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Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City Weekly Update

November 9, 2011 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


SPORTING KANSAS CITY CONCLUDES SEASON WITH 2-0 LOSS TO HOUSTON DYNAMO

Sporting Kansas City were eliminated from the 2011 MLS Cup playoffs on Sunday following a 2-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Final in front of a record crowd of 20,839 at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park.

The loss ended the 2011 season for Sporting Kansas City that saw the club ascend from worst to first in the Eastern Conference, earning the conference's top seed courtesy of a run that included just three losses in a total of 27matches to end the regular season. Sporting Kansas City then went on to dethrone the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, earning the right to host a conference final for thefirst time since 2004.

C.J. SAPONG WINS 2011 MLS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Sporting Kansas City forward C.J. Sapong has been named the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year . Sapong appeared in all 34 of Sporting's regular season games and helped the club to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

The 22-year old forward scored five goals, tied with Houston Dynamo forward Will Bruin for the most in among rookies this season, and Sapong added five assists in his first professional season. Sapong, a native of Manassas, Virginia, becomes the first Kansas City player to win MLS Rookie of the Year honors. Sapong, selected with the tenth overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft out of James Madison University, earned immediate playing time in his first season, and remained a staple of Sporting KC's attack. He was the only Sporting player to appear in every game, and made 22 starts in his inaugural campaign. The former Colonial Athletic Association player of the year also finished second on his team in assists (5), and shots on goal (25).

Sapong joins the likes of Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra and Ben Olsen as recipients of the award.

PETER VERMES NAMED FINALIST FOR COACH OF THE YEAR

Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes is one of three finalists for the 2011 MLS Coach of the Year . Vermes engineered a remarkable turnaround for Sporting Kansas City after starting the season with 10 games on the road. Sigi Schmid of the Seattle Sounders and Bruce Arena of the LA Galaxy are also in contention for the award. The winner will be announced Nov. 14.

LIVESTRONG SPORTING PARK TO BE RECREATED AT LEGOLAND

The home of Sporting Kansas City will be built at the new LEGOLAND Discovery Center following an overwhelming public vote. LIVE STRONG Sporting Park topped the list of the ten landmarks to be built on a smaller scale at LEGOLAND, which will open this spring at Crown Center. The miniature stadium will reside in the Miniland section of the park and will be joined by scaled versions of the likes of the Kansas Speedway, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and seven other notable Kansas City landmarks. A public vote on the Discovery Center's Facebook page decided the landmarks to be featured at the Miniland. LIVE STRONG Sporting Park received the most votes, nudging the Sprint Center and the River Market out of the competition.

"We are honored that LIVE STRONG Sporting Park will be built into the Miniland project," Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman said. "There are many remarkable landmarks in Kansas City, and to be thought of after opening this year is a great tribute."

2011 BRINGS UNPRECEDENTED OFF-FIELD SUCCESS FOR SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Although Sporting Kansas City did not bring the MLS Cup home to Kansas City, there are plenty of positives to draw from the inaugural season at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park.

In terms of home game attendance, Sporting ranked in the top half of all teams in Major League Soccer after seeing an 84% increase from the 2010 season. Contributing to the improved attendance figures were eleven sold-out crowds throughout 2011.

Additionally, marked increases in both television ratings for Sporting Kansas City broadcasts and merchandise sales were seen in the historic 2011 season. TV ratings on KSMO increased by more than 100%, while merchandise sales grew by 475%, bringing Sporting Kansas City to rank 9th in MLS. Sporting Kansas City ranked 2nd in merchandise sales for 2011 at Dick's Sporting Goods, the official sporting goods partner of Major League Soccer.

ESPINOZA SELECTED FOR NATIONAL TEAM DUTY

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza will join the Honduran national team for an international friendly during the upcoming FIFA international match dates, scheduled from Nov. 12-16.

