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Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Claims 1-0 Win at First Place Vancouver

July 13, 2015 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City recorded the team's fifth shutout in the past six MLS matches with a 1-0 road win over the first place Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday at BC Place. Homegrown defender Kevin Ellis scored the game-winning goal in the 52nd minute on an assist from Krisztian Nemeth and goalkeeper Tim Melia matched his career high with six saves in the clean sheet.

JACK IN THE BOX: The day after Sporting KC has four or more shots on goal, receive a free breakfast biscuit sandwich with any purchase at Jack in the Box locations in the Kansas City area.

Melia, who lowered his league-leading goals against average to 0.56 and improved to 6-1-2 in 2015, was called into action early by a Whitecaps side that had scored in each of their past six matches and had only been shutout once at home all year. In the ninth minute, Melia dove low to his left to punch away a header from Octavio Rivero then quickly recovered to turn away Cristian Techera's follow-up effort with his right foot.

Two minutes later, Melia raced off his line to block away an attempt from Kekuta Manneh at close range then was rescued by Benny Feilhaber's goalline clearance on a header from Tim Parker shortly thereafer. Sporting Kansas City continued to weather a series of squandered scoring opportunities from the home side with rookie outside back Amadou Dia playing a large part, first recovering to intervene on a breakaway by Techera in the 16th minute and again denying the Uruguayan with a last-minute clearance off the goalline in the 61st minute.

Sporting Kansas City's best chance to breakthrough in the first half came via a set piece in the 23rd minute. Feilhaber's delivery found Dom Dwyer at the backpost however his header was directed narrowly wide of the post.

No MLS team has scored more headed goals in 2015 than Sporting KC (9) and Ellis added to the team's aerial prowess with his second career MLS goal in the early stages of the second half. Jacob Peterson did well to win a corner kick through his pressure on Jordan Harvey near the endline and the hustle ultimately set up the decisive goal when Ellis timed his run perfectly and met a pinpoint pass from Nemeth with a glancing header inside the far post.

The lead almost doubled in the 58th minute as Nemeth and Feilhaber combined for a give-and-go before the Hungarian struck a first-time shot from 30 yards out that beat Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted only to then hit the post. Peterson was first to the rebound but sent his first-time shot whistling wide before coming close again in the 70th minute. The 10-year MLS veteran nearly capped off a 14-pass sequence with his first goal of the season if not for a sprawling save by Ousted.

The Whitecaps' search for an equalizer in the final 15 minutes was limited to two shots on target as a result of set pieces. Techera, who led all players with three shots on goal in the game, put a free kick on frame in the 76th minute that was tipped over the crossbar by an alert Melia. Then in the 90th minute, Parker's header was bound for the back of the net until Melia extended to his right at full extension to preserve the victory.

Sporting Kansas City - which earned the club's first conference road win of the year on Sunday - now leads all MLS teams with 1.76 points per game at the halfway juncture of the club's regular season. Sporting KC sits in sixth place in the West, two points back of the conference leaders entering next Saturday's home match against the Montreal Impact.

A limited number of tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com for the match, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT at Sporting Park on KMCI-TV 38 the Spot and SKCTV affiliates. The first 10,000 fans inside the gates will receive a commemorative Graham Zusi poster courtesy of Blue Cross Blue Shield of KC.

FAST FACTS

Sporting Kansas City defeated first place Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0 at BC Place on Sunday.

BC Place hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final one week ago.

With the win, Sporting KC remains in sixth place in the West just two points behind the conference leaders.

Sporting KC leads all MLS teams with 1.76 points per game and have at least two games in hand on all teams above them in the Western Conference standings.

First round SuperDraft pick Saad Abdul-Salaam made the first MLS start of his career on Sunday. Sporting KC started rookies at left and right back with Abdul-Salaam and Amadou Dia on each flank.

Dia led all players in passing accuracy (91.3%) on Sunday.

Jalil Anibaba (quad) and Seth Sinovic (concussion) missed the match due to injury and Graham Zusi (USA) and Marcel de Jong (Canada) were each with their respective national teams.

Zusi and the U.S. Men's National Team will face Panama at Sporting Park on Monday in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The Whitecaps were without Pedro Morales and Pa-Modou Kah due to calf strains, as well as Russell Teibert (Canada) and Darren Mattocks (Jamaica) because of international duty.

Sporting KC is tied for first in MLS with nine clean sheets through 17 matches this season.

Tim Melia (6-1-2) is the only MLS goalkeeper to boast a win/loss record five games above .500 this season.

Melia leads the League with a 0.56 goals against average in 2015.

Melia tied his career high with six saves on Sunday.

Kevin Ellis scored the lone goal for Sporting KC on Sunday, his second in 2015.

Sporting KC leads the League with nine headed goals in 2015.

