing the Dynamo defender to back pedal. Near the top of the box Nemeth fired a shot into the far corner that beat Tyler Deric and gave KC the 1-0 lead early. The lead didn't last too long though as the Dynamo equalized in the 11th minute. A throw-in by Brad Davis wasn't handled by Will Bruin, the ball fell to Matt Besler whose attempted clearance went off of Servando Carrasco into the path of Giles Barnes who made no mistake firing the ball past Luis Marin and into the net tying the game at 1-1. From there, KC continued to have the better of the early going, but could not retake the lead. Dom Dwyer had two fantastic chances, once being set up by Jalil Anibaba, and the second coming from a fantastic ball from Feilhaber who played a call that was just out of reach of Deric, but Dwyer couldn't turn the effort on goal and it went wide. The earlier misses came back to haunt KC as the Dynamo came back and for the final 25 minutes of the half controlled play. They were helped by some very poor distribution by Luis Marin in KC's goal as he gave up a number of throw ins by kicking the ball directly out of bounds. Late in the half some more poor distribution by Marin led to another goal. After Marin misplayed a goal kick and it ended up leading to a Dynamo corner, Brad Davis played a great ball into the box that Will Bruin flicked on and into the net past Marin to give the Dynamo a 2-1 lead as they headed into the half time break.

Things got worse for KC less than a minute into the second half. Barnes picked up a pass near midfield with no one around him and turned and raced up field. No one stepped up to shut down his run and from about 30 yards out he let fly with a shot that went inside the near corner for a goal to put the Dynamo up 3-1. Like with the distribution earlier, questions have to be asked of Marin's positioning and his dive, as it immediately brought back memories of the goal Jermaine Jones scored on Eric Kronberg at Sporting Park last year. After the goal, the Dynamo started to sit back more, looking to focus on their strong defense, the Dynamo looked to just contain KC's attack. KC still had their chances though and should have pulled a goal back when Nemeth was played through on goal by Roger Espinoza. One on one with Deric though, Nemeth couldn't round the Houston goalkeeper and put the shot wide of the goal. The Dynamo's defense did it's job until the 74th minute when a mistake by Barnes gave KC a way back into the game. Being chased backward by Espinoza, Barnes tried to play a ball across the back towards Deric, but Dwyer read the pass and got to the ball first, touching it by Deric. The Houston keeper brought Dwyer down in the process, but Dwyer quickly got back to his feet and tapped the ball into the empty net to make it 3-2. Now within a goal, KC threw numbers forward looking for the equalizer. And within a couple minutes of the goal, they had two penalty shouts, both courtesy of Nemeth. First, Nemeth was brought down in the box by a Dynamo defender, but referee Kevin Stott didn't even look twice. Then less than a minute later in the 77th, KC again came forward and again just outside the box the ball ended up at the feet of Nemeth. The Hungarian cut inside his defender and around another before trying to put a shot past Deric. Dynamo defender Jermaine Taylor got back though and knocked the ball away with his chest, although there were immediately shouts of a hand ball. Stott put his whistle in his mouth, but allowed play to continue as the ball fell to Dwyer who tried to back heel the ball into the net, eventually Deric collected the loose ball in the box, at which point Stott called the play back and gave the penalty kick for a hand ball on Taylor. The Dynamo defender also was given a red card for the hand ball. Replays showed that the ball had in fact hit Taylor's chest and no call should have been made. Feilhaber though stepped up to take the PK and slotted it into the corner to tie the game at 3-3 and with a man advantage, thoughts turned from the poor performance and stopping the bleeding to thoughts of actually taking all three points from the game.

Unfortunately those thoughts were dashed minutes later when the Dynamo won a free kick in KC's half. Brad Davis played the ball into the box where Raul Rodriguez beat Matt Besler to the ball and headed it past Marin and into the net to put the Dynamo back on top. Down a man, the Dynamo again sat back as Sporting KC attacked looking for another equalizer. In the 5th minute of stoppage time they again found it, and again Feilhaber was the hero. The ball got played wide to Dwyer who tried to cross the ball into the middle of the box, but his cross was deflected on it's way through and floated towards the top of the box where Graham Zusi was, Zusi played a cushioned header right into the path of Feilhaber who let the ball bounce a couple times before firing a laser of a shot right into the post at Deric's left side, tying the game at 4-4 as both teams took a point from the game.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Him and Ike Opara had been the best players on KC since the start of the season. With Opara out, Feilhaber has continued to play strong and was fantastic for KC last night. Better finishing by Dwyer would have seen him get an assist in the first half, tied the game once from the penalty spot, and his blast in second half stoppage time secured a point.

Player Ratings: Marin 2, de Jong 3, Besler 4, Ellis 3, Anibaba 4, Carrasco 4, Espinoza 5, Feilhaber 8, Zusi 6, Dwyer 5, Nemeth 6. Subs Mustivar 5, Dia 5, Hallisey NR.

Match Day 8: Renewing Another Rivalry

Sporting KC will renew another of their rivalries tomorrow night against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. Since Houston moved to the Eastern Conference in 2011, these two teams have met in the playoffs three of the last four seasons. Including a US Open Cup qualifier back in 2011, tomorrow's meeting will be the 17th meeting between the two teams since that time. Making it one of the most played rivalries of the last five years.

Houston comes into the game with the exact same 2-2-3 record that KC has, the only difference is the goals each team has scored an conceded. While KC has scored seven and conceded eight, the Dynamo have scored six, but given up a league low of four. Their defense has been very good, as Tyler Deric has recorded three shutouts for the Dynamo. In the other seven games, Houston has yet to allow more than a single goal. Not great news for a KC offense that continues to struggle to create chances in the run of play. Offensively though the Dynamo have struggled more than KC has. The Dynamo have six goals, but three of those came in one game against a Montreal Impact side that was focused on the Champions League. So while the defense is playing extremely well, outside of one game, the Dynamo haven't been lighting things up offensively.

