S.A.S. Monday After Stats

Matt Besler made his 200th league appearance for KC, he's the 7th player to hit that mark.

Besler also tied Chris Klein for 6th all time in league appearances with his 200th appearance.

Besler made his 230th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Preki for 4th all time on that list.

At 33 years, 235 days, Paulo Nagamura passed Josh Wolff and became the 16th oldest player to start a game for KC in both league and all competitions.

Graham Zusi's goal was his 18th in all competitions at home for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 9th on that list. It also broke his tie with Digital Takawira for 9th all time for home league goals scored.

Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 28th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 11th on that list.

Feilhaber's assist was his 50th for KC in all competitions, he's the fourth player to hit that mark.

Feilhaber's goal was his 17th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Sapong for 10th all time on that list. It was Feilhaber's 15th goal in league play for KC, tying him with Takawira for 10th on that list.

At 31 years, 278 days, Feilhaber moved past Santiago Hirsig and Birahim Diop to become the 17th oldest goal scorer for KC in league play. In all competitions he moved past those two, and Mike Burns to move into 17th on that list.

Feilhaber made his 120th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez and Uche Okafor for 20th on that list.

Feilhaber started his 110th league game for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga for 19th on that list.

Roger Espinoza made his 183rd appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 10th all time on that list.

In the 73rd minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Mo Johnston and into 13th place for minutes played in all competitions, finishing the game with 14,200 minutes played.

Sinovic made his 165th appearance in all competitions, tying him with Josh Wolff for 15th all time on that list.

Sinovic started his 128th league game for KC, tying him with Wolff, Michael Harrington and Jimmy Nielsen for 12th on that list.

Sinovic and Espinoza made their 159th start in all competitions for KC, tying them with McKeon for 10th all time on that list.

Tim Melia and Soni Mustivar made their 50th league appearances for KC, they're the 57th and 58th players to hit that mark.

Melia made his 50th league start for KC, he's the 50th player to hit that mark.

No Win, But Sporting Still Control Their Destiny

Sporting Kansas City shored up their defense in Salt Lake City on Sunday night, but was unable to clinch a playoff berth with two games left as the club played to a 0-0 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium. What that means is that heading into next week's final slate of games, there are four teams vying for three playoff berths as KC host San Jose, Portland travel to Vancouver, and Seattle host Salt Lake. Kansas City's defense, that has been in question over the last few weeks showed up strongly as they pitched a shut out on the road in Salt Lake 0-0.

Neither side really created much in the way of chances in the first half, but the few that were created went in favor of RSL. The best came in the 20th minute as a free kick was headed across goal where Yura Movsisyan first missed before Burrito Martinez headed a ball on goal that Dom Dwyer saved on the line. KC's chances in the first half were minimal and shots they did get ended up being placed right at Nick Rimando. Late in the first half RSL had another golden opportunity off a free kick but the flick header by RSL went wide and the two teams went into the break tied at 0-0.

The second half saw RSL continue to get the better of the chances going forward, but shooting either wide of the goal or goalkeeper Tim Melia coming up with some good saves to keep the game tied at 0-0. The best chance of the game probably came in the 56th minute when some good passing by RSL eventually found Yura Movsisyan in the box with a chance on goal, but the ball got stuck under his feet and he couldn't get a shot off before KC knocked the ball away and then Joao Plata put a shot wide. Minutes later RSL had another great chance as Plata got himself under a deflected cross and fired a shot on goal but Melia got down well to parry the shot away and keep the game scoreless. KC had a good chance in the 64th as Dom Dwyer got played in behind the RSL defense but couldn't put an effort on goal from a wide position against Nick Rimando. Minutes later KC probably should have had a penalty kick in their favor as Benny Feilhaber was brought down in the box, but no call was made. RSL continued to put on pressure and in the 79th Melia was again called on to make a big save from point blank range against Plata, making himself big he was able to knock the header away and keep the game scoreless. Late on KC created some good opportunities, first Dwyer connected on a header on a cross but his downward header hit the ground too early and bounced up into a good spot for Rimando to parry the shot away. Then in stoppage time after RSL counldn't clear a corner, the ball got crossed in to Kevin Ellis who had a free header but put his effort at a late winner wide.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Came up with the big saves that Kansas City needed him to make at the right time. He stepped up exactly when KC needed him to.

Honorable mention - Matt Besler

Player Ratings - Melia 8, Sinovic 7, Besler 8, Ellis 7, Abdul-Salaam 7, Mustivar 7, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 5, Espinoza 6, Dwyer 5, Zusi 5. Opara NR.

Defensive Marking Issues Plague KC in Loss to New England

Sporting Kansas City's playoff hopes took a bit of a hit tonight (at least for an hour or so until the Portland Timbers lost) as they fell 3-1 to the New England Revolution on the road. Sporting KC's defense had issues all night dealing with the New England attack that forced KC into a number of difficult positions. The largest contributor to that was former Kansas City forward, Kei Kamara who had a goal and an assist to help lead the Revolution to the win and keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Revolution struck quickly as in only the fourth minute Juan Agudelo helped Kei Kamara spring the offside trap as Agudelo played a ball behind the KC defense right as Kamara started a run. Replays showed that Saad Abdul-Salaam just barely held Kamara on, but with tons of space on KC's left side, Kamara had all the time in the world to dribble in on goal and beat Tim Mealia 1-1 to put the Revs up 1-0. KC pulled out a formation change themselves, playing more of a 3-5-2 to try to control the midfield and get player forward. The early goal changed the strategy a little bit, but SKC tried to make it work. Unfortunately the Revs continued to have the better of chances, with Melia having to come up with a big save on Kelyn Rowe to keep the game at a one goal deficit while still in the first half. The Revs continued to press but couldn't find a second goal. Late in the half KC had a golden chance to equalize as Paulo Nagamura picked out Dom Dwyer in the box, but Dwyer was hesitant to pull the trigger and allowed the Revolution defenders to recover and snuff out the chance as the teams went into half time with the Revolution up 1-0.

KC made a formation change at half time, bringing on the returning Graham Zusi, who paid almost immediate dividends for Kansas City. Zusi immediately created a corner kick for Kansas City with a chance on goal, and off the corner the ball eventually found Dom Dwyer who turned the ball in to tie the game at 1-1 less than four minutes into the second half. The Revolution though continued to cause problems for the Sporting KC back line throughout the second half and in the 74th, KC paid for it. Kamara again was able to beat Ike Opara one-v-one before playing in a cross. The cross made it all the way through the box to Lee Nguyen, who fired a shot near post on Melia, the shot deflected off the post, across goal, off Kevin Ellis and into the net to put the Revolution back on top 2-1. Minutes later the Revs made it 3-1 as Kamara didn't give up on a corner, beat Opara to a ball and crossed it into the box where Agudelo turned it in put the Revolution up 3-1 on the night. KC couldn't create enough going forward over the final 10 minutes and left part of their playoff chances back up to faith with the loss.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Unfortunately his defense left him out to dry on numerous occasions tonight, and he could only make so many saves to keep Sporting in the game.