Honduras, currently ranked 57th by FIFA, will face Serbia at El Olimpico stadium in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Nov. 14. Espinoza has made 22 appearances for Honduras and has scored three goals for the senior team since his debut in 2009 and represented Los Catrachos in their run to the semifinals at this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

TEAL BUNBURY WITHDRAWS FROM U.S. U-23 CAMP DUE TO INJURY

Sporting Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury was forced to withdraw from the United States Under-23 Men's National Team training camp after suffering a right ankle contusion in Sporting Kansas City's 2-0 loss to Houston in the MLS Western Conference Final.

Caleb Porter,Bunbury's former coach at the University of Akron, coaches the Under-23 squad. Bunbury has two previous appearances with the United States, debuting in a friendly at South Africa in November 2010 and then coming on a second-half substitute against Chile in January, converting a penalty kick in the 75th minute of a 1-1 draw.

SPORTING KC TEAMS UP WITH DISNEY FOR 2012 PRESEASON

Sporting Kansas City will escape the cold of Kansas City from Feb. 24-March 3 to participate in the 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.

Sporting will face other MLS teams, including Toronto FC, and Orlando City, the reigning United Soccer League champion. The Disney Pro Soccer Classic field has been expanded from five teams a year ago to eight teams in 2012. The remaining teams will be announced in the coming weeks. Mickey Mouse paid a visit to Kansas City, his birthplace, this week. Mickey made the rounds to local TV stations and trained with Sporting last week.

2012 MLS SUPERDRAFT TO BE HELD IN KANSAS CITY ON JANUARY 12

For the eighth consecutive year, the MLS SuperDraft will be held in conjunction with the National Soccer CoachesAssociation of America (NSCAA) Convention, and will take place on Thursday, January 12, at the Kansas City Convention Center, in Kansas City, Mo. The first round of the SuperDraft will be broadcast live on ESPN2beginning at 11:00 AM CT.

Billed as "The World's Largest Annual Gathering of Soccer Coaches," each year the NSCAA Convention draws approximately 4,000 coaches from our 30,000-plus members, and nearly 10,000 attendees over five days.

This year, the MLS SuperDraft will include two rounds and 38 overall selections, with the Montreal Impact selecting first overall. Clubs that did not qualify for the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs, in reverse order of regular season finish, hold the next eight selections. The remaining 10 positions currently belong to clubs that were eliminated in the same round of the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs, in reverse order of regular season finish.

A four-round Supplemental Draft will be held via conference call on Tuesday, January 17th.

KAMARA FINISHES FOURTH IN MLS W.O.R.K.S. HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR VOTING

Sporting Kansas City forward Kei Kamara finished fourth in the voting for MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year, awarded today to New England Revolution midfielder Zak Boggs.

Kamara, a former MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Month recipient (September 2010), has volunteered his time and skills to several activitiesthrough the club's Sporting 22 program. Sporting 22 was launched in 2011 to give grant funds and scholarship money to 22 local high school students that applied with soccer-related projects. Kamara consistently showed his support of these students' enterprises by not only making guest appearances at the various clinics, camps, leagues and other endeavors, but also by reaching out to the program coordinator to find other unique ways of encouraging students to continue their participation in and promotion of the sport.

ZUSI AND KAMARA NOMINATED FOR GOAL OF THE YEAR, NIELSEN FOR SAVE OF THE YEAR

Sensational strikes from Graham Zusi and Kei Kamara are still in the running for the 2011 AT&T Goal of the Year . Both Zusi's free kick from midfield against FC Dallas and Kamara's scissor kick against Toronto FC have progressed to the round of 16.

Nielsen's double save to deny Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle saw the Danish goalkeeper progress to the Round of 16. Voting is now closed but the awards will be determined on Nov. 16 by a combination of online and text voting.

2012 SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Season tickets for the 2012 Sporting Kansas City season at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park are now on sale .

Fans ages 21 and older now have the option to purchase season tickets in the Budweiser Corner at LIVE STRONG Sporting Park, an all-inclusive terrace area which provides stadium-style food options and draft beer choices.

Another new seating package for 2012 is the Sporting Family Plan. Offered exclusively in the Providence Sporting Zone, the Sporting Family Plan gives fans the option to purchase two season tickets and receive two more for children ages 12 and under for free. Season tickets in the Providence Sporting Zone start at $380 for the entire 2012 season.

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