SPORTING KANSAS CITY vs. COLORADO RAPIDS
Saturday, April 8, 2023
MLS
0-3-3, 3 points (0-1-2 home; 0-2-1 away)
T-11th in MLS Western Conference
Apple TV: MLS Season Pass
English Radio: Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio: La Grande 1340 AM
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant ref: Chris Elliott
Assistant ref: Kevin Lock
4th official: Mark Allatin
VAR: Allen Chapman
SPORTING KANSAS CITY PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
2023 REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS
SPORTING
RECORD
POINTS PER GAME
GAMES PLAYED CONFERENCE POSITION GOALS GOALS/GAME
2023
SEASON INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
2023
MLS REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
QUESTIONABLE
PLAYER AVAILABILITY
REPORT
As of Wednesday, April 5
• DEF - Logan Ndenbe (Hamstring Injury)
• MID - Gadi Kinda (Knee Injury)
OUT
• DEF - Kortne Ford (Achilles Surgery)
• DEF - Tim Leibold (Hamstring Injury)
• DEF - Kayden Pierre (Hamstring Injury)
• MID - Nemanja Radoja (Hamstring Injury)
1
No. Pos. Name Pronunciation 1 GK John Pulskamp 3 DEF Andreu Fontas ahn-DRAY-oo 4 DEF Robert Voloder VOLO-derr 5 DEF Dany Rosero danny roh-CERO 6 MID Nemanja Radoja nem-AHN-ya RAHD-oy-ah 7 FWD Johnny Russell 8 DEF Graham Zusi gram ZOO-see 9 FWD Alan Pulido AH-lahn pooh-LEE-doh 10 MID Gadi Kinda GAH-dee KINN-dah 11 FWD Khiry Shelton KY-ree 12 DEF Kortne Ford COURT-knee 14 DEF Tim Leibold LIE-bold 15 DEF Roger Espinoza 17 MID Jake Davis 18 DEF Logan Ndenbe en-DEN-bay 19 DEF Robert Castellanos CASS-tee-YAH-nos 20 FWD Daniel Salloi shallow-EE 21 MID Felipe Hernandez feh-LEE-pay 22 GK Kendall McIntosh MACK-in-tosh 23 FWD Willy Agada ah-GAH-dah 24 DEF Kayden Pierre 25 FWD Ozzie Cisneros sis-NAIR-oce 26 MID Erik Thommy tommy 28 MID Cam Duke 29 GK Tim Melia MEE-lia 31 MID Danny Flores 54 MID Remi Walter vault-AIR 77 FWD Marinos Tzionis ma-REE-noss JOHN-eese 82 DEF Chris Rindov rin-DOVE
WWW.SPORTINGKC.COM/MEDIA-GUIDE
7:30 p.m.
Kickoff:
CT
Park
Children’s Mercy
(Kansas City, KS)
Sporting Kansas City
3 points (0-1-1 home;
away)
in MLS Western Conference Colorado Rapids
Regular Season Game 7
0-3-3,
0-2-2
T-11th
COLORADO RAPIDS 0-3-3 (3 pts.) 0.50 6 T-11th in West 2 0.33 4 8 1.33 -6 72 (21) 29.2% 75 55 13 0
KANSAS CITY
ASSISTS GOALS ALLOWED ALLOWED/GAME GOAL DIFFERENTIAL SHOTS (ON GOAL) ON GOAL % FOULS COMMITTED FOULS SUFFERED CAUTIONS EJECTIONS 0-3-3 (3 pts.) 0.50 6 T-11th in West 2 0.33 0 7 1.17 -5 89 (36) 40.4% 59 60 6 1
SPORTING KANSAS CITY COLORADO RAPIDS 1 Bassett, Cabral 2 Michael Barrios 8 Bassett, Wilson 4 Barrios, Bassett 0 N/A 0 N/A 11 Abubakar, Bassett 7 Darren Yapi 2 Three Players 0 N/A 540 William Yarbrough 1.33 William Yarbrough 0 N/A 2 William Yarbrough 22 William Yarbrough GOALS ASSISTS SHOTS SHOTS ON GOAL GAME-WINNING GOALS GAME-WINNING ASSISTS FOULS COMMITTED FOULS SUFFERED CAUTIONS EJECTIONS GK MINUTES PLAYED GOALS AGAINST AVG. WINS SHUTOUTS SAVES Agada, Salloi 1 N/A 0 Erik Thommy 24 Erik Thommy 12 N/A 0 N/A 0 Willy Agada 10 Thommy, Zusi 7 Six Players 1 N/A 0 John Pulskamp 450 John Pulskamp 1.40 N/A 0 John Pulskamp 2 John Pulskamp 13
- REGULAR SEASON PETER VERMES ROBIN FRASER 7th season 56-63-48 (.479) 5th season 41-31-27 (.551) MLS EXPERIENCE MLS RECORD YEAR WITH TEAM RECORD WITH TEAM 15th season (.537) 183-150-110 15th season (.537) 183-150-110 Eastern Conference Pts W L T GD GP 1. FC Cincinnati 14 4 0 2 +4 6 2. Atlanta United FC 13 4 1 1 +4 6 3. New England Revolution 13 4 1 1 +2 6 4. Columbus Crew 10 3 2 1 +7 6 5. Nashville SC 10 3 2 1 +4 6 6. New York City FC 8 2 2 2 -1 6 7. Orlando City SC 8 2 2 2 -1 6 8. Philadelphia Union 7 2 3 1 0 6 9. Toronto FC 7 1 1 4 +1 6 10. Inter Miami CF 6 2 4 0 -1 6 11. Chicago Fire FC 6 1 1 3 0 5 12. New York Red Bulls 6 1 2 3 -1 6 13. D.C. United 5 1 3 2 -3 6 14. Charlotte FC 5 1 3 2 -5 6 15. CF Montreal 3 1 4 0 -9 5 Western Conference Pts W L T GD GP 1. St. Louis City SC 15 5 1 0 +10 6 2. Seattle Sounders FC 13 4 1 1 +9 6 3. Los Angeles FC 11 3 0 2 +6 5 4. Minnesota United FC 11 3 0 2 +3 5 5. San Jose Earthquakes 10 3 2 1 -1 6 6. FC Dallas 8 2 2 2 +1 6 7. Austin FC 7 2 2 1 -1 5 8. Houston Dynamo FC 6 2 3 0 -2 5 9. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 6 1 2 3 +3 6 10. Portland Timbers 5 1 3 2 -5 6 11. Real Salt Lake 3 1 4 0 -10 5 12. LA Galaxy 3 0 2 3 -3 5 13. Sporting Kansas City 3 0 3 3 -5 6 14. Colorado Rapids 3 0 3 3 -6 6
REGULAR
COACHES
SPORTING KANSAS CITY 2023 NUMERICAL ROSTER
SPORTING KANSAS CITY 2023 ALPHABETICAL ROSTER
