**2012 Sporting Kansas City\Soccer Thread**

[|Zach|]

Sporting Kansas City was eliminated from MLS Cup contention after losing to Houston 2-1 aggreagate over the span of two games. They finished the year as US Open Cup Champions and a Kansas City team record of 63 points.

MLS Cup Final | LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo | December 1st, 3:30 CT









Final Regular Season Eastern Conference Standings
Full MLS standings here.



2012 US Open Cup Champions.

[Ultra Peanut]

Originally Posted by |Zoccer|

Ok, I just saw the highlights of the SEA\SJ game. Obviously SJ had a good day at the office for keeping them off the board but that PK was shady as hell.

No question. It was one of the softer penalties I've ever seen awarded.

For some reason I'm perfectly okay with that (and for the very same reason I love Lenhart)!

[|Zach|]

Ok, Nagbe is a ****ing star.

[Ultra Peanut]

Jesus Christ. The first goal was top-notch, too.

FWIW: He grew up in the US and is on his way to becoming a citizen, iirc.

[|Zach|]

I know its early and everything but LA at the bottom of the table? Someone take a picture of that it isn't really how things work in the MLS.

[|Zach|]

Hears the Olympic qualifier games out at LSP were lots of fun. Good energy in the stadium.

It is weird as hell seeing those different kinds of crowds there though.

[|Zach|]

I almost forgot that this signals the return of Ryan Smith who now sutis up for Chivas. How awkward.





CHIVAS USA vs SPORTING KANSAS CITY
THE HOME DEPOT CENTER, Carson, Calif.
April 1, 2012 (WEEK 4, MLS Game #35)
6 p.m. PT (KDOC; KSMO)

Coming off their first win of the campaign, Chivas USA will try to put a stop to red-hot Sporting Kansas City when the clubs meet Sunday evening at The Home Depot Center. Chivas went to Real Salt Lake and came away with a rare victory, a 1-0 result last weekend. Sporting are the only club with three wins from three starts on the season, hitting the road for the first time for a 2-1 win at FC Dallas last weekend.

REFEREE: Edvin Jurisevic. SAR (bench): Anthony Vasoli; JAR (opposite): Frank Anderson; 4th: Allen Chapman
MLS Career: 39 games; FC/gm: 21.8; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 4; pens: 5

DOWNLOAD FULL GAME GUIDE (PDF)

INJURY REPORT:

CHIVAS USA - OUT: MF Marvin Iraheta (L knee ACL); FW Juan Pablo Angel (concussion symptoms); DOUBTFUL: DF Michael Lahoud (R hamstring strain)
SPORTING KANSAS CITY -- OUT: GK Eric Kronberg (lower back injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

SUSPENDED: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL-TIME (14 meetings): Chivas USA 4 wins, 19 goals ... Sporting 6 wins, 22 goals ... Ties 4
AT CARSON (7 meetings): Chivas USA 3 wins, 10 goals ... Sporting 2 wins, 9 goals ... Ties 2

LAST YEAR (MLS):
3/19: CHV 2, KC 3 (Conrad 56; Zemanski 84 - Sapong 2; Bravo 45, 74)
7/9: KC 1, CHV 1 (Bravo 90 - LaBrocca 30)

This is the only league meeting between the teams this season.
Sporting Kansas City has won on each of their last two visits to The Home Depot Center to face Chivas USA, including a 3-2 victory last year.

Chivas USA have come away with points on their last three visits to Kansas City. The last KC win at home in the series came in 2008 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Coaches record: Robin Fraser vs. KC: P2 W0 L1 D1 ... Peter Vermes vs. CHV: P5 W2 L2 D1

CHIVAS USA

Chivas USA went onto the road for the first time this season and came away with their first victory of the campaign, a 1-0 victory against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. Chivas USA sit in a tie for eighth place in the Western Conference with 3 points from 3 games.

LAST MATCH

The game's lone goal came in the 72nd minute. Chivas USA fullback Ante Jazic floated a cross from the left, and as Nick Rimando went to claim it, Casey Townsend challenged and the ball slipped from the RSL goalkeeper's grasp. The rookie striker reacted quickly to get a foot to the ball and hit it into the back of the net.

Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser made no changes to the team that fell by a 1-0 scoreline to Vancouver Whitecaps FC at The Home Depot Center.

CHIVAS USA (4-2-3-1): Dan Kennedy - James Riley, Heath Pearce, Rauwshan McKenzie, Ante Jazic - Oswaldo Minda, Peter Vagenas (Ben Zemanski 67) - Ryan Smith (Scott Gordon 74), Nick LaBrocca, Laurent Courtois (Cesar Romero 81) - Casey Townsend.
TEAM NEWS

Chivas USA won for the first time ever at Rio Tinto Stadium, and won for the first time on the road since last Aug. 6, a 3-2 win at New England.

"The team has played well and we haven't gotten the results that we might've deserved or could've deserved," said Chivas head coach Robin Fraser. "And to come in tonight, in what is the hardest place to play in the league, this win comes down to guts and determination."

Rookie Casey Townsend scored Chivas USA's first goal of 2012 after 252 minutes of play, netting the game's only goal for the win.

"That's what I do," Townsend said. "I'm going to go up and battle for the ball and make it difficult for the goalkeeper, and that's what I did. There was a mix-up between him and the center back and it dropped nicely for me, so I just put it away."

Townsend was starting a second consecutive match with Juan Pablo Angel still sidelined with concussion symptoms.

"I'm feeling really good right now," Townsend said. "I'm just happy that I could help the team win and when Juan comes back, he's a great player and he'll help the team more and we'll be an even better team for it."
Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy recorded his first shutout of the season, a year after he posted nine clean sheets in his first year as the first-choice goalkeeper.

"It was another extremely engaged and developed performance," Fraser said. "And when I see him play that way, we are able to grind out results."

Said defender Rauwshan McKenzie, who was facing his former club: "We've got a great group of guys on the backline - a lot of experience besides myself. We're just starting to gel - two 1-0 losses but with the bounce of the ball we could probably be up 1-0. And to come here in a tough place against a great team and walk out of here with three points, it feels good."
SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Sporting Kansas City remained the only team perfect on the 2012 season, getting a late 2-1 victory against FC Dallas on Sunday evening at Livestrong Sporting Park. Sporting have 9 points from 3 matches to lead the Eastern Conference.

LAST MATCH

FC Dallas became the first team to score on Sporting KC in the 25th minute, when Ricardo Villar drove home a free kick, curling his shot over Jimmy Nielsen's wall and leaving the KC ëkeeper rooted to his line.

But SKC leveled the score 3 1/2 minutes into first-half stoppage time. From a free kick some 35 yards out from goal on the left, Graham Zusi flighted a service into the box and Aurelien Collin flicked a header into the goal.
In the 50th minute, KC had a glorious opportunity when Chance Myers broke into the area on an overlap and was brought down by Ugo Ihemelu. Kei Kamara stepped to the spot and fired toward the lower left corner, but Hartman guessed right, sprawled and tipped the ball over the endline.

But Sporting still had the final answer two minutes from the end. Myers raced onto a return pass out of midfield down the right flank and sent a rolling cross to the near post where Kamara slid in and poked home for the winner.

Sporting head coach Peter Vermes made no changes to the team that recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory against the New England Revolution at Livestrong Sporting Park.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-2-3-1): Jimmy Nielsen - Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic - Julio Cesar, Roger Espinoza - Kei Kamara, Graham Zusi (Lawrence Olum 91+), Bobby Convey (Jacob Peterson 93+) - C.J. Sapong.
TEAM NEWS

Sporting Kansas City became the 15th team in MLS history to start a season 3-0-0. Only one of those teams has failed to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs: the Kansas City Wizards in 2006.

"This is the proof of where we are right now," said French defender Aurelien Collin. "Confident. Fighting, but not crazy. The cold blood. I'm proud of the team tonight."

Graham Zusi had a pair of assists in the win, setting up both goals. He now leads MLS with four assists this season, with at least one assist in each game this season. It was Zusi's second career two-assist game, his first coming last Sept. 10 vs. Houston.

