New Contracts and Options Picked Up - Former SKC Wizards Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosell Going on Loan Again - Former SKC Wizards Update

It hasn't been an extremely productive move for Oriol Rosell since he left Kansas City for Sporting Portugal. After getting playing time in 2014 for the club he fell out of favor in Portugal and was sent on loan to Vitoria where he only played 253 minutes in league play and actually played 180 minutes for their reserve team in the Portuguese second division. Now Rosell looks like he'll be heading out on loan again in the 2016-2017 season as reports are he is headed to Belenenses in the Portuguese top division.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Chris Konopka
Kyle Miller
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Yann Songo'o

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 3-2 loss to Portland.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 57 minutes in New England's 2-0 loss to DC.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Orlando's 3-2 win over Toronto.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and played 89 minutes before being sent off in New York's 2-1 loss to RSL. Suspended for New York's 1-1 draw with Columbus.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 2-0 loss to NYCFC. Started and played 120 minutes in Seattle's 1-1 (4-1) shootout win over RSL.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Started and played 45 minutes in Chicago's 4-3 loss to Philadelphia. Dressed but did not play in Chicago's 2-1 win over Columbus.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Portland's 3-2 win over Houston.
Kei Kamara - New England - Started and played 90 minutes in New England's 2-0 loss to DC.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 2-2 draw with KC.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Came off the bench and played 6 minutes, recording an assist in NYCFC's 2-0 win over Seattle.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in RSL's 2-1 win over New York. Dressed but did not play in RSL's 2-0 loss to Dallas. Started and played 120 minutes in RSL's 1-1(4-1) shootout loss to Seattle.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 3-2 win over Houston.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Did not dress in either of Philly's games.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 1-1 draw with New York. Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-1 loss to Chicago.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 2-1 loss to RSL. Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in New York's 1-1 draw with Columbus.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) -Out injured.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - No game this week.
Marcel de Jong - Ottawa - No game this week.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - No game this week.
James Marcelin - Carolina - No game this week.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - No game this week.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 2-0 win over Seattle.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with Vancouver.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in Charlotte's 3-1 win over Harrisburg.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Orlando's 3-1 win over Montreal.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in OKC's 1-1 draw with Vancouver.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 0-0 draw with Bethlehem.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Did not play in either of San Francisco's games.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Started and played 90 minutes in St. Louis' 2-1 win over Albuquerque. Started and played 45 minutes in St. Louis' 3-1 loss to OKC. Did not play in St. Louis' 5-1 loss to OKC.

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

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Defeated GBK 2-0.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Offseason.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Offseason.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Offseason.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - No game until 7/2
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Offseason.
Jeferson - Madureira EC - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 89 minutes in RoPS' 2-0 win over PS Kemi.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in either of Fluminense's games.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Started and played 90 minutes in Slavia's 1-1 draw wtih Shakhtyor
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Offseason.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 88 minutes, scoring a goal in RoPS' 2-0 win over PS Kemi.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar -  Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Hungary's 3-3 draw with Potugal. Dressed but did not play in Hungary's 4-0 loss to Belgium.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 1-0 loss to Stjarnan.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Offseason.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - Offseason.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Started and played 90 minutes in Pattaya's 1-1 draw with Navy. Started and played 90 minutes in Pattaya's 2-0 loss to Chonburi.
Daniel Salloi - Vasas FC (loan) - Hungary - No game until 7/15.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Stallion 4-1.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Offseason.

Lopez Joins NYCFC - Former SKC Wizards Update

Mikey Lopez's time in Kansas City didn't go the way that most people thought it would. Over three seasons with KC the former first round pick played just 14 league games, making only 10 starts for Sporting KC. With a crowded midfield in KC and Lopez's Generation Adidas cap relief expired the writing appeared to be on the wall for the UNC product. Earlier this week he said goodbye to the fans in a post on Instagram and a day later news broke that Lopez had been claimed off waivers by second year club, New York City FC. Lopez will now head into camp with NYCFC looking to claim a spot in a midfield that has Mix Diskerud, Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, and Poku.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Chris Konopka
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Tacoma - Did not play in Tacoma's 7-5 win over Cedar Rapids.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in St. Louis 3-2 shootout loss to Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 3-2 loss to Syracuse.
Mike Jones - Dallas - No game this week.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - No game this week.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - No game until 2/2.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - No game until 2/6.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Did not play in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Juarez. Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-2 draw with Tigres.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not play in Belen's 1-0 win over Cartagines.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 3-0 win over Shillong Lajong.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Alajuelense's 2-1 win over Municipal Liberia.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Tied Central 1-1.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Leganes' 2-1 win over Almeria.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Season over.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Queretaro's 3-0 win over Dorados.
Jeferson - Vasco da Gama - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Macaé - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 1-1 draw with Union Espanola.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - No game until 2/13.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal  Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Soony Saad - BEC Tero Sasana - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/28.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Started and played 90 minutes in Deveronvale's 3-2 loss to Clachnacuddin.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in Atromitos' 2-0 loss to PAS Giannina.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

Lopez Says Good-Bye, Rangers Sign Defender, and Dwyers Hear Pitter Patter

Busy night in terms of news for all three of Kansas City's professional outdoor teams.

