Sporting Kansas City Weekly Update
Published on June 20, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
SPORTING KC TO FACE SEATTLE TONIGHT, PHILADELPHIA SATURDAY
Sporting Kansas City will be tested on the road twice this week when they face the Seattle Sounders FC at 9 p.m. CT tonight and the Philadelphia Union at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday. Both matches will be broadcast on KSMO-TV (Kansas City), KMTW (Wichita) and WIBW (Topeka), with coverage beginning 30 minutes before kick-off.
LIVESTRONG Sporting Park will host a watch party on Saturday in the Members' Club for soccer supporters to take in the UEFA Euro 2012 quarterfinal featuring reigning World Cup champions Spain at 1:45 p.m. CT, followed by Sporting Kansas City's match-up with the Philadelphia Union at 6 p.m. CT. All in attendance will have the opportunity to take an all-access stadium tour between the games at 4:30 p.m. CT and Sporting Style will be offering 25% off home uniforms (replica or authentic in adult and youth sizes).
NIELSEN AND CESAR UP FOR MLS HONORS
Two Sporting Kansas City players are nominated for Major League Soccer awards for weeks 13-15. Team captain Jimmy Nielsen is up for Save of the Week, while midfielder Julio Cesar is up for AT&T Goal of the Week and Latino de La Jornada (Latino of the Week) . Voting ends Thursday at 9:59 p.m. CT. Vote early and vote often!
KEMPIN SUFFERS ANKLE FRACTURE, KRONBERG OFF DISABLED LIST
Sporting Kansas City homegrown goalkeeper Jon Kempin suffered an ankle fracture in training this week and is expected to miss eight weeks. The Overland Park, Kan. native made his competitive debut in the team's 3-2 win over Orlando City SC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and has started all seven of Sporting Kansas City's MLS Reserve League matches this season.
Goalkeeper Eric Kronberg has been removed from the Disabled List upon recovering from his lower back injury and will be available for Sporting Kansas City behind Jimmy Nielsen. Kronberg is in his seventh season with Sporting Kansas City and posted 10 saves in four MLS appearances last year.
KEVIN GRAY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The second annual Kevin Gray Player of the Year Awards were presented on Saturday at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in honor and memory of the late Kansas City Sports Commission President Kevin Gray. The ceremony recognized the following three outstanding local soccer players: Adrianna Franch, Derek Schrick and Allie Stephenson.
The Kevin Gray Awards consist of honors for a male and female Youth Player of the Year given to local high school seniors based on their performance in high school and club soccer throughout the year. An Adult Player of the Year Award is also given to a current collegiate or professional player with Kansas City roots.
SPORTING KC DEFEATS TORONTO FC 2-0
Sporting Kansas City claimed their ninth victory of the season and moved into second place in the Eastern Conference by defeating Toronto FC 2-0 on Saturday in front of 20,488 fans, the largest crowd of the season at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. C.J. Sapong scored his team-leading fifth goal of the year and Julio Cesar struck in superb fashion on Graham Zusi's eighth assist of the season, tying him for most in MLS.
SIX CHOSEN FROM SPORTING KC FOR 2012 ALL-STAR GAME BALLOT
Major League Soccer revealed the 114 names of players - six per club - who were nominated for the fan ballot by a panel of media members. Sporting Kansas City's representatives are goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, defender Aurelien Collin, midfielders Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi, as well as forwards Kei Kamara and C.J. Sapong.
Through Monday, July 2 fans will be able to vote online at www.MLSsoccer.com and also by texting a player's last name via text to 22442. Voting will also be enabled via Twitter on noon Thursday until midnight on Friday by following @MLS, then using the #MLSAllStar hashtag and the player's full name in a Tweet.
The 11 players with the highest combined online, text and Twitter fan votes will become the First XI All-Stars and will be unveiled on Sunday, July 8 at halftime of the Chicago Fire vs. LA Galaxy match. One of those 11 spots is automatically claimed by the player that earns the most text votes.
JAKE REID CHOSEN TO INGRAM'S 20 IN THEIR TWENTIES
Sporting Kansas City Chief Revenue Officer Jake Reid has been named an Ingram's magazine 20 in Their Twenties honoree, announced in this month's edition and available on newsstands now. The award recognizes Reid as one of the Kansas City area's truly outstanding young business people who have demonstrated a clear entrepreneurial vision.
Reid was most recently promoted from Vice President of Sales at Sporting Kansas City to Chief Revenue Officer after two years with the company.
KAMARA, ESPINOZA RETURN FROM INTERNATIONAL DUTY
Sporting Kansas City striker Kei Kamara and midfielder Roger Espinoza have returned from being on international duty with Sierra Leone and Honduras, respectively, for FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
In Sierra Leone, Kamara scored two goals against Sao Tome e Principe on June 15 in their decisive 4-2 win in their 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier. Espinoza played the full 90 minutes in Honduras' 0-0 draw with Canada in a 2014 World Cup Qualifier last week.
Espinoza returned last week and played in Sporting Kansas City's win over Toronto FC, while Kamara rejoined Sporting KC in Seattle and will be available for the game tonight.