Player Ratings - Melia 6, Medranda 6, Opara 2, Ellis 2, Abdul-Salaam 4, Coelho 2, Mustivar 3, Nagamura 3, Peterson 3, Dwyer 4, Feilhaber 4. Subs Zusi 5, Rubio NR.

Sporting End Their Jinx in San Jose

For the first time in 16 years, Sporting Kansas City is returning to Kansas City from San Jose with all three points after a 2-1 win at Avaya Stadium last night. Not since 2000 when a lineup mixed with starters and back ups went to San Jose and won 3-0 has Kansas City been able to get a win on the road in San Jose. The 18 game winless streak was the second longest in league history after New York's winless run in New England.

San Jose though came out firing immediately attacking Kansas City from the opening kick off, but punching a cross only as far as Chris Wondolowski, Tim Melia made a nice save off the US international. Unfortunately for the Earthquakes the early attack came at a cost as forward Quincy Amarikwa appeared to suffer a serious knee injury while going after the initial cross into the box. KC had an early opportunity of their own in the seventh minute and made no mistake as Benny Feilhaber played a quick restart to Paulo Nagamura who crossed a ball into the box for Dom Dwyer who had found space between a group of San Jose defenders and headed the ball past David Bingham and into the net to put KC up 1-0. San Jose began to push the game against KC from there, spending a lot of time attacking Jimmy Medranda down KC's left hand side. Medranda at times struggled with the spotlight from the opposing attack squarely on him, but KC's defense was able to hold out. All the pressure from the Quakes finally got them level in the 42nd a mistake in the back by Nuno Coelho allowed the Earthquakes to score. A long ball to the top of the box was flicked into the box where Coelho held three Quakes players onside, as Coelho went to the ball he held up thinking Melia was going to come and claim it, but Melia stayed on his line and Coelho took too long making up his mind to clear it as Henok Goitom tried to reach for the ball at the same time. Coelho went down thinking he was fouled while Goitom went for the ball and back heeled it into the path of Simon Dawkins who easily beat Melia to tie the game at 1-1 as the teams headed into the half.

The second half started almost the exact same way as the first as the Earthquakes came out flying and another fantastic save by Melia as Wondolowski redirected a cross kept the Quakes from going up 2-1. San Jose continued to pour numbers forward and attack KC's left side and they had another chance at the hour mark as Wondolowski made the run down the left and crossed the ball in, it eventually was knocked back to Alberto Quintero who fired a low blast that Melia saved and then jumped on the rebound. Kansas City started to find some space of their own with Brad Davis having a curling effort tipped wide of the post (although no corner was given) in the 77th minute. In the 80th minute after winning a corner KC grabbed the lead again as Feilhaber's corner was flicked on by Ike Opara to the back side where Kevin Ellis, facing the wrong way, hit the ball with his calf and into the net from about a yard out as he got just enough separation from his defender, giving KC a 2-1 lead. KC held on the final 10 minutes, including a very late corner kick where the Quakes brought Bingham forward to win in San Jose and help their playoff chances after dropping four points at home.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Came up with some huge saves in goal for Sporting last night, the save on Wondolowski at the beginning of the second half was absolutely fantastic reaction save.

Player Ratings - Melia 7, Medranda 4, Ellis 6, Coelho 5, Abdul-Salaam 6, Mustivar 6, Espinoza 6, Nagamura 6, Peterson 4, Dwyer 5, Feilhaber 5. Subs Davis 6, Opara 6.

Sunday After Stats

Disclaimer: The stats from last night have Diego Rubio entering the game for Dom Dwyer in the 86th minute, when in reality it was in the 79th. As of right now I am going with the official scoring of the substitution, which was the 86th. KC has contacted the league to update official records so once that happens I will update mine accordingly.

Roger Espinoza made his 150th league appearance for KC, he's the 10th player to hit that mark.

With his appearance Espinoza broke his tie with Michael Harrington and Mo Johnston for 10th place on that list.

Espinoza made his 172nd appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Chance Myers for 11th on that list.

In the 32nd minute, Espinoza passed Josh Wolff and moved into 14th place for league minutes played for Kansas City. In the 62nd Espinoza then passed Jimmy Nielsen and moved into 13th place on that list, he finished the game with 11,526 minutes played.

In the 10th minute, Espinoza moved past Harrington and into 14th place for minutes played in all competitions. He finished the game with 13,357 minutes played.

Tim Melia made his 50th MLS appearance in his career.

Melia made his 50th appearance in all competitions for KC, he's the 65th player to hit that mark.

It was his 50th start in all competitions as well, he's the 55th player to hit that mark.

Lawrence Olum made his 100th appearance in all competitions for KC, he's the 39th player to hit that mark.

Melia Carries Sporting to Three Points

Sporting KC's Tim Melia continued his good run of form in the early 2016 MLS season with a six save performance, including a penalty kick stop as Kansas City topped the New York Red Bulls 2-0 at Red Bull Arena. Kansas City took advantage of lax New York defending and the counter attack to score their two goals and to give Melia the offensive support that he needed to help KC to get all three point. Unfortunately it wasn't all good news for Kansas City as they were forced to use all three substitutions on injuries tonight with Kevin Ellis, Chance Myers, and Roger Espinoza all leaving the game due to injuries.

The two teams went back for forth early on with Connor Hallisey putting an effort wide of goal on the volley after a cross from Benny Feilhaber. Ten minutes later, Lloyd Sam fired a deflected effort that went just wide of Tim Melia's near post to keep the game tied at 0-0. Three minutes later though KC grabbed the lead as Sporting struck on a perfect counter. Dom Dwyer held up a long ball up to him before playing it through to Graham Zusi who was running through. With the leading goal, KC had to deal with mounting pressure from the Red Bulls as New York threw numbers forward. Melia was called into action to make saves on the likes of Sam and Bradley Wright-Phillips to keep the Red Bulls off the board. KC suffered their first injury sub in the 42nd minute when Kevin Ellis had to leave the game with a groin injury, replaced by Ike Opara. Ellis was having trouble even walking on his own after picking up the injury. In first half stoppage time the Red Bulls had another good chance as Sacha Kljestan played the ball through to Sean Davis who blasted a shot off the post and the rebound was fired over the goal.

Early in the second half Kansas City was forced to make another substitution due to injury as Chance Myers had to sub out for Saad Absdul-Salaam. Abdul-Salaam made a fairly quick contribution to the game in the 60th minute when he helped set up KC's second goal. On a throw in for KC, Abdul-Salaam threw the ball into the box toward Dwyer and Chris Duvall. No other New York player broke to the ball and it was allowed to bounce in the box.Dwyer held off Duvall as the ball bounced past the pair and Dwyer fired the ball inside the near post to double Kansas City's lead. The two goal lead looked like it'd only stand a few minutes when Ike Opara was called for a hand ball when a cross by Sam was blocked by Opara's hand. Wright-Phillips stepped up to take the penalty kick but Melia came up with a big save, diving to his right side to knock away the shot and keep KC up by 2-0. Melia continued to come up with big saves on the likes of Mike Grella and Wright-Phillips as Kansas City got back to their winning ways and moved to 4-1 on the season.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Came up with six saves, including one on a penalty kick, Melia had another big game for Kansas City.

