KC Athletics Know Their US Open Cup Route

US Soccer yesterday released the schedule for the play-in round, plus the first and second round of this year's US Open Cup. While Sporting Kansas City won't be entering the tournament until the fourth round of the competition, local amateur side, the KC Athletics have returned to the Open Cup this year and will be competing. As the closest USASA qualifying team to USSSA qualifiers Harpo's FC, the Athletics will be competing in the play-in round in Boulder, Colorado on April 25th. The two teams actually have faced each other twice fairly recently as they met in the USSSA qualifying tournament. Harpo's one the group stage match, but lost to the Athletics in the final of the tournament. Since the Athletics had already qualified for the tournament through the Region II USASA qualifying, Harpo's got the USSSA spot. So the two teams will have a rubber match to get into the first round of the tournament.

Should the Athletics defeat Harpo's they'll have to travel again, this time heading further west and taking on PDL side, the BYU Cougars, the club soccer team at Brigham Young University. That match would take place on May 13th should the Athletics advance. A win there and KC would be headed back to Colorado, this time to take on the expansion USL side, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks a week later on May 20th.  It certainly won't be an easy path for the Athletics with all that travel, but hopefully they can put in a good showing in this year's tournament.

US Open Cup Format Announced

US Soccer today announced the format for the 2015 US Open Cup, the 102nd edition of the tournament.  The field will see a record 91 teams compete for the trophy this year, including 47 professional teams. One change that will take place is that once the round of 16 is set, those 16 teams will be divided (regardless of league affiliation) into groups of four. There will then be a draw of those four teams to see who plays who. The winner of the two matches will then face off in the quarterfinals. The groups will also be paired with another group, who would be the semifinal opponents.  Teams with a "shared-ownership" affiliation will be kept out of the same group.

So what that means is that KC could be put into a "geographical grouping" with Colorado, Chicago, and Dallas. Meanwhile there could be another group that contains two NASL teams, one USL-Pro team, and one PDL team.

Sporting KC will enter the tournament one round before that, with the 17 other MLS teams with those games being on June 16th or 17th. Sporting KC is off from league play the weekend before that, and goes to Salt Lake for Sunday game on the 21st. Should KC advance, their next game would be on June 30th or July 1st, between a weekend game at home against Colorado, and an off weekend from league play.

Sporting isn't the only team in the competition this year though, as the KC Athletics have once again qualified for the tournament. Assuming since they're not one of the three wildcard teams from the USASA qualifying that they'll not have to play in the "play-in" round, the Athletics would kick off their US Open Cup campaign in the first round on May 13th. Hopefully they're able to find a proper field if they end up winning the right to host their game.

KC Athletics Out of US Open Cup

The KC Ahtletics will no longer be taking part in the US Open Cup for 2013, we have had our accomplishments stolen from us#whatajoke
— KC Athletics (@KC_AthleticsFC) April 25, 2013

Yesterday the announcement came down that the KC Athletics would have to replay their US Open Cup "Win and You're In" qualifier against the Dearborn Stars because the Stars' protest of the result due to the field width had been upheld.  Today, the Athletics officially withdrew from the competition because of the replay.  There were a multitude of reasons why the Athletics could have chosen to drop out, expenditures with traveling 530 plus miles to Chicago, the 3 day notice for their players to take time off work, change social schedules, etc, or even out of spite because of the decision. 

According to the Athletics General Manager/coach, Kyle Perkins though it was because of "Principal."

"We have proven 3 ways why the protest should be over turned, they refuse to acknowledge that fact.  We don't agree, and won't play in a game that shouldn't be played." Perkins added.

Over the rest of this post I'll break down the three ways that Perkins is referring to and what did or did not happen in that process.  And in the end led to the decision by Perkins and the Athletics to not travel to Chicago for the replay.

The first challenge to the protest had a couple points to it.  The first argument was in regards to the fact that the Athletics moved the game from Saturday to Sunday because without that move, the Stars were possibly going to have to forfeit the game due to not having enough players able to make it to KC. KC didn't have to move the game, but chose to.  Another argument was the fact that while Dearborn filed the protest, they still agreed to play the game.  Would they have continued the protest if they'd have won the game, or withdrawn the protest?  I'm going to guess they would have withdrawn.

The biggest part of the first challenge in my opinion was the measurement of the field.  The only way the field was measured was by walking the field off by the match officials.  I'm sure they have a decent idea of how to measure off a field, but if there is a protest about the size of the field, shouldn't there be a measurement done to confirm that the field is in fact that length?  The argument isn't that the field was or was not too short, the problem is the fact that with the official protest, instead of guessing by measuring only by walking it off, there should have been an official measurement of the field done with some sort of measuring tool.  To confirm the validity of the protest there should have been an official protest.