Krisztian Nemeth earned the assist on the goal, his third of 2015.

Sporting KC's Soni Mustivar posted a MLS season high with 19 interceptions on Sunday, the most by an MLS player in a single match since 2013 (Chris Schuler, 19 vs. San Jose).

Mustivar also led all players in successful passes (46) and recoveries (17).

Matt Besler led all players in clearances with 13.

Sporting KC is 251-232-128 all-time and 89-147-70 on the road all-time.

Sporting KC is 2-3-3 on the road in 2015, earning their first away win against a Western Conference opponent this season.

Sporting KC is undefeated when scoring the first goal in 2015 (6-0-2).

With the win, Sporting KC moved to 45-32-24 all-time during the month of July.

Sporting KC returns to Sporting Park to host the Montreal Impact at 7:30 p.m. CT.

QUOTES

SPORTING KANSAS CITY MANAGER PETER VERMES

Thoughts on the match:

"I think it's a big three points because we have a tremendous amount of respect for the Whitecaps. They are probably the top team in the league at the moment, in the way that they play and the different weapons that they have. I think they are very different from front to back, they're an excellent team. For us it's a big three points because of the team we just played and being able to come here. They were the better team, they had better chances if you will and hustled a little bit more, but in the second half we were the better team. We were fortunate to get the goal but I think they are a top team in this league."

Team gaining confidence with three wins in a row in all competitions:

"Confidence and winning always come hand in hand and it's obviously an important aspect. The thing is though is sometimes, and I think in this league that quite often with a couple of teams, they don't value why they are having a few wins in a row and they start to take their foot off the gas pedal and I think every team needs to be aware of that and it's something we need to do as well. This league is very tough, and it doesn't really matter who you play on the weekend because there is so much parity, anybody can beat anybody, that's why it's important wherever you play, you're on top of your game and the biggest thing you have to give is effort. As much as it's good and it's good for your confidence, it doesn't really do much for us in the next game because we have to start all over again."

Is a rivalry brewing:

"Yeah every point matters to all of us. Whether you are playing this team again next week or not, it's a rival now, and I say it's a rival now because it's a conference team. These games are very important to us, try to get some points from those games against our rivals, conference teams."

SPORTING KANSAS CITY DEFENDER KEVIN ELLIS

Second goal of the season proves to be the difference:

"It was a good ball from Krisztian and he put in a spot where only I could get it, so he made it really easy for me to get up and get it."

Thoughts on tonight's defence and on containing the Vancouver Whitecaps FC offence:

"Going in we knew it was going to be a battle up top. Our right back Saad, he was the difference for in the game. He shut down Manneh and I was tight to him, he did exactly what we talked about and what we needed him to do. Credit to [Saad], man of the match for me."

SPORTING KANSAS CITY MIDFIELDER BENNY FEILHABER

Thoughts on the match:

"It's big getting three points on the road, we came in here very focused. Vancouver is top of the table right now. Tough place to play, they haven't played here in quite a while and came out with a lot of energy and I thought we did a pretty good job weathering the storm in the first half and played better soccer in the second half. We are happy for the three points."

On strategy against Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Matias Laba:

"I think Laba is a fantastic defensive midfielder in this league, one of the best. He made it tough, I didn't find as much of the game as I would've liked but, it was a gritty game in the midfield. I think it was a good battle between our three guys and their three, I think one or two plays there made a difference. Proud of all the guys and ecstatic with the three points."

Thoughts on team confidence:

"It's fantastic, obviously our confidence is high right now, we feel pretty good about playing at home then on the road and grabbing points. One thing for us, we have a lot of games in hand on a lot of teams but, those don't mean anything if we cannot get the results. We made of point of coming here and telling everything guy that look, we've got to get it done, we've got to keep moving up the table. We're in sixth right now and crawling up the table, with getting points in the games we have in hand will make the difference."

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC HEAD COACH CARL ROBINSON

Thoughts on the match:

"It hurts, yes. It's one of them where you create a lot of chances and don't score. And sometimes it comes back to bite you in the bum. And it did today, unfortunately."

Thoughts on the pace of the match and how it suited Sporting Kansas City:

"It did. I think from the first minute, they wanted to play at that pace. I think they did and I think they were allowed to do it, which shouldn't be allowed. But they were, and credit to them today, because they weathered the storm, especially in the first 45 minutes. Then, when you don't take a chance, you are open to a half-chance. That was a great ball by the boy Nemeth, and Ellis got in between my two centre backs and scored, really with the first clear cut chance of the game. The dynamics of the game changed but the game playing continued, and slowness and things like that. It is was it is. It's a tough one to swallow today."

Thoughts on the battle between Kendall Waston and Dom Dwyer:

"Both good players. Both super professionals. I don't think it was handled correctly, but they are both good players. Both decided to play a certain way, which is both correct and both wrong. But it wasn't handled correctly."

