One last look back at 2016, here are my end of year awards for moment of the year in 2016.
Game of the year - Comets vs Mustangs 12/3/16 - Shutouts don't happen often in indoor soccer, since the Kansas City Comets rebirth back in 2010, the Comets had never had one. That changed in December of this year when the Comets defeated the previously unbeaten Chicago Mustangs 6-0 at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Comets jumped out to a two goal lead in the first quarter thanks to goals by Ignacio Flores and Lucas Rodriguez. After a scoreless second quarter, Rodriguez scored his second goal of the game off a set piece with a second assist to John Sosa and the Comets were up 3-0.
The Comets extended their lead early in the fourth quarter as Odaine Sinclair scored two minutes in to make it 4-0. Vahid Assadpour added a goal before Ramone Palmer scored with less than a minute left against the sixth attacker to make it 6-0. For his part in goal for the Comets, Stephen Paterson faced 19 shots, saving all of them in route to the shutout.
Goal of the Year - Brad Davis vs Galaxy - When Sporting KC brought in Brad Davis, Sporting was expecting to get another player to help set up goals while scoring a few himself. The assists never really came for Davis in Kansas City, but he did score some important goals for KC early on against LA and Toronto. The one that wins goal of the year is his finish against the LA Galaxy that seemed to even impress him. In the 30th minute of a scoreless game, Graham Zusi headed a long ball into the path of an on-rushing Davis. Davis chased the ball into the box and took a single touch, cutting the ball back that allowed him to beat both Emmanuel Boateng and Jelle Van Damme. With his second touch he curled a beautiful shot with his left foot that curled around goalkeeper Brian Rowe as he dove for the ball, and inside the far post to put Sporting up 1-0 on the Galaxy. Davis didn't have a ton of highlights in his final season of professional soccer, but this was certainly one of them.
Assist of the Year - Benny Feilhaber vs Orlando - I'm cheating just a little bit because it's the secondary assist, but I'm a sucker for Feilhaber's scoop passes. Down 1-0 in the 74th minute, Feilhaber received a ball just outside the top of the box, took a touch and scooped the ball into the box for substitute, Jacob Peterson, who headed the ball back into the middle for Dom Dwyer, who headed the ball in to tie the game at 1-1 in a game KC would eventually win 2-1.
Single Game Performance of the Year - Nicole Barnhart vs Western New York - It wasn't the greatest season for FC Kansas City as they missed out on the playoffs for the first time in their history, but there were some bright spots. From the emergence of Shea Groom, to the return of Desiree Scott, to the defensive performance, FCKC had plenty of highlights. One of those was Nicole Barnart against the Wester New York Flash in July of this year. Playing against the highest scoring team in the league, KC sat a little deeper and absorbed a lot of pressure in the game. That led to a number of opportunities for the Flash. Barnhart though was up to the task, making 14 saves against the Flash in route to a 1-0 win. The performance was enough to earn Barnhart player of the week honors.
Low Point of the Year - Sporting KC vs DC United 5/27 - Heading into the game, at Children's Mercy Park, Sporting KC had won just one game in their last nine after starting the season 3-1. KC had gone 1-6-2 in the nine games priorgoing 1-2-1 at home in that stretch. KC had scored more than one goal just once in that nine game stretch (their only win) and had been shutout three times, scoring just seven goals while allowing 14. Welcoming a DC United team that was 0-2-3 on the road heading into the game. KC completely controlled the game (as KC tends to do in a lot of home games) with 58% of the possession, out shooting DC 18-5, and creating the better of the opportunities. But KC paid for putting just three of their 18 shots on goal as DC United struck late to steal all three points as Alhaji Kamara beat Tim Melia to a ball near the penalty spot, knocking the ball down and then burying his shot into the net as Melia was on the ground after coming for the ball and missing. The 1-0 loss mean that KC had won just one of their last 10, a streak that would turn into 11 games the following week after a 0-0 draw in LA before KC got back to winning against FC Dallas on June 19th.
Non-Kansas City-KC Player Moment of the Year - Matt Besler Scores First International goal - 2016 probably isn't going to go down as the best year in Matt Besler's professional soccer career. He started 2016 as Sporting KC's captain, but then lost it to Roger Espinoza, lost his starting spot with Sporting KC for a time and played the fewest games for his club since his second season as a pro in 2010. It'll still be a memorable year for Besler though as he welcomed his first child.
In early September, Besler had been called up for US national team qualifiers against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Besler traveled to the game in St. Vincent and while there heard that his wife was having their first child. Due to travel, Besler was unable to leave to get home in time for the birth of his daughter so instead took the field for the US, starting in central defense for Klinsmann's side. Already up 1-0 in the 32nd minute, Graham Zusi chipped a free kick into the box where a St. Vincent defender cleared the ball right into the path of Besler who chested the ball down and blasted it into the net for his first international goal. He followed it immediately with a celebration with his teammates in honor of his just becoming a father. The US went on to win the game 6-0 and Besler left to be with his family instead of flying to Jacksonville for the second game.
KC Soccer Player of the Year - Amer Didic - No player on the KC soccer scene probably had a better year than Amer Didic did for the Swope Park Rangers and Sporting KC. The Baker product started the season as a bench player for the Rangers, getting garbage minutes at the end of the game to preserve the lead and kill some time off the clock. After a string of three straight losses and a red card to Oumar Ballo, Didic got a start in Swope's 2-1 win over Tulsa and never looked back. He started 21 of the final 24 games in the regular season for SPR and started all four of their playoff games. He formed a strong partnership with Ballo that helped carry the SPR defense to the USL final, going 13-1-2 when paired together, the only loss in the USL final. Didic's play with SPR earned him a call up to Sporting KC where he started three of KC's four CONCACAF Champions League games, the only game he didn't was the final meaningless one, just days before the USL final. Didic has already signed on to return to SPR in 2017 and continued solid performances should see him up with Sporting KC either on a temporary contract or full time soon enough.
Sporting KC Player of the Year - Dom Dwyer - Dwyer had his second most successful season in terms of goal scoring in his career this past season. Take out Dwyer's penalty kicks in 2014 and Dwyer actually scored more goals from the run of play in 2016 than he did in 2014 (16 to 15). This despite not having a secondary threat to really take the pressure off and being on Dwyer Island for long periods of time in the season.
FCKC Player of the Year - Shea Groom - The second year forward had the unevnyable task of having to try to replace the scoring of Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux, who both missed the season. Groom didn't miss a beat though, scoring eight goals for the Blues in 2016, good for fifth in the league. Groom's eight goals were good for 44% of the Blues' offense in the 2016 season. Add in Rodriguez and Leroux in 2017 and the Blues look to have a strong offense.
Comets Player of the Year - Vahid Assadpour - The Comets captain and assistant coach is one of the few remaining players who have been with the Comets since their rebirth in 2010. He finished last season third in the league in points with 23 goals and 27 assists and was a first team all league selection. So far in the 2016-2017 season he has added five goals and four assists, which is fifth on the team in goals and fourth in assists.
Newcomer of the Year - Didic - Didic does the double winning the player of the year award, and winning that it's easy to see why he's also newcomer to professional soccer in Kansas City in 2016. Didic is probably one of the leading candidates to be the next player to make the jump from the Rangers to Sporting KC permanently.
Showing posts with label Swope Park Rangers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swope Park Rangers. Show all posts
Monday, January 02, 2017
Sunday, January 01, 2017
2017 Wants and Wishes
A new year means that it's time to reset and look towards the future. With that said, here are my wants and wishes for 2017.
1. Silverware - Always the number one priority, winning trophies, painting the wall. Kansas City has made a habit of winning trophies over the last few years, hopefully KC's teams can return to that in 2017.
2. Secure a home playoff game - Children's Mercy Park hasn't hosted a home playoff game for Sporting Kansas City since the 2013 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake. In the three seasons since, Sporting KC has qualified for the playoffs each year, but as the fifth or sixth seed an been required to play the first round on the road. KC has lost all three of those games to New York, Portland, and Seattle. CMP hasn't been a complete fortress for Sporting KC like people would like it to be, but playing a playoff game at home is a distinct advantage for Sporting. That means the club's regular season for has to improve in 2017.
3. Find a secondary goal scorer - Dom Dwyer had his second best goal scoring season of his career, scoring 16 goals for KC in 2016, none of them from the penalty spot. KC's second leading scorers last year were Jacob Peterson and Benny Feilhaber, both scoring six goals, one of those players is gone, and the other had five of his six goals come from the penalty spot. Teams were able to key in specifically on Dwyer most of the time, and while he rose to the occasion, varying KC's attack is going to be better overall for the team. Only three teams scored fewer goals than the 42 that Sporting KC scored in 2016, Sporting is going to have to find a secondary goal threat to not only take some pressure off of Dwyer, but to create a duel threat that will keep other teams more honest, and probably open up more chances for Dwyer. It could be one of the two guys that KC is reportedly set to sign, Gerso Fernandes or Latif Blessing, although I have worries about both being able to do it, or it could be someone new that KC brings in. Either way, KC can't rely on 16 goals from Dwyer and the next highest scorer having 10 fewer and hope to do much next season.
4. A consistent center back pairing - Sporting KC's defense was strong last season, allowing just 41 goals, good for sixth in the league, but as I mentioned in my review of my 2016 wishes, the club had a lot of rotation at the center back position, with seven different pairings being used throughout the season due to injuries, form and national team call ups. Of all the pairings, the Matt Besler/Nuno Coelho was the most used, and that was only used about 11 times all of last season. KC managed with the shuffling of players last season, but really need to have a consistent center back pairing going forward. If you look at the better teams in the league, they all have a consistent pairing that starts the majority of the games, with a third and maybe fourth option available should they be needed. KC used this strategy to great success in 2012 through 2014 with the pairing of Besler and Aurelien Collin. Right now the first team pairing would appear to be Besler and Ike Opara, although Kevin Ellis being preferred to Opara late last season could be seen as a sign for the season. There are also still the questions about Opara's ability to stay healthy over the course of an entire season, as 2016 was the first time Opara has played more than 1,500 minutes in a single season in his seven year MLS career.
The other possibility is a returning Erik Palmer-Brown, who played consistently for Porto's reserve team while on loan. If he returns though, Palmer-Brown looks set to miss a good portion of preseason and a chunk of the regular season with the US U20 national team for World Cup qualifying and the World Cup this summer, which would obviously limit his time and ability to play for Sporting.
5. Quick decision on EPB - Before people can begin to dream about Palmer-Brown having a big impact on Sporting KC this season, his future with the team needs to be decided. With Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto now being up, it's down to negotiations between the two sides on whether Palmer-Brown will return to Kansas City or whether he'll be making a permanent move to the Portuguese power house. Palmer-Brown is reportedly in the last year of his contract, which Porto will use as an argument to get a lower price on the defender as he'd be available on a free next winter, but they also run the risk of Palmer-Brown having a breakout performance with the U20 team and being outbid by other clubs if they go that route. Either way, KC needs to resolve it quickly as selling Palmer-Brown leaves KC again a little thin along the back line in terms of depth.