"When you have guys that can finish the way they do in the box, my part's easy," Zusi said. "They do all the work. I just stick it in the box, and those guys finish it off, so I'm lucky to have them. The assists aren't a credit to me. They're a credit to them."
Zusi is still recovering from a quadriceps strain suffering before the preseason, though he has started all three matches this season.

"He's starting to get out of that," manager Peter Vermes said. "He's actually more and more healthy every week. I hope that as we go into this week, he'll be feeling even better physically, which will mean he'll be able to provide us with the kind of playmaking that he can do."
The penalty missed by Kamara was the first missed by Sporting since the 2007 season, snapping a string of 13 consecutive conversions.

"After the PK, he told me that he told me he was going to block it," said Kamara,. "I didn't hear him before. But it was well-saved. Before, maybe three or four years ago, I would have been killing myself. But it was early in the game. I just had to keep going and keep plugging at it."

[Los Pollos Hermanos]

Going to the Dallas Cup today. Should be fun.

[|Zach|]

Really interested to see how this Colorado/Chicago game shakes out. Not quite sure what to make of these teams yet.

[SPATCH]

ugly first half. Hopefully Bunbury can come in around ~70 min and make some noise...

[SPATCH]

Also, still kinda waiting for Convey to get going...

[Demonpenz]

Bunbury looked ok 1-0 is all that matters

[|Zach|]

Looked sorta shitty but made it happen another 3 points.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Moreno is a douche.

[|Zach|]

CARSON, Calif. – Sporting Kansas City continued their run as MLS’ lone unbeaten club on Sunday as they improved to 4-0 on the season by defeating Chivas USA 1-0 off a lone goal by forward C.J. Sapong.

After struggling to create offense in the first half, Sporting broke through in the 47th minute when Graham Zusi fired a shot that bounced off the cross bar. The deflection fell back to the midfielder, and Zusi headed it across the goalmouth to a waiting Sapong, who buried a header for his third goal of the season.

Chivas USA controlled possession in the early stages of the match, but had an injury scare in the 19th minute when winger Ryan Smith collided with SKC midfielder Chance Meyers, appearing to injure his right knee. Although Smith was down on the ground for several minutes, the former Sporting man was able to continue.

Following the tackle, the match settled into a physical battle in the midfield in which as both sides looked to earn the game’s first chance. The smash-mouth play ultimately resulted in the game’s first yellow card in the 34th minute for Sporting defender Seth Sinovic for impeding Smith.

OPTA Chalkboard: See how Chivas tried to thwart Sporting attack

As the half wore on, Sporting began to control more of the match and were aggrieved when a penalty was not awarded by referee Edvin Jurisevic in the 39th minute after Chivas defender Rauwshan McKenzie appeared to foul Sapong hard in the box while the striker went up to head down a dangerous cross.

The finest chance of the half came in the 44th minute when Chivas defender James Riley chipped a ball into Smith, who broke his marker and earned a one-on-one with goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, but was unable to get off a shot off before losing control.

After opening the scoring just two minutes into the second half, Sapong nearly struck again in the 49th when his shot was cleared off the line by Chivas USA midfielder Laurent Courtois. In the 54th, the hosts nearly equalized when Courtois played a ball forward to Nick LaBrocca, whose shot bounced off the left post.

FULL LINEUPS AND BOX SCORE

The Rojiblancos continued their pressure as the second half wore on, but poor finishing doomed them as they fought for the equalizer. Such was the case in the 66th when defender Ante Jazic played in a cross to a waiting Casey Townsend, who fired a shot well over the bar.

In the 74th minute, Kei Kamara nearly doubled Sporting’s lead off a corner kick when the winger headed a cross that forced a palm save from Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. As the match wore on, the Goats kept pushing forward for the equalizer, but were unable to break Nielsen's bid for his third shutout this season.

Sporting will look for their fifth straight victory next week when they return home to Livestrong Sporting Park next Saturday to host the LA Galaxy on April 7. That same night, Chivas USA travel north to JELD-WEN Field to take on the Portland Timbers.

[|Zach|]

Heh, that Chivas crowd is rough. I am not sure if that brand is ever gonna "take" down there.