Lopez says good-bye

Most people could probably guess the likely outcome when Sporting Kansas City put out their preseason roster this weekend and it didn't include Mikey Lopez. Today Lopez's departure from Kansas City was confirmed by the player himself as he posted his good-bye to his teammates and fans in a post on Instagram.

Lopez was Kansas City's first round draft pick in the 2012 Superdraft, the 14th overall pick. A Generation Adidas player he only appeared in one game his rookie season, a US Open Cup game against the Des Moines Menace. Over his final two season with Kansas City Lopez spent time on loan with both of KC's USL affiliates, Orlando City and Oklahoma City. Each year though Lopez ended up getting recalled by Sporting because of the club's injury issues. In the end Lopez made 14 league appearances, starting 10, playing 964 minutes over that stretch. He'll certainly find a spot to catch on whether it is in MLS, the NASL, USL, or abroad, he'll be playing professionally next year.

Rangers Add Experienced MLS Vet

The Swope Park Rangers continue to build their roster ahead of their first season and today added an MLS veteran to their roster signing defender Tommy Meyer. Meyer, a St. Louis native has spent the last four seasons with the LA Galaxy winning two MLS Cups and gaining international experience playing in the CONCACAF Champions League. Over his our seasons Meyer played 33 times for the Galaxy starting 26 of those games playing both as a center back and an outside back. The 25 year old gives the Rangers more experience along the back line.

Meyer right now is in camp with Sporting KC along with new teammate Zac Lubin as SKC's camp kicked off this weekend.

Dwyers' Announce New Edition Coming

Sydney Leroux and Dom Dwyer announced today that the couple is expecting their first child in September of this year. The couple got married in January of 2015 and since then Leroux had been trying to get a trade to FC Kansas City so that she live with her husband. That trade happened on January 13th of this year when FCKC worked out deals with the Houston Dash and Western New York Flash to bring Leroux to Kansas City.


The announcement today coming just two weeks after being traded to Kansas City has led some people already to question if this was already known to Leroux when the trade was made. With how far along she would need to be at this point to have a September baby it is a little hard to see how that fact wouldn't have come up.

For FCKC it likely sends the two time defending NWSL champions scrambling a bit. The club traded forward Sarah Hagen to the expansion Orlando Pride, then found out that forward Amy Rodriguez was going to miss the 2016 season as she's pregnant with her second child, the club then traded to get Leroux to help fill the gap but are now looking for a forward again with the announcement by Leroux. It's certainly a completely different dynamic for Vlatko Andonovski to deal with.

Season Review - Midfielders - Revamped Midfield for KC in 2015

Continuing to make the way up the field we take a look at the midfield this year for Sporting Kansas City.

Sporting saw plenty of turnover in the midfield from the 2014 season, with just four players, Benny Feilhaber, Mikey Lopez, Jimmy Medranda, and Paulo Nagamura returning for the 2015 season for KC as the club parted company with the likes of Toni Dovale, Lawrence Olum, Victor Munoz, and Jorge Claros in an effort to remake their midfield. The 2015 season saw Kansas City stick with their three man midfield, but there was a lot of movement regarding who played where in the system. The beginning of the season saw Sporting's playmaker, Feilhaber playing very deep in the midfield, in a holding role, but with an ability to play more out of the back. The deep lying playmaker allowed KC to build more out of the back, but it really limited Feilhaber's involvement in the offense, and KC's attack sputtered early on. From there the revolving door at the holding midfield spot picked up again with offseason acquisition, Servando Carrasco getting the run out there before being replaced by Haitian, Soni Mustivar who spent the majority of the season at the holding spot.

Higher up in the midfield, Sporting welcomed back Roger Espinoza to the club after spending two years in England with Wigan Athletic. A little less "Roger the red," Espinoza seemed much more composed at times on the field for Kansas City while still being the box-to-box midfielder that KC needed to break up play and get into the attack. Once Mustivar came in Espinoza and he formed a solid partnership, and KC's late season drop in form and loss of Espinoza is more than just a coincidence. When he went down, Paulo Nagamura took over that role, and while the Brazilian has written himself into Sporting KC lore with some clutch performances, he just doesn't play the position the same way. At the attacking position, Feilhaber found his grove, setting records that most probably wouldn't have been touched after Preki left the club, but KC's #10 really proved to be such in 2015.