Honorable Mention - Graham Zusi

Player Ratings - Melia 9, Dia 6, Ellis 6, Coelho 7, Myers 6, Olum 6, Espinoza 7, Feilhaber 6, Zusi 8, Dwyer 7, Hallisey 5.Subs: Opara 7, Abdul-Salaam 6, Medranda NR.

Sporting Out Played at Home in Loss to RSL

Heading into a game without five of their starters the expectation last night heading into the match up between Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake was that Sporting would be on the front foot, and rack up a ton of shots against a RSL team that would sit deep and try to grab a point. RSL though came out playing a much higher line that KC didn't seem prepared for and Sporting never seemed to adjust. With the unexpected strategy from RSL, the visitors were able to dictate play a lot more and slow the game down to the pace that they wanted.

While RSL was the better team KC didn't start the game horribly, Dom Dwyer had a good chance when a Salt Lake defender misplayed a ball intended for Dwyer. The Sporting striker raced down field but was pushed wide of the goal and couldn't get a shot off. In fact it would be until first half stoppage time before KC even got a shot. In the mean time, Salt Lake grabbed the lead in the 29th minute off a set piece. Joao Plata played a nice floated free kick into the box where Justen Glad had completely lost his mark and easily headed a shot past a diving Tim Melia and into the net giving RSL the lead. Unfortunately for KC it wasn't like Glad did anything special to lose his defender, it was just that no one tracked him at all. After the goal KC continued to try to push forward with a lot of those efforts coming through Chance Myers and Brad Davis on KC's right side. Unfortunately Davis was floating a lot of his crosses into the box instead of driving them, making them easy to grab for Jeff Attinella in the RSL goal. KC got some good looks right at the end of the half as a ball over the top found Davis who squared for Dwyer but his effort was blocked, RSL couldn't clear and KC got another opportunity as Graham Zusi got played into the box, touching around a defender his shot towards goal was deflected wide for a corner as the half wound down.

The second half almost started in disaster for KC as Melia had to come up with a pair of big saves right after the half time break on Plata and Yura Movsisyan to keep Kansas City within a goal. Movsisyan had another good chance to double the lead in the 56th after a poor ball by Kevin Ellis allowed Movsisyan in one-v-one with Nuno Coelho, Movsisyan cut around the Portuguese center back and fired a shot that hit off the elbow of the far post and cross bar and bounced away from play to keep KC within one goal. Finally in the 79th RSL was able to double their lead, deservedly so based on their play. After Melia did a good job of keeping Salt Lake out on a corner the ball fell to Soni Mustivar who tried to clear the ball into the middle for Zusi, but he misplayed it right to Luke Mulholland who fired a shot from 30 yards out that it seemed Melia didn't see through traffic and the ball went into the far corner doubling RSL's lead. Down two goals KC still was still relying on balls over the top to try to create offense and Salt Lake continued to pressure, looking like the team still more likely to score another goal. KC introduced young designated player Diego Rubio into the game and he was able to have an immediate impact as in stoppage time he won a penalty kick for Kansas City. Luckily for KC it was called a penalty kick because replays showed the foul on Rubio occurred outside the box and shouldn't have been a penalty kick. Instead referee, Ted Unkel, who had a very poor game for both teams up to that point looked to his assistant on the other side of the field for confirmation on whether the foul was in the box or no, and ended up getting it wrong. Benny Feilhaber stepped up and buried the penalty kick but KC's efforts came too late and KC fell for the first time this season, losing 2-1 to Salt Lake.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Melia kept the game from getting out of hand for RSL making six saves on the night against Salt Lake.

Player Ratings - Melia 6, Dia 5, Coelho 5, Ellis 4, Myers 5, Mustivar 3, Feilhaber 5, Quintilla 4, Davis 5, Dwyer 4, Zusi 4. Subs Medranda 4, Rubio 5.

Sporting Top Seattle in Season Opener

Sporting Kansas City opened the season with a win for the first time since 2013 thanks to a Nuno Coelho goal and a red card to Oniel Fisher. Kansas City took advantage of a first half red card by Fisher to alleviate the pressure on their back line that Seattle was putting them under for much of the first half and finally found the break through thanks to a long distance shot by Coelho that went under the arms of Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei and into the net.

Seattle came out on the front foot in the game, pinning Kansas City back in their own end allowing them very little going forward. In just the eighth minute the Sounders had the first good chance as Jordan Morris got played in on goal after Seattle did a good job of switching fields, but after dribbling into the box, Morris skied his effort over the bar. A few minutes later, Seattle won a free kick near the top of the box. Clint Dempsey stepped up and curled the ball over the wall and towards goal, but Tim Melia did well to tip the ball over the bar for a corner. On the ensuing corner, Chad Marshall beat his man and put his header off the cross bar. Melia was able to come up with the rebound off the bar and KC was finally able to clear their lines after two dangerous efforts from Seattle. KC's best chance of the first half came shortly after when Connor Hallisey got played in on goal on a cross field ball. Hallisey though looked to take his shot too quickly, firing first time when he probably had time to take a touch and it was easily handled by the goalkeeper.

Seattle was forcing a lot of the first half  play to go down KC's left side, through Hallisey and the second year man struggled at times against Seattle and against their right back, Fisher. That all changed in the 41st minute though. Hallisey caused a turnover near midfield and raced down the line to catch up to the ball. Him and Brad Evans both slid for the ball, but Hallisey is the one that was able to get back to his feet first and go back inside. Fisher came sliding in with both feet out, getting the ball, but also getting Hallisey. Referee, Alan Kelly did not hesitate, immediately going to his back pocket and producing the red card for the two footed tackle by Fisher.

The second half saw KC attempt to control possession with the man advantage, but it was Seattle that was able to create the best chance early in the half as in the 53rd minute Andreas Ivanschitz fired a shot from distance that Melia could only parry onto his cross bar. Nelson Valdez following the play tried for a bicycle kick but put his effort over the goal from inside the six, although he was offside on the play. KC started to come into the game more as the half progressed, Roger Espinoza had an effort saved as it was headed into the net by Evans in the 63rd. Two minutes later, Espinoza had another good chance as he moved around a couple defenders, but this time fired just wide of the post to keep the scores level. In the 73rd minute all the possession for KC finally paid off. After a long string of passes by KC, Jordi Quintilla played a simple square ball to Coelho who took a touch forward and fired a shot from about 30 yards out. Coelho's shot squeezed in underneath Frei on the wet surface and went into the far corner to put KC on top 1-0. Seattle had a few chances over the final 17 minutes but were unable to find the net as Sporting KC walked out of Seattle with only their second road win in the series, a series that has seen every win decided by a single goal by either team.

-Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Came up with big saves when Kansas City needed him to with superb saves on Dempsey and Ivanschitz. Controlled his box and controlled the back line giving them the shutout.

Honorable Mention - Nuno Coelho, Matt Besler

Player Ratings - Melia 8, Dia 5, Besler 6, Coleho 8, Myers 5, Mustivar 6, Espinoza 6, Quintilla 6, Hallisey 5, Dwyer 4, Zusi 5. Subs Medranda NR.