2 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes NO. PLAYER PRONUNCIATION POS. HT. WT. BIRTHDATE (AGE) HOMETOWN LAST CLUB 1 John Pulskamp GK 6-4 205 04/19/2001 (21) Bakersfield, CA Sporting KC II (USL Championship) 3 Andreu Fontas ahn-DRAY-oo DEF 6-2 200 11/14/1989 (33) Banyoles, Spain Celta Vigo (Spain) 4 Robert Voloder VOLO-derr DEF 6-0 175 05/09/2001 (21) Frankfurt, Germany NK Maribor (Slovenia) 5 Dany Rosero danny roh-CERO DEF 6-2 190 10/06/1993 (29) Bogota, Colombia Atletico Junior (Colombia) 6 Nemanja Radoja nem-AHN-ya RAHD-oy-ya MID 6-0 175 02/06/1993 (30) Novi Sad, Serbia Levante (Spain) 7 Johnny Russell FWD 5-9 170 04/08/1990 (33) Glasgow, Scotland Derby County FC (England) 8 Graham Zusi ZOO-see DEF 5-10 160 08/18/1986 (36) Orlando, FL 9 Alan Pulido AH-lahn pooh-LEE-doh FWD 5-10 180 03/08/1991 (32) Ciudad Victoria, Mexico Chivas Guadalajara (Mexico) 10 Gadi Kinda GAH-dee KINN-dah MID 5-7 155 03/23/1994 (29) Ashdod, Israel Beitar Jerusalem (Israel) 11 Khiry Shelton KY-ree FWD 6-3 180 06/26/1993 (29) Austin, TX SC Paderborn 07 (Germany) 12 Kortne Ford COURT-knee DEF 6-2 180 01/26/1996 (27) Olathe, KS Colorado Rapids (MLS) 14 Tim Leibold LIE-bold DEF 5-9 165 11/30/1993 (29) Friolzheim, Germany Hamburger SV (Germany) 15 Roger Espinoza MID 5-10 190 10/25/1986 (36) Denver, CO Wigan Athletic (England) 17 Jake Davis MID 5-9 160 01/03/2002 (21) Rochester, MI Sporting KC II (USL Championship) 18 Logan Ndenbe en-DEN-bay DEF 5-8 180 02/09/2000 (23) La Louviere, Belgium EA Guingamp (France) 19 Robert Castellanos CASS-tee-YAH-nos DEF 6-1 190 05/11/1998 (24) Palmdale, CA KuPS (Finland) 20 Daniel Salloi shallow-EE FWD 6-1 165 07/19/1996 (26) Budapest, Hungary Sporting KC Academy 21 Felipe Hernandez feh-LEE-pay MID 5-7 140 06/08/1998 (24) Nashville, TN Sporting KC II (USL Championship) 22 Kendall McIntosh MACK-in-tosh GK 5-11 180 01/24/1994 (29) Santa Rosa, CA New York Red Bulls (MLS) 23 Willy Agada ah-GAH-dah FWD 5-9 180 09/17/1999 (23) Bauchi, Nigeria Hapoel Jerusalem (Israel) 24 Kayden Pierre DEF 5-9 150 02/16/2003 (20) Bloomfield Hills, MI Sporting KC Academy 25 Ozzie Cisneros sis-NAIR-oce FWD 5-5 145 03/13/2004 (19) Omaha, NE Sporting KC Academy 26 Erik Thommy tommy MID 5-8 160 08/20/1994 (28) Wettenhausen, Germany VfB Stuttgart (Germany) 28 Cam Duke MID 5-6 130 02/13/2001 (22) Overland Park, KS Sporting KC Academy 29 Tim Melia MEE-lia GK 6-1 210 05/15/1986 (36) Great River, NY Chivas USA (MLS) 31 Danny Flores MID 5-9 145 04/06/2002 (21) Half Moon Bay, CA Oakland Roots (USL Championship) 54 Remi Walter vault-AIR MID 5-8 160 04/26/1995 (27) Essey-les-Nancy, France Yeni Malatyaspor (Turkey) 77 Marinos Tzionis ma-REE-noss JOHN-eese FWD 5-7 150 07/16/2001 (21) Nicosia, Cyprus Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus) 82 Chris Rindov rin-DOVE DEF 6-2 185 10/08/2001 (21) Rockville, MD
NO. PLAYER PRONUNCIATION POS. HT. WT. BIRTHDATE (AGE) BIRTHPLACE COLLEGE 23 Willy Agada ah-GAH-dah FWD 5-9 180 09/17/1999 (23) Bauchi, Nigeria 19 Robert Castellanos CASS-tee-YAH-nos DEF 6-1 190 05/11/1998 (24) Palmdale, CA 25 Ozzie Cisneros sis-NAIR-oce FWD 5-5 145 03/13/2004 (19) Omaha, NE 17 Jake Davis MID 5-9 160 01/03/2002 (21) Rochester, MI 28 Cam Duke MID 5-6 130 02/13/2001 (22) Overland Park, KS 15 Roger Espinoza MID 5-10 190 10/25/1986 (36) Puerto Cortes, Honduras Ohio State University 31 Danny Flores MID 5-9 145 04/06/2002 (21) Burlingame, CA Virginia Tech 3 Andreu Fontas ahn-DRAY-oo DEF 6-2 200 11/14/1989 (33) Banyoles, Spain 12 Kortne Ford COURT-knee DEF 6-2 180 01/26/1996 (27) Olathe, KS University of Denver 21 Felipe Hernandez feh-LEE-pay MID 5-7 140 06/08/1998 (24) Ibague, Colombia 10 Gadi Kinda GAH-dee KINN-dah MID 5-7 155 03/23/1994 (29) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 14 Tim Leibold LIE-bold DEF 5-9 165 11/30/1993 (29) Boblingen, Germany 22 Kendall McIntosh MACK-in-tosh GK 5-11 180 01/24/1994 (29) Oakland, CA Santa Clara University 29 Tim Melia MEE-lia GK 6-1 210 05/15/1986 (36) Great River, NY Lynn University 18 Logan Ndenbe en-DEN-bay DEF 5-8 180 02/09/2000 (23) La Louviere, Belgium 24 Kayden Pierre DEF 5-9 150 02/16/2003 (20) Rochester Hills, MI 9 Alan Pulido AH-lahn pooh-LEE-doh FWD 5-10 180 03/08/1991 (32) Ciudad Victoria, Mexico 1 John Pulskamp GK 6-4 205 04/19/2001 (21) Bakersfield, CA 6 Nemanja Radoja nem-AHN-ya RAHD-oy-ya MID 6-0 175 02/06/1993 (30) Novi Sad, Serbia 82 Chris Rindov rin-DOVE DEF 6-2 185 10/08/2001 (21) Silver Spring, MD University of Maryland 5 Dany Rosero danny roh-CERO DEF 6-2 190 10/06/1993 (29) Bogota, Colombia 7 Johnny Russell FWD 5-9 170 04/08/1990 (33) Glasgow, Scotland 20 Daniel Salloi shallow-EE FWD 6-1 165 07/19/1996 (26) Siofok, Hungary 11 Khiry Shelton KY-ree FWD 6-3 180 06/26/1993 (29) Colorado Springs, CO Oregon State University 26 Erik Thommy tommy MID 5-8 160 08/20/1994 (28) Ulm, Germany 77 Marinos Tzionis ma-REE-noss JOHN-eese FWD 5-7 150 07/16/2001 (21) Nicosia, Cyprus 4 Robert Voloder VOLO-derr DEF 6-0 175 05/09/2001 (21) Frankfurt, Germany 54 Remi Walter vault-AIR MID 5-8 160 04/26/1995 (27) Essey-les-Nancy, France 8 Graham Zusi ZOO-see DEF 5-10 160 08/18/1986 (36) Longwood, FL University of Maryland
#SKCvCOL: HEAD-TO-HEAD
Sporting Kansas City (0-3-3, 3 pts.) is set to host the Colorado Rapids (0-3-3, 3 pts.) at Children’s Mercy Park this weekend with both teams still looking for their first win of the 2023 campaign. Each side is coming off a 0-0 draw, with Sporting sharing the points with last year’s MLS Cup runners-up the Philadelphia Union and Colorado tying with MLS Cup champions LAFC.
The two sides met just over a month ago in the second Matchday of the season, resulting in a 0-0 draw. After surviving an early Colorado storm, Sporting took control and forced Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough into 11 saves - the most of his MLS career and the second most in Rapids history.