6. Swope Park Rangers continues to play the "kids" and develop the likes of Amer Didic and Kevin Oliveira - Marc Dos Santos is off to San Francisco and the Rangers have a new coach this year. Taking over for him is Nikola Popovic, an assistant with the Rangers' last year, he came to SPR from Benfica B, where he was an assistant coach. Popovic having that experience with the Portuguese reserve side should bode well for the continued youth mindset the Rangers had last season. That should mean players like Amer Didic, Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Nansel Selbol, and Kevin Oliveira (when he returns), all under the age of 23 should continue to get time to prove themselves and use SPR as a stepping stone to reach Sporting KC. Hopefully SPR also continue to bring in young players to develop them, along with a few players that are maybe a step away from the jump up to help Sporting. Also hopefully the Rangers' players that are signed to academy contracts get more time in 2017.
7. US qualify for Russia 2018 - Well, I (and many other anti-Klinsmann fans) got their wish, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach of the US national team after the US started the "Hex" 0-2 losing at home to Mexico and in Costa Rica. With qualification for the World Cup important, the US went with the "safe" pick for a new head coach in Bruce Arena. He's not a head turning signing, but the expectation is to get things straightened out and get the US to the World Cup. The route back to the World Cup will start in March when the US will host Honduras in San Jose before traveling to Panama in a pair of games that the US really need to get six points out of to get qualification back on track.
8. Comets start run in second half of season - The Kansas City Comets have been one of the dominate forces in the MASL since it was founded, losing just three times in the regular season in their first two seasons in the league. Through 10 games this season they've already surpassed that loss total, having lost four times, and currently sit in third place in the five team Central division behind both Cedar Rapids and Chicago, the later of which still has two games in hand. The swagger that the team had the last two seasons doesn't seem to be there, they've lost talented players like Max Touloute and Coady Andrews, and the players that they've replaced them with haven't hit the same stride. At the same time, teams like Cedar Rapids and Chicago have really stepped up their game and brought in good talent to compete with the Comets in the Central division. Both of those teams have done so well that it appears like one of the Comets or the Milwaukee Wave are likely going to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in a long time this season. Something that most indoor fans would have thought next to impossible a couple years ago.
9. FCKC return to playoffs in 2017 - The Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in their history last season after losing five expected starters before the season to retirement or pregnancy and then lost a sixth early in the 2016 season. FCKC's defense stepped up big time last season to be one of the best in the league, but the offense struggled greatly. In 2017 the offense looks set to get a big boost as both forwards Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux will be returning to the team after both giving birth in 2016. The pair will join with last season's leading scorer, Shea Groom to give the Blues some more offense. In fact, as long as the Blues can stay healthy, they should be in great shape in 2017, with the three previously mentioned players up top and a defense that includes Becky Sauerbrunn and Desiree Scott along with goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. The Blues should be able to get themselves back into the playoffs in 2017.
1. Silverware - Always the number one priority, winning trophies, painting the wall. Kansas City has made a habit of winning trophies over the last few years, hopefully KC's teams can return to that in 2017.
2. Secure a home playoff game - Children's Mercy Park hasn't hosted a home playoff game for Sporting Kansas City since the 2013 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake. In the three seasons since, Sporting KC has qualified for the playoffs each year, but as the fifth or sixth seed an been required to play the first round on the road. KC has lost all three of those games to New York, Portland, and Seattle. CMP hasn't been a complete fortress for Sporting KC like people would like it to be, but playing a playoff game at home is a distinct advantage for Sporting. That means the club's regular season for has to improve in 2017.
3. Find a secondary goal scorer - Dom Dwyer had his second best goal scoring season of his career, scoring 16 goals for KC in 2016, none of them from the penalty spot. KC's second leading scorers last year were Jacob Peterson and Benny Feilhaber, both scoring six goals, one of those players is gone, and the other had five of his six goals come from the penalty spot. Teams were able to key in specifically on Dwyer most of the time, and while he rose to the occasion, varying KC's attack is going to be better overall for the team. Only three teams scored fewer goals than the 42 that Sporting KC scored in 2016, Sporting is going to have to find a secondary goal threat to not only take some pressure off of Dwyer, but to create a duel threat that will keep other teams more honest, and probably open up more chances for Dwyer. It could be one of the two guys that KC is reportedly set to sign, Gerso Fernandes or Latif Blessing, although I have worries about both being able to do it, or it could be someone new that KC brings in. Either way, KC can't rely on 16 goals from Dwyer and the next highest scorer having 10 fewer and hope to do much next season.
4. A consistent center back pairing - Sporting KC's defense was strong last season, allowing just 41 goals, good for sixth in the league, but as I mentioned in my review of my 2016 wishes, the club had a lot of rotation at the center back position, with seven different pairings being used throughout the season due to injuries, form and national team call ups. Of all the pairings, the Matt Besler/Nuno Coelho was the most used, and that was only used about 11 times all of last season. KC managed with the shuffling of players last season, but really need to have a consistent center back pairing going forward. If you look at the better teams in the league, they all have a consistent pairing that starts the majority of the games, with a third and maybe fourth option available should they be needed. KC used this strategy to great success in 2012 through 2014 with the pairing of Besler and Aurelien Collin. Right now the first team pairing would appear to be Besler and Ike Opara, although Kevin Ellis being preferred to Opara late last season could be seen as a sign for the season. There are also still the questions about Opara's ability to stay healthy over the course of an entire season, as 2016 was the first time Opara has played more than 1,500 minutes in a single season in his seven year MLS career.
The other possibility is a returning Erik Palmer-Brown, who played consistently for Porto's reserve team while on loan. If he returns though, Palmer-Brown looks set to miss a good portion of preseason and a chunk of the regular season with the US U20 national team for World Cup qualifying and the World Cup this summer, which would obviously limit his time and ability to play for Sporting.
5. Quick decision on EPB - Before people can begin to dream about Palmer-Brown having a big impact on Sporting KC this season, his future with the team needs to be decided. With Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto now being up, it's down to negotiations between the two sides on whether Palmer-Brown will return to Kansas City or whether he'll be making a permanent move to the Portuguese power house. Palmer-Brown is reportedly in the last year of his contract, which Porto will use as an argument to get a lower price on the defender as he'd be available on a free next winter, but they also run the risk of Palmer-Brown having a breakout performance with the U20 team and being outbid by other clubs if they go that route. Either way, KC needs to resolve it quickly as selling Palmer-Brown leaves KC again a little thin along the back line in terms of depth.
6. Swope Park Rangers continues to play the "kids" and develop the likes of Amer Didic and Kevin Oliveira - Marc Dos Santos is off to San Francisco and the Rangers have a new coach this year. Taking over for him is Nikola Popovic, an assistant with the Rangers' last year, he came to SPR from Benfica B, where he was an assistant coach. Popovic having that experience with the Portuguese reserve side should bode well for the continued youth mindset the Rangers had last season. That should mean players like Amer Didic, Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Nansel Selbol, and Kevin Oliveira (when he returns), all under the age of 23 should continue to get time to prove themselves and use SPR as a stepping stone to reach Sporting KC. Hopefully SPR also continue to bring in young players to develop them, along with a few players that are maybe a step away from the jump up to help Sporting. Also hopefully the Rangers' players that are signed to academy contracts get more time in 2017.
7. US qualify for Russia 2018 - Well, I (and many other anti-Klinsmann fans) got their wish, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach of the US national team after the US started the "Hex" 0-2 losing at home to Mexico and in Costa Rica. With qualification for the World Cup important, the US went with the "safe" pick for a new head coach in Bruce Arena. He's not a head turning signing, but the expectation is to get things straightened out and get the US to the World Cup. The route back to the World Cup will start in March when the US will host Honduras in San Jose before traveling to Panama in a pair of games that the US really need to get six points out of to get qualification back on track.
8. Comets start run in second half of season - The Kansas City Comets have been one of the dominate forces in the MASL since it was founded, losing just three times in the regular season in their first two seasons in the league. Through 10 games this season they've already surpassed that loss total, having lost four times, and currently sit in third place in the five team Central division behind both Cedar Rapids and Chicago, the later of which still has two games in hand. The swagger that the team had the last two seasons doesn't seem to be there, they've lost talented players like Max Touloute and Coady Andrews, and the players that they've replaced them with haven't hit the same stride. At the same time, teams like Cedar Rapids and Chicago have really stepped up their game and brought in good talent to compete with the Comets in the Central division. Both of those teams have done so well that it appears like one of the Comets or the Milwaukee Wave are likely going to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in a long time this season. Something that most indoor fans would have thought next to impossible a couple years ago.
9. FCKC return to playoffs in 2017 - The Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in their history last season after losing five expected starters before the season to retirement or pregnancy and then lost a sixth early in the 2016 season. FCKC's defense stepped up big time last season to be one of the best in the league, but the offense struggled greatly. In 2017 the offense looks set to get a big boost as both forwards Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux will be returning to the team after both giving birth in 2016. The pair will join with last season's leading scorer, Shea Groom to give the Blues some more offense. In fact, as long as the Blues can stay healthy, they should be in great shape in 2017, with the three previously mentioned players up top and a defense that includes Becky Sauerbrunn and Desiree Scott along with goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. The Blues should be able to get themselves back into the playoffs in 2017.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
A Look Back on my 2016 Wants and Wishes
On New Year's Eve, before we ring in the New Year, here's a look back at my 2016 wants and wishes and how each one turned out.
1. Silverware - I'm not counting the Swope Park Rangers' Western Conference championship unfortunately (more on that later), so this wasn't a wish that was met this year by any of KC's four teams. Three of the four made the playoffs, but none of them were able to come home with a championship in 2016.
2. Sorting KC address center back issues - This is an area that overall was probably addressed, but at the same time probably wasn't. Sporting KC was in the top half of the table in terms of fewest goals allowed, finishing sixth in that category allowing 41 goals. So on that stat alone it would seem that KC addressed their center back issues. But the issue for the center back situation was the inability to have a consistent starting pairing at center back whether it be form, injuries, or national team call ups, KC started five different players at center back in seven different combinations over the 34 game season. Nuno Coelho and Matt Besler started the season as the number one center back pairing and looked to be pretty good for KC in that situation, raising hopes for the season. Then Coelho got hurt in mid-May and made just one 90 minute appearance the entire rest of the season for KC, with his high salary Sporting passed on retaining the Portuguese center back. For a stretch in the middle of the season, Peter Vermes favorite pairing was Ike Opara and the returning Lawrence Olum as Besler was with the national team and struggling with his club form. Besler eventually won his spot back with Opara for a stretch before injuries brought down Opara again this season, although not long term like prior years). This allowed Kevin Ellis to step up and take the job next to Besler, which he didn't relinquish the rest of the season. The Besler/Ellis pairing KC through the end of the season and into the playoffs in 2016. Hopefully a more consistent pairing can work in 2017.