Sporting KC Season Preview - Goalkeepers

We're less than a week away from the kick off of the 2016 MLS season for Sporting KC. This coming Sunday Sporting will take the field against the Seattle Sounders at Century Link Field on Fox Sports 1. With the season a week away it's time to take a look at KC's roster as it stands heading into the opener. At this time the team has 26 players on their roster, but that includes Canadian international, Marcel de Jong, who was not with the club at all basically since returning from national team duty with Canada for their friendly against the United States in early February. That number also doesn't include Bernardo Anor and Erik Palmer-Brown, who are both on loans for the entire season, and as such will not count against their roster spots. I'm going to take a look at the 26 man roster based on the positions the players play. Today it is the goalkeeping position.

Alec Kann - KC's newest goalkeeper was acquired by Sporting in the first stage of the re-entry draft this offseason. Kann looks set to be Kansas City's every game back up for Tim Melia based on Jon Kempin spending the majority of his preseason with the Rangers. Whether he'll actually be the one getting the minutes should Melia go down for an extended period of time will remain to be seen. Kann appeared 19 times for Saint Louis FC, started the Chicago Fire's final game of the 2015 season and performed fine there. He's got an unimpressive resume as a whole, but then again, so did Tim Melia last year.

Jon Kempin - Over the past two seasons, Sporting KC's first homegrown player, Kempin, has been expected to go out on loan for the whole season and get the valuable experience that he needs at this point to continue to develop his game to be a starter for the club. Unfortunately injuries to Eric Kronberg and Andy Gruenebaum forced his loan to Oklahoma City in 2014 to be cut short and in 2015 it was the emergence of Melia and Luis Marin heading back to Chile that caused him to be recalled from his loan to the San Antonio Scorpions. This year Kempin has spent the majority of his time with KC's USL team, the Swope Park Rangers, appearing in all but one of their preseason games in Tucson. I'd expect Kempin to be one of the players that gets loaned to the Rangers for the season, where he'll hopefully, finally be able to get a full season as a starter under his belt. And if Melia goes down again, he's a lot closer now and can float back and forth between Sporting and the Rangers than he could with his prior loans. The interesting thing to see will be whether Kann gets the minutes in things like the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League, or if Vermes brings in Kempin for those games since the Rangers don't get to participate in the Open Cup.

Tim Melia - The breakout performer for Sporting Kansas City in the 2015 season, Melia had joined the club as a league goalkeeper in 2014 after all the injury issues the club had at goalkeeper, and earned himself a contract with the club to basically play the same position that Kann is this year, be the backup for the starter so that Kempin could go out on loan. When Marin had trouble adjusting to the style of play in MLS, Melia stepped in and established himself quite well in net. He finished 2015 with a 11-8-4 record, eight shutouts, and a 1.22 goals against average for Sporting. In 2016 he comes in as the established starter which should continue to build on the confidence that he got winning the job in 2015. He gives a strong presence back there that makes me feel as confident about the goalkeeping position as I have for KC since Jimmy Nielsen retired.

Overall confidence in the goalkeeping situation for Kansas City should be good. They have a solid starter in Melia that can win them points if it comes to that as we saw in the two regular season meetings against Portland in Portland in 2015. His immediate back up is a bit of an unknown with Kann simply due to his lack of first team action in recent years, but the club also has Kempin likely on loan to the Rangers in the same city, making it much easier if KC needs to call on him to replace Melia.

Melia Wins Award, Trialists Coming to Town

MLS continues to slowly announce their end of season awards for players. Today they announced the winner of this year's Comeback Player of the Year award. Sporting KC's Tim Melia was given the award after "coming back" from basically being out of the game. Last year Melia had started the season with Chivas USA before being waived and becoming a league goalkeeper. Melia became a league goalkeeper and spent time with Kansas City during their goalkeeping issues in 2014. Signed to KC during the offseason, Melia started the season as KC's back up to Luis Marin. After Marin's issues adjusting to MLS Melia took over the starting job and played 23 of the final 26 games for Kansas City.

Melia beat out Diego Valeri and Will Trapp who were the other two finalists. Of the three, Melia finished third in the player vote with Trapp and Valeri tying for first. The media vote is where Melia ran away with things, getting over 30% of the vote there. In front office voting, Melia finished second behind Valeri in the top three.

Melia becomes the fourth KC player to win the award, and the fifth time KC has brought the award home. Tony Meola won the award in 2000, Chris Klein won it in both 2002 and 2005, while Eddie Johnson won it in 2007.

Trialists coming to town

Peter Vermes makes a habit of regularly bringing in trialists to look at. More often than not those players come in with no one knowing and leave the same way. Some times though the names of players get out, like this time where Guyanese player Daniel Wilson and Dominican player Julian Wade are apparently coming on a trial.

Both players currently play in Guyana, Wilson for Alpha United, a club that regularly has won the league championship in recent years and has participated in the CONCACAF Champions League. Wilson according to the article is the club's captain at only 22 and has already appeared 12 times for his country, scoring a goal in 2018 World Cup qualifying against St. Vincent and Grenadines.

Wade plays for Slingerz FC in Guyana, and has spent his entire career in the Caribbean. Before moving to Slingerz, the 25 year old played for Caledonia AIA in Trinidad. He has also appeared three times for Dominica, scoring twice in that time.

The article says that the pair were invited to an "invite only" three day trial November 21 through 23 at the suggestion of former Kansas City forward, and Guyana native, Alex Bunbury. Two of those three days are also the tryout dates for Sporting's USL side, the Swope Park Rangers. So while the pair may be getting a bit of a closer look, this feels more like the two will be trying out more so for the Rangers.

Season Review - Goalkeepers

Just about three weeks ago, Sporting Kansas City's 2015 season came to a close in a penalty kick shootout against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. A season that started out promising with Kansas City being in the running for the Supporters' Shield and having a strong US Open Cup run, fizzled by the end of the season, but not without KC taking home their third trophy in four years as they lifted the 2015 US Open Cup in a shootout over the Philadelphia Union. Now that we've all had a chance to come down and get some separation from the season it's time to take a look at Sporting KC's roster this season and take a quick look at 2015.

I figured I'd break these down positions over a couple posts. We'll start in the back and move forward, so today I'm looking at goalkeepers. In 2015 it looked like KC found a starting goalkeeper to replace Jimmy Nielsen, but it wasn't who anyone expected. Sporting KC started the season with Luis Marin in goal, and the Chilean had some decent moments, but also looked incredibly shaky at times coming for crosses and missing, and being very eager to race off his line. After some poor results, more than one fan was calling for back up Tim Melia to get a chance. Lots of people like to make the "backup quarterback" argument about back up goalkeepers as well in that he's a team's favorite player when the starting goalkeeper is doing poorly. In KC's case though it turned out to be true, Melia stepped in after eight games and made the position his. After a month or so of sitting on the bench, Marin was released and returned to Chile. To replace Marin on the senior roster, Sporting recalled homegrown goalkeeper, Jon Kempin from his loan to NASL side, the San Antonio Scorpions. Kempin made three league starts this year in place of Melia when he was hurt and also came on as a substitute in the playoff game against Portland.