Sporting claimed all three points in the last meeting at Children’s Mercy Park on May 18, 2022 with a 2-1 victory. Daniel Salloi scored both goals for Sporting either side of a Gyasi Zardes equalizer, but the game was marred a hectic period of second-half stoppage time that saw Colorado’s Auston Trusty sent off for a second yellow card in the 91st minute before a melee ensued in the 96th minute that saw Sporting’s Salloi and Andreu Fontas sent off, along with the Rapids’ Lucas Esteves.
SKC leads the all-time series 29-25-19 and has a dominant 23-6-6 mark at home.
#SKCvCOL: Recent Meetings (SKC leads 29-25-19 in regular season)
Date Score Result Details
03/04/2023 KC 0 at COL 0 T Yarbrough makes 11 saves as SKC can’t find breakthrough
05/18/2022 KC 2 vs COL 1 W Salloi scores a brace either side of Zardes equalizer
03/12/2022 KC 0 at COL 2 L Sporting succumbs to Rubio & Kaye goals in either half
08/28/2021 KC 1 vs COL 1 T Russell free kick cancels out Lewis opener
08/07/2021 KC 0 at COL 0 T Heavily-rotated Sporting team earns shutout on the road
#SKCvCOL: PLAYER HISTORY
• Sporting KC defender Graham Zusi has scored four goals and added two assists against the Colorado Rapids, including a one goal and two assist performance in a 3-2 victory on the road on March 29, 2014. His other goals came at home on July 6, 2011 and Aug. 31, 2013, and in the MLS is Back Tournament on July 17, 2020.
• Forward Daniel Salloi has five goals and one assist against Colorado. He notched the game-winner in the 1-0 home win on May 5, 2018 before adding a brace and recording an assist in the 3-1 home win on June 23, 2021. He scored another pair of goals in the 2-1 home win on May 18, 2022.
• Forward Alan Pulido has scored twice versus Colorado, scoring a penalty kick in the 3-2 win at the MLS is Back Tournament on July 17, 2020 before netting the game-winner in the 4-0 home win on Oct. 24, 2020.
• Forward Khiry Shelton has one goal and one assist against the Rapids, with his goal coming in the 3-2 victory at the MLS is Back Tournament on July 17, 2020, while his assist set up Diego Rubio’s late equalizer in the 2-2 road draw on March 24, 2018.
• Midfielder Gadi Kinda has a goal and an assist against Colorado, setting up a goal in the 3-2 win at the MLS is Back Tournament on July 17, 2020 before adding a goal in the 4-0 home win on Oct. 24, 2020.
• Winger Johnny Russell has two goals and one assist against the Rapid. Both his goals came from direct free kicks, the first late on in a 1-1 road draw on March 17, 2019 and the other in a 1-1 home draw on Aug. 28, 2021. His assist came in the 3-1 home win on June 23, 2021.
• Defender Andreu Fontas scored his first MLS goal for Sporting KC in the 4-0 home win over the Rapids on Oct. 24, 2020. He added an assist in the 3-1 home win on June 23, 2021.
• Midfielder Felipe Hernandez scored his first MLS goal and also added an assist in the 3-1 home win over Colorado on June 23, 2021.
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza has two assists against the Colorado Rapids, coming game-winners on April 9, 2017 and Oct. 24, 2020.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is 6-9-5 all-time against Colorado, posting a 1.20 goals against average with four shutouts. His shutouts came in a 2-0 home victory on June 27, 2015, a 1-0 home win on May 5, 2018, a 4-0 home win on Oct. 24, 2020 and a 0-0 road draw on Aug. 7, 2021.
• Goalkeeper John Pulskamp is 0-0-1 against the Rapids, posting a shutout in the 0-0 road draw on March 4, 2023.
#SKCvCOL: PLAYER/COACH CONNECTIONS
• Colorado striker Diego Rubio played for Sporting KC from 2016-2018, tallying 20 goals and 10 assists in 65 appearances across all competitions.
• Sporting defender Kortne Ford was born in Olathe, Kansas - a suburb of Kansas City - but moved to Greeley, Colorado as a 12 year old and began his professional career with the Rapids from 2017-2021.
• Sporting KC Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes played for the Colorado Rapids from 1997-1999 before heading to Kansas City.
• Manager Peter Vermes was teammates with Rapids head coach Robin Fraser on the U.S. National Team from 1988-1997.
• Forward Johnny Russell has played with Colorado defender Danny Wilson on the Scotland Under-21 National Team from 2011-2012.
• Forward Khiry Shelton was teammates with Colorado’s Jonathan Lewis at New York City FC from 2017-2019.
• Sporting midfielder Nemanja Radoja and Colorado goalkeeper Marko Ilic are both born in Novi Sad, Serbia and began their careers with FK Vojvodina and also both went on loan to Cement Beocin.
• Sporting KC’s Roger Espinoza grew up in Denver, Colorado. Espinoza also played alongside Colorado’s Bryan Acosta on the Honduras National Team from 2014-2019.
#SKCvCOL: BY THE NUMBERS
Sporting KC Team Notes
• Sporting rank fourth in MLS in shots (89) and second in shots on target (36).
• Sporting rank third in MLS in key passes (64), third in shooting accuracy (60%) and second in corner kicks (42).
• Sporting lead MLS with six shots from fast breaks.
• Sporting have had 29 shots blocked this season, the second most in MLS.
• Sporting rank third in MLS with 105 crosses from open play.
• Sporting lead MLS with a dribble success rate of 63.3%, completing 69 of 109 attempted dribbles.
• Sporting have opened the season winless in six matches for the second time in club history (1999). Of the 23 MLS teams to open a season winless in six league matches from 1996-2022, nine went on to make the playoffs.
• Sporting are tied for last in MLS with two goals scored. They are the only team not to score in the second half of a match this season.
• Sporting are the only MLS club without an assist this season.
• A total of 24 different players have taken the field for Sporting this season, tied with Real Salt Lake for the most in MLS.
Sporting KC Player Notes
• Midfielder Erik Thommy leads MLS with 12 shots on target, three more than any other player. He also ranks second in total shot attempts (24) and eighth in chances created (13). His 11 blocked shot attempts are the most in MLS.
• Forward Daniel Salloi ranks fifth in MLS in shots (19), second in shots on target (nine) and fourth in successful crosses from open play (six).
• Center backs Robert Castellanos and Dany Rosero made their Sporting debuts with 90-minute outings in last Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Philadelphia.
• Defender Robert Castellanos finished his club debut with three duels won, five clearances, four second balls won and seven recoveries.
• Defender Dany Rosero finished his club and MLS debut with five duels won, three aerial duels won, six second balls won, three recoveries in the defensive third and a team-high 0.33 expected goals.
Colorado Rapids Team Notes
• Colorado occupy last place in the Western Conference as one of three winless MLS clubs alongside Sporting and the LA Galaxy.
• Colorado are tied for last in MLS with two goals scored. They are the only team not to score in the first half of a match this season.
• Colorado are winless in their last nine regular season road matches dating back to 2022. Since the start of last season, the Rapids are 1-13-6 on the road in the regular season. Only San Jose (1-13-5) have fewer points on the road in 2022 and 2023.
• Colorado’s last MLS road win came by a 5-4 scoreline over the New York Red Bulls on Aug. 2, 2022.
• Colorado have led for a total of five minutes this season, from the 49th to 54th minute in a 2-1 home loss to Minnesota on March 18.
• Colorado went 319 minutes without scoring a goal from Feb. 26 to March 18, the longest drought by an MLS team this season.
• Colorado have been flagged offside four times, the fewest in MLS this season.
• Colorado have conceded three goals after the 75th minute. Only Austin (4) and Chicago (4) have conceded more during that time.
Colorado Rapids Player Notes
• Defender Danny Wilson led all MLS players in matchday six with six shot attempts in matchday six, a 0-0 home draw against LAFC.