3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This one went out the window in late January as Sporting KC sold Nemeth to Al Gharafa SC in Qatar. Much has been made about how the move came about, whether Nemeth forced it, or whether KC did. KC reportedly went to Nemeth in good faith to offer him a new contract because of his performance in the 2015 season, but a deal couldn't be worked out. Nemeth (or his agent) posted a Facebook message saying that he wanted to stay but that the contract he was offered still wouldn't have made him one of the club's highest paid players. At the same times there were comments that Nemeth wanted to be released early to join the Hungarian team for camp ahead of the Euros. We never got the full story and likely never will, what we know for sure is that Nemeth left and his departure left a big hole in KC's right wing that the club never successfully filled in 2016.
4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Another one that didn't come true, Sporting got off to a poor start with their two road games, drawing 2-2 in Trinidad and then were taken apart 3-0 in Vancouver to put themselves firmly behind the eight ball. Needing a result at home against Vancouver to keep their faint hopes of advancing alive. Falling behind, clawing back to equalize, Sporting gave up a very late winner to Alphonso Davies to put the Whitecaps through. KC won their final group game, a meaningless encounter between Sporting and Central FC 3-1, playing a number of Swope Park Rangers.
5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - Almost, but not quite on this one, and certainly not in the way I expected with Palmer-Brown going on loan to Porto in 2016. Kempin started the season as the Rangers' starting goalkeeper, lost the job, won it back, then lost it again and never gained it back after an injury to Tim Melia forced him to be recalled from his loan. Combined between the Rangers and a couple of appearances for Sporting KC in the CCL, Kempin made 14 appearances in 2016, going 5-6-3 (5-4-3 for SPR, 0-2 for Sporting) and allowing 18 goals in those 14 games.
Palmer-Brown made 17 league appearances across two seasons for Porto's reserve team in the Portuguese second division, becoming a regular at center back for the club in their run to the Portuguese second division championship in the 2015-2016 season. After recovering from an injury early in the 2016-2017 season, Palmer-Brown again took his place in the center of defense and even earned a call up to the first team.
6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - I'd say a trip to the USL championship was a successful season, even if it didn't end in a trophy there was a lot of good that came out of the first season. For me, SPR's success had more to do with the players than the results on the field. SPR made a priority of getting a younger roster and really did, with only a handful of players over the age of 25 on the team. It also was able to shine the light on a number of players who could produce for Sporting KC in the years to come. From the likes of Tyler Pasher and Adrian Zendejas, who have both already signed with the first team to the likes of Amer Didic, Ualefi, and Nansel Selbol who all made appearances for the first team in the Champions League. Arguably the player I'm most excited about didn't even play for the first team though, Kevin Oliveira, tore his ACL near the midpoint of the season and missed out on the second half of the season. If he'd been healthy I have no doubts he'd have also appeared for Sporting KC this past season. Hopefully a swift return from his ACL tear will see him getting time with Sporting in 2017.
7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - I'd classify a fourth place finish as respectable, at least from looking at it from the outside it certainly was. Advancing to the semifinals before losing to world power Argentina is certainly a good run. Arguments can be made about the USA's performance in that 4-0 loss to Argentina as well as the two losses to Colombia (2-0 in group play and 1-0 in third place game), and how they were some of the final moments of Jurgen Klinsmann's time in charge of the US team, but in the end even someone anti-Klinsmann like myself, has to admit fourth was respectable, especially given the draw.
8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Unfortunately another Comets season ended with a loss to the Baltimore Blast. The Missouri (now Kansas City) Comets won the Central Division last year with a 17-3 record, four games ahead of second and third place Chicago and Milwaukee. After the Milwaukee Wave topped the Chicago Mustangs in a three game series, the Comets swept the Wave aside 2-0 winning 10-5 on the road and 8-2 at home to set up a match up with the Baltimore Blast for the fourth straight season. Unfortunately just like two of the previous three, the Blast topped the Comets, this time with a pair of overtime victories both by a 4-3 score line for the Blast.
9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - Unfortunately the Blues couldn't overcome the loss of so many important pieces. FC Kansas City even lost a fifth likely regular as the club acquired Sydney Leroux in January last year, from the Western New York Flash, to replace Amy Rodriguez, but later in January she too announced that she would miss the 2016 season as she was pregnant. They also lost midfielder, Jen Buczkowski, who retired five games into the season to return to school. The Blues finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history, finishing in sixth place with 26 points, six points behind fourth place Western New York. In the absence of both Rodriguez and Leroux, Shea Groom stepped up, scoring eight of FCKC's 18 goals on the season to lead the Blues in scoring. The return of Desiree Scott helped to ease some of the defensive losses in the offseason, as the Blues' defense allowed the second fewest goals in the league in 2016. Unfortunately the loss of Rodriguez, Leroux, and Lauren Holiday couldn't be overcome on the offensive end.
Overall, it wasn't a great year for my wants and wishes with only one, the Swope Park Rangers having a successful first season being my one real win out of all of them.
1. Silverware - I'm not counting the Swope Park Rangers' Western Conference championship unfortunately (more on that later), so this wasn't a wish that was met this year by any of KC's four teams. Three of the four made the playoffs, but none of them were able to come home with a championship in 2016.
2. Sorting KC address center back issues - This is an area that overall was probably addressed, but at the same time probably wasn't. Sporting KC was in the top half of the table in terms of fewest goals allowed, finishing sixth in that category allowing 41 goals. So on that stat alone it would seem that KC addressed their center back issues. But the issue for the center back situation was the inability to have a consistent starting pairing at center back whether it be form, injuries, or national team call ups, KC started five different players at center back in seven different combinations over the 34 game season. Nuno Coelho and Matt Besler started the season as the number one center back pairing and looked to be pretty good for KC in that situation, raising hopes for the season. Then Coelho got hurt in mid-May and made just one 90 minute appearance the entire rest of the season for KC, with his high salary Sporting passed on retaining the Portuguese center back. For a stretch in the middle of the season, Peter Vermes favorite pairing was Ike Opara and the returning Lawrence Olum as Besler was with the national team and struggling with his club form. Besler eventually won his spot back with Opara for a stretch before injuries brought down Opara again this season, although not long term like prior years). This allowed Kevin Ellis to step up and take the job next to Besler, which he didn't relinquish the rest of the season. The Besler/Ellis pairing KC through the end of the season and into the playoffs in 2016. Hopefully a more consistent pairing can work in 2017.
3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This one went out the window in late January as Sporting KC sold Nemeth to Al Gharafa SC in Qatar. Much has been made about how the move came about, whether Nemeth forced it, or whether KC did. KC reportedly went to Nemeth in good faith to offer him a new contract because of his performance in the 2015 season, but a deal couldn't be worked out. Nemeth (or his agent) posted a Facebook message saying that he wanted to stay but that the contract he was offered still wouldn't have made him one of the club's highest paid players. At the same times there were comments that Nemeth wanted to be released early to join the Hungarian team for camp ahead of the Euros. We never got the full story and likely never will, what we know for sure is that Nemeth left and his departure left a big hole in KC's right wing that the club never successfully filled in 2016.
4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Another one that didn't come true, Sporting got off to a poor start with their two road games, drawing 2-2 in Trinidad and then were taken apart 3-0 in Vancouver to put themselves firmly behind the eight ball. Needing a result at home against Vancouver to keep their faint hopes of advancing alive. Falling behind, clawing back to equalize, Sporting gave up a very late winner to Alphonso Davies to put the Whitecaps through. KC won their final group game, a meaningless encounter between Sporting and Central FC 3-1, playing a number of Swope Park Rangers.
5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - Almost, but not quite on this one, and certainly not in the way I expected with Palmer-Brown going on loan to Porto in 2016. Kempin started the season as the Rangers' starting goalkeeper, lost the job, won it back, then lost it again and never gained it back after an injury to Tim Melia forced him to be recalled from his loan. Combined between the Rangers and a couple of appearances for Sporting KC in the CCL, Kempin made 14 appearances in 2016, going 5-6-3 (5-4-3 for SPR, 0-2 for Sporting) and allowing 18 goals in those 14 games.
Palmer-Brown made 17 league appearances across two seasons for Porto's reserve team in the Portuguese second division, becoming a regular at center back for the club in their run to the Portuguese second division championship in the 2015-2016 season. After recovering from an injury early in the 2016-2017 season, Palmer-Brown again took his place in the center of defense and even earned a call up to the first team.
6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - I'd say a trip to the USL championship was a successful season, even if it didn't end in a trophy there was a lot of good that came out of the first season. For me, SPR's success had more to do with the players than the results on the field. SPR made a priority of getting a younger roster and really did, with only a handful of players over the age of 25 on the team. It also was able to shine the light on a number of players who could produce for Sporting KC in the years to come. From the likes of Tyler Pasher and Adrian Zendejas, who have both already signed with the first team to the likes of Amer Didic, Ualefi, and Nansel Selbol who all made appearances for the first team in the Champions League. Arguably the player I'm most excited about didn't even play for the first team though, Kevin Oliveira, tore his ACL near the midpoint of the season and missed out on the second half of the season. If he'd been healthy I have no doubts he'd have also appeared for Sporting KC this past season. Hopefully a swift return from his ACL tear will see him getting time with Sporting in 2017.
7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - I'd classify a fourth place finish as respectable, at least from looking at it from the outside it certainly was. Advancing to the semifinals before losing to world power Argentina is certainly a good run. Arguments can be made about the USA's performance in that 4-0 loss to Argentina as well as the two losses to Colombia (2-0 in group play and 1-0 in third place game), and how they were some of the final moments of Jurgen Klinsmann's time in charge of the US team, but in the end even someone anti-Klinsmann like myself, has to admit fourth was respectable, especially given the draw.
8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Unfortunately another Comets season ended with a loss to the Baltimore Blast. The Missouri (now Kansas City) Comets won the Central Division last year with a 17-3 record, four games ahead of second and third place Chicago and Milwaukee. After the Milwaukee Wave topped the Chicago Mustangs in a three game series, the Comets swept the Wave aside 2-0 winning 10-5 on the road and 8-2 at home to set up a match up with the Baltimore Blast for the fourth straight season. Unfortunately just like two of the previous three, the Blast topped the Comets, this time with a pair of overtime victories both by a 4-3 score line for the Blast.