After those challenges were turned down, the Athletics came back with another issue.  As part of the rules, when a team files a protest they have to submit a copy of the protest and their $500 fee to the Regional Commissioner and a copy to the opposing team with 3 days.  The game against the Stars ended at 2pm on April 21st.  That would mean that by 2pm on the 24th, the Athletics should have received a copy of the protest. At 2:55pm the Athletics had still not received a copy of the protest so they contacted the Regional Commissioner with this information requesting that the protest be thrown out.  Shortly after the team contacted regional director, Debra Trapikas, Perkins received an email from the Stars with the proper information.  When Perkins confronted Trapikas about this, he was told that the period is until midnight of the third day.  None of that though is in the rule, 3(b)(1), which you can read below.

• The original protest  and a protest fee of $500.00 shall be submitted to the State Cups Commissioner for state rounds of competitions, and the Regional Cups Commissioner for regional rounds of competitions, within three days of the game to which the protest relates.  A copy of the protest must be forwarded to the opposing team in the game. The protest shall be submitted to the appropriate cups commissioner and the opposing team by overnight express mail, telephone facsimile, or electronic mail.

I can't be the only one that sees it as convenient that the protest shows up in Perkins' inbox, shortly after he sends an inquiry after the game was 72 hours old about the above rule. Especially since Trapikas is from Michigan.

With the midnight interpretation of the rule, from Trapikas, the protest was still upheld according to that interpretation of the rules.

The final attempt that the Athletics made to challenge the protest was to do with the interpretation of the playing rules.  In the rules, it states "In all rounds played in the National Cup competitions, the playing rules are the FIFA Laws of the Game in effect at the time of the deadline of entry."

The Athletics challenge to the protest was that Dearborn then needed to follow FIFA regulations when it comes to terms on protests.  Those terms (thanks to the USA vs Costa Rica World Cup qualifier in Denver as an example) state that a protest must "immediately lodge a protest with the referee in the presence of the captain of the opposing team."

Perkins said that this did not happen and because of this FIFA regulation, the team felt that the protest should have been over turned.  This argument as well was turned down by the regional commissioner.

With those three options exhausted, the Athletics requested their seven day grace period after they received the protest to prepare a statement in accordance with rule 3(c) of the protest rules, seen below:

• The opposing team shall have seven days from the date the copy of the protest was forwarded to it, to submit to the appropriate cups commissioner its statement regarding the protest, if any. A copy of the statement shall be submitted to the opposing team by overnight express mail, telephone facsimile, electronic mail.

This was rejected by Trapikas because of rule 410, which apparently states that "the commissioner may make the decision when time is of importance."

This meant that the Athletics were not going to get their 7 day period to prepare their response.  This is because the list of qualifiers from Region II are due next week to US Soccer.  So with all that done, the Athletics decided to withdraw from the competition.

To me, this all comes off as a load of bull shit.  The Athletics made legitimate challenges to the protest that do not appear to have been heard by the commissioner.  The ones that really gets me, are the first two. On the first one, if there's an official protest about the field size made before the game, then an official measurement of the field should take place to get an official measurement, not a "walk off" of the measurement. As for the second one it really is sketchy to me that shortly after Perkins makes the call on it, the protest magically appears in his inbox.  It could all just be coincidence, but that it one hell of a coincidence if true.

It's a frustrating situation that at this point there appears to be no more recourse for the Athletics.  The US Open Cup and the Region II finals are going to move forward without them (although it'd be interesting if Dearborn returns to KC for the regional finals and a large group showed up there).  The interesting part has come up from the casual soccer community in KC who knew that the Athletics had qualified and are now actively either cheering against the team or hoping they advance far enough to play Sporting and hope that Sporting crush them.

In the end I feel sorry most for the Athletics players who won the game on the field.  Both teams had to play on the same field, both teams had to deal with a yard and a half short on each side.  And in the end the Athletics took the game. The Athletics could have been dicks to Dearborn and not even moved the game for them, and I bet next year if something like this were to happen they'd likely think about it harder before making the decision. It's just frustrating the whole situation.

Athletics Forced to Replay "Win and You're In" Qualifier

2013 @usopencup qualifying: @dearbornstarssc protest upheld, replay ordered this weekend vs. @kc_athleticsfc in Chicago. Details TBA
— TheCup.us (@usopencup) April 24, 2013

That announcement came down today on the protest over the KC Athletics 1-0 win over the Dearborn Stars.  Dearborn had protested the result because the field at Olathe North High School was not wide enough, 62 yards instead of the necessary 65. A disappointing result considering that the Athletics had moved the game to Sunday so that Dearborn could play the game.

