Preview: First-Place Sporting KC Visits New England on Saturday
April 27, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Riding a seven-game unbeaten streak and sitting atop the Supporters' Shield standings, Sporting Kansas City (5-1-2, 17 points) will ride a wave of momentum eastward for a cross-conference clash with the New England Revolution (3-2-2, 11 points) on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT with three hours of live television coverage beginning at 6 p.m. on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus and FOX Sports Midwest Plus. The match will also stream live on 662d369bce42b584d15f602eae34934baca1a6bfccc88fcc94a6e7781b6b8 FOX Sports GO for viewers in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, as well as on 87ab5cb457764a950124af269578a51810f80381ce20064b80e871237c7ac ESPN+ elsewhere across the U.S. Local radio broadcasts will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC (Spanish), while the b6e5755cd17aceef3367f2ee81515fb65e70fa62211b368d7ed1cb8383c02 Sporting KC Uphoria app will provide live updates.
All supporters are welcome to attend the 1bd80b5c186f3f7012548c219ec31363a3d1204f651c55de0c228a1cd006a official watch party for Saturday's match at No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District (1370 Grand Blvd.). Beginning at 6 p.m. CT, No Other Pub will offer $4 Bud Light drafts and an all-you-can-eat buffet with bottomless soda ($20) or domestic draft beers ($30).
Sporting Kansas City enters the weekend in red-hot form, one week removed from a 6-0 thrashing of Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Children's Mercy Park. Forward Johnny Russell scored the eighth MLS hat-trick in Kansas City history - earning Alcatel MLS Player of the Week honors in the process - as Sporting KC set or tied single-game club records in goals, margin of victory, shots, shots on goal and possession. Jimmy Medranda added a long-range wonderstrike in the first half before Cristian Lobato and Yohan Croizet opened their MLS scoring accounts after intermission.
Manager Peter Vermes' men lead the league with 20 goals through eight games - already half of the club's total for the entire 2017 regular season. Nine different Sporting KC players have found the back of the net, more than any other team, and the club's plus-nine goal differential is the best in MLS. As the league's only player with four goals in April, Russell has notably emerged an MLS Player of the Month candidate.
The Revolution are fresh off a 2-2 road draw at Columbus Crew SC that saw the visitors come from behind twice in the first half. Former Sporting KC forward Teal Bunbury drew New England level at 1-1 in the 14th minute before Cristian Penilla made the score 2-2 on the stroke of halftime. Bunbury is tied with 23-year-old homegrown veteran Diego Fagundez for the team lead with three goals, having scored a career-high seven during the 2017 campaign.
First-year head coach and longtime U.S. international goalkeeper Brad Friedel has enjoyed a promising start to his managerial career in MLS. The Revs occupy fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings and have conceded just 1.14 goals per game, a marked improvement from last year when they leaked goals at a clip of 1.79 per match. Friedel has found continuity along the backline - Andrew Farrell, Claude Dielna, Jalil Anibaba and Gabriel Somi have made five straight starts together - while midfield newcomers Penilla and Wilfried Zahibo have made positive impressions of their own. Penilla, a 26-year-old Ecuadorian, has been involved in six of the team's 12 goals, scoring twice and adding four assists. Zahibo, a 24-year-old native of France, has chipped in a goal and four assists.
Saturday will mark the first time this season that Sporting KC travels into the Eastern Time Zone, giving the side an opportunity to continue its strong run away from home. The club is 2-0-1 on the road this season, already equaling its away win total from 2017, and their eight road goals are already three shy of tying last season's total. On the flipside, New England has been tough to beat in the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium, going 14-3-4 on their home turf since the start of 2017.
Sporting KC and New England last met on Sept. 16, 2017 at Children's Mercy Park. Bunbury gave the visitors an early lead with a deflected volley - his third tally in five appearances against his former club - but Sporting KC responded emphatically with a Gerso equalizer and a brace from Diego Rubio to claim a 3-1 triumph.
New England has won three straight home games against Sporting KC dating back to 2014, scoring eight goals and allowing two. The Revs have also prevailed in four of the last six meetings overall, but Kansas City's 25-17-11 overall record in the series is its best against any MLS charter member.
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