9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - Unfortunately the Blues couldn't overcome the loss of so many important pieces. FC Kansas City even lost a fifth likely regular as the club acquired Sydney Leroux in January last year, from the Western New York Flash, to replace Amy Rodriguez, but later in January she too announced that she would miss the 2016 season as she was pregnant. They also lost midfielder, Jen Buczkowski, who retired five games into the season to return to school. The Blues finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history, finishing in sixth place with 26 points, six points behind fourth place Western New York. In the absence of both Rodriguez and Leroux, Shea Groom stepped up, scoring eight of FCKC's 18 goals on the season to lead the Blues in scoring. The return of Desiree Scott helped to ease some of the defensive losses in the offseason, as the Blues' defense allowed the second fewest goals in the league in 2016. Unfortunately the loss of Rodriguez, Leroux, and Lauren Holiday couldn't be overcome on the offensive end.
Overall, it wasn't a great year for my wants and wishes with only one, the Swope Park Rangers having a successful first season being my one real win out of all of them.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Dos Santos Set to Leave the Rangers?
It appears that Marc Dos Santos' stay in Kansas City will be a short one. Nine months after being named the first head coach of the Swope Park Rangers, and less than a year since stepping down as head coach of the Ottawa Fury, it looks like Dos Santos will be leaving to take another head coaching job. Reports out of Canada are that Dos Santos will be returning to the NASL to become the first head coach of expansion side, the San Francisco Deltas next season.
The news was first reported by Canadian journalist Patrick Leduc this morning and has since been picked up by other media.
It'd be a blow to the Rangers, as it was thought to be a coup that KC was able to land the respected Dos Santos, who had led Ottawa to first place in the NASL's fall standings and was named the 2015 NASL Coach of the Year for his work with the club. This season with the Rangers, Dos Santos has gone 8-9-5 as the head coach of the Rangers and currently has them sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference, just one point outside a playoff berth with eight games remaining.
Losing Dos Santos would be a blow to the young USL squad for Kansas City that has seem some potential call ups emerge, from Amer Didic and Tyler Pasher who are currently with Sporting KC in Trinidad for their CONCACAF Champions League game tonight to Kevin Oliveira who was looking every bit of a potential attacking midfielder for KC before he tore his ACL.
His departure will certainly start the speculation on his replacement. Already this afternoon I've seen names like Sporting assistant, Kerry Zavagnin, DC United assistant, Davy Arnaud, Oklahoma City Energy coach, Jimmy Nielsen, and even current player, Paulo Nagamura taking over as the head coaching position for Dos Santos.
The news was first reported by Canadian journalist Patrick Leduc this morning and has since been picked up by other media.
It'd be a blow to the Rangers, as it was thought to be a coup that KC was able to land the respected Dos Santos, who had led Ottawa to first place in the NASL's fall standings and was named the 2015 NASL Coach of the Year for his work with the club. This season with the Rangers, Dos Santos has gone 8-9-5 as the head coach of the Rangers and currently has them sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference, just one point outside a playoff berth with eight games remaining.
Losing Dos Santos would be a blow to the young USL squad for Kansas City that has seem some potential call ups emerge, from Amer Didic and Tyler Pasher who are currently with Sporting KC in Trinidad for their CONCACAF Champions League game tonight to Kevin Oliveira who was looking every bit of a potential attacking midfielder for KC before he tore his ACL.
His departure will certainly start the speculation on his replacement. Already this afternoon I've seen names like Sporting assistant, Kerry Zavagnin, DC United assistant, Davy Arnaud, Oklahoma City Energy coach, Jimmy Nielsen, and even current player, Paulo Nagamura taking over as the head coaching position for Dos Santos.
Wednesday, June 08, 2016
Kann Loaned to Rangers
Sporting Kansas City announced today that they'd loaned back up goalkeeper, Alec Kann to the Swope Park Rangers ahead of tonight's game between the Rangers and Rio Grande Valley Fc Toros at the Swope Soccer Complex at 7:30. Kann, who has one league appearance this year in KC's 1-1 draw against Vancouver, should get the start in goal tonight ahead of Rangers' goalkeepers Jon Kempin (also on loan from SKC) and Zac Lubin. The pair have split the Rangers 10 games so far this season with Kempin starting the first six, going 2-3-1 while Lubin has started the last four going 1-2-1. The move appears to be one to get Kann some game action ahead of next Wednesday's US Open Cup game between Sporting KC and Minnesota United. Peter Vermes has said with MLS on a break he would look to loan players to the Rangers to get them time ahead of the Open Cup game. For me I just didn't consider that Kann would be one of them. I figured KC would send someone like Connor Hallisey who has gotten limited minutes this season, or Amadou Dia who has found himself on the bench behind Jimmy Medranda.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Rangers Snap Losing Streak
One Kansas City soccer team finally got themselves back into the win column. After a rough couple of weeks for all Kansas City soccer teams, the Swope Park Rangers were finally able to get a win for Kansas City tonight against the visiting Tulsa Roughnecks. The win was the Rangers second of the season over the Roughnecks, winning the previous encounter by the same 2-1 scoreline.
The first half lacked in scoring, but the Rangers had the better of play as they forced Tulsa goalkeeper Jake Feener into a number of saves to keep it scoreless. He spilled a shot off a free kick by Tomas Granitto that he really should have held, but the Rangers couldn't get on the end of the rebound to find the lead. The Rangers continued to press and Daniel Salloi forced a good save from Feener on a shot from long range to keep the game scoreless as the teams went into the half time break.
The second half saw the Roughnecks come out in a high press, trying to force a mistake from the Rangers, but Swope Park was able to break out of the high pressure with a perfect counter as Salloi played a nice through ball for Tyler Pasher. Pasher raced in on goal and lifted a chip over Feener and into the net to put the Rangers on top 1-0. The Rangers continued to press, looking to add to their lead, but the Roughnecks defense held firm keeping the Rangers from getting really clear looks. Doing so paid off for the Roughnecks as Sammy Ochoa bounced on a ball in the box after a failed clearance from the Rangers. Ochoa buried the ball past Zac Lubin and into the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the 79th minute. The tie game didn't last long though as the Rangers pushed forward again and found a second goal. This time Salloi dribbled across the top of the box before firing a shot that Feener saved but could not hold again. This time though the Rangers had Pasher following in the play and he fired the rebound past Feener and into the net to make it 2-1 to the Rangers. The Rangers continued to find space up top as the Roughnecks pushed forward but could not extend their lead. Nansel Selbol had a really good chance late on as he got played in behind the defense but took too many touches as the defense recovered and ended up having his shot saved by Feener. Later on Ezra Armstrong worked a good give and go down the left side. With space he tried to find Salloi in the middle for a tap in, but his cross was just in front of the KC forward. Late on it was Lubin in the SPR net that played hero, coming up with some good saves, none bigger than a kick save on a flicked shot by Anthony Peters after a cross by Ochoa. Lubin got a leg out in time to knock the ball away and keep the Rangers in front for the win.
The first half lacked in scoring, but the Rangers had the better of play as they forced Tulsa goalkeeper Jake Feener into a number of saves to keep it scoreless. He spilled a shot off a free kick by Tomas Granitto that he really should have held, but the Rangers couldn't get on the end of the rebound to find the lead. The Rangers continued to press and Daniel Salloi forced a good save from Feener on a shot from long range to keep the game scoreless as the teams went into the half time break.
The second half saw the Roughnecks come out in a high press, trying to force a mistake from the Rangers, but Swope Park was able to break out of the high pressure with a perfect counter as Salloi played a nice through ball for Tyler Pasher. Pasher raced in on goal and lifted a chip over Feener and into the net to put the Rangers on top 1-0. The Rangers continued to press, looking to add to their lead, but the Roughnecks defense held firm keeping the Rangers from getting really clear looks. Doing so paid off for the Roughnecks as Sammy Ochoa bounced on a ball in the box after a failed clearance from the Rangers. Ochoa buried the ball past Zac Lubin and into the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the 79th minute. The tie game didn't last long though as the Rangers pushed forward again and found a second goal. This time Salloi dribbled across the top of the box before firing a shot that Feener saved but could not hold again. This time though the Rangers had Pasher following in the play and he fired the rebound past Feener and into the net to make it 2-1 to the Rangers. The Rangers continued to find space up top as the Roughnecks pushed forward but could not extend their lead. Nansel Selbol had a really good chance late on as he got played in behind the defense but took too many touches as the defense recovered and ended up having his shot saved by Feener. Later on Ezra Armstrong worked a good give and go down the left side. With space he tried to find Salloi in the middle for a tap in, but his cross was just in front of the KC forward. Late on it was Lubin in the SPR net that played hero, coming up with some good saves, none bigger than a kick save on a flicked shot by Anthony Peters after a cross by Ochoa. Lubin got a leg out in time to knock the ball away and keep the Rangers in front for the win.
Sunday, May 08, 2016
Rangers Following In Sporting's Foot Steps, and Not in a Good Way
After a strong start to the season by the Swope Park Rangers, unfortunately they've followed the same path as Sporting KC did after their strong start. The Rangers have lost three straight games after a 2-0-1 start to the season, the latest loss coming last night against cross state rival, St. Louis FC.
St. Louis grabbed the lead in only the 11th minute when a cross by Richard Dixon caused some trouble in the SPR box with Jimmy Mulligan and Jon Kempin not communicating well enough. The ball fell to Schillo Tshuma who beat Kempin to give St. Louis the lead. The Rangers responded to the goal with some good play, Oumar Ballo hit the cross bar on a corner and Kevin Oliveira earned another corner forcing St. Louis goalkeeper Mark Pais to tip a free kick away from goal. In the 39th minute though St. Louis doubled their lead. After a questionable foul called on the Rangers just outside their own box, Chad Bond curled a free kick past Kempin and into the net doubling St. Louis' lead. Before the half was over though things got even worse for the Rangers as Ballo picked up his second yellow of the game in stoppage time and was sent off, forcing SPR to play a man down.
The second half saw St. Louis take advantage of the man advantage early on as Bond played Irvin Herrera in behind the Rangers defense. As Kempin came out, Herrera headed the ball over Kempin and into the net. After the goal the Rangers tried to find a way back into the game but were stopped by the St. Louis defense and Pais in goal. A 79th minute foul by Bond on Oliveria saw the St Louis player sent off for a second bookable offense as both teams ended the game with 10 players. Unfortunately the Rangers could not find any way back into the game.
St. Louis grabbed the lead in only the 11th minute when a cross by Richard Dixon caused some trouble in the SPR box with Jimmy Mulligan and Jon Kempin not communicating well enough. The ball fell to Schillo Tshuma who beat Kempin to give St. Louis the lead. The Rangers responded to the goal with some good play, Oumar Ballo hit the cross bar on a corner and Kevin Oliveira earned another corner forcing St. Louis goalkeeper Mark Pais to tip a free kick away from goal. In the 39th minute though St. Louis doubled their lead. After a questionable foul called on the Rangers just outside their own box, Chad Bond curled a free kick past Kempin and into the net doubling St. Louis' lead. Before the half was over though things got even worse for the Rangers as Ballo picked up his second yellow of the game in stoppage time and was sent off, forcing SPR to play a man down.