As stated above, the match will now take place on Saturday in Chicago. With the game only 3 days away, it'll be interesting to see if the Athletics actually do travel.  If it was me, as I said on Twitter, part of me would want to say fuck it and not go at this point.  While I understand the rule, I find this quote from the post game write up about the game hilarious: “I do. I think so, we’re a technical team. With it being so congested I thought it played to their strengths, more of the tackling aspect of the game.”

That quote came from Dearborn coach Mo Hijazi.  Excuse me, I've played on fields of all shapes and sizes and a yard and a half on each side is not going to make that big of a difference in your tactics for a game.  No word yet on whether the Athletics are going to travel or not, but we'll find out soon enough.

Athletics Qualify for US Open Cup

A 90th minute goal from player/coach Kyle Perkins helped to see the KC Athletics through to the US Open Cup for the 3rd time in 4 years as the Athletics topped Dearborn Stars out of Michigan 1-0 yesterday at Olathe North High School.  The win sees the Athletics advance to the USASA Region II finals on June 29th in Overland Park, KS against RWB Adria out of Chicago who defeated FC Indiana on Saturday 2-1 in extra time.

There are questions about the result though, as Dearborn filed a protest before the game took place because of the width of the field.  The USASA minimum requirements for fields is 65 yards.  The field at Olathe North is apparently only 62 yards.  Apparently due to Dearborn's struggles to get players to Kansas City for the originally planned Saturday date, the Athletics agreed to move the game to Sunday, but that this was the only field that they were able to get access to.  If the protest is upheld, the game would likely be replayed at a neutral site. So now a waiting game gets to take place to see if the result will hold up or not.

Athletics Play "Win and You're In" Qualifier Tomorrow

The Kansas City Athletics amateur side will attempt to qualify for their 2nd straight US Open Cup and 3rd in the last 4 years when they take the field tomorrow afternoon against the Dearborn Stars out of Michigan.  The game tomorrow at noon at Olathe North high school is one of two Region II semifinals (the other taking place today in Chicago between RWB Adria and FC Indiana).  The winners of the two games will qualify for the US Open Cup proper along with earning themselves a birth in the Region II finals.

The Athletics advanced to the semifinals with a win over FC Indiana a few weeks ago by a 3-1 score line (the 1 goal scored by Indiana was enough to see them through to the semifinals as the "best loser").  Goals by Brian Williams, Matt Kuhn, and Garrett Webb helped the Athletics to a win over an Indiana side that was looking to be the "best loser" by the way they came out to play.  For Dearborn, they easily dispatched the Cincy Saints 5-0 to advance in their game.

So get out to Olathe North tomorrow and cheer on a local side looking to qualify for the 100th edition of the US Open Cup.

Athletics Advance in US Open Cup Qualifying

The Kansas City Athletics moved one step closer to qualifying for their second striaght US Open Cup today with a 3-1 over FC Indiana.  The win sees the Athletics advance to the semifinals along with RWB Adria, Dearborn Stars, and FC Indiana.  FC Indiana advanced because they had the best goal difference of the losers (-2) and scored more goals (1) than the Croatian Eagles who also lost by 2, but did not score.

The game started off with the Athletics in control early.  Inside the first two minutes the Athletics looked like they'd taken the league, but the call was called back due to an offside call on the goal.  It wasn't long before the Athletics did grab the lead though.  The Athletics worked the ball down the left wing and crossed the ball into the middle where it found Brian Williams unmarked in the middle of the box.  Williams headed the ball back towards the near post and into the net giving the Athletics a 1-0 lead. 

FC Indiana employed an odd strategy from the start of the game, they were happy to play the ball away and sit with 10 players behind the ball, playing more of a 5-5-0 with no forwards. With the game played on a turf football field you got an idea of how far they moved up the field and it took a good 25 minutes before an FC Indiana player crossed the 40 yard line on KC's defensive half of the field.  Any time they got the ball they played the ball back up field and reorganized.  This lead to the Athletics having the vast majority of the possession throughout the first half.  With Indiana clogging much of the middle of the field they tried playing the ball over the top, but this led to a number of offside calls against KC.

The Athletics pressed the game creating opportunities but it took until the 37th minute before they doubled their lead.  After some more work down the left the ball was played into the middle for Matt Kuhn.  The former DC United draft pick and Sporting KC trialist took a touch, turning and fired a ball from about 25 yards out that hit off the post and went in making it 2-0 to Kansas City.  The Athletics went into the half time break with the 2-0 lead and FC Indiana having only a single shot due to the tactics they employed that saw them sit deep in their own end.

In the second half with the wind more at their back the thought was that Indiana would come out of their shell a bit more and look to get back into the game.  Instead Indiana sat back again letting the Athletics have much of the ball. With the wind more at their back that was out as a reason for Indiana's tactics in the first half, so thoughts turned to whether Indiana was just playing to minimize the goal difference and hope to sneak into the semifinals as the "best" loser. Before the hour mark the Athletics again put a dent in that mindset after a foul in the penalty area.  Garrett Webb stepped up and buried the penalty kick to make it 3-0 Athletics. 

