Mike Jones Released

Sporting KC has apparently released defender Mike Jones from his contract with the team. That's the word from Callum Williams, the clubs play-by-play announcer today on Twitter. Looking at some of Jones' Tweets from yesterday, that certainly seems to make sense. Jones was Kansas City's second round pick in this year's Supplemental draft. The SIU Edwardsville graduate appeared in Sporting KC's first reserve league game of the season down in Houston against the Dynamo playing the entire game. That was his only appearance for KC during his time here. Jones did make one other bench appearance for KC, appearing on the bench during KC's trip to Chicago this year. The move leaves KC with 25 players on their active roster with Konrad Warzycha currently on IR. Good luck to Jones in his career whether it's in the game or not.

Espinoza With Honduras for Gold Cup

Well the first of what will be four or five announcements of Sporting KC players heading to the Gold Cup appears to have been made. Based on an article out of Honduras, it appears that defender, Roger Espinoza has been named to at least the preliminary roster for Honduras for this summer's tournament. Espinoza is listed along with currently MLS players Andy Najar of DC and Marvin Chavez of FC Dallas. In the tournament from June 5th through the 25th, Honduras will play in Group B, matched with Guatemala, Jamaica, and Grenada. Espinoza could be matched up against teammates Shavar Thomas (Jamaica) and Craig Rocastle (Grenada) if both are called up for their national teams. The other two potentially call ups are in Group C with Stephane Auvray (Guadeloupe) and Teal Bunbury (USA).

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another former SKC Wizards update. Nick Garcia has returned to professional soccer as he played for the Kansas Magic (based out of Topeka) in their exhibition last week against the Illinois Piasa. The Magic won the game 7-3. Here is this rest of this week's former SKC Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Vicente Arze
Nick Cardenas
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Ivan Trujillo

MLS
Jimmy Conrad - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 3-0 win over New Englannd.
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 2-1 loss to Dallas.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Did not dress in Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Portland.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 3-0 win over Toronto. Did not dress in Seattle's 2-1 loss to DC.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 2-1 win over LA.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 2-1 loss to Dallas.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-1 win over Vancouver.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over RSL. Did not dress in Portland's 1-0 loss to San Jose in a US Open Cup qualifier.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 2-1 loss to Columbus. Started and played 120 minutes in Vancouver's 1-1 draw with Montreal in the NCC.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to portland.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Did not dress in DC's 4-1 loss to Houston. Did not dress in DC's 2-1 win over Seattle.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Portland's 1-0 win over RSL. Started and played 120 minutes in Portland's 1-0 loss to San Jose in a US Open Cup qualifier.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Started and played 58 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 loss to Philadelphia. Did not dress in San Jose's 1-0 win over Portland in the US Open Cup qualifier.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Dressed but did not play in San Jose's 1-0 loss to Philadelphia. Started and played 83 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 win over Portland in the US Open Cup qualifier.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 3-0 win over Toronto. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 loss to DC.
Josh Wolff - DC - Started and played 84 minutes, recording an assist in DC's 4-1 loss to Houston. Started and played 90 minutes, getting a goal and an assist in DC's 2-1 win over Seattle.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Minnesota's 1-1 draw with Carolina.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Started annd played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 2-2 draw with Puerto Rico.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Started and played 90 minutes in Montreal's 5-0 win over Edmonton. Started and played 120 minutes in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Vancouver.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 2-2 draw with Puerto Rico.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Did not dress in Charleston's 2-1 win over Charlotte. Did not dress in Charleston's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes scoring a goal in Richmond's 6-0 win over Dayton.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Started and played 90 minutes in Pittsburgh's 2-1 loss to Wimington. Came off the bench and played 30 minutes in Pittsburgh's 0-0 draw with Charleston.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Did not have a game this week.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Started and played 90 minutes in LA's 1-0 win over Antigua.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 6-0 win over Richmond.
John Wilson - Charleston - Did not dress in Charleston's 2-1 win over Charlotte. Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh.