The second half saw St. Louis take advantage of the man advantage early on as Bond played Irvin Herrera in behind the Rangers defense. As Kempin came out, Herrera headed the ball over Kempin and into the net. After the goal the Rangers tried to find a way back into the game but were stopped by the St. Louis defense and Pais in goal. A 79th minute foul by Bond on Oliveria saw the St Louis player sent off for a second bookable offense as both teams ended the game with 10 players. Unfortunately the Rangers could not find any way back into the game.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Rangers Drop Second Straight
The Swope Park Rangers dropped their second game of the season and second game in a row, dropping a 2-1 result against the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 at the Swope Soccer Village. The Rangers first game at their home didn't go to plan for the Rangers and head coach Marc Dos Santos.
Things started very well for the Rangers as they were able to grab the lead in just the 14th minute. Sporting KC loanee, Daniel Salloi received the ball out away from goal on the left side. He dribbled into the middle towards goal before trying to slot a ball through to Kris Tyrpak into the box. The ball was partially cut out by a sliding challenge, but Tyrpak was able to still get the ball and slot a ball into the near corner to put the Rangers on top 1-0. Right after the goal the Rangers continued to pressure and looked like they'd be able to double their lead but Salloi put a curling shot near the corner of the box just wide of the post and the score stayed 1-0. The lead lasted until the 30th minute when Jacob VanCompernolle brought down Whitecaps forward, Alphonso Davies in the box. Whitecaps captain, Kyle Greig stepped up and sent Jon Kempin the wrong way tying the score at 1-1. That's where the half ended with the two teams level.
The second half was end to end with neither side creating really clear chances until the 55th when the Whitecaps had a number of chances in front of goal, but Kempin came up with a couple saves, the ball was partially cleared but from about 30 yards out where Ben McKendry settled the ball and fired a shot that looped over Kempin and into the net as Kempin was getting back towards his line giving the Whitecaps a 2-1 lead. The Whitecaps continued the pressure and kick save by Kempin kept the score from becoming 3-1. As the half rolled on the Rangers threw more and more numbers forward, the Rangers didn't have a lot of offense on the bench and with that threw defenders Amer Didic and Oumar Ballo up at forward to try to knock down long balls. Unfortunately the Rangers were unable to find the back of the net and fell to 2-2-1 on the season.
Things started very well for the Rangers as they were able to grab the lead in just the 14th minute. Sporting KC loanee, Daniel Salloi received the ball out away from goal on the left side. He dribbled into the middle towards goal before trying to slot a ball through to Kris Tyrpak into the box. The ball was partially cut out by a sliding challenge, but Tyrpak was able to still get the ball and slot a ball into the near corner to put the Rangers on top 1-0. Right after the goal the Rangers continued to pressure and looked like they'd be able to double their lead but Salloi put a curling shot near the corner of the box just wide of the post and the score stayed 1-0. The lead lasted until the 30th minute when Jacob VanCompernolle brought down Whitecaps forward, Alphonso Davies in the box. Whitecaps captain, Kyle Greig stepped up and sent Jon Kempin the wrong way tying the score at 1-1. That's where the half ended with the two teams level.
The second half was end to end with neither side creating really clear chances until the 55th when the Whitecaps had a number of chances in front of goal, but Kempin came up with a couple saves, the ball was partially cleared but from about 30 yards out where Ben McKendry settled the ball and fired a shot that looped over Kempin and into the net as Kempin was getting back towards his line giving the Whitecaps a 2-1 lead. The Whitecaps continued the pressure and kick save by Kempin kept the score from becoming 3-1. As the half rolled on the Rangers threw more and more numbers forward, the Rangers didn't have a lot of offense on the bench and with that threw defenders Amer Didic and Oumar Ballo up at forward to try to knock down long balls. Unfortunately the Rangers were unable to find the back of the net and fell to 2-2-1 on the season.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Rangers Fall for the First Time
The Swope Park Rangers suffered their first loss of the season on the road tonight in Oklahoma City, falling 1-0 to the OKC Energy. The loss drops the Rangers record to 2-1-1 on the season ahead of a Wednesday night game against the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 at Swope Park.
It was a back and forth affair for most of the night while the Energy had the best of the chances. FC Dallas loanee, Coy Craft had the Energy's two best chances in the first half, both efforts went off a post. Rangers goalkeeper, Jon Kempin was also busy having to make a few saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless.
The second half saw the Energy dictate play for the most part while the Rangers tried to absorb the pressure and counter more. Kempin continued to have a big game, coming up with big saves and getting some help again from the post on a free kick by Jose Cuevas that Kempin tipped onto the post and out of the way of danger. He also came up with a big save on Peter Toth on a shot from distance. In the 80th minute though there was nothing that Kempin could do on the Energy's winning goal. After pinning the Rangers in deep the Energy worked the ball around the box to the far side and crossed a ball back to the back post where two Energy players were unmarked. Defender Kalen Ryden headed the ball back across goal, past Kempin and into the side netting to give the Energy the lead.
After OKC grabbed the lead the Rangers really started to press the attack. The best chances both came from substitutes, the first came to Kris Tyrpak who was able to get a 2v1 situation. Instead of looking to cross the ball Tyrpak tried to slot a shot on goal but it was deflected wide of the post by an OKC defender. Their best chance though came in the 88th minute when a Jimmy Mulligan cross made it through the box to Daniel Salloi who was about 10 yards from goal, but the forward put his volley into the ground and it bounced over the goal without threatening the OKC goal. The Energy held on late and took all three points as the Rangers fell to 2-1-1 on the season.
It was a back and forth affair for most of the night while the Energy had the best of the chances. FC Dallas loanee, Coy Craft had the Energy's two best chances in the first half, both efforts went off a post. Rangers goalkeeper, Jon Kempin was also busy having to make a few saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless.
The second half saw the Energy dictate play for the most part while the Rangers tried to absorb the pressure and counter more. Kempin continued to have a big game, coming up with big saves and getting some help again from the post on a free kick by Jose Cuevas that Kempin tipped onto the post and out of the way of danger. He also came up with a big save on Peter Toth on a shot from distance. In the 80th minute though there was nothing that Kempin could do on the Energy's winning goal. After pinning the Rangers in deep the Energy worked the ball around the box to the far side and crossed a ball back to the back post where two Energy players were unmarked. Defender Kalen Ryden headed the ball back across goal, past Kempin and into the side netting to give the Energy the lead.
After OKC grabbed the lead the Rangers really started to press the attack. The best chances both came from substitutes, the first came to Kris Tyrpak who was able to get a 2v1 situation. Instead of looking to cross the ball Tyrpak tried to slot a shot on goal but it was deflected wide of the post by an OKC defender. Their best chance though came in the 88th minute when a Jimmy Mulligan cross made it through the box to Daniel Salloi who was about 10 yards from goal, but the forward put his volley into the ground and it bounced over the goal without threatening the OKC goal. The Energy held on late and took all three points as the Rangers fell to 2-1-1 on the season.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Rangers Remain Unbeaten
The Swope Park Rangers continued their unbeaten start to their inaugural USL season as they picked up a 1-1 draw with fellow expansion side, San Antonio FC in their home opener. The Rangers were able to grab an early lead off a corner as the ball bounced around in the box it eventually fell to Sporting KC loanee Daniel Salloi who fired the ball past Josh Ford and into the net to make it 1-0 to the Rangers. San Antonio though controlled much of the game though and kept the Rangers pinned back in their own end. Danny Garcia was a big part of the San Antonio attack. Jon Kempin in the Rangers net came up with a number of big saves to keep SPR in front. Unfortunately San Antonio finally broke through in the 42nd minute. Garcia was played through on goal by Carlos Alvarez. As Kempin came off his line Garcia knocked it over him and into the net tying the game at 1-1.
The second half continued much the same way as the first half did with SAFC controlling the play, in fact other than the goal by Salloi, the Rangers did not get another shot on goal all game. Kempin and the Rangers defense though continued to hold strong and was able to preserve the point for the Rangers. Swope Park is now off until the 23rd when they make their first trip to Oklahoma City to take on Jimmy Nielsen and the OKC Energy.
The second half continued much the same way as the first half did with SAFC controlling the play, in fact other than the goal by Salloi, the Rangers did not get another shot on goal all game. Kempin and the Rangers defense though continued to hold strong and was able to preserve the point for the Rangers. Swope Park is now off until the 23rd when they make their first trip to Oklahoma City to take on Jimmy Nielsen and the OKC Energy.
Sunday, April 03, 2016
Rangers Win in Tulsa, Continue Perfect Start
The Swope Park Rangers went on their first road trip of the season heading down to Oklahoma for the first of four meetings between them and the Tulsa Roughnecks. Without Jimmy Medranda who had been recalled by the first team for their game against Real Salt Lake, the Rangers were still able to take care of business and pull out a 2-1 win over the Roughnecks to continue their perfect start.
The Rangers were able to grab an early goal through the USL's all time leading scorer, Dane Kelly. Kelly received a ball from Kevin Oliveira at the top of the box, and immediately made a cut to the outside, turned and fired a shot that caught goalkeeper Alex Mangels a bit by surprise as it flew past him and into the upper 90 of the near post to put the Rangers on top. The Rangers almost added to their lead in the 34th but Oliveira's shot from close range was cleared off the line.
In the second half the Rangers were able to hold off the Roughnecks attack from leveling things. In the mean time the Rangers weren't able to extend their lead either. At least not early. Finally in stoppage time the Rangers found their insurance goal. Off a quick throw-in Nansel Salbol let the ball bounce across his body before firing a shot that again caught Mangels by surprise and sneaked past him low at his near post. Like last week against the Timbers the Rangers needed that second goal as later in stoppage time the Roughnecks got a ball over the top that played Taylor Morgan in behind Christian Duke. Morgan fired a shot that beat Jon Kempin to the far post and made the final few minutes of stoppage time much more intense for the Rangers. The Rangers will continue to play on the road next week when they'll travel to San Antonio to take on fellow expansion side, San Antonio FC.
The Rangers were able to grab an early goal through the USL's all time leading scorer, Dane Kelly. Kelly received a ball from Kevin Oliveira at the top of the box, and immediately made a cut to the outside, turned and fired a shot that caught goalkeeper Alex Mangels a bit by surprise as it flew past him and into the upper 90 of the near post to put the Rangers on top. The Rangers almost added to their lead in the 34th but Oliveira's shot from close range was cleared off the line.