SPORTING KC TO HOST U.S. OPEN CUP QUARTERFINALS
Sporting Kansas City will host USL PRO side Dayton Dutch Lions on Tuesday, June 26 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Tickets to the match are included for all Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members and are available to purchase at Ticketmaster.com or at the LSP Box Offices.
LSP TO HOST USMNT IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
The U.S. Men's National Team will play a FIFA World Cup qualifier at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park for the first time when it hosts Guatemala on October 16 in the final match of Semifinal Round qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3 and TeleFutura. Ticket information will be available at a later date.
SPORTING KC ANNOUNCES FRIENDLY WITH MONTPELLIER
Sporting Kansas City will host French Ligue 1 champions Montpellier HSC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, July 24 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Tickets begin at $20 and are on sale to the public at Ticketmaster.com or at the LSP Box Offices.
All Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members will receive a ticket to the match, Special Game C, as part of their full-season ticket packages and parking is free for all Sporting KC home matches at LSP.
Founded in 1974, Montpellier Hérault Sport Club is coming off the club's best season in the team's storied history, winning the French Ligue 1 Title for the 2011-12 campaign. Led by French national team players Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (captain) and Olivier Giroud (21 goals and nine assists), as well as talented Moroccan international Younes Belhanda (awarded as best African player in France), Montpellier won 25 games and finished three points ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.
The first-place finish qualifies Montpellier HSC for the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League group stage to compete against the top clubs in Europe next season.
SPORTING KC TO HOST STOKE CITY FC ON AUGUST 1
Sporting Kansas City will host Stoke City FC of the Barclays Premier League at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Aug. 1 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Ticket prices begin at $20 and are on sale now .
Founded in 1863, Stoke City are the oldest club in the Premier League and are led by Manager Tony Pulis and forward Peter Crouch, an England international with 22 goals in 42 appearances.
SPORTING KC ACADEMY TEAMS CONCLUDE USSDA SEASONS
The Sporting Kansas City under-16 and under-18 academy teams both ended their 2011-2012 U.S. Soccer Development Academy seasons on high notes by beating the Colorado Rush on Saturday at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park.
The U18's were led offensively once again by Eduardo Moreno in a 2-1 victory. He notched two more goals to give him 12 on the season and leaves him as the top goal scorer in the USSDA Frontier Division . Moreno also finished as the only player to start every match for the Academy U18's this season.
The U16's kept the winning vibe alive by beating the Rush 2-0. Goals were scored by Steven Enna and David Leichty while Andre Kodanaz kept the clean sheet for Sporting KC. Through 21 games, Cole Stevenson led the team with 12 goals.
Now that the regular season is complete, each team will compete in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Showcase, which takes place June 25-29 at FC Dallas Stadium Complex in Frisco, TX.
REGISTER FOR THE SPORTING CLUB 3v3 CLASSIC TOURNAMENT
GSI Sports & Sporting Kansas City are proud to host the 13th annual Sporting Club 3v3 Classic on July 7, 2012 at the Stump Park Soccer Complex in Shawnee, Kan. All teams will receive tickets to the Sporting KC vs. Houston Dynamo match and championship games will be played at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park after Sporting Kansas City's Eastern Conference championship rematch with the Dynamo.
PRORATED 2012 SEASON TICKET PLANS AVAILABLE
Sporting Kansas City prorated season ticket plans are available for the remainder of the 2012 Major League Soccer season. The benefits include discounted rates, priority for purchasing playoff tickets, preferred parking and access to special events.
For ticket information, visit www.sportingkc.com or call 888-4KC-GOAL.
SPORTING KC UNVEILS BOYS AND GIRLS YOUTH SOCCER CAMPS FOR 2012
Sporting Kansas City and the Sporting Kansas City Juniors youth development academy will again offer a series of youth soccer camps in 2012 for boys and girls of all ages. Please see the list of scheduled camps below:
St. Teresa's Academy Camps : July 9-12 or July 30 - Aug. 3 for boys and girls ages 4-13 ($75-100) Sporting Youngsters Camp : June 11-14 for boys and girls ages 4-7 ($100) Sporting Development Camp : June 11-14 for boys and girls ages 8-12 ($150)
FOLLOW SPORTING KC ONLINE
Sporting Kansas City fans looking to keep up with the club on the worldwide web now have a place to go. The new social media page on SportingKC.com features Twitter account information for the club, its players as well as many staff members. Additionally, fans may take advantage of the Media Recap page for all the latest independent news coverage available online.
Major League Soccer Stories from June 20, 2012
- Sporting KC Picks up Point with 1-1 Draw at Seattle Sounders FC - Sporting Kansas City
- RSL Signs Gambian International & Former Revolution DF/FW Kenny Mansally - Real Salt Lake
- Impact Clarify Metro Situation - Club de Foot Montreal
- Rapids Midfielder Jamie Smith Removed from DL - Colorado Rapids
- Sporting Kansas City Weekly Update - Sporting Kansas City
- Game Notes: Chivas USA vs. Montreal Impact - Club Deportivo Chivas USA
- Less Than 1000 Tickets Remain for Tonight's Match vs. Toronto FC at BBVA Compass Stadium - Houston Dynamo FC
- Earthquakes Sign D Jed Zayner - San Jose Earthquakes
- Food Network Star Jamie Deen to Participate in Diabetes Awareness Events - 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.