The Players

Servando Carrasco - Brought in during the offseason from Houston, Carrasco was the first player to get a crack at the bottom of the midfield triangle after Peter Vermes moved Benny Feilhaber to a more advanced position. Carrasco didn't play poorly there, but he also didn't give everything that was required of the position in Peter Vermes' system. His last appearance as a regular starter was the 4-4 draw in Houston. After that he made just three league appearances, only one start before being traded to Orlando in exchange for Amobi Okugo.

Roger Espinoza - The World Cup and Olympic stand out for Honduras returned to Kansas City in 2015 after a string of rumors throughout the summer and fall of his return. He took up his normal position in the box-to-box role and was successful in getting attacking play through the middle shut down. When paired with Soni Mustivar, Espinoza really was able to funnel attack to the Haitian who was then able to cut the attacks out. Espinoza came back to KC as the team's highest paid player at $750,000 according to the players' union numbers. That led a number of fans to question the signing since he didn't contribute a lot to the offense. While that his true, his contribution to the defense and team as a whole can't be overlooked as easily. After Espinoza went down in the 1-1 draw against Houston, KC won five of their remaining 14 league games, going from Supporters' Shield favorites to squeaking into the playoffs as the six seed. Their defense that had been one of the best in the league when he went down finished around the middle of the league. He may not provide the offensive numbers, but his importance to the team can't be understated.

Benny Feilhaber - The team's MVP and a league finalist for the award, I'm not sure that KC could have asked for more from Feilhaber this year. He had a career year scoring 10 goals and assisting on 15 more in league play while appearing in 32 of 34 games. He also added another two goals and five assists in KC's run to the US Open Cup and played virtually all three midfield positions at different points in the 2015 season and was still able to produce offensively.

Mikey Lopez - the only play on KC's roster to go out on loan to their USL affiliate, Oklahoma City this year, Lopez was recalled from the Energy after playing in eight games, five of them starts. Upon his return he played in six games, five of them starts. He did an okay job filling in for the likes of Nagamura and Mustivar when they needed a break or were injured, but overall it wasn't the breakout season that many people were really hoping that he'd have in 2015. Even though the club says they'll make him an offer for 2016 since he's out of contract, now that he's no longer on a Generation Adidas player, and therefore no longer counting against the cap, his position with the club has to be a lot less secure.

Jimmy Medranda - Medranda, like Lopez, was one of those players that you felt really needed to start contributing more to the team this year. Early on it appeared he could as he started three straight games for KC, where the team went 2-0-1. The Colombian couldn't lock down a starting job though and returned to the bench for the most part until early August when injury issues forced him to play left back on the road against Toronto. The experiment went well and KC won 3-1. The next game Medranda started again at left back, this time against Vancouver, but after falling behind 2-0 early, Peter Vermes used a first half substitution to get Medranda off after just 34 minutes. Medranda started shortly after that, on the road in Columbus, but in a more advanced role that he played more regularly. He started just seven games on the season for KC, a number you'd really like to see him push and force Vermes to give him more time, either that or send him to Swope Park next year to play with the Rangers.

Soni Mustivar - Peter Vermes appeared to find his replacement for Oriol Rosell in the Haitian, Mustivar. While a different player than Rosell in terms of skill set, Mustivar was able to help settle KC's deep midfield position and formed a good partnership with Espinoza in front of him and Matt Besler and Kevin Ellis behind him. Wasn't ever flashy, and didn't provide the passing ability that KC had in Rosell, but was more than able to hold his own against plenty of attacking midfielders in MLS. His play, like much of the team's suffered when Espinoza went down for the season.

Paulo Nagamura - The man with ice in his veins, Nagamura continues to give KC good performances in the center of midfield. Called upon greatly after Espinoza went down for the season, Nagamura filled in well. His performance against Vancouver is the stuff that makes you a legend to the fans, and in the Open Cup final and playoff game he continued his run of perfect penalty kicks in high stress situations, converting both times in situations where missing would have resulted in a loss for Kansas City. Every year there seems to be questions (from myself too) about how long Nagamura can hang on at this level and continue to be successful with the team. He's out of contract at this point, and the team has made him an offer towards 2016.

Amobi Okugo - Acquired from Orlando City around the middle of the season for Servando Carrasco, Okugo struggled in KC. He played just three times for KC after being acquired on July 20th, starting only one game. The one start was the San Jose home loss where he was pulled at half time. He did notch one assist in the club's 3-1 win over Toronto though. I thought when KC acquired him that he'd get more time at center back for Kansas City, a position that most thought he excelled at when with the Philadelphia Union, while being just good at his defensive midfield position. But that never happened as even when Kevin Ellis didn't play with Matt Besler, it was Erik Palmer-Brown that got the minutes there ahead of Okugo. This past season Orlando helped cover a portion of his salary as part of the trade deal. How much, if any, they cover in 2016 will be a big factor in this trade. Right now this feels like one that KC ended up on the wrong end of.