Shortly after the Athletics had made it 3-0, FC Indiana found a goal to pull themselves back into the game.  A long ball over the top led to a break away for Indiana that they converted to make it 3-1 and get Indiana back within 2.  After the goal, Indiana seemed to finally come out a bit more and attempt to take the game to Kansas City.  Indiana created a few chances themselves including a back post cross that just missed a sliding attacker that would have pulled them within 1.  This also opened the game up at the other end as the Athletics looked to counter and just missed once or twice on breakaways themselves, including a chip that went just over the bar. 

FC Indiana wasn't able to close the gap any more and the Athletics came away with the 3-1 win.  Due to the other results though Indiana also advanced to the semifinals.  The teams will find out their draw for the semifinals tomorrow.  A win in the next round would see either team qualify for the US Open Cup proper.

KC Athletics Set to Begin US Open Cup Qualification

Sporting Kansas City is still just under 2 months away from beginning their campaign to repeat as US Open Cup champions.  Another Kansas City based team is getting ready to start their campaign to qualify for the 100th edition of the competition.  The KC Athletics begin their campaign for their second straight and third overall appearance in the competition Saturday.

The Athletics play their first qualifier at Olathe Northwest High School at 2pm Saturday against FC Indiana.  It's the first of their Region II qualifiers.  KC is one of six teams from the USASA Region II competing for two spots in the US Open Cup proper.  The six teams have been divided up to play each other in the first round.  The three winners will advance to the semifinals along with one of the three first round losers (the one with the best goal difference in regulation). The semifinals will take place on April 20th.  The winners of the two semifinals will earn entry into the Open Cup proper.

Last year the Athletics won their first round qualification match up 10-2 over the Cincy Saints.  With that being the largest win of the first round matches the Athletics advanced directly to the US Open Cup proper.  No matter the score Saturday the Athletics will still have to win one more match after that to qualify for the tournament proper.

Last year after qualifying, the Athletics defeated PDL side, Real Colorado 3-1 in the first round.  In the second round, with a chance to face off against Sporting KC, the Athletics fell to Orlando City 7-0.

With Sporting KC playing on Friday night this week, that leaves Saturday open for fans to attend another soccer game and cheer on a local side in their attempt to qualify for the Open Cup.

Sporting KC to Play Orlando in Open Cup

It was fun for the last week or so to dream about a Sporting KC vs KC Athletics US Open Cup 3rd round match up at Livestrong Sporting Park.  That dream came crashing down to earth hard tonight in Orlando when Orlando City destroyed the Athletics 7-0 at Seminole Soccer Complex.  The defending USL Pro champions will now travel to Kansas City next week looking to complete the sweep of Kansas City teams in the tournament against the MLS side.

Before KC plays Orlando on Tuesday the 29th, they'll play San Jose on Sunday the 27th.  Meanwhile, Orlando will be taking on the LA Blues on Thursday the 24th, and then play Charlotte on Saturday the 26th.

Already some fans are visualizing the worse, a repeat of last year's performance against a USL Pro side, Richmond, where KC controlled play until they reached the final third of the field, then struggled to break down the USL side.  Hopefully the team has learned their lesson and Peter Vermes drills this into his head.

Things didn't start well for the Athletics tonight, as in only the 4th minute, a cross into the box was heading into the Athletics net by defender Coady Andrews for an OnGoal.  The Athletics held out for the next 20 minutes, but in the 26th Max Griffin scored to make it 2-0.  Two minutes later, John Rooney put one in from short range to make it 3-0.  Before the half, Griffin finished his brace to make it 4-0 at the half.

In the second half, Orlando had to wait until the 60th minute to make it 5-0, which they did through Jaime Watson.  Rooney got a second in the 71st.  In the 86th, Matt Luzunaris made it 7-0 where the game finished.  Based off the lineup, the Athletics were only able to get 11 players down to Orlando for the Tuesday game unfortunately.

Sporting KC to Learn Open Cup Opponent Tonight

Down in Orlando tonight, the KC Athletics meet Orlando City SC at 6:30pm in their 2nd round US Open Cup match.  The winner will make a trip to Livestrong Sporting Park to take on Sporting KC in the 3rd round on the 29th.  The Athletics are the heavy underdog against the defending USL Pro champions, who are 3-0 in the year's young season.  They'll be looking to pull off their second upset of the tournament after knocking off the Real Colorado Foxes in round 1. 

The Athletics certainly have the support of the Cauldron, who has donated money to the Athletics to help them offset the cost of the trip to Orlando.  If you want to help the cause, you can donate here. 

While I'd love to see a Kansas City derby in round 3 of the tournament at Livestrong, my hopes unfortunately are not that high.  Orlando is a very good side and it's going to be an extremely difficult task for the Athletics to pull it off. 