International
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Scored two goals in Chirag's 2-2 draw with ONGC.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play in Cali's 2-1 win over La Equidad.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 1-1 draw with Necaxa.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Budapest Honvéd - Hungary - Did not dress in Honved's 1-0 loss to Kaposvari Rakoczi.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Started and played 65 minutes in Vinogradar's 1-0 win over HASK.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham/Preston - England - Did not dress in Preston's 2-1 loss to Ipswich.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 1-0 loss to Sport Boys.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 0-0 draw with Zenit.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Ahlen's 3-0 loss to Aalen.

Open Cup Qualifier at BVDAC

Kansas City's US Open Cup qualifier on Wednesday, May 25th against the New England Revolution now has a location. The game will be at the Blue Valley District Athletic Complex. KC has played at BVDAC multiple times over their history, going 4-1 at the location, including 2-0 in KC's 2004 run to the US Open Cup. KC hasn't played at the location since a 2-1 win over the Des Moines Menace in the 2006 Open Cup. A span of almost five years by the time KC takes the field against the Revolution. KC's only loss at Blue Valley came in 2001 when they lost to Chicago. Tickets will go on sale for season ticket "members" tomorrow in a pre-sale.

Reserves Win Home Opener

The Swope Park Rangers picked up their first win of the reserve league season today, defeating Real Salt Lake 2-0 at Swope Park. Chance Myers had a first half brace and Eric Kronberg picked up the shutout for KC in the victory. Check out the highlights and reaction below.

Why It's Not Time to Panic, Yet

Five games without a win, only 4 points from the first 6 games. Not the type of start to the season that most fans were expecting heading into this season. Yes, most people thought that KC would struggle to pick up points at time, but I think the first half of the road trip is where fans saw the team picking up the majority of their points on this 10 game road trip.

Now with it half over, is it time to really be worried about this team this season? I've certainly thought that at times, especially in the heat of the moment after games. But this isn't the teams worst start in team history, that honor goes to the 1999 season. Of course that's not exactly a banner year for KC. The biggest thing to remember is that the 6 games so far have all been on the road. KC has never been a strong road team, in fact, only once has KC had a winning record after the first 6 road games of the season (2000). KC's 2011 season though is certainly one of the worse. KC is 1-4-1 through 6 games this season, the 5th worse in team history. In those other four seasons, only once (2002) did KC actually make the playoffs.

This season for KC, though, was always going to come down to KC's home form this season. Only twice in the team's history have they had a losing record at home. KC though will need a season similar to 2008 where KC only lost twice at home. It's still going to be a rough run for KC this season, and I'm not ready to totally back off the statement I made last year that we are unlikely to make the playoffs. But I'm not ready to panic and worry about this team quite yet.

Sunday After Stats

Here are some stats from last night's game. Lots of positions being tied by Davy Arnaud and Michael Harrington.

Davy Arnaud made his 254th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Preki for 3rd place on that list.

It was also Arnaud's 224th league game, tying him with Nick Garcia for 2nd place on that list.

It was also Arnaud's 203rd league start, tying him with Jimmy Conrad for 3rd place on that list.

Michael Harrington made his 119th league appearance for KC, tying him with Diego Gutierrez and Uche Okafor for 13th on that list.

It was also Harrington's 107th league start, tying him with Okafor for 14th on that list.

Better Performance, But Another Loss

Last night against New York, Sporting Kansas City stepped up against the stronger Red Bulls side and shut down the Red Bulls attack. Unfortunately the offense struggled, only recording 2 shots on goal all game after controlling much of the play in the second half.

Things started out going the way many KC fans thought, as in the 12th minute, Dwayne DeRosario went down from a tug from Stephane Auvray earning the Red Bulls a penalty. DeRosario went down incredibly easy for a light touch, but earned the penalty for the Red Bulls. Rafael Marquez stepped up to take the penalty kick. Marquez though weakly struck the PK and it was easily saved by Jimmy Nielsen to keep the score tied 0-0. The Red Bulls continued to attack, and Nielsen came up with a couple good saves to keep Kansas City in the game. In the 22nd New York got the goal that they likely deserved for their early play when Marquez took a quick free kick near midfield. Marquez played the ball to Thierry Henry, who found DeRosario streaking past Korede Aiyegbusi. DeRosario squared the ball into the middle for Luke Rodgers who buried his shot past Nielsen or the lead. On first look, Rodgers certainly appeared to be offside on the play, at least a couple steps in front of him. The image people shows that he was likely onside, but the problem is that the linesman was in no position to make the call on whether Rodgers was onside or not as he was a good 10 yards behind the play.