Jordi Quintilla - During the summer, Kansas City picked up just two players to help strength their squad for the second half of the season. One was the above mentioned Okugo, the other was Quintilla. The Spaniard joined KC at the beginning of August after spending time in Spain and France. At 22 and from Barcelona's academy many fans likened the signing to when Vermes brought in Rosell. Like Rosell, Quintilla had a limited, but big impact with KC over his first half a season. He played in eight league games, starting three of them. But what he'll likely always be remembered for in KC was scoring the winning penalty kick in the eighth round of the US Open cup final. Also like Rosell, what he will do for the club can't be fully judged on this season, and has to be seen with an eye towards 2016 and beyond.

Looking Towards 2016

KC has two thirds of their starting midfield already under contract for 2016 with Benny Feilhaber and Roger Espinoza both already signed for 2016. The last penciled in starter at this point is Soni Mustivar, who is currently out of contract. Those three returning heathy would answer a lot of questions heading into the 2016 without taking account any new signings. As for the rest of the midfield, the biggest question is KC's depth. Okugo was less than impressive in his minutes and he's under contract for next year. The team's other two defensive midfielders, Paulo Nagamura and Mikey Lopez are out of contract at this time. For those two it could become a matter of cap space and the ability to find a replacement either through the draft or elsewhere. Overall the main core of the midfield will be fine in 2016, there just needs to be some depth added.

Sporting KC Make Roster Moves

Sporting Kansas City today announced roster moves for the end of the 2015 season. The team announced that they had declined the club option on defender Jalil Anibaba. Anibaba, who was acquired by Kansas City in the offseason in a deal with Orlando City that sent Aurelien Collin to the expansion club, played in 16 games for KC in 2015, starting 14 of them. He became a starter three games into the 2015 season after KC's defensive issues in a 3-1 loss to Dallas. Anibaba proceeded to start the next 13 games for Kansas City at right back. Unfortunately after that Anibaba got hurt in training and missed all of July and August. When he returned in September he made just three more appearances, only one start, the club's 1-1 draw with Seattle when starters were rested in preparation for the US Open Cup final. Anibaba could play both right back and center back, but never lined up in the middle of defense for Kansas City. Even when both Ike Opara and Kevin Ellis were down, teenager Erik Palmer-Brown was preferred to Anibaba at center back. Anibaba will now go into the re-entry draft in December.

KC also announced that there were five players out of contract, goalkeeper Jon Kempin, midfielders Mikey Lopez, Soni Mustivar, and Paulo Nagamura, and defender Seth Sinovic. Sporting announced that they were extend offers to all five of those players in the hopes that they would return in 2016. Re-signing Mustivar has to be the priority of the five with his standing as a starter at this point. Kempin as the perceived future starter in goal also should probably be a priority. The other three it becomes a question of what the players are wanting and where the club stands depth wise. Lopez will graduate from the Generation Adidas program that means his salary next year would count against the cap. The question is whether he's contributed enough to justify it. On Nagamura it likely will come down to salary demands. Nagamura will turn 33 next season and while he's been great for the club, making $230,000 or more may not be the best way to spend cap space. But it's hard to argue with what he's done for the team. As for Sinovic, it depends on his recovery from his concussion to me. I've said many times how I feel he wasn't the same player after the concussion. It becomes about where he's at and how he's doing for me on whether you bring him back as well.

Also today KC announced they'd picked up the option on 13 other players; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Amadou Dia, Kevin Ellis, Benny Feilhaber, Connor Hallisey, Jimmy Medranda, Tim Melia, Chance Myers, Krisztian Nemeth, Ike Opara, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Jordi Quintilla. That list combined with the list of players KC currently have under contract; Bernardo Anor, Matt Besler, Marcel de Jong, Dom Dwyer, Roger Espinoza, Amobi Okugo, Jacob Peterson, and Graham Zusi puts KC at 20 players under contract for 2016. Add in the five players that the team is said to be making offers to that were on the team last year and you're up to 25 of 28 roster already filled. That's not to say that players who had their option picked up won't be waived during preseason, or that trades won't be made. But at the moment it appears that plenty of the team will be back for the start of the 2016 season.

Swope Park Rangers Earn Draw

Sporting KC pulled out a big draw at home today against the Seattle Sounders. While the result still leaves Sporting KC in fifth place in the Western Conference, the 1-1 draw against the Sounders was still a positive result for SKC considering Sporting send out a decidedly B team lineup with the start lineup today. The only two regular starters to start the game were center back Kevin Ellis and midfielder Paulo Nagamura. It took the insertion of Dom Dwyer, but Sporting KC was able to get the 1-1 draw against a Sounders team playing their predominately first team.