More on Athletics Open Cup Win

Earlier this week, the KC Athletics won their first round US Open Cup match against the Real Colorado Foxes.  People reading this blog knew that already.  I'd been trying to get some more information on the result, including who scored for the Athletics.  After exchanging an email with player/coach, Kyle Perkins, I was able to get more information on the game. 

The Foxes took the lead in the first half through Mike Lind.  The Athletics themselves though had chances in the first half, hitting the post, and having two penalty shouts, while goalkeeper, Steven Grow kept them in the game.  A change in tactics at half time for the Athletics saw them get a way back into the game.  About 7 minutes into the half, the Athletics got a goal.  The Foxes keeper spilled a shot in front of goal.  Perkins followed the shot and was brought down in the box giving the Athletics a PK.  Kevin Shrout tucked the ball into the lower corner to tie the game at 1-1.

Ten minutes after the first goal, the Athletics struck again.  Marty Johnson collected the ball wide on the right hand side around midfield and dribbled into the Foxes end beating a few defenders before laying the ball back to Perkins who had the simple finish to make it 2-1.  Six minutes after Perkins gave the Athletics the lead, they closed the game off.  Left midfield Peter Karioris and left back Miguel Rodrigues combined for a give and go down the left that found Rodrigues with plenty of space on the left.  Rodrigues drilled the ball across the box that took a favorable deflection for the Athletics and went into the net making it 3-1. 

Content with the 3-1 lead, the Athletics switched to a 4-5-1 formation and in Perkins words, "parked the bus," killing the game off.Comets player, Coady Andrews, former UMKC player, Chris Markey, former KC Wizard, Brian Roberts, and Rodrigues held down the defense with Grow and were able to kill the game off.

With the Athletics pass the first hurdle, they now look ahead to the next one against Orlando next Tuesday.  Perkins knows the defending USL Pro champs are a great team, but they're focusing in on OCSC ahead of the game. 

Still you can't blame the team for looking ahead just a little bit towards a potential 3rd round match up against Sporting KC should they win.  A match up against Sporting would certainly be exciting, but as Perkins told me, they need to focus on the next game.

Sporting KC to Host 3rd Round US Open Cup

No matter who Sporting Kansas City play in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup, one thing is for certain, Sporting KC will play the game at Livestrong Sporting Park.  Today, US Soccer announced the pairings and hosts for the third round of the tournament, schedule to take place on May 29th.  Sporting KC will host the winner of the second round game between Orlando City and the KC Athletics.

Both of which are enticing match ups for Sporting.  Should they play Orlando City, Sporting will be going up against the defending USL Pro champions 2 days after what is expected to be a tight game against San Jose at Livestrong Sporting Park.  The good news is that the game is in KC, but with it being only 2 days before the Orlando game, I'm not sure we'll see many first teamers, and I'm not sure how Sporting's reserves will match up against Orlando.

If the Athletics end up getting a second upset against Orlando, Sporting will get a Kansas City derby against the USASA club side at LSP.  That'd definitely be a fun match up for fans to see two Kansas City teams go at it in a meaningful game.

Sporting will find out who they play, next Tuesday, the 22nd when Orlando and the KC Athletics meet down in Florida.

Athletics Advance in US Open Cup

The KC Athletics went on the road in the first round of the US Open Cup and came away with a big win over the Real Colorado Foxes of the PDL 3-1 tonight.  After falling behind 1-0 to the Foxes, the Athletics scored 3 unanswered to get the win.  With the win, the Athletics will now go on the road again, this time to Florida, where they'll take on the defending USL-Pro champions, Orlando City next Tuesday.


More information will be posted later.

A Look at a Week Off

While reading some post game thoughts on the Montreal game, someone made the comment that Kansas City was poor when coming off a bye week, it got me thinking about KC getting time off and how they've done.  So what I did is I took a look at all games KC has played since Peter Vermes took over as coach of Sporting KC where KC has had at least 10 days off from their previous game.  Here's a look at those games.  Scroll down further for more.

8/16/2009 vs Chicago - Days since last game 15.  Days since Chicago's last game 7. 2-0 loss.  In his first game in charge after the firing of Curt Onalfo after the team's 6-0 thrashing at Dallas, Vermes and KC came out and lost 2-0 at home to the Chicago Fire.

4/10/2010 vs Colorado - Days since last game 14.  Days since Colorado's last game 7.  1-0 win.  In the second game of the 2010 season, KC road a header goal by Kei Kamara to a 1-0 win Colorado 2 weeks after a 4-0 win over DC.

5/15/2010 vs Chicago - Days since last game 10.  Days since Chicago's last game 7.  2-2 draw.  KC came back from a 2-1 loss in DC on Cinco de Mayo to draw with Chicago.  KC came from 2 goals down to tie the Fire at the death on a goal by Kamara.