The Players

Jon Kempin - KC's first homegrown goalkeeper finished his sixth professional season tying his career high for starts with three and appearances with four. He played well in his three starts, going 1-1-1 in Orlando and at home against Dallas and Seattle, making six saves on 11 shots. Where he really shined though was in the playoff game against Portland. Coming on after Melia had suffered a head injury, Kempin performed well in overtime and was left with little he could have done on Portland's equalizer. In penalty kicks he made three saves on Portland penalty kicks, twice in sudden death giving KC the chance to win but the shooters were unable to capitalize on it.

For 2016 for Kempin the big thing is to get him consistent playing time. At 22 he really needs to start getting games every week, and if Melia is going to be the starter next year I want Kempin to spend the entire season in goal for the Swope Park Rangers on loan. He needs professional games and that is likely to be the best spot for him to get them at this point. The other big thing is that Kempin is one of two players who are out of contract for Kansas City, so before all that the key will be getting Kempin signed to a new contract to keep him in Kansas City.

Luis Marin - Joined KC in the offseason before the 2015 season and was expected to be the starter from day 1 after having a successful career in Chile that included being named to Chile's 2010 World Cup roster. Despite Peter Vermes' comments that there was a competition, most fans knew the job was Marin's to start the season. Marin started the first eight games of the season, going 2-2-4 and recorded two shutouts for KC. Overall I'm not sure that Marin couldn't have been a successful in MLS I'm just not sure that he would have ever been fully successful in KC's system. He struggled with claiming crosses and corners and at times almost seemed reckless in how fast he came off of his line.

Finally benched after the 4-4 draw with Houston where he gave up a near post goal from 30 plus yards out, he was never able to get his spot back. Vermes deserves credit here for pulling the plug when things weren't working and going with a different goalkeeper.

Tim Melia - The man who took over for Marin after he couldn't lock down the starting spot, Melia made it his own. Taking over for Marin after the first eight games of the season, Melia started 23 of the remaining 26 league games for KC, posting an 11-8-4 record with a goal difference of 1.22 and eight shutouts. Melia also started all five of KC's US Open Cup games on the way to winning the 2015 edition, making two saves in the shootout to help KC win. Melia proved to be a good shot stopper, saving 75% of the shots he faced, while at the same time having control of his area. The combination of the two is something that KC has really struggled with in goal over the last few years, even with Nielsen in goal. KC's had players who were good with stuff in the air (Eric Kronberg) and guys that were good shot stoppers (Nielsen), but Sporting hasn't really had a player that did both the way Melia did for KC this season. Any other season and Melia is likely your team MVP.

Looking Towards 2016

While there are not as many questions about the goalkeeping position this offseason as there was in 2014, there are still a number of them. Melia is under contract for the 2015 season, but probably deserves a bit of a raise after his performance in goal. Keeping Kempin should be a priority for the team; he's improved each season and has started to look really confident in goal for KC. That said, once he is under contract, he needs to spend the entire season with the Swope Park Rangers. Kempin needs to play 20 plus games next year at least, he really needs to get games to continue his development at this point. KC also needs to add a third goalkeeper, someone who is likely to be cheap and can sit on the bench while Melia starts. I'd personally lean towards a goalkeeper from the lower divisions that has some experience starting to give some confidence in goal in Open Cup games and if Melia comes up with an injury over a rookie who you'll stall developmental wise since you're giving the minutes with SPR to Kempin.

Feilhaber and Melia Up for End of Year Awards

MLS today announced the finalists for this year's end of season awards. Two Sporting KC players are among the finalists for awards this year. Benny Feilhaber and Tim Melia are the two representatives from KC that could bring home individual hardware this year.

Feilhaber is up for the big award, MVP, where he is up against Sebastian Giovinco and former KC forward, Kei Kamara. Feilhaber finished the season with 10 goals and 15 assists in league play, the first player in KC history to hit double digits in goals and assists since Josh Wolff scored 10 and had 10 assists in the 2005 season. It's difficult to see Feilhaber winning the award though after the season that Giovinco had, leading the league in both goals (22), and assists (16). It's more a battle to see who finishes second between Feilhaber and Kamara (22 goals, 8 assists) as Giovinco really should be the run away winner here.

The other award is Comeback Player of the Year, which Melia is up for. Melia had been a league goalkeeper last year after being released by Chivas USA. Sporting KC had brought him in with their rotating goalkeeping issues during the 2014 season. After waiving Andy Gruenebaum and Eric Kronberg after the season KC signed Melia to be the primary back up for new goalkeeper, Luis Marin. After Marin failed to adapt quickly to the style of play in MLS, Melia stepped in and made the goalkeeping position his own. Melia finished the season with an 11-8-4 record as a starter, and recording eight shutouts and a 1.22 goals against average. Melia is up against Will Trapp of the Columbus Crew, who overcame concussion issues earlier this season to appear in 19 games and record three assists while helping hold down the Crew midfield. Melia is also up against Portland Timbers midfielder, Diego Valeri who returned from an ACL tear in October of last year to play 22 games, scoring two goals and adding eight assists. This one will be a closer race than MVP, but I think Valeri is going to pull this award.

When the award nominations come out there were a couple awards where KC fans thought Sporting players should have gotten a nod. Many felt Melia deserved to be in the conversation for goalkeeper of the year, where Bill Hamid, David Ousted, and Luis Robles are the three players up for the award. While Melia has had a very good season, KC's two shutouts since July 13th probably did not help Melia's case in this instance.

The other player many thought should have been nominated for an award was Krisztian Nemeth for the league's Newcomer of the Year award. Giovinco is up for this award like with MVP, so his inclusion on this list is no surprise. While Didier Drogba didn't join the Montreal Impact until late this season it is hard to argue about his contribution to the Impact since then with his 11 goals and one assist in only 870 minutes. The third nominee, Mike Grella is probably the one KC fans could point to as someone that could be replaced by Nemeth. In five fewer games than Grella, Nemeth produced one more goal (10) and only one fewer assists (6) than Grella did. On the opposite side of that though it is hard to argue with a player who played in 33 of 34 games and started 30 for the Supporters' Shield winners.

Sporting Back Themselves Into a Corner

With a chance to once again clinch a playoff berth and to give them a good shot at finishing second, Sporting KC again came out with a flat performance and continued their late season slide as they lost 2-0 at Sporting Park to the Colorado Rapids. Kansas City controlled play for much of the game but couldn't put Colorado away, and letting the Rapids hang around they got hit twice on the counter late in the game to take all three points.

KC had the better of play and a lot of their attacks in the first half came down their left side through Krisztian Nemeth. The Hungarian was getting the better of Colorado right back, Marlon Hairston. Their best chances of the first half both came through mistakes by Hairston in controlling the ball. Both times the ball eventually came to Benny Feilhaber near the top of the box, but both times he fired the ball over the cross bar.