• Midfielder Cole Bassett and forward Kevin Cabral have provided Colorado’s two goals this season.
• Midfielder Michael Barrios has assisted on both of Colorado’s goals, while fellow midfielders Bryan Acosta and Connor Ronan have also provided assists. Acosta leads the team with 10 key passes.
• Goalkeeper William Yarbrough ranks fourth in MLS with 22 saves.
NOTEWORTHY MILESTONES
• Manager Peter Vermes will coach his 444th MLS regular season match on Saturday, tying Dominic Kinnear for third most in MLS history.
• Forward Daniel Salloi is one shy of his 50th goal for Sporting in all competitions.
SPORTING KC SOCIAL PROPERTIES
Web Twitter Other Social Media
SportingKC.com @SportingKC Facebook.com/SportingKC
SportingKC.com/News @SKCMatchday Instagram.com/SportingKC
SportingKC.com/Videos @SportingKCII Facebook.com/SportingKCII
SportingKC.com/Media @CMPark Instagram.com/SportingKCII
SportingKCAcademy.com @SKCAcademy Instagram.com/SKCAcademy
SportingKCYouth.com @SportingKCYouth Facebook.com/SportingKCYouth
VictoryKC.org @VictoryKC Facebook.com/VictoryProjectKC
SportingStyle.com @SportingStyle Instagram.com/SportingStyle
SportingAthletics.com @SportingGaming TikTok: @SportingKC
NoOtherPubKC.com @NoOtherPub Facebook.com/NoOtherPub
SportingClubEventsKC.com @SportingKCSTM Facebook.com/SKCSeasonTicketMembers
CompassMineralsNPC.com @SoySporting YouTube.com/SportingKansasCity
3 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
SPORTING KANSAS CITY NEWS AND NOTES
RETURNING HOME WITH ENCOURAGING POINT
Sporting Kansas City remain in search of the club’s first victory of the 2023 season as the team gets set to host the Colorado Rapids at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Both clubs are coming off 0-0 draws against the two top teams of 2022, as Sporting earned a point on the road at MLS Cup runners-up the Philadelphia Union, while the Rapids held MLS Cup champions LAFC to a scoreless stalemate at home.
Sporting made five changes to the lineup in the match against the Union, producing the type of reaction Peter Vermes was looking for following the 4-1 home loss to Seattle the previous week. A total of 24 different players have now taken the field for Sporting through the first six matchdays of the 2023 season, which ranks most in the league this year along with Real Salt Lake.
Sporting and Colorado are the only two winless teams that have played six matches so far in 2023. Teams have gone winless in their first six matches 23 times in MLS history prior to this season, and nine have gone on to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Colorado enters the weekend winless in the club’s last nine road matches dating back to 2022. Since the start of last season, Colorado is 1-13-6 on the road in the regular season. Only San Jose (1-13-5) has fewer points on the road in 2022 and 2023.
RAPIDS RUNDOWN
Sporting Kansas City returns home this weekend to take on the Colorado Rapids at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. It’s the second match between the two sides in approximately one month as the season series between Sporting and the Rapids will conclude just seven matches into the season.
Sporting and Colorado played to a 0-0 draw at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on March 4, 2023, earning both teams their first point of the campaign. Sporting weathered an early Rapids storm, with John Pulskamp denying Darren Yapi in the first minute before Graham Zusi saw the ball ricochet off his knee and hit the post later in the first half. Once Sporting settled down, they forced Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough into 11 saves - the most saves of his MLS career and second highest mark in Colorado history.
Sporting last hosted the Rapids on May 14, 2022, emerging as 2-1 winners. Daniel Salloi gave Sporting the lead in the first half before Gyasi Zardes equalized just before the break. Salloi’s second of the night would give Sporting all three points, but not before a wild period of second-half stoppage time that saw red cards shown to Colorado’s Auston Trusty and Lucas Esteves as well as Sporting’s Andreu Fontas and Salloi.
Sporting leads the all-time series 29-25-19, including a dominant 23-6-6 mark at home.
CASTELLANOS & ROSERO IMPRESS ON DEBUT
Sporting Kansas City defenders Robert Castellanos and Dany Rosero enjoyed an impressive start to life in a Sporting blue jersey, shutting out the top scoring team of 2022 on the road with Saturday’s 0-0 draw against the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park.
While Castellanos had spent most of preseason with Sporting after signing from KuPS in Finland, Rosero had been in the country for less than a week when Sporting took on the Union, having arrived from Colombian side Atletico Junior. The duo kept a dynamic Philadelphia offense at bay, limiting the home side to just four shots on goal.
Castellanos led the team with five clearances and was tied for the team-lead with three interceptions. Dany Rosero had three clearances, four recoveries and committed zero fouls, while also winning five of his seven duels and three of his four aerial duels. Rosero also posed a goal threat, having three attempts at goal including SKC’s best chance of the match, a header that Andre Blake was able to gather toward the end of the first half.
MELIA SHINES IN RETURN TO LINEUP
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia returned to the lineup for the first time since last July and helped lead his team to a shutout on Saturday night with a 0-0 draw against the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park.
Melia suffered a hamstring injury in the club’s 2-0 loss to LAFC at Children’s Mercy Park on July 23, 2022 and would go on to miss the remainder of the season with youngster John Pulskamp deputizing in his place. After entering preseason healthy, Melia suffered a back spasm that forced him to sit out a lengthy chunk of Sporting’s preparations for the 2023 campaign.
Melia made four saves on Saturday night as he posted his first shutout since a goalless draw at New York City FC on May 7, 2022.
The 36-year-old added to his club record with his 64th regular-season shutout on Saturday and his 73rd clean sheet in all competitions. Melia is also the club’s all-time goalkeeping leader in appearances (246) and wins (105) across all competitions.
PULIDO RETURNS AFTER 16 MONTHS OUT
Sporting Kansas City Designated Player Alan Pulido made his return from injury after 16 months out in Sporting’s 0-0 draw with the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on Saturday night. Pulido’s last appearance came on Nov. 28, 2021 in the club’s MLS Cup Playoffs loss to Real Salt Lake, making Saturday’s appearance his first in 490 days.
Pulido entered the game in place of Willy Agada in the 63rd minute and immediately looked sharp, combining with fellow Sporting attackers Daniel Salloi and Erik Thommy.
The Mexican international completed 12 of his 16 passes, attempted three dribbles and competed in nine duels, showing little fear when fighting for possession after such a lengthy spell out.
BEN SWEAT WAIVED
Sporting Kansas City announced on Tuesdsay afternoon that the club has waived left back Ben Sweat.
Sweat, 31, joined Sporting ahead of the 2022 season. He started 26 of his 29 appearances for the club in all competitions, adding three assists from the left back position.
In Sporting’s last home match, Sweat was shown the club’s first red card of the season after picking up two yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes early in the second half.
WALTER’S IRONMAN RUN CONTINUES
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Remi Walter continued his impressive streak of consecutive starts with another 90-minute outing during the team’s 0-0 draw with the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on Saturday night.
Dating back to Sept. 29, 2021, Walter has started 48 consecutive MLS regular-season matches and has gone the full 90 minutes in all but four contests. Walter’s active 48-match streak of successive starts ranks third among field players, trailing Philadelphia defender Jakob Glesnes (79) and Columbus midfielder Darlington Nagbe (73).
Walter currently ranks 10th in Sporting KC’s all-time most consecutive regular-season starts and seventh among outfield players.
In 2022, Walter became just the third outfield player in Sporting KC history to start every match in a 34-game regular-season, joining teammate Graham Zusi and former midfielder Ilie Sanchez, who both accomplished the same feat in 2018.
POSTGAME: #PHIvSKC
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On if teams have figured out Philadelphia this season...