The first half though belonged mainly to the Sounders who took advantage of the predominately reserve lineup from Kansas City. A through ball in the 25th found Obafemi Martings behind the defense, but his shot was easily collect by Jon Kempin in the KC goal. In the 31st minute though the Sounders were able to find a way past the KC defense. A long ball over the top by Gonzalo Pineda found Martins who had found space behind Sporting's Ellis. Martins shrugged off a challenge by the home grown player before fire a shot that Kempin got a hand to, but had enough power on it that it carried past him and into the far corner of the net to make it 1-0 Seattle. KC had plenty of possession in the first half but the chances they created were right at Stefan Frei. Their best of the first half came in first half stoppage time when a Connor Hallisey cross pinged around in the box for a minute before falling to Jordi Quintilla, but his shot was also deflected and collect by Frei.

The second half though Sporting KC came out and looked like a much better side. Peter Vermes inserted Soni Mustivar for Paulo Nagamura, but Seattle still had the best early chance. In the 52nd minute a nice cross into the box found Clint Dempsey, but his shot was well saved by Kempin who made a good reaction save to keep it 1-0 Seattle. As the half wore on though KC continued to get more of the ball and more chances. They were just missing that final touch as the front line of Bernardo Anor, Connor Hallisey, and Jacob Peterson couldn't create enough clear chances for KC. In the 74th minute Dom Dwyer entered the game for KC giving them more offense centrally than they had. It took Dwyer only five minutes to make a difference In the 79th minute the ball got played off to Peterson who laid the ball off to Amadou Dia who was making an overlapping run. Dia played a cross into the box and Dwyer was there at the back post to tap the cross home to tie the game at 1-1. With the goal, KC really pushed the game against the Sounders and looked to be the aggressor as the rest of the half continued. KC kept Seattle pinned in but couldn't find a second goal. On the counter the Sounders almost pulled another Seattle on KC as Dempsey put a cross by Martins just wide of the post in the 85th minute. KC's best chances after that came after that chance as Mikey Lopez started to find more space in the midfield. He was able to get forward and create chances but KC couldn't capitalize. The best chance though came in stoppage time at Lopez received the ball and was able to dribble at Seattle's back lin before dishing the ball out wide to Dwyer. Dwyer's shot was saved by Frei but he gave up a rebound. Lopez followed the effort and was able to knock the ball towards goal but the effort was cleared off the line as it trickled towards goal. The two teams had to settle for a draw, but considering the lineup you have to feel that the Swope Park Rangers getting the draw had to feel a lot more like a win even though the game was at home.

Wizards Man of the Match - Dom Dwyer - Completely changed the game when he came in. KC had possession before he came in but were totally lacking in the final third, Dwyer gave KC that last little bit and it paid off with the goal by Dwyer.

Honorable Mention: Jon Kempin, Mikey Lopez

Honorable Mention - Kempin 7, Dia 6, Ellis 6, Palmer-Brown 6, Anibaba 6, Nagamura 6, Lopez 7, Quintilla 6, Anor 5, Peterson 5, Hallisey 5. Subs Mustivar 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Dwyer 7.

Sporting KC Loan Update - Kempin Gives Up Golazo

After a weekend off for both teams with Sporting KC players on loan, they both came back to play this past weekend.

For Jon Kempin and Saad Abdul-Salaam, it was a big let down of a game. Like Sporting KC, the San Antonio Scorpions gave up a late winner to Indy Eleven to lose 2-1. The Indy winner, scored in the 89th minute was a 40 yard strike after a long free kick was headed back into the path of Sergio Pena, who brought the ball down and fired a shot that looped over Jon Kempin and into the net. Kempin probably got caught a little too far off his line, but it was still a good strike by the Indy Eleven player. KC's other loaned player, Abdul-Salaam started and played the full game for San Antonio in defense. This next week, the Scorpions travel to play Minnesota United.



In the USL, Mikey Lopez and the Oklahoma City Energy continued their unbeaten start to the 2015 season with another late win, this time over the Seattle Sounders 2 to win 2-1 thanks to a Danni Konig. Lopez started and played 90 minutes for the Energy in their win. The Energy this week will remain at home to take on St. Louis FC.

Sporting KC Loan Update - Mixed Bag of Results

The season has started for both clubs that have Sporting KC players there on loan, and it's been a mixed bag for the two teams.

Sporting's USL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Energy is two games into their new season after a draw last week with in state rival, the Tulsa Roughnecks, drawing 1-1. They picked up their first win of the season this past weekend in Colorado Springs where they defeated the expansion Switchbacks 2-1 thanks to a late goal by Danni Konig. Sporting's Mikey Lopez, the only SKC player currently on loan to the USL affiliate has started both of the Energy's two games, playing 77 minutes in the draw with Tulsa and going 85 minutes in OKC's win over the Switchbacks. OKC is off this weekend before their home opener next weekend against the Seattle Sounders 2.