The second half saw Kansas City continue to control the play but fail to really create dangerous chances. The game as a whole felt like a return to the past few seasons when Sporting would get a lot of shots but very few on goal. Last night KC had 18 shots but were only able to put three of those shots on goal. KC's best chances of the second half came through Graham Zusi and Chance Myers. Zusi had a good chance that he put off the top of the cross bar after a smart run into the box and Myers hit the side netting after another run into the box. The inability to capitalize on the possession came back to bit KC in the 78th minute. Kevin Ellis had brought the ball up into the KC attacking third before giving the ball away. The Rapids quickly countered with Sporting only having Matt Belser back on defense. The Rapids were able to work around him, getting the ball to Dillon Powers. The Rapids midfielder got into the box and chipped the ball over Tim Melia as he came out and the ball rolled into the net to put the Rapids up 1-0. KC continued to attack after that and got some help in the 84th from the referee when Sam Cronin was sent off for picking up his second yellow card, putting the Rapids down to 10 men. Two minutes after the red card though KC found themselves down 2-0, again on the counter. After the Rapids cleared a short corner Colorado raced down the other way, getting the ball to Juan Ramirez who played the ball across the field to Marcelo Sarvas who dribbled into the box and fired a shot on goal that Melia got a hand on but couldn't keep it out. Sporting couldn't get anything out of their attack and fell for the seventh time in their last 11 games. They'll now head into the final game of the season against the LA Galaxy needing a win to guarantee themselves a playoff berth.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Got completely hung out to dry by his defense on both goals last night. There was little he could do on either of the goals and once again kept KC in the game.

Player Ratings - Melia 5, Abdul-Salaam 4, Ellis 3, Besler 4, Myers 4, Mustivar 4, Nagamura 4, Feilhaber 4, Nemeth 4, Dwyer 3, Zusi 3. Subs: Quintilla NR.

Sporting's Late Season Struggles Continue

For the sixth time in the last 10 games Sporting KC were unable to pick up any points as they fell 1-0 on the road to the San Jose Earthquakes. The loss was KC's 17th straight game without a win in San Jose, a streak that dates back all the way to the 2000 season. KC now heads into the final two games of the season at home still needing a win to secure their playoff spot for this season. They've missed out on the ability to win the Western Conference though with the loss.

Things started out okay for Kansas City as they had the first decent chance of the game as Erik Palmer-Brown flicked the ball towards goal with his head after a long cross from Matt Besler, but Palmer-Brown's looping header went just over the cross bar. While San Jose had much of the early possession though it was KC that continued to create better chances. In the eighth Dom Dwyer really should have done better after he got in behind the San Jose defense, but his shot was knocked away by David Bingham in the San Jose net. The Quakes though started to get more into the game and put more pressure on the KC back line. Quincy Amarikwa was a major pain for the KC back line, similar to how he was when the two teams met earlier this year at Sporting Park. Neither side though was able to find a break through in the first half.

Early in the second half though the Quakes were able to get themselves on the board. A long ball up the field by Bingham was brought down by Amarikwa as Besler and Seth Sinovic dropped off. Amarikwa dribbled up field before playing the ball wide to Shea Salinas. Salinaz crossed the ball back across the box to Chris Wondolowski who fired a ball across the face of goal. At the back post where Anibal Godoy beat Palmer-Brown to the ball knocking it into the net to give San Jose the lead. San Jose had a great chance to double their lead in the 55th as Amarikwa got played in behind the KC defense, but after he spun around to avoid a recovering Besler Amarikwa fired his shot at Tim Melia who stood tall to knock the ball away. Minutes later it was Wondolowski as he got played in and his first touch set up a nice volley but it was right at Melia who made the save. KC's best chance of the second half came in the 71st when Benny Feilhaber played a nice chip from near the top of the box into it for Mikey Lopez, but Lopez's header was just over the bar keeping the score at 1-0. KC tried to push late but really didn't create much in the way of chances and now things are a lot tighter in the West as KC is just 1 point away from behind on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - As he's already done many times this season he kept the score from being a lot worse for Kansas City with some good saves and some good positioning. If KC had stuck with Luis Marin this season I don't think they're in a playoff position at this point.

Player Ratings - Melia 6, Sinovic 4, Besler 4, Palmer-Brown 5, Myers 4, Nagamura 5, Feilhaber 5, Lopez 5, Anor 3, Dwyer 3, Zusi 4. Subs Nemeth 5, Okugo 4, Abdul-Salaam 5.

Moment of Magic Gives KC All Three Points in Portland

Resting a number of players who started in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday, Sporting KC was able to grab all three points on the road in Portland against the Timbers. With Peter Vermes making seven changes to the team that started against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday the expectation had to be that KC would sit back and attempt to deal with Portland's pressure and try to counter.

That's how the game started to play out with Portland keeping KC pinned back a lot holding the possession. Similar to last week against Seattle KC's front line of Jacob Peterson, Bernardo Anor, and Connor Hallisey really struggled to create chances when KC was able to get forward. This meant that Matt Besler, Kevin Ellis, and Tim Melia needed to step up for KC. And the trio did, all having a solid performance in back for KC. Melia picked up right where he left off on his last trip to Portland when he made seven saves. In the 27th after a good give and go Melia had to beat away a shot from Diego Valeri to keep Portland off the board. He was again called into action on Darlington Nagbe in the 37th after some good hold up play by Fanendo Adi. KC was able to hold off the pressure from the Timbers and the two teams had their fifth straight scoreless half this season.

KC made one change at half time bringing in Graham Zusi for Connor Hallisey who had a rough first half with his touch and control. Zusi's insertion gave KC a little bit more going forward, and KC started to look dangerous. In the 54th Zusi almost set up Anor. After some work down the right the ball got played in to Zusi who chipped a cross into the middle of the box but Anor got under the ball too much and headed it over the goal. While Zusi helped the offense, Portland still had the majority of the chances. In the 65th Nagbe almost create another chance. After picking off a pass in KC's half Nagbe dribbled at the KC defense before sliding a ball through to Lucas Melano. Melia though came up with a nice save to keep the game scoreless. Nagbe again was involved as the Timbers countered after a KC free kick was grabbed by Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey. Kwarasey quickly got the ball forward and then got it to Nagbe. He dribbled at the KC defense before firing a shot just outside the box. Melia though was again in position, knocking the ball away. KC though came right back and Mikey Lopez forced a good save out of Kwarasey. Continuing to work through Zusi down their right a cross by the US national team player was knocked to Lopez at the top of the box. Lopez settled the ball on his chest turned and volleyed his shot on goal but Kwarasey knocked the ball over the goal. Finally in the 83rd minute, just went it looked like we'd get a third straight 0-0 draw between the two teams, Krisztian Nemeth pulled out a moment of magic. Receiving the ball in KC's half Nemeth dribbled forward, cut around Diego Chara and continued up the field. Chara recovered but Nemeth cut inside causing Chara to by pass him and fall over. That cut also caused Nat Borchers to slip and that slip allowed Nemeth to cut back outside leaving Borchers behind him. Nemeth got into the box and fired a shot that went through Liam Ridgewell's legs, past Kwarasey and into the net to give KC a 1-0 lead. KC was able to hold out the rest of the way and pick of a valuable three points and also move them up in the table to third place in the Western Conference.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - It wasn't his seven save performance the last time that KC made the trip to Portland. But once again Melia kept Kansas City in the game. He made the big saves that KC needed him to make.