On whether the last two goals Whitecaps FC conceded is attributed to the left side not closing in:

"No. If you give any player in this league a little bit of time, they can put balls on six pences. We have a number of those players. [Kansas City] had a number of those players. Today, they took a chance they had come into the box. Credit to them. Sometimes when you lose, it's easy to blame people and it's easy to blame things. I won't blame my team, I'll take responsibility today for my team's performance. But there are other factors; we conceded a bad goal, they take the three points."

On the missed opportunity to pass Portland and Seattle in the MLS standings:

"Do you think that Portland journalists and Seattle journalists ask the same question to Ziggy and Caleb? Sure they do. It's going to be nip and tuck between now and the end of the year, without a doubt. As I said to you, we're still building. We know where we are. We need to be better. I need to be better. We will be better. A lot of things need to be better after today."

Thoughts on Tim Parker's match:

"I hated the goal. I said, I don't like goals conceded but Tim played very very well today. He had two headers that could have scored two goals for us. He didn't, and credit to them, they had a ball on the line and the keeper made a fantastic save. But, he got in between our two centre-backs, so if you do that and you're of quality and you have movement in the box, which they did have, sometimes there is nothing you can do. I don't think it's one individual. Any goal that you evaluate, you can always blame two or three people if you wanted to blame two or three people. But I don't blame people, I'll blame myself."

Thoughts on the midfield battle between Espinoza/Feilhaber and Laba/Koffie:

"Well, every game is won or lost in midfield and I think they came out on top, deservedly so. I think they were a little bit better than us in midfield today. In the first half it was a great game to watch. It really was; end-to-end and chances. Our attacking play was probably disguised a little bit, but in the second half, they got a grip of it. They controlled the tempo, which is why I tried to change it up a little bit and it didn't quite work."

Thoughts on the number of chances and not being able to convert them:

"Not as concerning as I would be if we didn't create one chance in the first half, because the game is about taking your chances. When you cross that white line, whoever comes and takes a chance and scores, usually wins the game. Today, we had a number of chances, we didn't take them. Kansas City had a number of chances and they took one of their chances. I'm concerned because we lost, but I'm not concerned because we're creating chances and we need to take them, we need to be better at that. I told the group in there, you can't keep playing well in games and not taking chances. And we did today."

On whether a striker is need in the summer transfer window:

"We're always looking to strengthen. Other teams are strengthening around the league, you see that. We'll continue to try and look if we can do it, then we certainly will. I think we need to. If we're able to so it's something that's an ongoing process for us. If we win 1-0 today, then goals isn't a concern. But we lost 1-0 today, so goals is a concern. We just have to take it on the chin. We have a great game next week against our friends down the road. So we'll get prepared for that and give that one a go."

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC MIDFIELDER MAURO ROSALES

Thoughts on chances lost in the game:

"I think this was the reason we couldn't get the three points. We should score in the first half having created at least six or seven chances to score a goal. We didn't come with the right mentality in the second half and allowed them to score. They made everything difficult for us to come back from. KC is a good team, a tough team. We controlled the whole game but we didn't get the three points. We have to keep working. Take away the positive things about this game. I think it was a very good game. Second half, taking away the goal, we keep pushing. I'm disappointed that we couldn't get at least a point."

Thoughts on slower speed on the game in the second half:

"I think we were tested well in the last couple of games playing on the road. Actually they were smart to slow down the game, to take time and make a lot of fouls. Ref carded the players for most of the game but they had the goal up so they could do it. Fair enough."

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC DEFENDER KENDALL WASTON

Thoughts on the game:

"Well it was a hard one. We play well, had a lot of chances in the first half. We didn't get to score. Second half - we didn't start with the same intensity. They get one goal so everything changed from there. Now we have a next game on Saturday in Portland. This match must give us more courage to strengthen those things that we didn't do well this day."

Thoughts on battle with Dom Dwyer:

"Nothing. It was just football. It was a normal battle. It was good because he fight for his team and I fight for mine. At the end of the game we shook hands and everything stayed on the pitch."

Thoughts on the goal:

"It was a clearance and we weren't tight enough with our guys. I think it was two against three. You know these things are hard. With us we don't want to blame anybody. Maybe if I was one step forward but you know this is like that."

Thoughts on Seattle and Portland losing but not taking advantage:

"Yes we knew that those teams lose and if we had won today we would have had more points on top. This team is about fighting every time. Last season we did it at the end. Hopefully this season we don't do the same. We want to be in the playoff before anything [at the] end."

Thoughts on home record at BC Place:

"Sometimes football is not fair. Sometimes you play ugly and you win, sometimes you play nice and you lose. I prefer to play very ugly and win all the games."

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