The news wasn't so good out of San Antonio where goalkeeper Jon Kempin, and first round draft pick, Saad Abdul-Salaam currently are playing. The Scorpions opened their defense of the NASL title at home against the visiting Tampa Bay Rowdies. Both Kempin and Abdul-Salaam started for the Scorpions as the Rowdies jumped out to a 1-0 lead after just 10 minutes. The Rowdies scored again just before half time and added a third just after the hour mark before Omar Cummings scored to pull a goal back for the Scorpions in a losing effort. Both Kempin and Abdul-Salaam went 90 minutes. The Scorpions will be at home again this week when they'll host the Indy Eleven at Toyota Field.

Lopez Loaned to OKC

Sporting Kansas City has announced the first player that they have loaned to USL affiliate club, the Oklahoma City Energy. KC is sending third year pro, Mikey Lopez to OKC to begin the season with the Energy. OKC kicks off their season on Saturday with a game against in-state rivals, the Tulsa Roughnecks.

Lopez appeared in eight MLS games last season while splitting time between KC's two affiliates, Orlando and OKC. Those were his first MLS appearances for the club, having appeared in one US Open Cup game in his rookie campaign. He is currently still a Generation Adidas player, meaning his salary does not count against the cap for KC. But with this being his third season, this is going to be a big one for him to prove that he still deserves to have a spot on this team. That'll likely mean needing to have a big season this year, whether that's in Oklahoma or in KC.

Don't expect Lopez to be the only player to go on loan though, I expect a few others to eventually make their way there. KC's entire 2015 draft class could eventually go to OKC, but Saad Abdul-Salaam, Connor Hallisey, and James Rogers would likely be the favorites to go on loan. Amadou Dia could also be a possibility once Chance Myers returns and is able to go, especially if Jalil Anibaba does well.

Youngest/Oldest to Appear for Kansas City

Another stat for you, the youngest and oldest players to appear in or start games in league play and in all competitions.

In league appearances, four new players joined the list. Erik Palmer-Brown became the youngest player to ever appear in a game for Kansas City when he started KC's game in Chicago back in May. The game before, Igor Juliao made his KC debut, also joining the top 20 on this list. With his substitution at half time in Vancouver, Jon Kempin also joined this league list for KC. The final entry was Mikey Lopez who jumped in in 20th place on the list. The four players knocked Peterson Joseph, Vicente Figueroa, Roger Espinoza, and Matt McKeon out of the top 20.

Ten youngest to appear in a league game for KC.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Nino da Silva - 18 years, 158 days - 8/31/1997 - DC United
3. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 311 days - 5/13/2006 - DC United
4. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 - Portland
5. Jake Dancy - 19 years, 137 days - 8/24/1997 - San Jose
6. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
7. Jimmy Medranda - 19 years, 212 days - 9/7/2013 - Columbus
8. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
9. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 28 days - 3/27/2011 - DC United
10. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 35 days - 8/11/2012 - DC United
11. Chance Myers - 20 years, 124 days - 4/9/2008 - New England
12. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 132 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
13. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years, 220 days - 7/23/2011 - Toronto
14. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 325 days - 7/8/2000 - New York
15. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
16. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United
17. Will John - 21 years, 81 days - 9/2/2006 - Los Angeles
18. Jon Kempin - 21 years, 124 days - 8/10/2014 - Vancouver
19. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 144 days - 5/16/1998 - New England
20. Mikey Lopez - 21 years, 146 days - 7/16/2014 - Columbus

In all competitions, only Palmer-Brown and Juliao joined the list as Kempin and Lopez had both previously made their debuts in all competitions for KC. The pair knocked Scott Vermillion and Joseph out of the top 20.

Ten youngest to appear in a competitive game for KC.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Nino da Silva - 18 years, 158 days - 8/31/1997 - DC United
3. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 311 days - 5/13/2006 - DC United
4. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 - Portland
5. Jon Kempin - 19 years, 51 days - 5/29/2012 - Orlando
6. Jake Dancy - 19 years, 137 days - 8/24/1997 - San Jose
7. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
8. Jimmy Medranda - 19 years, 212 days - 9/7/2013 - Columbus
9. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
10. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 28 days - 3/27/2011 - DC United
11. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 35 days - 8/11/2012 - DC United
12. Mikey Lopez - 20 years, 97 days - 5/28/2013 - Des Moines
13. Chance Myers - 20 years, 124 days - 4/9/2008 - New England
14. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 132 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
15. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years, 220 days - 7/23/2011 - Toronto
16. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 325 days - 7/8/2000 - New York
17. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
18. Kevin Ellis - 20 years, 363 days - 6/28/2011 - Chicago PDL
19. Will John - 21 years, 29 days - 7/12/2006 - Des Moines
20. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United

When it came to league starts, the same four who made their debuts in league play overall made the list for youngest league starters. They knocked off McKeon, Aaron Hohlbein, Ryan Pore, and Justin Detter. Also joining the list was Jimmy Medranda, who debuted in league play in 2013, but made his first start in 2014.