Honorable mention: Matt Besler, Krisztian Nemeth

Player Ratings - Melia 8, Dia 7, Besler 8, Ellis 7, Abdul-Salaam 7, Feilhaber 6, Lopez 6, Quintila 6, Anor 5, Peterson 5, Hallisey 5. Subs Zusi 6, Nemeth 7, Palmer-Brown 6.

Sporting KC, Shootout Kings, Win Another Trophy From the Spot

For the third time in four years Sporting KC will be painting the wall at Sporting Park. This time they did it on the road. Overcoming a poor game overall by the team, KC found a way to win it on penalty kicks, 1-1 (7-6) with summer signing Jordi Quintilla scoring the deciding penalty in the eighth round to give KC the cup.

Things didn't start well for Sporting KC as just minutes into the game Tim Melia had to make a save on the line after Maurice Edu headed a Cristian Maidana corner on goal. KC though had some good chances early on, in fact Paulo Nagamura hit the post in the 12th minute after Graham Zusi brought down a Benny Feilhaber cross and touched it back to Nagamura. His effort pinged off the inside of the post and into the hands of goalkeeper Andre Blake. The Union though started to take over the game and in the 23rd minute grabbed the lead when Vincent Nogueira played a superb ball over the top for Sebastien Le Toux who got in behind Seth Sinovic. Melia was slow to come off his line and Le Toux made him pay burying a shot into the corner. The Union continued to control the half after the goal, pinning KC deep in their own end. Melia came off his line with a big save  in the 37th on a similar ball to Le Toux a second time later in the half. Seconds later he was beating away a second shot from Tranquillo Barnetta. The Union went into the half up 1-0 and KC was desperately looking for answers.

In the second half KC came out and really started to play better against the Union. They pushed the game and finally started to get their front three involved in the play. In the 65th they were rewarded as Krisztian Nemeth tied it. Chance Myers got the ball down the right wing and played the ball in to Zusi. Instead of shooting Zusi pushed the ball the rest of the way across the box to Nemeth who one timed a curling effort into the net to make it 1-1. After the goal though the Union started to control the game again and forced KC onto their back foot. The KC defense though held out again with some help from Melia and the 90 minutes ended 1-1.

In extra time there weren't a lot of good chances for either side, the best coming when Edu forced Melia to make another goal line save off another corner kick. And after 120 minutes Sporting KC was headed to another PK shootout. And from there it was a PK clinic put on by both teams. The Union had inserted their USOC hero John McCarthy but really KC didn't give him much opportunity to be there hero with some fantastic PKs. The Union were just as good. Through the first five Le Toux, Feilhaber, Nogueira, and Dom Dwyer all left McCarthy and Melia with no chance. A poor penalty from Edu was saved with the third shot to give KC an edge but Nemeth equaled Edu's poor penalty and after three it was still 2-2. The good penalties continued after that though with Barnetta, Matt Besler, Conor Casey, and Nagamura all leaving the goalkeepers with no chance. Into sudden death teams went with Michael Lahoud and Graham Zusi both scoring to make it 5-5 after six. In the seven round again Raymon Gaddis and Kevin Ellis both scored well placed penalties. In the eighth round though Melia again came up with a save as Andrew Wenger didn't hit the penalty close enough to the corner. For KC, Jordi Quintilla stepped up and as he caught McCarthy leaning to his left slotted the ball calmly to the opposite side and the celebrations were on for KC.

The win is fantastic and will be the main highlight of the season for the team, but the team's play tonight was still rough and didn't instill a ton of confidence going forward for the rest of the season. But that is a discussion for another day after we've all sobered up and finished up celebrating the club's third US Open Cup and their sixth trophy in their history.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - A pair of penalty kick saves in the shootout and did very well to keep KC in the game throughout the night. Yes he could have done better on Le Toux's goal but he once again was there when KC really needed it.

Honorable Mention - Matt Besler

Player Ratings - Melia 8, Sinovic 4, Ellis 5, Besler 7, Myers 5, Mustivar 5, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 5, Nemeth 6, Dwyer 4, Zusi 4. Subs Quintilla 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Peterson NR.

A Game KC Deserved Nothing From

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

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

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

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

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

Melia Shows Why He Deserved First Rose in Rose City Draw

Earlier this week, Sporting KC did a spoof on the Bachelor where Peter Vermes handed out roses to players that would be making the trip to the Rose City to take on the Portland Timbers. During that it was said that Tim Melia had already received his rose and would be going to the Rose City. Last night against the Timbers, Melia proved why he'd been the first rose recipient as the KC goalkeeper came up with seven saves as KC ended their three game losing streak with a 0-0 draw in Portland.

The first half saw both teams really struggle to create much in the way of offense. Jacob Peterson had an early chance when goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and defender Norberto Paparatto didn't communicate well enough, but Kwarasey recovered to knock the ball out. The best chance in the first half came in the 29th when Fanendo Adi was played through on goal. Out racing Matt Besler, Adi got a shot off but Melia made a nice kick save to knock the ball away. KC's best first half chance came in the 33rd off a Besler long throw. Saad Abdul-Salaam got his head on it and tried to flick it on goal but it ended up being easily collected by Kwarasey.

The second half though things really opened up, especially for the Timbers who really started to fly forward countering Kc's possession. In the 49th Adi had another really good opportunity down KC's right a cross came into Adi in the box and he got a free header on net but Melia made a nice diving save stopping the ball on the line and not allowing a rebound. Portland continued to keep Melia busy in the second half with Melia forced to make a diving save on Lucas Melano after he was played in on goal in front of Abdul-Salaam. KC for having possession really struggled to create many chances, their best chances were coming off of Besler long throws and it almost saw KC grab the lead in the 64th when a ball sailed through the box and bounced in front of Graham Zusi. The midfielder brought it down and fired a low shot that beat Kwarasey but not the post as the ball bounced into play and eventually away. That chance led to a counter at the other end as KC got caught forward, but again Melia came to the rescue taking the ball off of Melano's foot as he received a pass into KC's box. Two minutes later, in the 66th, Melano was again played into the box, this time he touched it around an oncoming Melia and tried to play a ball across the face of goal, but Kevin Ellis had recovered at the near post and knocked the ball out for a corner. Portland continued to come forward, mainly on the counter or from set pieces but Melia and the KC defense was able to hold them off. KC had some half chances with Abdul-Salaam playing a cross that went through the entire box with a KC player not able to get their foot on the ball. Meanwhile Melia was denying Diego Valeri and Maximiliano Urruti to keep the shut out. It certainly wasn't pretty from KC, but it was a vast improvement from the KC defense with Soni Mustivar slotted back in front of them, as they were able to keep their first shutout since early July.

Wizards Man of the Match - Tim Melia - Really it's not even a contest, Melia with his seven saves was immense for Kansas City last night. He made a number of strong saves and was good coming off his line as well to stop other chances throughout the night.

Player Ratings - Melia 9, Abdul-Salaam 6, Ellis 6, Beslser 7, Sinovic 6, Mustivar 7, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 5, Zusi 6, Dwyer 4, Peterson 4. Subs Anibaba 6, Anor 5, Quintilla NR.