“Everyone loves to talk about formation and style of play and all this stuff. I think, at the end of the day, what you have to bring to every game in MLS is this high level of intensity and effort. If you don’t, you’re going to get knocked off the park no matter who you play. I will say that this team over the last couple of years has been very consistent at that and I think what happens to you after a while, whether it’s them or anyone else, teams realize that if they’re going to play you, they got to bring that and if they don’t bring it, they’re out. So if they bring it, then all of a sudden it’s a battle. This is two teams that came in, lost the last two, and this was a battle tonight. That’s what this was. This wasn’t some high level possession soccer game with all these different counter moves. From a tactical perspective, it was just straight up you had to defend the boxes and everybody was trying to find something to ricochet off somebody or drop for somebody and hopefully steal the goal. I give my guys a lot of credit. I made a lot of changes in the team. (Dany) Rosero just got here on Sunday, so for him to be able to jump in the game and play 90 minutes like he did was fantastic. Philly is a really good team. I’m always really cautious to comment on the style of play of another team because I think that you play the way you play, you have success and you’re consistent at it. That’s what usually rules today. But again, if you lack the effort and the intensity, you might as well forget about it. You’re done in this league.”
On Alan Pulido’s return…
“It’s amazing how wherever he gets on the field, how he knows how to control the space. This has been a long time coming. He is a very important player within our team so we’ve missed him for 14 months now. It’s been a long time. We were trying to get him in last week but we went down one man and there was no way I was going to put him in that game late. But I think he’s really in a good place. It’s amazing how sharp he is already and the fact that he was able to get 30 minutes in the game. It bodes well for him going forward and I think he’s going to be a big help to us down the stretch here for sure.”
4 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON RESULTS
CHILDREN’S
5 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
MERCY PARK BY THE NUMBERS TOTAL MLS SELLOUTS 172 197 MLS matches at full capacity since 2011 (including postseason) SPORTING KC MATCHES PLAYED SPORTING KC MATCHES WON 248 133 198 MLS regular season, 12 MLS postseason, 22 Open Cup, 11 International, 5 friendlies not including penalty shootout victories in 2012 U.S. Open Cup and 2013 MLS Cup finals ALL-TIME AVERAGE MLS ATTENDANCE 19,291 197 MLS matches at full capacity since 2011 (including postseason) PERCENT CAPACITY IN MLS MATCHES 104.5 197 MLS matches at full capacity since 2011 Seating capacity: 18,467 SPORTING KC GOALS SCORED 436 in 248 matches played at the stadium
RECORDS (full capacity games only) Sporting KC MLS record vs. Colorado Rapids: 29-25-19 Home games: 23-6-6 (74 GF, 36 GA) Road games: 5-19-13 (40 GF, 56 GA) Neutral Site: 1-0-0 (3 GF, 2 GA) Date Score Result Location 04/13/1996 KC 3 vs COL 0 W Arrowhead Stadium 05/05/1996 KC 0 at COL 4 L Mile High Stadium 07/10/1996 KC 2 vs COL 0 W Arrowhead Stadium 08/07/1996 KC 2 at COL 4 L Mile High Stadium 06/28/1997 KC 3 at COL 3 SOW Mile High Stadium 08/28/1997 KC 1 vs COL 0 W Arrowhead Stadium 09/06/1997 KC 2 at COL 1 W Mile High Stadium 09/26/1997 KC 5 vs COL 2 W Arrowhead Stadium 05/31/1998 KC 1 at COL 2 L Mile High Stadium 07/19/1998 KC 4 vs COL 1 W Arrowhead Stadium 08/08/1998 KC 3 vs COL 1 W Arrowhead Stadium 09/02/1998 KC 2 at COL 3 L Mile High Stadium 04/17/1999 KC 1 at COL 1 SOL Mile High Stadium 07/07/1999 KC 1 vs COL 2 L Arrowhead Stadium 09/10/1999 KC 0 at COL 0 SOL Mile High Stadium 09/25/1999 KC 0 vs COL 0 SOL Arrowhead Stadium 04/01/2000 KC 3 vs COL 0 W Arrowhead Stadium 04/29/2000 KC 5 at COL 0 W Mile High Stadium 08/02/2000 KC 3 vs COL 1 W Arrowhead Stadium 08/26/2000 KC 1 at COL 1 T (2OT) Mile High Stadium 07/18/2001 KC 0 at COL 0 T (2OT) Mile High Stadium 08/12/2001 KC 2 at COL 2 T (2OT) Mile High Stadium 08/19/2001 KC 3 vs COL 2 W Arrowhead Stadium 03/23/2002 KC 1 vs COL 1 T (2OT) Arrowhead Stadium 05/11/2002 KC 0 at COL 2 L Invesco Field at Mile High 09/14/2002 KC 1 vs COL 2 L Arrowhead Stadium 09/20/2002 KC 1 at COL 1 T (2OT) Invesco Field at Mile High 07/04/2003 KC 2 at COL 3 L Invesco Field at Mile High 08/22/2003 KC 2 vs COL 2 T (2OT) Arrowhead Stadium 09/13/2003 KC 0 at COL 1 L Invesco Field at Mile High 10/04/2003 KC 4 vs COL 2 W Arrowhead Stadium 05/01/2004 KC 2 vs COL 0 W Arrowhead Stadium 06/09/2004 KC 1 at COL 0 W Invesco Field at Mile High 09/10/2004 KC 1 at COL 3 L Invesco Field at Mile High 09/25/2004 KC 1 vs COL 0 W Arrowhead Stadium 04/02/2005 KC 3 vs COL 2 W Arrowhead Stadium 07/04/2005 KC 1 at COL 2 L Invesco Field at Mile High 07/08/2006 KC 0 at COL 1 L Invesco Field at Mile High 09/09/2006 KC 4 vs COL 1 W Arrowhead Stadium 05/19/2007 KC 1 at COL 1 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 07/22/2007 KC 2 vs COL 2 T Arrowhead Stadium 04/05/2008 KC 3 vs COL 2 W CommunityAmerica Ballpark 08/16/2008 KC 1 at COL 2 L Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 03/28/2009 KC 1 at COL 2 L Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 09/26/2009 KC 0 vs COL 0 T CommunityAmerica Ballpark 04/10/2010 KC 1 vs COL 0 W CommunityAmerica Ballpark 07/17/2010 KC 1 at COL 1 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 05/28/2011 KC 1 at COL 1 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 07/06/2011 KC 1 vs COL 1 T Livestrong Sporting Park 05/19/2012 KC 2 at COL 2 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 08/31/2013 KC 2 vs COL 1 W Sporting Park 03/29/2014 KC 3 at COL 2 W Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 06/27/2015 KC 2 vs COL 0 W Sporting Park 08/29/2015 KC 1 at COL 2 L Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 10/21/2015 KC 0 vs COL 2 L Sporting Park 04/13/2016 KC 1 vs COL 2 L Children’s Mercy Park 05/11/2016 KC 0 at COL 1 L Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 07/16/2016 KC 0 at COL 1 L Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 04/09/2017 KC 3 vs COL 1 W Children’s Mercy Park 05/27/2017 KC 0 at COL 1 L Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 03/24/2018 KC 2 at COL 2 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 05/05/2018 KC 1 vs COL 0 W Children’s Mercy Park 03/17/2019 KC 1 at COL 1 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 09/21/2019 KC 2 vs COL 3 L Children’s Mercy Park 07/17/2020 KC 3 vs COL 2 W Marathon Sports Field 08/29/2020 KC 1 at COL 1 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 10/24/2020 KC 4 vs COL 0 W Children’s Mercy Park 06/23/2021 KC 3 vs COL 1 W Children’s Mercy Park 08/07/2021 KC 0 at COL 0 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 08/28/2021 KC 1 vs COL 1 T Children’s Mercy Park 03/12/2022 KC 0 at COL 2 L Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 05/18/2022 KC 2 vs COL 1 W Children’s Mercy Park 03/04/2023 KC 0 at COL 0 T Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