Nielsen's best save of the game came in the 38th on a shot by DeRosario. A shot from long range that Nielsen got just enough of a touch on to push the ball wide of the post for a corner. Then off the corner Nielsen again came up with a big save, knocking away a header from Tim Ream.

KC made one change at half time, bringing on Ryan Smith on for the ineffective CJ Sapong. KC was the more active side in the second half, controlling possession and keeping Henry and half time substitute Juan Agudelo in check and really keeping New York from any chances in the second half. Aurelien Collin and Julio Cesar both were solid in the center of defense for KC during the game cutting out a number of New York's attacks. Unfortunately KC was unable to do anything with that possession. KC's best chance came in the 61st when Michael Harrington played a ball into the box that went over the heads of New York's defenders to Graham Zusi who volleyed first time over the net in a reaction shot. Smith did a good job of holding possession, but many times held on to the ball too long. But in the end KC didn't create enough with all the possession that they had in the second half and that ended up costing KC against New York.

Wizards Man of the Match - Jimmy Nielsen - A strong performance from KC's goalkeeper. Yes Marquez's PK was very weak, but Nielsen could have gone the wrong way early and Marquez could have been seen as "calmly putting the penalty away". Nielsen holding out allowed him to make the easy save. Nielsen also had other good saves throughout the game to keep KC in the game.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 7, Harrington 5, Collin 6, Cesar 5, Aiyegbusi 5, Auvray 5, Arnaud 5, Zusi 4, Sapong 3, Bunbury 4, Kamara 4. Subs Smith 5, Stojcev 4.

Athletics Fall in US Open Cup Qualifier

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Line ups

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

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

Scoring

Kyle Perkins (Marty Johnston) - 31

Bryan Perez - 43

Perez (John Sosa) – 45

Brady Blankenship (Sosa) – 45+

Sosa (Tomas Boltnar) – 53

Jarrett Hamilton (Ben Taylor) – 63

Hamilton – 67

Sosa (Boltnar) – 89

Yellows

Anthony Solaizzi – 40

Diego Marroquin – 57

John Sosa – 90

New Byline to Back Post

This week's From the Byline to the Back Post is now up for your listening pleasure on Posterous and iTunes. This week Thad and I discuss the New England game, the upcoming New York game, Collin's suspension being rescinded (this was recorded before Diop's suspension was handed down), and the ever wonderful topic of promotion and relegation. Thanks again to The Vandon Arms for the music to open the podcast that seems to perfectly match plenty of fans moods about the team right now.

Another Game Day Today

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

Second Half of the Road Trip

Tomorrow in New York, Sporting Kansas City begins the second half of their 10 game road trip against the New York Red Bulls. New York comes into the game tomorrow on the backs of two blow out wins against San Jose (3-0) and DC (4-0). Thierry Henry has started to get into good goal scoring form, getting 3 goals in the last two games. Luke Rodgers has become the current partner for Henry, with Juan Agudelo, the latest US soccer teen sensation coming off the bench. That's not even including the likes of Dane Richards and Joel Lindpere on the wings who can score plenty on their own. New York is going to be the biggest offensive threat that KC's weak defense has faced all season.

KC will have Aurelien Collin available after his suspension was rescinded, but that comes that the expense of Birahim Diop. Most fans are not too disappointed in that. One thing that this move will cause I think is that it will give us a Collin and Julio Cesar partnership, which honestly I dread seeing. I'm not a fan of Cesar's and I struggle to find many people that are fans of his. He just doesn't play the style defensively that is needed with the type of lineup that KC plays. As for who replaces Diop, I think we'll see Stephane Auvray step back into the starting lineup. I hope this move was coming anyways, but that remains to be seen. Other than that I'm not sure if we'll see any changes, but I wouldn't mind seeing more in the midfield as the team has struggled in all five games so far to control the midfield. Milos Stojcev, Davy Arnaud, and whoever has played d-mid have not looked good. We'll see if Peter Vermes feels the same way or not.

