Sporting KC Faces Columbus at Crew Stadium
October 4, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Sporting Kansas City faces the Columbus Crew for the second time in less than a month on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. CT. The match, to be played at Crew Stadium, will be broadcast on KSMO-TV with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. CT.
The road trip marks Sporting KC's first visit to Columbus since last October. Saturday's match is the third and final regular season meeting between the clubs in 2013 with Sporting KC earning victories in each of the previous meetings outscoring the Crew 6-2.
Sporting KC defeated Columbus 3-0 on Sept. 7 at Sporting Park with goals from Claudio Bieler, Soony Saad and C.J. Sapong. The defeat is the Crew's lone loss in five matches played under interim Head Coach Brian Bliss, who formerly played and coached in Kansas City.
Columbus, currently in sixth place, is one point behind the Philadelphia Union for the final playoff spot in the East. The Crew is in the midst of a three-game winning streak in which they have averaged three goals a game with a +6 goal differential.
Dominic Oduro leads Columbus with 12 goals this season (fifth in the League) and was named MLS Player of the Month after scoring three goals and adding two assists in September.
Sporting KC and the Crew have played 48 matches all-time with each team earning 21 victories and six draws, but Sporting KC has suffered just one loss in their last six meetings with Columbus. The last time Sporting KC won every game in the season series was in 2006, when Kansas City earned four consecutive victories.
Sporting KC remains in second place in the Eastern Conference (48 points), four points behind League leaders, the New York Red Bulls (52 points). Sporting KC can clinch a playoff berth with a victory on Saturday and if two of the following occur: New England Revolution lose at New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire lose at D.C. United or the Philadelphia Union lose to Toronto FC.
The Boulevard Members Club at Sporting Park will host the team's official watch party on Saturday with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. CT and parking available in Lot D. All in attendance will receive a free Sprint Sporting KC scarf and can enter to win a VIP experience for the club's Oct. 18 regular season home finale. Food and drink specials will be available, including $3 KC Pils and Bud Light.
Fans can follow the match on @SKCGameday or visit SportingKC.com/Gameon.
Please note: When discussing our team, please refer to the club on first reference as Sporting Kansas City or Sporting KC. State-of-the-art Sporting Park will host the U.S. Men's National Team on Oct. 11 in the team's final home match of 2013. U.S. Soccer credentials are required for the FIFA World Cup Qualifier and the online credential application is open until Oct. 4 .
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