Ten youngest players to START a league match.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 357 days - 6/28/2006 - DC United
3. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
4. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
5. Soony Saad - 19 years, 308 days - 6/20/2012 - Seattle
6. Nino da Silva - 20 years, 11 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
7. Jimmy Medranda - 20 years, 37 days - 3/16/2014 - Dallas
8. Jake Dancy - 20 years, 52 days - 5/31/1998 - Colorado
9. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 77 days - 9/22/2012 - Montreal
10. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 85 days - 5/23/2010 - Columbus
11. Chance Myers - 20 years, 127 days - 4/12/2008 - Houston
12. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years ,227 days - 7/30/2011 - New England
13. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 228 days - 9/10/1999 - Colorado
14. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
15. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 364 days - 8/16/2000 - San Jose
16. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United
17. Jon Kempin - 21 years, 130 days - 8/16/2014 - Toronto
18. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 144 days - 5/16/1998 - New England
19. Mikey Lopez - 21 years, 146 days - 7/16/2014 - Columbus
20T. Vicente Figueroa - 21 years, 170 days - 4/10/1999 - San Jose
20T. Roger Espinoza - 21 years, 170 days - 4/12/2008 - Houston

In starts in all competitions, the trio of Palmer-Brown, Juliao, and Medranda all joined the list in 2014.

Ten youngest players to START a competitive game for KC.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 357 days - 6/28/2006 - DC United
3. Jon Kempin - 19 years, 51 days - 5/29/2012 - Orlando
4. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
5. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
6. Soony Saad - 19 years, 286 days - 5/29/2012 - Orlando
7. Nino da Silva - 20 years, 11 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
8. Jimmy Medranda - 20 years, 37 days - 3/16/2014 - Dallas
9. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 45 days - 4/13/2010 - Colorado
10. Jake Dancy - 20 years, 52 days - 5/31/1998 - Colorado
11. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 77 days - 9/22/2012 - Montreal
12. Mikey Lopez - 20 years, 97 days - 5/28/2013 - Des Moines
13. Chance Myers - 20 years, 127 days - 4/12/2008 - Houston
14. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years ,227 days - 7/30/2011 - New England
15. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 228 days - 9/10/1999 - Colorado
16. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
17. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 364 days - 8/16/2000 - San Jose
18. Will John - 21 years, 62 days - 8/14/2006 - Chicago
19. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United
20. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 144 days - 5/16/1998 - New England

Among the oldest players to appear for Kansas City, no new players joined any of the lists in the 2014 season. And baring a later addition to the team during the season there will be no players joining the list in 2015 either.

Ten oldest players to appear in a league game for KC.
1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 121 days - 8/12/2001 - Colorado
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 81 days - 10/26/2013 - Philadelphia
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 303 days - 9/20/2002 - Colorado
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 179 days - 8/18/2004 - Columbus
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 174 days - 9/26/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 115 days - 10/25/2008 - New England
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 341 days - 10/24/2012 - Philadelphia
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 240 days -  10/23/2010 - San Jose
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 65 days - 9/8/2001 - San Jose
17. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 63 days - 5/11/2002 - Colorado
18. Uche Okafor - 33 years, 32 days - 9/9/2000 - Tampa Bay
19. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 352 days - 6/4/2000 - Chicago
20. Diego Gutierrez - 33 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas

Ten oldest players in all competitions for KC.
1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 222 days - 11/21/2001 - Santos Laguna
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 123 days - 12/7/2013 - Salt Lake
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 315 days - 10/2/2002 - Los Angeles
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 214 days - 9/22/2004 - Chicago
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 186 days - 10/8/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 115 days - 10/25/2008 - New England
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 352 days - 11/4/2012 - Houston
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 240 days -  10/23/2010 - San Jose
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 104 days - 10/17/2001 - Barcelona
17. Uche Okafor - 33 years, 68 days - 10/15/2000 - Chicago
18. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 63 days - 5/11/2002 - Colorado
19. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 362 days - 6/14/2000 - Chicago Sockers
20. Diego Gutierrez - 33 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas

Ten oldest players to START a league game.
1. Preki - 42 years, 99 days - 10/1/2005 - Chicago
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 113 days - 8/4/2001 - Columbus
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 81 days - 10/26/2013 - Philadelphia
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 303 days - 9/20/2002 - Colorado
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 179 days - 8/18/2004 - Columbus
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 174 days - 9/26/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 67 days - 9/7/2008 - Houston
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 341 days - 10/24/2012 - Philadelphia
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 233 days - 10/16/2010 - New England
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 38 days - 8/12/2001 - Colorado
17. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 14 days - 3/23/2002 - Colorado
18. Uche Okafor - 32 years, 346 days - 7/19/2000 - New England
19. Diego Gutierrez - 33 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas
20. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 337 days - 5/20/2000 - San Jose

Ten oldest players to START a competitive game for KC.
1. Preki - 42 years, 99 days - 10/1/2005 - Chicago
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 222 days - 11/21/2001 - Santos Laguna
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 123 days - 12/7/2013 - Salt Lake
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 315 days - 10/2/2002 - Los Angeles
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 214 days - 9/22/2004 - Chicago
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 186 days - 10/8/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 67 days - 9/7/2008 - Houston
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 352 days - 11/4/2012 - Houston
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 233 days - 10/16/2010 - New England
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 104 days - 10/17/2001 - Barcelona
17. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 46 days - 4/24/2002 - Santos Laguna
18. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 362 days - 6/14/2000 - Chicago Sockers
19. Uche Okafor - 32 years, 346 days - 7/19/2000 - New England
20. Diego Gutierrez - 33 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas

What Happened and Where Do We Go From Here - Midfield

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

S.A.S. Thursday After Stats

Here are some stats from yesterday's win against Columbus.

At 21 years, 146 days, Mikey Lopez became the 18th youngest player to start a league game for KC, knocking Matt McKeon out of the top 20.

He became the 19th youngest player to appear in a league game for KC, knocking Vicente Figueroa out of the top 20.

CJ Sapong scored his 19th league goal for KC, tying him with Teal Bunbury for 10th all time on that list.

Sapong's goal was his 9th league goal away from home, giving him sole possession of 10th place on that list.

It was Sapong's 10th goal in all competitions away from home tying him with Scott Sealy and Mo Johnston for 8th on that list.

Seth Sinovic made his 100th league appearance for KC, he's the 27th player to hit that mark.

Sinovic made his 99th start in league play, breaking his tie with Chance Myers for 20th on that list.

It was Sinovic's 123rd start in all competitions, tying him with Jose Burciaga and Graham Zusi for 16th on that list.

Matt Besler made his 157th start in all competitions, tying him with Mo Johnston for 9th place on that list.

Lopez Recalled - Sporting Loan Update

The other side of today's news involving the release of Alex Martinez is that Sporting KC midfielder, Mikey Lopez has been recalled again from his loan to Oklahoma City. With the limited numbers that KC has available, Lopez is likely to immediately go into the game day roster for Sunday's game against the Chicago Fire.

Before being recalled, Lopez played for the Energy against Sacramento in a USL-Pro league game. Lopez started for OKC and scored his first professional goal as well. He scored the Energy's second goal in the 67th minute as they won 2-0 over the Republic.  KC's other loaned player (and technically their only healthy loaned player) Jon Kempin started and played the first 77 minutes before making way for Samir Badr with the Energy up 2-0 and the game well in hand.

Lopez's recall comes at a decent time for the Energy though, they are off from league play this coming weekend, returning on Saturday, July 12th vs the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

Duke Suffers Stress Fracture - Sporting Loan Update

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

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

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

Lopez Recalled For Open Cup - Sporting Loan Update

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

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

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

Kempin Named to Team of the Week - Sporting Loan Update

Sporting KC goalkeeper, Jon Kempin picked up team of the week honors in the USL-Pro for his play this past weekend for the Oklahoma Ciy Energy. On a weekend where the Energy played two games on back to back nights, Kempin played the Energy's first game on Friday against the Wilmington Hammerheads. Kempin made five saves for the Energy in their 2-2 draw to start off a road trip that saw them end it with a three game unbeaten run. Kempin got a break for the Energy's second game, also a draw against the Charlotte Eagles.

The only other KC player out on loan currently after last week's call up of Christian Duke is Mikey Lopez who moved from Orlando City to OKC. Lopez immediately got a chance to contribute, coming off the bench and playing the final six minutes of the draw with Wilmington. Lopez then got his first start for the Energy the next night in Charlotte, playing the full 90 minutes for the Energy in their 1-1 draw with the Eagles.

This coming weekend, the Energy will be hosting the Sacramento Republic. Lopez and Kempin will be available, but Duke could stay with KC ahead of their US Open Cup game against Minnesota the following week.

Duke Recalled, Lopez Sent to OKC

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

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

Duke Sets Up Game Winner - Sporting Loan Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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