In the second half the Rangers were able to hold off the Roughnecks attack from leveling things. In the mean time the Rangers weren't able to extend their lead either. At least not early. Finally in stoppage time the Rangers found their insurance goal. Off a quick throw-in Nansel Salbol let the ball bounce across his body before firing a shot that again caught Mangels by surprise and sneaked past him low at his near post. Like last week against the Timbers the Rangers needed that second goal as later in stoppage time the Roughnecks got a ball over the top that played Taylor Morgan in behind Christian Duke. Morgan fired a shot that beat Jon Kempin to the far post and made the final few minutes of stoppage time much more intense for the Rangers. The Rangers will continue to play on the road next week when they'll travel to San Antonio to take on fellow expansion side, San Antonio FC.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Rangers Win Opener
The Swope Park Rangers got their first season off to a good start at Children's Mercy Park tonight, defeating the Portland Timbers 2 2-1 thanks to goals by Kevin Oliveira and Daniel Salloi.
The Rangers controlled the game for long periods of time against a Timbers side that didn't travel their full allotment of players for the game. In just the fourth minute Dane Kelly almost put the Rangers on top when he got onto the end of a long ball played over the top, Kelly got around his defender and fired a shot on goal that was tipped just around the post by Wade Hamilton to keep the game scoreless. The Rangers continued to press the game though causing all sorts of issues for the Portland defense. All three of SPR's front three had decent looks at goal but Kris Tyrpak, Jimmy Medranda, and Kelly again were all denied in the first half.
It didn't take long into the second half for the Rangers to break through. Kelly was once again played in on goal, but this time he was brought down in the box by a tackle leading to a penalty kick for the Rangers. Nineteen year old Kevin Oliveira stepped up and calmly put the ball into the side netting to score the first goal for the Rangers in their history. The lead was almost immediately lost as the Timbers pushed the other way and won a free kick off to the side about 35 yards from goal. The ensuing free kick into the box was headed on goal where Jon Kempin made the initial save but the ball went under him and was rolling towards goal when he reached an arm back and swatted the ball away from the goal line. The ensuing cross was again knocked away by Kempin and the Rangers escaped with their lead intact. The two sides were fairly even for much of the second half, although the Rangers looked to be the more dangerous of the two. Finally in second half stoppage time the Rangers were able to find the insurance goal on a quick counter. A through ball found substitute Mark Anthony Gonzalez toeing the offside line, Gonzalez proceeded into the attacking third and played a ball across the middle for Daniel Salloi who raced in and one timed a shot into the roof of the net to double the Rangers lead to 2-0. The insurance goal was needed as the Timbers themselves scored a goal in stoppage time as Nick Besler turned in a cross from Neco Brett late in stoppage time to cut the lead to a single goal. The Rangers held out in the end though and walked away with all three points from their first game.
The Rangers controlled the game for long periods of time against a Timbers side that didn't travel their full allotment of players for the game. In just the fourth minute Dane Kelly almost put the Rangers on top when he got onto the end of a long ball played over the top, Kelly got around his defender and fired a shot on goal that was tipped just around the post by Wade Hamilton to keep the game scoreless. The Rangers continued to press the game though causing all sorts of issues for the Portland defense. All three of SPR's front three had decent looks at goal but Kris Tyrpak, Jimmy Medranda, and Kelly again were all denied in the first half.
It didn't take long into the second half for the Rangers to break through. Kelly was once again played in on goal, but this time he was brought down in the box by a tackle leading to a penalty kick for the Rangers. Nineteen year old Kevin Oliveira stepped up and calmly put the ball into the side netting to score the first goal for the Rangers in their history. The lead was almost immediately lost as the Timbers pushed the other way and won a free kick off to the side about 35 yards from goal. The ensuing free kick into the box was headed on goal where Jon Kempin made the initial save but the ball went under him and was rolling towards goal when he reached an arm back and swatted the ball away from the goal line. The ensuing cross was again knocked away by Kempin and the Rangers escaped with their lead intact. The two sides were fairly even for much of the second half, although the Rangers looked to be the more dangerous of the two. Finally in second half stoppage time the Rangers were able to find the insurance goal on a quick counter. A through ball found substitute Mark Anthony Gonzalez toeing the offside line, Gonzalez proceeded into the attacking third and played a ball across the middle for Daniel Salloi who raced in and one timed a shot into the roof of the net to double the Rangers lead to 2-0. The insurance goal was needed as the Timbers themselves scored a goal in stoppage time as Nick Besler turned in a cross from Neco Brett late in stoppage time to cut the lead to a single goal. The Rangers held out in the end though and walked away with all three points from their first game.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Sporting Loan Three to Swope Park
The Swope Park Rangers kick off their inaugural season tomorrow night at Children's Mercy Park against the Portland Timbers 2. Ahead of their first game, the parent club, Sporting KC has sent three players from the first team on loan to the Rangers ahead of the game, Jon Kempin, Jimmy Medranda, and Daniel Salloi. All three were expected to spend time with the Rangers this season ahead of their first team and all should get plenty of playing experience with the USL side.
Kempin spent all of the Rangers preseason training with them. After spending the first portion of Sporting KC preseason with the first team, Kempin moved to the Rangers for the second half of Sporting's preseason. Kempin is likely expected to the starter for the Rangers, getting him the experience that Sporting KC has been trying to get him for the last two years on loan, only to be stopped due to goalkeeping injuries, inconsistencies, and departures. Hopefully in 2016 Kempin can finally get the chance to be a full time starter. If he does struggle, or KC goes through more goalkeeping issues, the club has two other goalkeepers, veteran, Zac Lubin and academy player, Steven Tekesky.
Medranda was another player from Sporting KC that spent the second half of preseason in Arizona training with the Rangers instead of Sporting KC. Medranda started all of the Rangers games in the Desert Diamond Cup. Since then though Medranda has been a fixture in the 18 man roster on each of Sporting's first three games. In fact he's been the first substitute off the bench for KC in their 1-0 win over Seattle and 2-1 win over Vancouver. He did not make the field in KC's last game against Toronto though. With Benny Feilhaber returning to health it would seem Medranda's spot in the 18 would likely go to him instead allowing him to go to the Rangers where he'll get more consistent minutes.
The final player loaned, Salloi has been a fixture in the 18 for Kansas City over the first three games of the season, but has yet to make his debut for Sporting KC. With the acquisition of Diego Rubio on loan, Salloi's time in the 18 was likely limited to begin with so this loan isn't much of a surprise, even though Salloi didn't spend any time with the Rangers during preseason. The announcement about the moves doesn't indicate a length of time for any of the three, but if Rubio isn't ready to be in the 18 come next week against Real Salt Lake, Salloi could very easily be recalled and be in the 18 for Sporting KC on Saturday against RSL.
Kempin spent all of the Rangers preseason training with them. After spending the first portion of Sporting KC preseason with the first team, Kempin moved to the Rangers for the second half of Sporting's preseason. Kempin is likely expected to the starter for the Rangers, getting him the experience that Sporting KC has been trying to get him for the last two years on loan, only to be stopped due to goalkeeping injuries, inconsistencies, and departures. Hopefully in 2016 Kempin can finally get the chance to be a full time starter. If he does struggle, or KC goes through more goalkeeping issues, the club has two other goalkeepers, veteran, Zac Lubin and academy player, Steven Tekesky.
Medranda was another player from Sporting KC that spent the second half of preseason in Arizona training with the Rangers instead of Sporting KC. Medranda started all of the Rangers games in the Desert Diamond Cup. Since then though Medranda has been a fixture in the 18 man roster on each of Sporting's first three games. In fact he's been the first substitute off the bench for KC in their 1-0 win over Seattle and 2-1 win over Vancouver. He did not make the field in KC's last game against Toronto though. With Benny Feilhaber returning to health it would seem Medranda's spot in the 18 would likely go to him instead allowing him to go to the Rangers where he'll get more consistent minutes.
The final player loaned, Salloi has been a fixture in the 18 for Kansas City over the first three games of the season, but has yet to make his debut for Sporting KC. With the acquisition of Diego Rubio on loan, Salloi's time in the 18 was likely limited to begin with so this loan isn't much of a surprise, even though Salloi didn't spend any time with the Rangers during preseason. The announcement about the moves doesn't indicate a length of time for any of the three, but if Rubio isn't ready to be in the 18 come next week against Real Salt Lake, Salloi could very easily be recalled and be in the 18 for Sporting KC on Saturday against RSL.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Three Academy Players Sign Academy Contracts with Rangers
The Swope Park Rangers continue to build their roster for the 2016 season. Today the club announced the signing of three players to academy contracts. Three members of Sporting KC's U18 academy team signed a deal with the USL club. Ezra Armstrong, Will Little, and Steven Tekesky have joined the club ahead of their inaugural season. The trio all spent time with the Rangers during their preseason even in Arizona where Armstrong and Little both got minutes playing in the Desert Diamond Cup for the Rangers.
The USL allows teams to sign up to five academy players that can play for the team and not count against the clubs 30 players. Those players have to be under the age of 21 and not have played in the NCAA or NAIA, or signed a professional contract before. The players also must be from the USL or MLS clubs academy system to be able to be signed to an academy contract. The players are able to retain their college eligibility with this contract as well.
This may be my favorite part of having an USL team for KC, giving those academy kids a stepping stone to the first team. Whether it be directly from high school or as a stepping stone to college where KC can continue to monitor their progress.
The USL allows teams to sign up to five academy players that can play for the team and not count against the clubs 30 players. Those players have to be under the age of 21 and not have played in the NCAA or NAIA, or signed a professional contract before. The players also must be from the USL or MLS clubs academy system to be able to be signed to an academy contract. The players are able to retain their college eligibility with this contract as well.
This may be my favorite part of having an USL team for KC, giving those academy kids a stepping stone to the first team. Whether it be directly from high school or as a stepping stone to college where KC can continue to monitor their progress.
Friday, March 04, 2016
Rangers Sign Two More
The Swope Park Rangers added two more players to their roster bringing their total to 17 ahead of their first season. The Rangers added midfielder Tomas Granitto and defender Jimmy Mulligan. The pair had been with SPR throughout preseason in Tucson.
Granitto comes to the Rangers having spent last season with FC Edmonton where he played for the Eddies. The 22 year old has also played in his native El Salvador for Firpo. He also scored for the Rangers in their 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew during the Desert Diamond Cup.
Mulligan comes to the Rangers on loan from NASL champions, the New York Cosmos. He made five league appearances last year in the Cosmos run to the NASL title. Before that he'd played at St. John's and with the Long Island Rough Riders of the PDL.
The pair put the Rangers closer to a full roster, at least for game days, add in the probable loans coming in and there may not be many roster spots left for players.
Granitto comes to the Rangers having spent last season with FC Edmonton where he played for the Eddies. The 22 year old has also played in his native El Salvador for Firpo. He also scored for the Rangers in their 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew during the Desert Diamond Cup.