6/26/2010 vs New York - Days since last game 16. Days since New York's last game 21.   0-3 loss.  New York had a longer break, but KC went into the World Cup break on the back of a 2-0 win over Philadelphia, but were throughly beaten by the Red Bulls on their return from the break.  The game was the last in a Wizards uniform for Aaron Hohlbein as he was beat bad for two of the goals, including twice by Juan Pablo Angel. 

7/31/2010 vs Toronto - Days since last game 14.  Days since Toronto's last game 4 (7 in league play).  1-0 win.  KC tied Colorado in Colorado on 7/17, then came home and defeated Toronto 1-0 thanks to a headed goal by Teal Bunbury.  Toronto had played a CONCACAF Champion's League game on Tuesday, but had a league game the Saturday before.

9/19/2010 at Chivas USA - Days since last game 15.  Days since Chivas' last game 9.  2-0 win.  KC had a weekend off after their 1-1 draw in Philadelphia.  Out of the break they traveled to LA and pulled out a comprehensive 2-0 win over Chivas at the Home Depot Center.  Chivas had a friendly vs Guadalajara, but their last league game had been the Friday before.

4/16/2011 at Columbus - Days since last game 10 (14 in league play).  Days since Columbus' last game 7.  1-0 loss.  After the disappointing 3-3 draw in Vancouver, KC had the next weekend off in league play, but had an away Open Cup qualifier against the Houston Dynamo that KC won 1-0.  They came out of that break and played in Columbus against the Crew.  A red card to Juilo Cesar (remember when everyone wanted him to never start again?) later and KC lost 1-0 to the Crew.

5/14/2011 at Los Angeles - Days since last game 14.  Days since LA's last game 3.  4-1 loss.  Still on the extended road trip, KC traveled to Los Angeles after losing to the Red Bulls 1-0 in their previous outing.  KC took an early lead through an own goal, but then gave up 4 unanswered to lose 4-1.  LA on the other hand had played in Philadelphia against the Union only 3 days before.

8/17/2011 vs Portland - Days since last game 11.  Days since Portland's last game 3.  3-1 win.  After suffering their first league loss at Livestrong Sporting Park, KC had 11 days to stew before playing the Portland Timbers.  KC came out and beat the Timbers 3-1 fairly easily.  Portland had played the Sunday before in Houston against the Dynamo.

10/15/2011 vs New York - Days since last game 14.  Days since New York's last game 11 days.  2-0 win.  Coming back from an international break, KC took care of business and clinched themselves a playoff spot.  The last game had seen KC pull out a 1-1 draw with San Jose.  New York's break got started late due to a rescheduled game against the Galaxy.

5/5/2012 vs Montreal - Days since last game 14.  Days since Montreal's last game 3 days (7 in league play).  2-0 loss.  A disappointing performance coming off of the team's first loss of the season.  Little fire in the team as they fell to the expansion Impact, KC's first loss to an expansion team in their first meeting.  Montreal had played at home against Toronto in the Canadian Championship only a few days before coming to KC.

So KC is 5-5-1 under Vermes once they've had more than 10 days off.  Not a great record, but it does match up with KC's overall record in MLS play more or less, where they're also .500.  In all but 1 of those situations KC has had more rest than their opponents.  What's probably the more interesting stat is KC's 2-2 record when the team they're playing comes in with 4 or few days rest in all competitions.  An area that Vermes appears to struggle with is the extended break.  Is it that Vermes over thinks things with the extended break?  Or is it that the level of training isn't the same when you have the extended break?  Or could it be a player issue with staying up with the time off?  Whatever way, wanted to get this out for people to see.

OTHER NEWS

Seth Sinovic is back in training this week for the first time since breaking his left hand in the team's 1-0 loss to Portland a few weeks ago.  Vermes doesn't seem set to rush back Sinovic, but it'll be interesting come Saturday if Sinovic is out there in place of Michael Harrington. 

WIBW to broadcast KC away games.  Good news for those KC fans in the Topeka and more central Kansas area.  WIBW out of Topeka has picked up Sporting KC away broadcasts for the rest of the season.  A great move by the club to get this worked out, expanded their fan foot print by getting games shown in a market nearby that wouldn't get a great chance to see the games otherwise.  Love this move.

Athletics game location changed.  The KC Athletics first round US Open Cup game has had the location of the game moved.  The game was originally scheduled to take place at Shea Stadium in Littleton, CO.  The game now will take place at the Colorado School of Mines Soccer Stadium in Golden.