Nielsen
Harrington - Cesar - Collin - Espinoza
Arnaud - Auvray - Stojcev
Kamara - Bunbury - Sapong

Number to Remember - 4 - Number of games that KC has gone without a win since defeating Chivas USA in their first game 3-2.

Key Match Up - Aurelien Collin vs Thierry Henry - The Frenchman vs the Frenchman, Henry is on a nice run of form right now and is leading the Red Bulls attack. Collin is going to have to play a lot smarter than he did against New York though, Henry isn't the type of forward that he went up against in New England. More of a finesse player.

PREDICTION - I have very little confidence in this game, New York is playing extremely well, and well, KC isn't. The defense is still struggling greatly, and the thought of a Collin/Cesar partnership in the middle of defense worries me a lot. More so for the later player in that lineup. This part of the road trip is the tougher half of the two and it starts with the hottest team in the league probably. Of course in recent years under Vermes, Wizards teams seem to step up when they play the elite teams in many instances. So maybe the team will come out and surprise us. But I'm not holding my breath.

KC - 1 (Bunbury)
NY - 3 (Henry x2, Rodgers)

Diop Suspended

Earlier this week when MLS rescinded Aurelien Collin's red card, they stated that there would be no punishment for Birahim Diop on the play. That changed today when MLS announced that the red card suspension for Collin had been transferred to Diop. Diop will now miss tomorrow's game against New York.

In regards to MLS changing their mind, the league and US Soccer's hands were tied. According to the release from the league, "Because the misconduct was assessed and included in the match report, and the only reason Diop was not sanctioned initially was because of mistaken identity, the FIFA Disciplinary Code requires that Diop be issued the red card and serve the corresponding one-match suspension. Per the corrected interpretation, the MLS Disciplinary Committee did not have jurisdiction to decide whether or not Diop would be suspended."

The league's hands were tied by the FIFA Disciplinary Code. Still doesn't explain why, if the league knew of this, this wasn't announced originally when Collin's suspension was rescinded. Just another example that there needs to be some sort of review after games and some way to totally rescind cards or hand out cards retroactively, like to the instigator and diver in the incident, Benny Feilhaber.

Broadcast Change

During "Off the Pitch" Sunday night in the closing of the program, Callum Williams made mention that the game was Sasha Victorine's last game in the booth for a while. Today we got more of an explanation as to what is happening. Victorine is gone from the booth and will take another position in the organization. Based on a post by Williams on Bigsoccer, it sounds like it had plenty to do with family and Victorine wants to spend time with his kid.

The team has not announced a permanent replacement, but for this week in New York, Williams will be joined by Brian Kilmeade of "Fox and Friends". Kilmeade is a former college player, and was a sideline reporter for New York when they were the Metrostars. His work on Fox though has overshadowed this announcement in some fans eyes who look at his political views and are not really happy with some of the comments that Kilmeade has made in the past. Personally I don't really care, I'm not watching the game for his political views, and honestly I likely won't hear many of his comments.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Here is this week's former SKC Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Vicente Arze
Nick Cardenas
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Ivan Trujillo

MLS
Jimmy Conrad - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas 2-1 win over San Jose.
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 3-0 win over Portland.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's CCL game against Monterrey.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 1-0 win over Colorado.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 2-1 win over Vancouver.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 3-0 win over Portland.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 1-1 draw with Toronto.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 3-0 loss to LA.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 2-1 loss to Dallas. Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 1-0 win over Montreal in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's CCL game against Monterrey.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Did not dress in DC's 4-0 loss to New York. Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 3-2 loss to New England in the US Open Cup.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 3-0 loss to LA.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Started and played 64 minutes in San Jose's 2-1 loss to Chivas.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 55 minutes in San Jose's 2-1 loss to Chivas.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 1-0 win over Colorado.
Josh Wolff - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 4-0 loss to New York. Did not dress in DC's 3-2 loss to New England in the US Open Cup.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 3-1 loss to Puerto Rico.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in the Strikers 2-1 win over Atlanta.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Started and played 75 minutes in Montreal's 0-0 draw with Tampa Bay. Started and played 75 minutes in Montreal's 1-0 loss to Vancouver in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Did not play in Ft. Lauderdale's 2-1 win over Atlanta.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Did not play in 2-1 loss to Richmond.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Started and played 87 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 win over Charleston.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Defeated Harrisburg 1-0
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 3-2 win over Dayton.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Tied River Plate Puerto Rico 1-1
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 win over Charleston.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in 2-1 loss to Richmond.