ATTENDANCE
COLORADO RAPIDS Category 1 2 OT Total Goals 37 57 0 94 Shots 377 482 9 868 Shots on Goal 142 178 2 322 Fouls 499 553 8 1060 Offsides 104 88 2 194 Corner Kicks 159 170 8 337 Category 1 2 OT Total Goals 42 75 0 117 Shots 441 577 7 1025 Shots on Goal 171 249 3 423 Fouls 452 468 12 932 Offsides 97 92 0 189 Corner Kicks 168 197 3 368 ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON SERIES STATS SPORTING KANSAS CITY ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON SERIES LEADERS SPORTING KANSAS CITY COLORADO RAPIDS John Spencer 8 Chris Henderson 7 John Spencer 53 John Spencer 29 Pablo Mastroeni 35 Chris Henderson 36 Five Players 3 Cannon, Hahnemann 5 Garlick, Yarbrough 3 Marcus Hahnemann 44 Marcus Hahnemann 17 GOALS ASSISTS SHOTS SHOTS ON GOAL FOULS COMMITTED FOULS SUFFERED WINS LOSSES SHUTOUTS SAVES GOALS ALLOWED 9 Klein, Preki 16 Preki 83 Preki 35 Preki 37 Roger Espinoza 47 Kerry Zavagnin 7 Tony Meola 8 Tim Melia 6 Tony Meola 65 Tony Meola 22 Tim Melia ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON GAME HIGHS SPORTING KANSAS CITY COLORADO RAPIDS Eight Players 2 Seven Players 2 (9/14/02) Mark Chung 8 (8/22/03) John Spencer 5 (8/2/00) Chris Martinez 7 (5/11/16) Kevin Doyle 7 (3/4/23) William Yarbrough 11 Grafer, Kramer 5 GOALS ASSISTS SHOTS SHOTS ON GOAL FOULS COMMITTED FOULS SUFFERED SAVES GOALS ALLOWED 2 11 Players 3 Preki (10/4/03) 9 Onandi Lowe (8/12/01) 6 Alan Pulido (10/24/20) 7 Chris Henderson (8/26/00) 7 Three Players 9 Bo Oshoniyi (9/10/04) 4 Mike Ammann (8/7/96) 1-15 16-30 31-45 46-60 61-75 76-90 OT Total KC 11 13 18 26 16 33 0 117 COL 12 13 12 19 10 28 0 94 GOALS SCORED IN SERIES BY INTERVAL
SPORTING KANSAS CITY TRANSACTION TRACKER
Players In Players Out
MID - Nemanja Radoja (Signed as Free Agent - Oct. 26, 2022)
DEF - Tim Leibold (Signed as Free Agent - Jan. 12, 2023)
MID - Danny Flores (Signed off Waivers - Jan. 13, 2023)
DEF - Chris Rindov (MLS SuperDraft Selection - Feb. 10, 2023)
DEF - Robert Castellanos (Signed as Free Agent - Feb. 17, 2023)
DEF - Dany Rosero (Acquired from Atletico Junior - March 2, 2023)
DEF - Nicolas Isimat-Mirin (Option Declined - Nov. 15, 2022)
DEF - Kaveh Rad (Option Declined - Nov. 15, 2022)
MID - Uri Rosell (Waived - Jan. 20, 2023)
DEF - Ben Sweat (Waived - April 4, 2023)
SPORTING KANSAS CITY TRANSACTION TIMELINE
DATE IN/OUT DETAILS
Oct. 26: IN
Nov. 15: OUT
Dec. 2: IN
Jan. 12: IN
Sporting KC signs free agent midfielder Nemanja Radoja, most recently with Levante (Spain).
Sporting KC declines options on defenders Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, Kaveh Rad and Graham Zusi. In addition, defender Andreu Fontas and midfielder Roger Espinoza are out of contract.
Sporting KC re-signs defenders Andreu Fontas and Graham Zusi along with midfielder Roger Espinoza
Sporting KC signs free agent defender Tim Leibold, most recently with Hamburger SV (Germany).
Jan. 13: IN Sporting KC signs midfielder Danny Flores off MLS waivers, having recently departed Virginia Tech.
Jan. 20: OUT Sporting KC waives midfielder Uri Rosell
Feb. 10: IN Sporting KC signs defender Chris Rindov, the club’s second round pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft out of Maryland.
Feb. 17: IN Sporting KC signs free agent defender Robert Castellanos, most recently with KuPS (Finland).
March 2: IN
April 4: OUT
Sporting KC acquires defender Dany Rosero in a transfer from Atletico Junior (Colombia).
Sporting KC waives defender Ben Sweat
CONSTRUCTING SPORTING KANSAS CITY
2018 Johnny Russell (1/31/18) Andreu Fontas (8/8/18)
2019
2020 Khiry Shelton (12/9/19)
Alan Pulido (12/10/19)
Gadi Kinda (1/23/20)
2021 Remi Walter (12/22/20)
2022 Logan Ndenbe (1/14/22)
Robert Voloder (1/19/22)
Marinos Tzionis (1/24/22)
Willy Agada (6/23/22)
Erik Thommy (6/23/22)
2023 Chris Rindov (2nd Round - #37) Nemanja Radoja (10/26/22)
Tim Leibold (1/12/23)
Robert Castellanos (2/17/23)
Dany Rosero (3/2/23)
Kortne Ford (1/14/22)
Salloi
Cam Duke (7/18/19)
Felipe Hernandez (8/30/19)
John Pulskamp (2/24/20)
Ozzie Cisneros (1/20/21)
Kayden Pierre (5/4/21)
Jake Davis (8/19/21)
Kendall McIntosh (12/17/20)
Danny Flores (1/13/23)
6
Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
Year MLS SuperDraft Overseas Signings Domestic/Free Agents Homegrown Players Re-Entry Draft 2009
#23) 2015 Roger Espinoza (1/6/15) Tim Melia (12/23/14)
Graham Zusi (2nd Round -
2016 Daniel
(1/13/16)
Notes
GAME-WINNING GOALS: None
GAME-WINNING ASSISTS: None
PENALTY KICK GOALS/ATTEMPTS: Erik Thommy 0-1
SPORTING KANSAS CITY INDIVIDUAL GOALKEEPING
REGULAR-SEASON STATS
12
SPORTING KC 2023 REGULAR-SEASON
DATE OPPONENT RESULT SCORE ATT. RECORD PTS. PLACE GOALSCORERS February 27 at Portland Timbers L 0-1 22,925 0-1-0 0 T-6 March 4 at Colorado Rapids T 0-0 14,954 0-1-1 1 T-10 March 11 vs. LA Galaxy T 0-0 18,612 0-1-2 2 10 March 18 at FC Dallas L 1-2 17,467 0-2-2 2 T-11 Salloi March 25 vs. Seattle Sounders FC L 1-4 18,629 0-3-2 2 T-13 Agada April 1 at Philadelphia Union T 0-0 18,550 0-3-3 3 T-11
Sporting KC Game
| April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
RESULTS
SPORTING KC 2023