Athletics Will Travel for First Open Cup Game

The KC Athletics qualified for the US Open Cup a few weeks ago, and today they found out their first round opponent.  The Athletics will travel for their first Open Cup game.  They will head to Colorado to take on the Real Colorado Foxes on May 15th at 8pm Central Time.  The Foxes qualified for the US Open Cup this year by finishing 3rd in the Heartland Division (top 2 qualify for US Open Cup, but first place Thunder Bay is in Canada and cannot play in the US Open Cup). 

The second round pairings were also announced.  If the Athletics can get by the Foxes they will travel again.  The Athletics could find themselves traveling to Orlando to take on Orlando City of the PDL in the second round should they advance.  Both games will be tough asks for the Athletics, but good luck to them and here's to a 3rd round KC derby.

Athletics Qualify for US Open Cup

KC will have two teams in the US Open Cup proper for the first time, at least in the modern era. In the past Sporting KC has qualified, in 2007 when the Wizards didn't, the KC Brass did. And in 2010 when the Wizards didn't the KC Athletics did. This year, both Sporting and the Athletics have qualified for the Open Cup.

The Athletics qualified for the US Open Cup first round by defeating the Cincy Saints on Saturday night in Chicago. Last year the Athletics fell to the Iowa Menace 7-1 with only 10 players. This year the Athletics were again unfortunate to field 10 players. The good news for the Athletics though, was that the Saints only traveled 8 with them. The Athletics destroyed the 8 man Saints, winning 10-2 in the "win and you're in" match up. They ran out to a 6-0 lead at the half and never looked back. The Athletics will now enter the first round of the Open Cup on May 15th. With US Soccer usually doing a regional set up, I would not be surprised to see the Athletics take on the PDL Des Moines Menace in the first round.

KCA: Peter Kariotis – 13th minute
KCA: Chris Markey – 20th minute
KCA: Jesse Baker – 25th minute
KCA: Martin Johnston – 30th minute
KCA: Chris Markey – 36th minute
KCA: Matt Germain – 40th minute
CIN: Adam Tenhundfeld – 46th minute
CIN: Adam Tenhundfeld – 49th minute
KCA: Kyle Perkins – 50th minute
KCA: Martin Johnston – 67th minute
KCA: Steven Grow – 69th minute
KCA: Martin Johnston – 74th minute

Athletics Fall in US Open Cup Qualifier

Bryan Perez scored a brace for the Menace yesterday.
Photo courtesy of Matthias Potterinkski

The Kansas City Athletics found themselves behind from the start as they started their attempt to qualify for their second straight US Open Cup in a qualifier against the Iowa Menace. The Athletics only had 10 men on the field from the start against the Menace. Talking with some Kyle Perkins of the Athletics after the game I found that a lot of factors went into them playing with only 10 players. A few guys were out of town, a few were called into the office, some where called down to the Southeast for their job working with the clean up after the tornadoes, and two players signed pro contracts since rosters were due to the USSF.

Saying all that though takes away from the strong game that their opponents, the Menace player today at Rockhurst University. From the start, the Menace were the more dominate side, trying to capitalize on the numerical advantage that they had over KC. While KC started the game with only 10 players, the Menace traveled 17 for the game today. Early in the game though, the Athletics were able to weather the Menace with some good defense and a well worked offside trap as the Menace were called offside numerous times in the first half. The Menace did create good chances though, the best chance early on fell to John Sosa for the Menace as he was played in behind the defense beating the offside trap. Sosa's chip though was just wide of the net.

The lack of finishing by the Menace came back to bite them in the 31st. The Athletics had been working themselves back into the game, having weathered the early attack by the Menace. Marty Johnston collected the ball of the right side, his first cross was cleared, but not far enough, and Johnston had another chance. Johnston squared the ball into the middle where Kyle Perkins slide in, knocking the ball into the net giving the Athletics the 1-0 lead. The Menace almost had the equalizer in the 39th, when Sosa was played behind the defense again, but Bret Clark in goal for KC got enough on the shot to slow it down that Josh White recovered and cleared the chance.

In the 42nd minute, KC created a good chance through Johnston again that the Menace cleared for a corner. The corner came to nothing, but the Menace sprung the counter through Sosa. Sosa played Bryan Perez in behind the KC defense. Perez's first shot was saved by Clark in goal, but Perez followed and was able to slot home tying the game in the 43rd. The goal started a late flurry for the Menace as KC seemed to tire a bit. The Menace pressed for a second goal and got another just before stoppage time. Perez played a give and go with Sosa and Alvarez slotted the ball to the far post giving the Menace a lead that they wouldn't surrender. Things got worse for the Athletics as the Menace continued to push. The Menace earned a corner and with the last touch of the first half, the Menace made it 3-1. The Menace earned a corner and on the corner that followed Sosa played a ball into the box where Brady Blankenship had beaten his man and headed easily into the net to give the Menace a big half time lead.