That might be exactly what the Kansas City defense needs to get their feet back under them after the loss of Ike Opara. The defense was shaky at the start of last week's game against LA, but settled down and bent but didn't break until second half stoppage time when Omar Gonzalez scored the winner. The defense will still need to account for the likes of Giles Barnes, who has caused KC issues in the past. Offensively though this is going to be another game that I have a feeling will really frustrate the KC offense.

Marin

Anibaba - Ellis - Besler - de Jong

Carrasco

Feilhaber - Espinoza

Nemeth - Dyer - Zusi

Number to Remember - 0 - That's the number of goals that Houston has scored the last two years in all competitions at BBVA against KC. In the three games, KC is 2-0-1, winning the two regular season games 1-0 and 2-0, while drawing 0-0 in the 2013 Conference Finals.

Key Match Up - Benny Feilhaber vs Ricardo Clark - The MLS leader in assists will have a difficult match up against the former US international Clark, who has been having himself a very good season for the Dynamo, including scoring two goals to be tied for the team lead. Feilhaber has arguably been KC's best player (easier to argue for it now with Opara out). For KC to be successful tomorrow, Feilhaber is gonna need to win this battle.

PREDICTION - The way both teams are playing right now, this is going to be a low scoring, fairly unattractive game. Neither team has been able to have much success on the offensive side of the ball. And while KC's defense hasn't been playing great, their offense, especially without Oscar Boniek Garcia. If there is any scoring, I expect the game to be decided by just one goal. But I'm not sure we see it.

SKC - 0
HOU - 0

#TBT Best Comeback Ever

A couple weeks ago, Sporting Kansas City scored two goals in stoppage against the Philadelphia Union to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win at Sporting Park. At the time the question was asked whether or not that was the greatest comeback for Kansas City all time. At the time I said it wasn't, and I still believe that. Instead, the greatest comeback in the team's history came against this weekend's opponent, the Houston Dynamo back in 2010.

At the time, Kansas City had never defeated the Dynamo in Kansas City since Houston had moved from San Jose ahead of the 2006 season. When the Dynamo came to Kansas City in late September in 2010, KC was trying to get back to the playoffs for the third straight year, having fired head coach Curt Onalfo two months earlier. To keep their hopes alive, KC desperately needed the win over the Dynamo, who were set to miss the playoffs for the first time since moving.

The Dynamo though grabbed the early lead as in the 13th minute, Cam Weaver was able to get in front of Roger Espinoza and slide a shot past Jimmy Nielsen and into the net giving Houston the lead. Shortly after that, Kei Kamara should have equalized as he got played in alone with Pat Onstad in the box, but Kamara hit the post keeping the score at 1-0. That miss came back to haunt KC in the 33rd. On a clearance into the middle of the field, Jimmy Conrad stepped up to challenge Weaver for the ball. Conrad left Dominic Oduro to do that, but Weaver won the header. Conrad's center back partner, Shavar Thomas didn't slide over to cover Oduro who was able to race in on goal and put the ball past Nielsen and into the net to make it 2-0. Kansas City responded immediately to going down 2-0 though as Craig Rocastle picked out Kamara and this time he made no mistake burying his effort past Onstad to make it 2-1. Unfortunately, Houston did the same to KC. After a foul in KC's end that appeared to be actually on Houston was called on KC, the ball was played into the box where Thomas' attempted clearance when right into the path of Adrian Serioux who knocked the ball into the net. The Dynamo went into the half with the 3-1 lead.

At half time, KC brought on rookie Teal Bunbury in place of Birahim Diop, and a new effort saw KC have the better of the start of the second half. In the 60th minute, Bunbury took advantage of a mistake by Onstad. The Dynamo goalkeeper slipped on a goal kick playing it directly toward Bunbury who reacted first and raced in on Onstad and slotted the ball between Onstad's legs to get KC within a goal again. KC continued to pressure, looking for the equalizer and in the 71st minute found it. The ball got played wide to Michael Harrington who beat his man 1v1 before crossing into the box towards Ryan Smith, who one timed it with his right foot. The ball deflected off Serioux and into the net tying the game at 3-3. As the minutes ticked off, it looked like KC would come all the way back, but in second half stoppage time, Nielsen cleared a ball well up field into the path of Harrington who had raced into the offensive end. Harrington one timed a ball into the box where Josh Wolff met it and flicked the header into the far post to give Kansas City the 4-3 lead and the win over the Dynamo.

For me it's the greater comeback because of the situation that KC was in at the time needing a win really to keep their playoff hopes alive (even if they didn't make it). Also because of the futility I felt at half time after watching the team down 3-1. Against the Union, while KC was down, Philadelphia wasn't playing well at all and goals were certainly there for KC, against Houston at the time I just didn't feel it.

Sporting KC Trade 30th Pick for Servando Carrasco

Sporting KC ended up not trading any of their first round picks in today's draft, but they did end up moving their fourth pick of the day, the 30th pick to the Houston Dynamo. In return, Sporting KC received the MLS rights to Servando Carrasco. Carrasco is out of contract at this time after playing last year with the Houston Dynamo. Previously he'd been with the Seattle Sounders before being traded during the 2013 season. That means that KC will have to come to a deal on a new contract for him.

Over the last four years, Carrasco has played in 59 MLS games, starting 31 of them, scoring one goal over that time.

Carrasco is probably best known in soccer circles as being the now husband of US women's national team forward Alex Morgan. We'll see if Sporting can come to terms with a contract for him.