From the Highest of Highs to the Lowest of Lows

After the dramatic comeback on Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps you had to expect a bit of a letdown at some point soon. That said I'm not sure anyone expected this much of a letdown. Last night at Sporting Park, Sporting KC suffered their biggest defeat ever at Sporting Park and the second largest home defeat in the club's history as the San Jose Earthquakes came in and got their first win in KC in 11 years in emphatic fashion, playing KC off the field to the tune of a 5-0 win for the Quakes.

Things started out poorly for KC as they fell behind in just the third minute when Shea Salinas beat Chance Myers down the right and squared the ball into the middle to an unmarked Cordell Cato who easily finished putting San Jose on top. Things got worse for Kansas City in the 17th minute when Myers knocked over Quincy Amarikwa in the box on a cross and was whistled for a penalty kick. Chris Wondolowski stepped up and sent Tim Melia the wrong way to double San Jose's lead and the rout was on. Recent signing, Anibal Godoy made it 3-0 in the 27th minute after being played on by a back heel by Amarikwa, Godoy raced into the box, cut back on Kevin Ellis to get open, then easily slid the ball into the corner. The first half was a disaster for KC, they didn't record a single shot on goal, the back line struggled to connect passes, and the midfield wasn't following runners. At half time Peter Vermes made two changes, pulling Amobi Okugo from his first start after just 45 minutes, inserting Mikey Lopez and inserted Marcel de Jong for Amadou Dia.

The second half though didn't bring a change of fortunes for KC though as the Earthquakes continued to run all over Kansas City. In the 52nd, Wondolowski should have scored his second after Salinas again got open down the KC right side and squared a ball into the middle for an unmarked Wondolowski, but his attempt to touch the ball back into the near corner as Melia came out went just wide of the post. It didn't matter though as six minutes later, Salinas combined again with Cato for the second time on the night to make it 4-0. A minute later KC almost pulled one goal back through Krisztian Nemeth. The Hungarian received the ball out wide, cut inside and fired a shot from about 25 yards out that goalkeeper David Bingham got a hand on to push it just enough that it hit off the inside of the post and bounced right back to Bingham to collect. Minutes later, San Jose would make it 5-0 and Wondolowski would make amends for his earlier miss. From San Jose's right side, Fatai Alashe played in a nice cross into the box for Wondolowski who placed a nice header that Melia could only get a hand on as it went into the net. As if the 5-0 score line wasn't bad enough, KC went down to 10 men in the 71st minute when Benny Feilhaber had the ball taken from him in KC's half by Amarikwa. Feilhaber pulled back on his jersey and fouled him as he raced towards the box. Feilhaber was given a straight red for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. While Feilhaber tried to plead his case I can't argue with the red card, while Matt Besler could have possibly made it back, I don't think it's enough that Feilhaber didn't clearly deny Amarikwa a goal scoring opportunity. With the man advantage and a five goal lead, the Quakes took the air out of the game, keeping possession and denying KC much in the way of chances as they cruised to victory.

Wizards Man of the Match - The Cauldron - I do have a precedent for doing this, I gave the TFC crowd man of the match back in their first home game in their team's history. Last night even with the performance on the field being as bad as it was for KC the Cauldron didn't stop last night, the capos in the middle worked as hard as I've ever seen them work to try to get people involved. So they deserve the award for last night. If I had to choose a player for the game last night, it'd be Tim Melia. While it's not often a goalkeeper gives up five goals and is named man of the match, but Melia kept it from being a lot worse with five saves as his defense really let him down.

Player Ratings - Melia 3, Myers 2, Ellis 1, Besler 3, Dia 2, Okugo 1, Nagamura 2, Feilhaber 2, Nemeth 3, Dwyer 2, Peterson 2. Subs Lopez 2, de Jong 2, Zusi 3.

Sporting Grab All Three in Vancouver

Sporting KC headed into tonight's game sitting in sixth play in the Western Confernce with 27 points, but with anywhere from three to five games in hand on the five teams in front of them, including the Vancouver Whitecaps. On a weekend where teams in front of them were dropping points, KC picked up ground with a 1-0 win at BC Place.

The first half started with a fairly even game from both teams as each side seemed to be feeling each other out a little bit, without much created in the way of chances. The best early chance came for Vancouver in the 13th minute off a corner kick as a header was flicked on towards goal past Tim Melia, but Benny Feilhaber was behind him to head the ball off the line. The rest of the half saw Vancouver continue to apply more and more pressure to Kansas City, but the KC back line and Melia came up big shutting down the likes of Octavio Rivero and Kekuta Manneh, not allowing them really clear looks at goal as both teams went into the half time break tied at 0-0.

The first half saw Kansas City come out as the more aggressive side, attacking more. That paid off for KC in the 52nd minute. After a short corner, Soni Mustivar almost lost possession but kept the ball in Vancouver's end with an overhead kick that landed at the feet of Krisztian Nemeth who was given time to turn, take a touch and curl a cross into the box where Kevin Ellis had stayed up. Ellis headed the ball past David Ousted and into the far corner putting KC up 1-0. KC almost doubled their lead in the 58th minute. After working the ball down the left the ball was laid off by Feilhaber to Nemeth about 25 yards from goal. Nemeth fired a low shot towards goal but it hit off the outside of the post. The rebound made it to Jacob Peterson who was at the top of the box, but he couldn't put his rebound effort on net. Both teams were starting to find space as Vancouver had a good chance in the 60th minute as Rivero combined with Crisitan Techera to play the Uruguayan into the box with a back heel. Techera had his angle cut down by Melia, but fired a shot off the KC goalkeeper that bounced off of Matt Besler and was headed towards the back of the net before it was cleared away by Amadou Dia who'd raced back to clear it off the line. KC continued to push for a second and Peterson had a good opportunity to make it 2-0 after a cross in from the left, Peterson tried to hit a side volley first time, but ended up mishitting it, but he still forced Oustad to push the ball wide for a corner kick. Vancouver late on really put the pressure on KC, but Melia continued his fine performance keeping the ball out. The best of those probably came in the 90th minute off a long free kick. Whitecaps defender, Tim Parker got a head on it and put it towards the corner of the goal but Mellia got down well and tipped the ball away preserving the lead. Sporting held out and picked off the Whitecaps bringing them to 30 points, just two points out of first place and anywhere between two and four games in hand on all five teams above them in the standings.

Wizards Man of the Match - Soni Mustivar - The Haitian midfielder was a beast last night, working up and down the field as well as side to side to assist KC's two rookie outside backs manage the Whitecaps' speed down the flanks. He intercepted 19 passes, the most for a single player in a game since Opta started tracking the stats. KC really may have finally found the perfect replacement for Oriol Rosell.

Honorable Mention - Tim Melia, Kevin Ellis

Player Ratings - Melia 8, Abdul-Salaam 6, Ellis 7, Besler 6, Dia 7, Mustivar 9, Espinoza 7, Feilhaber 6, Nemeth 5, Dwyer 5, Peterson 5. Subs Hallisey NR.