Kansas City Wizards Aim to Continue Playoff Push Against Philadelphia on Saturday
September 3, 2010 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
The Kansas City Wizards and Philadelphia Union kick off week 23 of MLS action at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 4 at the newly opened PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Both teams are coming off wins in their last two games, but Kansas City is riding the momentum of an extended run of results. In all competition, the Wizards have earned more points than any MLS team over their last eight matches, going 5-1-2 in a span that includes road victories over both conference leaders and a 2-1 upset of English powerhouse Manchester United.
With the streak, the Wizards have moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Toronto, and are just three points out of the final playoff spot with nine games remaining. The Union sit in seventh place in the East with 20 points from 21 games played in their first season in MLS.
Philadelphia is coming off a busy, but successful week. The Union came from behind at New England last Saturday, scoring two goals in the final ten minutes to beat the Revolution 2-1, and then returned home for a hard fought 1-0 victory on Wednesday in a friendly against Chivas Guadalajara. Chivas striker Omar Bravo, on-loan from Kansas City until he joins the Wizards as a Designated Player for the 2011 season, started and played 63 minutes in his first appearance in the United States since signing with Kansas City last month.
The Union offense features one of the league's top performers this season, Philadelphia forward Sebastian Le Toux, who is in the midst of a breakout season with nine goals and ten assists. He is joined on the frontline by rookies Danny Mwanga, this year's No. 1 overall draft pick, and Jack McInerney, who has scored in back-to-back games for the Union. Together, Mwanga and McInerney have nine goals in league play.
Kansas City will be playing without its leading goal scorer, Kei Kamara, due to international duty. Kamara was selected by Sierra Leone for an African Cup of Nations qualifier on Sunday, September 5 in Cairo against defending continental champions Egypt. Following Kansas City's game on Saturday, Wizards defenders Shavar Thomas (Jamaica) and Roger Espinoza (Honduras) will also report to their respective national teams for upcoming international fixtures.
The Wizards will play at the newly opened PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania for the first time on Saturday. Kansas City and Philadelphia's only previous meeting came on June 10 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, with the Wizards emerging as 2-0 winners on goals from Kamara and midfielder Graham Zusi.
Saturday's match will be broadcast live and in high definition in both English and Spanish on KCWE Channel 29. It will also be available over the airwaves on La Gran D 1340 AM.
Please note: The Kansas City Wizards match against the Houston Dynamo has been moved from September 11th to Wednesday, September 22nd at 7:30 p.m. CT at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Tickets can be purchased by visiting KCWizards.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL. The Wizards are also now accepting initial payments for season tickets for the 2011 season, highlighted by the debut of Chivas Guadalajara star and Mexico international Omar Bravo, and the opening of Kansas City's state-of-the-art soccer stadium next summer.
Major League Soccer Stories from September 3, 2010
- Real Salt Lake Gameday Events: Saturday, September 4 - Real Salt Lake
- Kansas City Wizards Aim to Continue Playoff Push Against Philadelphia on Saturday - Sporting Kansas City
- Tickets for Open Cup Championship Match to Go on Sale Tuesday - Seattle Sounders FC
- Real Salt Lake Match Preview & Game Notes - Real Salt Lake
- Chicago Fire Forward Brian McBride to Retire After 2010 Season - Chicago Fire FC
- Game Notes - Sounders FC at New England Revolution - September 4 - Seattle Sounders FC
- Brian McBride to Announce Retirement After 2010 Season - Chicago Fire FC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