Mulligan comes to the Rangers on loan from NASL champions, the New York Cosmos. He made five league appearances last year in the Cosmos run to the NASL title. Before that he'd played at St. John's and with the Long Island Rough Riders of the PDL.
The pair put the Rangers closer to a full roster, at least for game days, add in the probable loans coming in and there may not be many roster spots left for players.
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Rangers Sign Two Trialists
The Swope Park Rangers continued to add to their roster ahead of their first season, signing two trialists from preseason camp. The team announced that they had signed central defender Amer Didic and defender/midfielder Tyler Pasher. The pair of Canadians have both represented their country in different competitions, Didic with the Canadian Interuniversity Sport team for the 2015 Summer Universiade. Pasher played with the Canadian U17 and U20 teams as well as being called into camp with the full national team in March of 2015.
Didic is 21 years old and comes to the Rangers straight out of the college ranks, coming from Baker University where he was a two time NAIA All American and scored 28 goals as a central defender for the Wildcats.
Pasher is also 21 and comes to KC with USL experience already having played with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last season appearing 23 times and scoring two goals. He also has experience abroad, playing in Finland with PS Kemi. Before that he was a member of Toronto FC's academy.
Pasher and Didic becomes the third and fourth Canadians on Marc Dos Santos' roster, joining Mark Anthony Gonzalez and Johnny Grant.
Didic is 21 years old and comes to the Rangers straight out of the college ranks, coming from Baker University where he was a two time NAIA All American and scored 28 goals as a central defender for the Wildcats.
Pasher is also 21 and comes to KC with USL experience already having played with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last season appearing 23 times and scoring two goals. He also has experience abroad, playing in Finland with PS Kemi. Before that he was a member of Toronto FC's academy.
Pasher and Didic becomes the third and fourth Canadians on Marc Dos Santos' roster, joining Mark Anthony Gonzalez and Johnny Grant.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Sporting and Rangers End Preseason in Tucson Unbeaten
Sporting Kansas City and the Swope Park Rangers closed out their runs at the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson tonight. Both teams finished the run undefeated as the Rangers topped FC Tucson 1-0 while Sporting drew 2-2 with the Houston Dynamo.
The Rangers kicked off 30 minutes ahead of Sporting and controlled the game against the PDL side creating a number of chances. The opener for the Rangers came in the 32nd minute when former Sporting KC academy player Nansel Selbol won a ball off a Tucson defender near midfield. Selbol raced into the box holding off his defender before chipping a ball across the box for Dane Kelley who let the ball bounce before volleying the ball into the net to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. The Comets continued to pressure, not just in the first, but in the second as well with Tomas Granitto and Tommy Meyer both having good chances but neither able to put it in the net as the Rangers finished the Diamond Cup with a 2-0-2 record.
Sporting KC passed on playing in the Desert Diamond Cup final, passing on playing a second game against the New England Revolution, instead choosing to play the Houston Dynamo who KC had not yet played in preseason. The Dynamo had the better of the chances in the early going and center back Nuno Andre Coelho had to save a ball on the line after a header from Will Bruin. Shortly after Coelho was on the offensive end giving KC the lead in the 16th minute. Off a Connor Hallisey corner, Coelho made a near post run and flicked Hallisey's corner into the net to put KC on top 1-0. The Dynamo continued to control the game though after the goal and found a deserved equalizer when Jalil Anibaba crossed the ball for Giles Barnes to head past Tim Melia on an effort that he would say he should have done better with. The two teams went into the half tied at 1-1.
Kansas City came out better in the second half and was able to push forward more and create more opportunities in the second half. KC had a great opportunity to retake the lead in the 55th when Houston was called for a back pass when a cross was knocked back to Houston goalkeeper Calle Brown, who picked the ball up. On the restart the Dynamo lined up eight players on the goal line and instead of doing a touch and shoot like most teams do in that situation, Dom Dwyer fired the ball to the back post where Daniel Salloi just had to touch the ball home to give Sporting a 2-1 lead. The Dynamo picked up the pressure again and pushed Sporting looking for another equalizer. With all the pressure they found another one after some good interplay Erick Torres got in behind KC's defense and beat Melia to tie the game at 2-2. KC had to be strong defensively over the final 13 minutes to end the preseason unbeaten. Melia was called upon to make some big saves and KC finished the Desert Diamond Cup 1-0-3.
Both Sporting and the Rangers will return home to Kansas City with Sporting getting ready for their season opener against Seattle while the Rangers will continue preseason with a pair of games against local colleges set up over the next couple weeks.
The Rangers kicked off 30 minutes ahead of Sporting and controlled the game against the PDL side creating a number of chances. The opener for the Rangers came in the 32nd minute when former Sporting KC academy player Nansel Selbol won a ball off a Tucson defender near midfield. Selbol raced into the box holding off his defender before chipping a ball across the box for Dane Kelley who let the ball bounce before volleying the ball into the net to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. The Comets continued to pressure, not just in the first, but in the second as well with Tomas Granitto and Tommy Meyer both having good chances but neither able to put it in the net as the Rangers finished the Diamond Cup with a 2-0-2 record.
Sporting KC passed on playing in the Desert Diamond Cup final, passing on playing a second game against the New England Revolution, instead choosing to play the Houston Dynamo who KC had not yet played in preseason. The Dynamo had the better of the chances in the early going and center back Nuno Andre Coelho had to save a ball on the line after a header from Will Bruin. Shortly after Coelho was on the offensive end giving KC the lead in the 16th minute. Off a Connor Hallisey corner, Coelho made a near post run and flicked Hallisey's corner into the net to put KC on top 1-0. The Dynamo continued to control the game though after the goal and found a deserved equalizer when Jalil Anibaba crossed the ball for Giles Barnes to head past Tim Melia on an effort that he would say he should have done better with. The two teams went into the half tied at 1-1.
Kansas City came out better in the second half and was able to push forward more and create more opportunities in the second half. KC had a great opportunity to retake the lead in the 55th when Houston was called for a back pass when a cross was knocked back to Houston goalkeeper Calle Brown, who picked the ball up. On the restart the Dynamo lined up eight players on the goal line and instead of doing a touch and shoot like most teams do in that situation, Dom Dwyer fired the ball to the back post where Daniel Salloi just had to touch the ball home to give Sporting a 2-1 lead. The Dynamo picked up the pressure again and pushed Sporting looking for another equalizer. With all the pressure they found another one after some good interplay Erick Torres got in behind KC's defense and beat Melia to tie the game at 2-2. KC had to be strong defensively over the final 13 minutes to end the preseason unbeaten. Melia was called upon to make some big saves and KC finished the Desert Diamond Cup 1-0-3.
Both Sporting and the Rangers will return home to Kansas City with Sporting getting ready for their season opener against Seattle while the Rangers will continue preseason with a pair of games against local colleges set up over the next couple weeks.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Sporting Full Backs Beat Colorado, Rangers Get Late Draw
Both Sporting Kansas City and the Swope Park Rangers have continued their undefeated run in the Desert Diamond Cup as Sporting defeated the Colorado Rapids 4-1 while the Rangers got a goal in the 90th minute to get a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew.
The Rangers were the first of the field on the night, taking on the MLS Cup finalists, the Crew. The Rangers though held their own in the early going creating some chances of their own, but the Crew took the lead in the 35th minute when Federico Higuain put away a rebound after a save by Jon Kempin. The Rangers though quickly responded with Tomas Granitto finding the back of the net. The Rangers were able to keep the Crew's starting lineup at bay.
In the second half the Crew retook the lead on a goal by Ethan Finlay. The Rangers had their chances to tie again, but it wasn't until second half stoppage time. Off a corner by Alex Molano, the ball ended up in the net. Original reports gave the goal to Oumar Ballo, but later was given to Mark Anthony Gonzalez. The Rangers will close out play at the Desert Diamond Cup against FC Tucson on Saturday.
After the Rangers were done, Sporting took the field against the Rapids, a team the Rangers had defeated 3-1 last week in the competition. The Rapids came out and were the stronger side to start the game, putting pressure one what would be considered Sporting's second team for the most part. On KC's first real push forward into the Rapids' end though Sporting won a penalty kick as Saad Abdul-Salaam was knocked over in the box by Dominique Badji. Paulo Nagamura stepped up and sent Zac MacMath the wrong way to put Sporting up 1-0 in the 16th minute. Only three minutes later, KC had won themselves a second penalty. This time it was on the opposite side of the box and KC's left back, Amadou Dia that was brought down, leading to another penalty. This time MacMath guessed right, but like Nagamura has regularly done in shootouts, he put the ball into the side netting putting KC up 2-0. Shortly after that the Rapids started to gain control back and pressure Alec Kann in the KC net. Kann though was up to the task making some fine saves. The first half wasn't all good news for KC though as defender Ike Opara went down with another injury in his own box. This time he was clutching his hamstring and had to be helped off the field and was immediately replaced. An unfortunate injury in a long string of unfortunate injuries for the defender.
KC started the second half the same way they finished it except for Benny Feilhaber entering the game for Kenny Cooper. Sporting was the stronger side as the second half rolled on. Just after the hour mark KC made more changes, bringing on what would be considered more of the first team lineup. Shortly after the changes, KC won their third penalty kick of the game as this time it was Chance Myers getting fouled in the box. Dom Dwyer stepped up this time and fired his penalty into the roof of the net to make it 3-0. Sporting wasn't done there, and neither were their full backs as four minutes after Dwyer's goal, Myers played a cross to the back post where Seth Sinovic was unmarked and he calmly one timed a shot back across the goal and just inside the far post to make it 4-0 Kansas City. Colorado was able to find themselves one goal as Dennis Castillo got around Sinovic and laid a ball back to Zach Pfeffer who slotted a ball inside Tim Melia's near post as he was shuffling back towards the middle of the goal. Sporting will close out the Desert Diamond Cup against Houston on Saturday, the first time Brad Davis will meet up against his former team.
The Rangers were the first of the field on the night, taking on the MLS Cup finalists, the Crew. The Rangers though held their own in the early going creating some chances of their own, but the Crew took the lead in the 35th minute when Federico Higuain put away a rebound after a save by Jon Kempin. The Rangers though quickly responded with Tomas Granitto finding the back of the net. The Rangers were able to keep the Crew's starting lineup at bay.
In the second half the Crew retook the lead on a goal by Ethan Finlay. The Rangers had their chances to tie again, but it wasn't until second half stoppage time. Off a corner by Alex Molano, the ball ended up in the net. Original reports gave the goal to Oumar Ballo, but later was given to Mark Anthony Gonzalez. The Rangers will close out play at the Desert Diamond Cup against FC Tucson on Saturday.