The Menace extended the later flurry into the second half as the Athletics seemed to tire just a bit. Former PDL MVP, Tomas Boltnar, a half time sub set up the Menace's first goal of the half, playing Sosa through, who chipped Clark from the top of the box to give him a goal to add to his two assists in the first half in the 58th minute. Shortly after Sosa's goal, the Athletics almost got back into the game, as Geoff Miles, fired in a free kick from the side of the box that almost caught Menace keeper, Matt Wade napping. Wade palmed the ball away keeping it 4-1. Virtually on the Menace's next attack they made it 5-1. Right back, Ben Taylor played a cross into the middle or second half substitute, Jarrett Hamilton, who just had to tap the ball home. In the 67^th, Hamilton got his second of the game as Perez broke down the right again. Perez's initial cross was nearly cut out by Ben Hicks for the Athletics, but his clearance deflected off of Hamilton and into the net making it 6-1.

Iowa seemed to take their foot off the gas a little bit, and at times got a little to fancy in trying to find a seventh goal. Perez got in behind the defense twice, but both times was too unselfish as he squared the ball back, once missing his man and once playing the ball to an offside Hamilton. Iowa also had a penalty shout in the 70th minute, when Sosa appeared to be sandwiched by two Menace defenders, but no call was made. KC was still trying to make a game of it, and in the 85th, they almost got a second. Josh White, normally a defender was playing up top trying to give a break to Perkins, who for long periods was totally isolated up top for KC. White got played in behind the Menace defense and got around Wade in the Menace goal, but Wade had done went to push White wide and his shot was wide of the near post. In the 89th minute, the Menace got their 7th goal, and the one that would automatically qualify them for the Open Cup. Substitute, Austin Otto played a great cross field ball into the box for Boltzmann, who settled, took a touch and then played the ball back to Sosa who fired the ball into the far post to make it 7-1.

Line ups

KC Athletics – Bret Clark, Ben Hicks, Ryan Barber, Josh White, Mike Robards, Marty Johnston, Stephen Homan, Geoff Miles, Kyle Perkins.

Iowa Menace – Matt Wade, Anthony Colaizzi, Thomas Catania, Diego Marroquin, Ben Taylor (Austin Otto 75), Luis Piffer, Chris Van Leur (Tomas Boltnar 45), Brady Blankenship (Graham Nugent 67), Aaron Douthitt (Jarrett Hamilton 53), Bryan Perez, John Sosa.

Scoring

Kyle Perkins (Marty Johnston) - 31

Bryan Perez - 43

Perez (John Sosa) – 45

Brady Blankenship (Sosa) – 45+

Sosa (Tomas Boltnar) – 53

Jarrett Hamilton (Ben Taylor) – 63

Hamilton – 67

Sosa (Boltnar) – 89

Yellows

Anthony Solaizzi – 40

Diego Marroquin – 57

John Sosa – 90

Another Game Day Today

Not only does Sporting KC have a game day today, but so does the KC Athletics. Today at Rockhurst University the Athletics host the Iowa Menace at 2pm. The Iowa Menace used to go by the Des Moines Menace Reserves, and have a roster that includes former PDL MVP, Tomas Boltnar. On the other side, the Athletics roster features 3 former SKC Wizards on the team, Ryan Barber, Brian Roberts, and Ryan Raybould. The team also features three other players that have trained with KC, Geoff Miles, Josh Howard, and Josh White. It should be a fun game to watch so get out to Rockhurst at 2pm to catch it. I will also be providing updates on the game via Twitter. Post game, the Athletics are hosting a post game party/Sporting KC watch party at Llewellyn's Pub in Overland Park just east of Metcalf on 151st Street. Good luck to the Athletics today.

Location Update for Athletics Game

The location for the KC Athletics US Open Cup qualifier has changed. The game will not be at the Swope Park training complex. Instead, the game is set to take place at Rockhurst University. The game time has not changed, the Athletics will still play at 2pm against the Iowa Menace. For reference, the field at Rockhurst University is a turf field. Get out there and support local soccer as the Athletics attempt to qualify for the US Open Cup.

Athletics Game is Saturday

Sporting Kansas City isn't the only team that will be playing on this Saturday, the KC Athletics begin their attempt to qualify for their second straight US Open Cup when they take on the Iowa Menace at the Sporting Club Training Complex at Swope Park. The timing of the game is perfect in relation to Sporting KC's game that night in New York. The Athletics game kicks off at 2pm out at Swope, plenty of time for the game to finish up and for fans to get downtown to Johnny's in time for the 6:30 kickoff for Sporting KC. These two teams met last year up in Iowa with the result finishing 3-3 and the Athletics going through on penalty kicks.

As a quick refresher, there are 3 matches in Region II. The winner by the largest goal difference qualifies for the Open Cup directly. The other two winners face off for Region II's other spot in the tournament.