MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Welcomes New York Red Bulls on Saturday

Published on August 2, 2013 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City hosts the New York Red Bulls on Saturday at Sporting Park. The match, presented by Panasonic, features the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, separated by just one point in the standings. NBC Sports Network will nationally broadcast the game at 5:30 p.m. CT. Fans can listen to the match live locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Gran D 1340 AM (Spanish).

A limited number of tickets are still available, including $20 standing-room only tickets, and can be purchased by visiting the Sporting Park Box Offices or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Saturday marks the second consecutive match that Sporting Kansas City has faced the club sitting just one spot behind them in the Eastern Conference standings. Last week's match resulted in a 1-0 loss for Sporting KC after the Montreal Impact secured the game-winning goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.

One-week earlier, Sporting Kansas City had profited from a late game-winning goal with defender Ike Opara securing the 2-1 victory over League leaders Real Salt Lake in the 97th minute. The New York Red Bulls prevailed over Real Salt Lake last week in similar fashion as Dax McCarty scored the game-winning goal in the 94th minute to secure the 4-3 win.

The Red Bulls are unbeaten in their last three MLS matches but have not earned a victory against Sporting Kansas City in their last five meetings.

Saturday's match is the second game between the two clubs in 2013. In the first meeting this year, Sporting Kansas City earned a 1-0 road result at Red Bull Arena in April. Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin notched the lone goal of the match in the 13th minute of play, assisted by U.S. international Graham Zusi. The University of Maryland alumni is questionable for Saturday's match after suffering a right quad strain on Wednesday.

The Red Bulls (10-7-5) are led by 2013 MLS All-Star Thierry Henry, whose seven goals and five assists are most on the team. Sporting Kansas City's Aurelien Collin, Matt Besler and Graham Zusi joined Henry for the 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game against AS Roma at Sporting Park on Wednesday night. New York's Jamison Olave and Tim Cahill were also 2013 MLS All-Stars but did not dress for the match.

Sporting KC will be without Paulo Nagamura (left ankle sprain) and Josh Gardner (left hamstring strain) on Saturday. The New York Red Bulls will also be missing a few key players including Cahill (right PCL tear), Connor Lade (knee injury) and Heath Pearce (hip surgery).

Fans can still purchase tickets to the ultimate pre-game experience on the Sprint Plaza, the Budweiser Beer Garden. Tickets are $20 for Season Ticket Members and $25 for all other ticket holders. A ticket to the tailgate ensures all-you-can-drink Budweiser products and all-you-can-eat stadium fare in addition to a live DJ.

Sporting Kansas City will be honoring Preki and Tony Meola on Saturday by inducting both players into the inaugural class of Sporting Legends. Fans are encouraged to join the two honorees in the Boulevard Members Club after the match.

NBC Sports Network will once again air their MLS Breakaway show immediately following the match at 8 p.m. CT. The show compiles the biggest plays as they happen from five MLS matches taking place simultaneously.

Sporting KC supporters can find in-game updates at SportingKC.com/GameOn and by following @SKCGameday on Twitter.

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 October 11 in the team's final home qualifying match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

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