2023 SPORTING KANSAS CITY STATISTICS (0-3-3, 3 pts.) THROUGH GAMES OF APRIL 1, 2023 UNF POS PLAYER GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E 23 F Willy Agada 6 6 507 1 0 15 4 10 6 4 0 1 0 20 F Daniel Salloi 6 6 540 1 0 19 9 5 5 0 6 0 0 19 D Robert Castellanos 1 1 90 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 17 M Jake Davis 1 0 7 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 M Cam Duke 2 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 M Roger Espinoza 6 5 377 0 0 6 4 3 4 0 0 1 0 31 M Danny Flores 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 D Andreu Fontas 5 5 450 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 21 M Felipe Hernandez 4 0 106 0 0 0 0 4 2 1 4 0 0 14 D Tim Leibold 3 1 102 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 29 GK Tim Melia 1 1 90 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 24 D Kayden Pierre 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 9 F Alan Pulido 1 0 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 GK John Pulskamp 5 5 450 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 M Nemanja Radoja 3 1 72 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 D Dany Rosero 1 1 90 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 F Johnny Russell 2 1 91 0 0 1 1 2 3 0 4 0 0 11 F Khiry Shelton 6 4 345 0 0 2 1 4 6 0 0 0 0 2 D Ben Sweat 5 4 316 0 0 1 0 4 1 1 0 1 1 26 M Erik Thommy 6 6 484 0 0 24 12 7 7 1 27 1 0 77 F Marinos Tzionis 4 1 123 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 4 D Robert Voloder 6 6 540 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 0 1 0 54 M Remi Walter 6 6 540 0 0 5 2 5 4 0 0 1 0 8 D Graham Zusi 6 6 533 0 0 6 1 2 7 0 0 0 0 25 F Ozzie Cisneros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 D Kortne Ford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 M Gadi Kinda 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 GK Kendall McIntosh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 D Logan Ndenbe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 82 D Chris Rindov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team totals 6 6 540 2 0 89 36 59 60 7 42 6 1 Opponent totals 6 6 540 7 9 70 24 60 59 13 20 10 0
UNF POS GOALKEEPER GP GS MIN SH SV GA GAA PG PA W L T SO 1 GK John Pulskamp 5 5 450 20 13 7 1.40 0 0 0 3 2 2 29 GK Tim Melia 1 1 90 4 4 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 1 1 Team totals 6 6 540 24 17 7 1.17 0 0 0 3 3 3 Opponent totals 6 6 540 36 34 2 0.33 0 1 3 0 3 4
SPORTING KC 2023 PARTICIPATION CHART (MLS REGULAR SEASON)
DNP
KINDA INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ
LEIBOLD SUB-17 SUB-8 LB-77 INJ INJ INJ
MCINTOSH DNP DNP DNP DNP SKCII UNAV
MELIA UNAV UNAV UNAV UNAV DNP GK-90
NDENBE INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ
PIERRE DNP DNP DNP SUB-4 INJ INJ
PULIDO INJ INJ INJ INJ DNP SUB-27
PULSKAMP GK-90
13
| April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado
| SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
Sporting KC Game Notes
Rapids
2/25 3/4 3/11 3/18 3/25 4/1 4/8 4/15 4/22 4/29 5/7 5/13 5/17 5/20 5/28 5/31 6/3 PLAYER @POR @COL LA @DAL SEA @PHI COL @SJ @NE MTL @SEA MIN @LAFC @STL POR DAL @VAN AGADA CF-90 CF-90 CF-90 CF-90 CF-84 CF-63 CASTELLANOS DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CB-90 CISNEROS UNAV UNAV UNAV UNAV SKCII SKCII DAVIS DNP DNP UNAV DNP SUB-7 DNP DUKE DNP SUB-2 DNP DNP SUB-20 DNP ESPINOZA CM-70 CM-72 CM-67 CM-67 CM-45 SUB-56 FLORES UNAV UNAV UNAV UNAV SUB-6 SKCII FONTAS CB-90 CB-90 CB-90 CB-90 CB-90 DNP FORD INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ HERNANDEZ SUB-20 SUB-18 DNP SUB-23 SUB-45
GK-90 GK-90 GK-90 GK-90 DNP RADOJA UNAV UNAV SUB-23 SUB-15 INJ DM-34 RINDOV DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP ROSERO UNAV UNAV UNAV UNAV CB-90 RUSSELL INJ INJ INJ INJ SUB-29 RW-62 SALLOI LW-90 LW-90 LW-90 LW-90 LW-90 LW-90 SHELTON RW-90 SUB-18 RW-63 RW-85 RW-61 SUB-28 SWEAT LB-73 LB-82 SUB-13 LB-86 LB-63 SUS THOMMY CM-71 CM-88 CM-90 CM-75 CM-70 CM-90 TZIONIS SUB-19 RW-72 SUB-27 SUB-5 INTL UNAV VOLODER CB-90 CB-90 CB-90 CB-90 CB-90 LB-90 WALTER DM-90 DM-90 DM-90 DM-90 DM-90 CM-90 ZUSI RB-90 RB-90 RB-90 RB-90 RB-83 RB-90 6/10 6/17 6/21 6/24 7/1 7/8 7/12 7/15 8/26 9/2 9/9 9/16 9/20 9/23 9/30 10/7 10/21 PLAYER ATX LAFC @LA CHI VAN @HOU RSL @ATX SJ STL @MIA @MIN NSH HOU @STL @RSL MIN AGADA CASTELLANOS CISNEROS DAVIS DUKE ESPINOZA FLORES FONTAS FORD HERNANDEZ KINDA LEIBOLD MCINTOSH MELIA NDENBE PIERRE PULIDO PULSKAMP RADOJA RINDOV ROSERO RUSSELL SALLOI SHELTON SWEAT THOMMY TZIONIS VOLODER WALTER ZUSI KEY Position-Minutes - Starting Position-Minutes Played DNP - Unused Substitute INJ - Injured SKCII - Sporting Kansas City II SUB-Minutes - Substitute-Minutes played UNAV - Unavailable For Selection SUS - Suspended INTL - International Duty LOAN - Out on Loan ACD - Sporting KC Academy
MANAGER & SPORTING DIRECTOR | PETER VERMES
Peter Vermes is in his 15th season as Sporting Kansas City Manager in 2023 with a new five-year extension and is the longest-tenured active head coach in MLS. He is the team’s longest-serving manager and his 222 coaching victories in all competitions are the most club history. During his tenure, he has won four major trophies – the 2012, 2015 and 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups and the 2013 MLS Cup championship – and finished atop the Eastern Conference regular-season standings in 2011 and 2012, as well as the Western Conference in 2018 and 2020. His three U.S. Open Cup championships are the third most in Open Cup history. He is the first coach in club history to lead Sporting KC to eight straight postseason appearances, as well as the only person to ever win the MLS Cup as both a player and a coach with the same team. His 183 regularseason wins top the club’s all-time chart and rank fourth most in MLS history. He passed his former coach Bob Gansler as the winningest manager in team history with a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Aug. 12, 2015, his 109th victory in all competitions.
On August 4, 2018, Vermes coached his 302nd MLS regular-season game with Sporting KC, becoming the league’s all-time leader in games coached for one club. He was named the first-ever MLS Sporting Executive of the Year by his peers in 2018. Vermes has coached 522 total games during his Kansas City coaching career, most in club history.
With over 15 years of service at Sporting KC, Vermes is one of the longest serving managers in world soccer. Among all 18 leagues with an average attendance of 10,000+, Vermes ranks second, only behind 2. Bundesliga side FC Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt (Sept. 17, 2007 – present). Among the top 126 leagues in the world as denoted by the CIES Football Observatory, Vermes’ tenure at Sporting KC ranks as the sixth longest active run.
Vermes oversees all soccer operations for Sporting KC, including the active roster, Sporting Kansas City II (MLS NEXT Pro) and the Sporting KC Academy. Vermes entered MLS ahead of its inaugural season in 1996 and retired from the league in 2002, closing out his playing career in Kansas City after stints with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars and Colorado Rapids.
Following a standout high school career in which he was named New Jersey Player of the Year, Vermes was a star forward and All-American at Rutgers University. After college, Vermes represented the United States in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, and was named 1988 Chevrolet U.S. Male Soccer Athlete of the Year for his efforts.