After the Rangers were done, Sporting took the field against the Rapids, a team the Rangers had defeated 3-1 last week in the competition. The Rapids came out and were the stronger side to start the game, putting pressure one what would be considered Sporting's second team for the most part. On KC's first real push forward into the Rapids' end though Sporting won a penalty kick as Saad Abdul-Salaam was knocked over in the box by Dominique Badji. Paulo Nagamura stepped up and sent Zac MacMath the wrong way to put Sporting up 1-0 in the 16th minute. Only three minutes later, KC had won themselves a second penalty. This time it was on the opposite side of the box and KC's left back, Amadou Dia that was brought down, leading to another penalty. This time MacMath guessed right, but like Nagamura has regularly done in shootouts, he put the ball into the side netting putting KC up 2-0. Shortly after that the Rapids started to gain control back and pressure Alec Kann in the KC net. Kann though was up to the task making some fine saves. The first half wasn't all good news for KC though as defender Ike Opara went down with another injury in his own box. This time he was clutching his hamstring and had to be helped off the field and was immediately replaced. An unfortunate injury in a long string of unfortunate injuries for the defender.
KC started the second half the same way they finished it except for Benny Feilhaber entering the game for Kenny Cooper. Sporting was the stronger side as the second half rolled on. Just after the hour mark KC made more changes, bringing on what would be considered more of the first team lineup. Shortly after the changes, KC won their third penalty kick of the game as this time it was Chance Myers getting fouled in the box. Dom Dwyer stepped up this time and fired his penalty into the roof of the net to make it 3-0. Sporting wasn't done there, and neither were their full backs as four minutes after Dwyer's goal, Myers played a cross to the back post where Seth Sinovic was unmarked and he calmly one timed a shot back across the goal and just inside the far post to make it 4-0 Kansas City. Colorado was able to find themselves one goal as Dennis Castillo got around Sinovic and laid a ball back to Zach Pfeffer who slotted a ball inside Tim Melia's near post as he was shuffling back towards the middle of the goal. Sporting will close out the Desert Diamond Cup against Houston on Saturday, the first time Brad Davis will meet up against his former team.
Saturday, February 20, 2016
A Pair of Draws for Sporting and the Rangers
Just two weeks before the start of the 2016 MLS season Sporting KC and their USL team, the Swope Park Rangers played their second game in the Desert Diamon Cup.
The Rangers kicked off the first game of the two taking on fellow USL side, Arizona United. The Rangers had some good play in the first half, but it was United that had the better chances, with Jon Kempin having to come up with a good double save to keep the game scoreless in the first half. In the second half United was the better side, pressuring the Rangers but this time it was Zac Lubin who was coming up with the saves in the Rangers net. The Rangers had their own chances in the second half, with Sporting academy player Will Little again creating a good chance from distance after scoring from distance in the club's 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. The Rangers had to settle for the 0-0 draw with their USL opponent in the game.
Sporting faced off against MLS opposition in the New England Revolution tonight. The Revs came out as the better side from the start of the game, pressuring Kansas City and having Lee Nguyen hit the cross bar in a shot after a short corner. The Revs couldn't score with their early possession and KC made them pay as Sporting scored in their first real trip forward as Jordi Quintilla picked out Graham Zusi with a long ball over the top. Zusi cut in on his defender and curled a shot into the far post to give Sporting a 1-0 lead. After the goal, Sporting seemed to wake up and played better, although goalkeeper Tim Melia was called upon to make some big saves to keep KC up heading into the break.
Peter Vermes stuck with his starters into the second half, giving them a full hour on the field before making mass substitutions. Unfortunately before those substitutions, KC got hit on the counter as a long ball over the top found Tel Bunbury who had gotten behind Seth Sinovic. The former KC player beat Melia to the far post tying the game at 1-1. After the mass changes in the 60th, both teams had chances to win it but neither side could. KC's best chances came down their left side where Connor Hallisey continued to show well this preseason. He was also able to combine well with Amadou DIa on overlapping runs. In the end KC couldn't find a winner.
Both Sporting and the Rangers will be back in action this coming Wednesday when Sporting will take on the Rapids while the Rangers will be taking on the Columbus Crew.
The Rangers kicked off the first game of the two taking on fellow USL side, Arizona United. The Rangers had some good play in the first half, but it was United that had the better chances, with Jon Kempin having to come up with a good double save to keep the game scoreless in the first half. In the second half United was the better side, pressuring the Rangers but this time it was Zac Lubin who was coming up with the saves in the Rangers net. The Rangers had their own chances in the second half, with Sporting academy player Will Little again creating a good chance from distance after scoring from distance in the club's 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. The Rangers had to settle for the 0-0 draw with their USL opponent in the game.
Sporting faced off against MLS opposition in the New England Revolution tonight. The Revs came out as the better side from the start of the game, pressuring Kansas City and having Lee Nguyen hit the cross bar in a shot after a short corner. The Revs couldn't score with their early possession and KC made them pay as Sporting scored in their first real trip forward as Jordi Quintilla picked out Graham Zusi with a long ball over the top. Zusi cut in on his defender and curled a shot into the far post to give Sporting a 1-0 lead. After the goal, Sporting seemed to wake up and played better, although goalkeeper Tim Melia was called upon to make some big saves to keep KC up heading into the break.
Peter Vermes stuck with his starters into the second half, giving them a full hour on the field before making mass substitutions. Unfortunately before those substitutions, KC got hit on the counter as a long ball over the top found Tel Bunbury who had gotten behind Seth Sinovic. The former KC player beat Melia to the far post tying the game at 1-1. After the mass changes in the 60th, both teams had chances to win it but neither side could. KC's best chances came down their left side where Connor Hallisey continued to show well this preseason. He was also able to combine well with Amadou DIa on overlapping runs. In the end KC couldn't find a winner.
Both Sporting and the Rangers will be back in action this coming Wednesday when Sporting will take on the Rapids while the Rangers will be taking on the Columbus Crew.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Rangers Win, Sporting Draw in Desert Diamond Cup Openers
The Swope Park Rangers and Sporting KC kicked off the final leg of their preseason in Tucson with the start of this year's Desert Diamond Cup. The Rangers kicked things off about 30 minutes before Sporting did, taking on the Colorado Rapids at the Kino Sports Complex North Stadium. KC's USL team featured two Sporting KC players in their starting 11, with both Jon Kempin and Jimmy Medranda getting starts for the Rangers against the Rapids. From the kick off, the Rangers wasted no time and a quick move down their left side found Dane Kelly with some space to cross the ball into the middle where Kris Tyrpak one timed an effort past Colorado's Zac MacMath and into the net giving the Rangers the 1-0 inside the first minute. The Rapids controlled a good portion of the first half and found an equalizer in the 19th minute when Dominique Badji headed home a free kick from Dillon Powers.
Half time saw nine changes to the starting lineup with only Medranda and Christian Duke starting the second half. The second half was more even with neither side really creating a number of chances, until a little after the hour mark when Sporting KC academy player, Will Little, who had recently entered the game for Medranda was able to beat his defender to the end line and cross a ball into the middle for former Sporting KC academy player Alberto Sanchez who flicked the ball with his heal and into the far corner to put the Rangers on top again at 2-1. The Rapids pushed for an equalizer, but it was the Rangers who were able to grab a third goal in the 90th minute as Little fired a blast from 25 yards out that found the upper corner giving the Rangers a 3-1 win.
Meanwhile on Kino's Grand Stand Field, Sporting KC kicked off against the Columbus Crew. Playing a predominately first team in the first half, minus Dom Dwyer who sat out the game, KC controlled play and from listening to the game sounded like they should have gone ahead in the first half when Jacob Peterson missed a great chance early on. Instead KC's play in the first half was not rewarded as the two teams went into the break tied at 0-0.
Sporting made full scale changes at half time, sending out a whole new 11 for the second half. KC's inability to capitalize on their chances in the first half came back to bite them almost immediately as former KC forward Kei Kamara slotted a shot past goalkeeper Alec Kann to put the Crew up 1-0. The lead would last until the 52nd minute when the Crew failed to clear a corner. Saad Abdul-Salaam kept the ball in play and in a scramble in front of goal Soni Mustivar stabbed the ball home to level the game at 1-1. Both teams had their chances as the game progressed, and in the 73rd minute the Crew won themselves a penalty after Kamara was fouled while trying to round Kann after winning the ball off of Kevin Ellis and dribbling into the box. Kann though came up with a save on Kamara's ensuing penalty kick, but Kamara pounced on the rebound putting the Crew up 2-1. Sporting pushed forward trying to find the equalizer again, and it came in the 88th minute when Connor Hallisey set up fourth round draft pick Faik Hajderovic. Hallisey beat his man down the wing and played a ball across the box for Hajderovic to tap home to tie the game at 2-2.
The two teams will be back on the field Saturday when the Rangers take on fellow USL side, Arizona United while Sporting takes on the New England Revolution.
Half time saw nine changes to the starting lineup with only Medranda and Christian Duke starting the second half. The second half was more even with neither side really creating a number of chances, until a little after the hour mark when Sporting KC academy player, Will Little, who had recently entered the game for Medranda was able to beat his defender to the end line and cross a ball into the middle for former Sporting KC academy player Alberto Sanchez who flicked the ball with his heal and into the far corner to put the Rangers on top again at 2-1. The Rapids pushed for an equalizer, but it was the Rangers who were able to grab a third goal in the 90th minute as Little fired a blast from 25 yards out that found the upper corner giving the Rangers a 3-1 win.
Meanwhile on Kino's Grand Stand Field, Sporting KC kicked off against the Columbus Crew. Playing a predominately first team in the first half, minus Dom Dwyer who sat out the game, KC controlled play and from listening to the game sounded like they should have gone ahead in the first half when Jacob Peterson missed a great chance early on. Instead KC's play in the first half was not rewarded as the two teams went into the break tied at 0-0.
Sporting made full scale changes at half time, sending out a whole new 11 for the second half. KC's inability to capitalize on their chances in the first half came back to bite them almost immediately as former KC forward Kei Kamara slotted a shot past goalkeeper Alec Kann to put the Crew up 1-0. The lead would last until the 52nd minute when the Crew failed to clear a corner. Saad Abdul-Salaam kept the ball in play and in a scramble in front of goal Soni Mustivar stabbed the ball home to level the game at 1-1. Both teams had their chances as the game progressed, and in the 73rd minute the Crew won themselves a penalty after Kamara was fouled while trying to round Kann after winning the ball off of Kevin Ellis and dribbling into the box. Kann though came up with a save on Kamara's ensuing penalty kick, but Kamara pounced on the rebound putting the Crew up 2-1. Sporting pushed forward trying to find the equalizer again, and it came in the 88th minute when Connor Hallisey set up fourth round draft pick Faik Hajderovic. Hallisey beat his man down the wing and played a ball across the box for Hajderovic to tap home to tie the game at 2-2.
The two teams will be back on the field Saturday when the Rangers take on fellow USL side, Arizona United while Sporting takes on the New England Revolution.
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