International
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Tied Mumbai FC 0-0.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Season is over.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cali's 3-2 win over Envigado. Tied America De Cali 0-0 in the Copa Colombia.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Pachuca's 1-1 draw with Queretaro.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Budapest Honvéd - Hungary - Did not play in either of Honved's two games this week.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - lost 2-1 to Croatia Slavonski Brod.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham/Preston - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Preston's 4-0 loss to Millwall. Did not dress in Preston's 1-0 loss to Cardiff.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 2-2 draw with Melgar.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 4-1 loss to Lokomotiv Moscow.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Ahlen's 5-1 loss to Stuttgart II.

Open Cup Qualifier May 25th

Sporting Kansas City announced today the date of their final US Open Cup qualifier against New England. The Wizards will play the Revolution on May 25th, at a location still to be determined. For KC the game comes between trips to Seattle and Colorado. For New England the game is between a trip to San Jose and a home game against the Galaxy. So both teams will have a bit of travel before the game.

The location for the game has not been announced, it had been assumed the game would be at either UMKC or Blue Valley, but tonight on Twitter Robb Heineman may have thrown out a big hint on the location of the game. Heineman posted "can you say swope open cup? No turf for the Revs." So are we going to see the Wizards play the Revs at the Swope Park training complex? I certainly hope that we don't. I think the Swope complex is a fantastic training center, but that's just it, it's a training center. For a real game, that doesn't exactly say professional to me. If they don't want to do turf, it also means a much earlier start time to the game to make sure it gets in, as there are no lights on the other fields out at the complex.

Collin Suspension Rescinded

MLS' disciplinary committee today announced that Aurelien Collin will not be suspended for this weekend's game against New York. Collin was given a red card for "striking an opponent" aka shoving Benny Feilhaber. The league announced that after reviewing the play it was a case of mistaken identity as Birahim Diop was the one that shoved Feilhaber. MLS' said "US Soccer reviewed the red card issued to A. Collin and determined that the incident was a case of mistaken identity with B. Diop. As a result A. Collin will no longer be suspended for the next league match. The MLS Disciplinary Committee reviewed the play and ruled that no sanctions against B. Diop were warranted. Therefore, both B. Diop and A. Collin are eligible to play in their next match against New York Red Bull."

So basically what the league said is that the play was not a red card at all as they did not hand out any suspension to Diop as he was the one that shoved Feilhaber on the play. This is certainly good news for KC as in the 75 minutes he did play Collin looked much more competent in the center of defense than Julio Cesar or Shavar Thomas, who have partnered Matt Besler so far this season.

Sporting KC to Play Revolution in US Open Cup Qualifier

In more US Open Cup news, KC knows their opponent for their next US Open Cup Qualifying match. The Wizards will take on the New England Revolution after the Revs held on to a 3-2 lead tonight in Maryland against DC United. The official date of the game has not been announced, although it looks like it could be May 11th. That would be the Wednesday right after the team's off week on May 7th. It's also right before a trip out to LA for KC. For the Revolution the game would be between two home against against the Colorado Rapids and Vancouver Whitecaps.

The location has not been announced yet either, but seems likely it'll be either on UMKC's campus or at Blue Valley Athletic Complex. The game will be a quick turn around chance for Sporting KC to erase the memory of last weekend's game against the Revolution.

Location Update for Athletics Game

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

Athletics Game is Saturday

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

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