MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Hosts Philadelphia Union at Sporting Park on Friday

September 26, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City faces the Philadelphia Union on Friday night for the second time this year and first since Major League Soccer's 2013 season opener on March 2. Sporting Park will host the nationally broadcast game, set to air on the NBC Sports Network at 7 p.m. CT. A limited number of tickets for the match, sponsored by Ivy Funds, are still available and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Offices on Friday.

In the last meeting between these two clubs, Sporting KC earned the 3-1 come-from-behind victory at PPL Park. The Union's Sebastien Le Toux gave Philadelphia the lead 17 minutes into the match. Sporting KC responded with three unanswered goals from Graham Zusi, Oriol Rosell and Claudio Bieler.

Zusi also tallied a pair of assists in the victory and most recently recorded an assist in Sporting KC's 2-1 result over Toronto FC last Saturday at BMO Field. Zusi leads Sporting KC with seven assists on the season, while Philadelphia's Le Toux is the MLS assists leader with 12. Defensively, Sporting KC captain Jimmy Nielsen and Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath both have recorded 10 shutouts, tied for the most in MLS this season.

Philadelphia, off from MLS action last weekend, suffered 1-0 losses in back-to-back matches against the San Jose Earthquakes and the Houston Dynamo in their last two outings. The Union are winless in their last five MLS regular season matches and have gone 310 consecutive minutes without scoring a goal, dating back to Aug. 25.

Since Philadelphia's expansion season in 2010, Kansas City has never beaten the Union more than once in the same season. In that same span, Sporting KC is unbeaten at home all-time against the Union (2-0-1).

Sporting KC is in the midst of a three-game winning streak, the second longest active streak in MLS and the team's longest such streak this season. Sporting KC is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind the New York Red Bulls. The Philadelphia Union are just one point out of playoff contention with five regular season MLS matches left to play.

Friday's match will be the final opportunity for Sporting KC Season Ticket Members to renew their season tickets and guarantee their current seat location for 2014. Visit the nearest Season Ticket Member headquarters, located at the East Gate, Boulevard Members Club or the north end of the Sprint Plaza or renew online through Sporting KC Account Manager or Tickmaster.

For all in-game updates follow @SKCGameday on Twitter or visit SportingKC.com/GameOn.

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Major League Soccer Stories from September 26, 2013


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