Preview: Sporting KC Opens 2018 Season Sunday vs. NYCFC
March 2, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Sporting Kansas City lifts the curtains on the 2018 MLS regular season Sunday when the club hosts New York City FC in a marquee interconference matchup at 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1, Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish).
Tickets for the season-opening clash are available at SeatGeek.com, and the first 15,000 fans through the stadium gates will get a free schedule magnet courtesy of match sponsor Children's Mercy. Rally towels await all supporters in attendance, while Sporting KC Uphoria mobile app users will receive an offer card for free Oreo cookies at local participating Price Chopper locations.
As part of Sunday's radio programming, Sports Radio 810 WHB will air a live pregame show beginning at 6 p.m. CT and The Final Whistle postgame show immediately after the match.
Sunday's fixture will see the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champions go head-to-head with a New York City FC side that finished second in last year's Supporters' Shield standings. Both teams achieved their success through dissimilar means in 2017, as Sporting KC's historically stout defense resulted in another trophy - the club's fourth in six seasons - and major accolades for Tim Melia and Ike Opara, who were named MLS Goalkeeper and Defender of the Year, respectively. Manager Peter Vermes' men conceded eight fewer goals than any other club during the regular season, with U.S. internationals Matt Besler and Graham Zusi joining defensive midfielder Ilie to round out one of the most formidable spines in MLS.
New York City FC, meanwhile, remained a prolific unit going forward with 56 regular-season goals, 22 of which coming from Spanish soccer icon David Villa. The 36-year-old World Cup winner has bagged 63 MLS goals since 2015, more than any other player, and guided head coach Patrick Vieira's men to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a second straight season last fall. Midfield talisman Maximiliano Moralez enjoyed a strong debut campaign in MLS, tallying nine assists, and the recent arrival of 20-year-old Designated Player Jesus Medina will only strengthen NYCFC's attack heading into 2018.
Sporting KC and New York City FC boast several new arrivals who could make their debuts on Sunday. Scottish winger Johnny Russell and French Designated Player Yohan Croizet give Vermes two fresh playmaking threats, while Chilean international midfielder and fellow Designated Player Felipe Gutierrez brings undeniable pedigree as a Copa America champion and World Cup veteran. On the opposite sideline, NYCFC has welcomed Medina, acquired midfielder Ebenezer Ofori on loan from German club Stuttgart and reinforced the backline with the likes of Anton Tinnerholm, Cedric Hountondji and former USL standout Sebastien Ibeagha.
Sunday will also serve as a reunion for Sporting KC forward Khiry Shelton and New York City FC defender Saad Abdul-Salaam, who swapped clubs in a trade last December. Both players spent their first three years in MLS with the team they will face this weekend.
Sporting KC - winners in two of three all-time meetings against New York City FC - will look to extend their unbeaten record in home openers at Children's Mercy Park. The club has zero defeats in seven such matches at the world-class venue and boasts a 13-2-7 record in home openers dating back to the inaugural 1996 MLS season.
Vermes has guided his team to the MLS Cup Playoffs in each of the last seven years, a club record for longest postseason streak and the third-longest active run in MLS. NYCFC has reached the playoffs in each of the last two seasons with back-to-back second-place finishes in the Eastern Conference.
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