Vermes was an integral part of a young U.S. team at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where he nearly scored against the host Azzurri. It was the first time the U.S. had qualified for the World Cup in 40 years and set the stage for the progress of the U.S. National Team. In 1989 and 1990, Vermes became the first American to play in the Hungarian and Dutch First Divisions, playing for Raba ETO and FC Volendam, respectively. He later spent five years with Figueres of the Spanish Second Division.
For MLS’s inaugural season in 1996, Vermes served as captain of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. In 1997, he was traded to the Colorado Rapids for current Sporting KC Assistant Coach Kerry Zavagnin and played in Denver through the 1999 season, leading the Rapids to the 1997 MLS Cup Final.
Vermes joined Kansas City in 2000 for what would be the most successful season of his MLS career. During his first year in Kansas City, he anchored one of the best defenses in league history and won MLS Defender of the Year honors in helping lead the Wizards to the 2000 MLS Cup Championship. He retired in 2002 after appearing in 209 MLS matches (including playoffs) and playing more than 18,000 minutes. In 2013, Vermes was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
PETER VERMES HEAD COACHING RECORD AT SPORTING KC
ASSISTANT COACH | KERRY ZAVAGNIN
In 2023, Kerry Zavagnin breaks the MLS record as he enters his 24th season with one club as a player or coach. Zavagnin first joined Kansas City in 2000 as a holding midfielder and was an integral part of the club’s midfield for the next nine seasons, during which time he helped lead the Wizards to MLS Cup (2000) and U.S. Open Cup (2004) Championships. He was named to the MLS All-Star team and the Best XI in 2004. Zavagnin’s primary duties as an assistant include scouting, developing Sporting Kansas City’s younger players, breaking down film and assisting with training sessions. He started his professional career with the MetroStars, where he played in 39 games over two seasons. After spending one season with the Lehigh Valley Steam (USL-1), Zavagnin came to KC in 2000. He played 237 games and logged 20,516 minutes for Kansas City, setting team records in both categories before being overtaken by Matt Besler early in 2018. He scored eight goals and added 22 assists in his nine seasons in KC. Zavagnin was named Team Defender of the Year in 2001. On top of his club success in Kansas City, Zavagnin also appeared 21 times for the U.S. Men’s National Team. He recorded one assist for the U.S., who went 15-2-4 when Zavagnin featured.
ASSISTANT COACH | ZORAN SAVIC
Zoran Savic joined Sporting Kansas City late in the 2009 season after a 30-year career at all levels of the game in the United States. A native of Gornji Milanovac, Yugoslavia, Savic began his journey through American soccer with the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1980. Savic would go on to star for several MISL teams, with his most prosperous period coming with the Kansas City Comets, with whom he scored 70 goals in just over 100 appearances from 1982-1984. After retiring as a player in 1991, Savic turned his attention to coaching in the indoor game. Savic led the Kansas City Attack from 1992-1996, winning Coach of the Year honors for the 1994-1995 season while also serving as the team’s General Manager. Savic later coached the Kansas City Comets from 2000-2005. In 2007 Savic switched to the outdoor game, joining Chivas USA as an assistant to then-head coach Preki before moving into the commentary booth for Kansas City matches in 2008 and 2009. Savic’s career as a commentator was cut short, however, when newly installed Manager Peter Vermes tabbed Savic to be part of his coaching staff late in the 2009 season.
ASSISTANT COACH | ASH WALLACE
Ash Wallace has served on Sporting Kansas City’s technical staff since 2012, aiding the first team coaching staff in a variety of roles. Wallace, originally from England, helps scout and develop game plans for upcoming opponents, assists in planning and executing training sessions and provides valuable analysis for coaches and players regarding strategy. Wallace holds a U.S. Soccer A License. Wallace’s first involvement with the club came in August 2012 when he was contracted to produce a detailed scouting report on Seattle Sounders FC ahead of the U.S. Open Cup Final, helping Sporting claim their first of four major titles during a trophy-laden decade. Prior to joining Sporting KC, Wallace was a member of the Preston North End coaching staff and also served as an opposition scout for Fleetwood Town in his native England. Earlier in his career, he worked with Preston North End’s women’s academy teams and Penwortham Boys academy teams while earning a Degree in Sports Coaching from the University of Central Lancashire.
GOALKEEPER COACH | ALEC DUFTY
Alec Dufty is in his eighth season with Sporting Kansas City having been introduced to the organization as the Sporting KC II goalkeeper coach in the side’s inaugural season in 2016. In his first season working with the Sporting KC first team, starting goalkeeper Tim Melia enjoyed a recordbreaking season where he was named the 2017 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. A former MLS player, Dufty began his playing career with the New York Red Bulls in 2009, making one appearance before joining the MLS reserve goalkeeper pool. In 2010, Dufty joined USSF D2 Pro League side AC St. Louis, making 30 appearances before returning to MLS with the Chicago Fire in late 2010. He announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2011 season. Dufty then took to coaching, first working with Florida Gulf Coast University and then the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2015, Dufty served as goalkeeper coach for Toronto FC II in their inaugural USL Championship season.
DIRECTOR, SPORTS PERFORMANCE & SCIENCE | JOEY HARTY
Joey Harty was named Sporting Kansas City’s Director of Sports Performance and Science ahead of the 2020 season, stepping up from his role as assistant fitness coach which he held from 2018-2019. Harty manages all aspects of the club’s performance department from the academy to the senior team. He oversees day-to-day training plans on and off the field, including work in the weight room, soccer session planning, onfield movement training, data analysis and more, aiming to optimize player health and performance. Harty joined Sporting’s organization in January 2016, serving as a fitness coach for the Sporting Kansas City Academy before spending the 2017 season as head fitness coach for Sporting KC II. The Colorado native then transitioned to assistant fitness coach for Sporting’s first team in January 2018 before landing his current role with the club. Prior to arriving in Kansas City, Harty worked for Phoenix Rising FC and Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Harty attended Grand Canyon from 2010-2014, played for the men’s soccer team from 2010-2012 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. In addition to holding several professional licenses and certifications in athletic performance, Harty is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
14 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
Year MLS Playoffs MIB KO Open Cup Intl. Total 2009 3-6-3 3-6-3 2010 11-13-6 0-1-0 11-14-6 2011 13-9-12 2-1-0 3-1-0 18-11-12 2012 18-7-9 1-1-0 4-0-1 23-8-10 2013 17-10-7 2-1-2 1-1-0 2-0-2 22-12-11 2014 14-13-7 0-1-0 1-1-0 3-2-1 18-17-8 2015 14-11-9 0-0-1 4-0-1 18-11-11 2016 13-13-8 0-1-0 1-1-0 1-2-1 15-17-9 2017 12-9-13 0-1-0 4-0-1 16-10-14 2018 18-8-8 1-1-2 2-1-0 21-10-10 2019 10-16-8 0-0-0 0-1-0 3-3-0 13-20-8 2020 12-6-3 0-1-1 0-1-1 12-8-5 2021 17-10-7 1-1-0 0-1-0 18-12-7 2022 11-16-7 3-0-1 14-16-8 2023 0-3-3 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 0-3-3 TOTAL 183-150-110 7-9-6 0-1-1 23-7-4 9-8-4 222-175-125
#23 | F | WILLY AGADA
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 2, 3 times, last: Sept. 17, 2022, KC vs. MIN
Assists 1, 2 times, last: Sept. 4, 2022, KC at LA
Shots on Goal 5, Oct. 2, 2022, KC vs. SEA
Shots 7, Oct. 2, 2022, KC vs. SEA
Fouls Committed 5, Aug. 6, 2022, KC vs. LA
Fouls Suffered 3, 3 times, last: March 18, 2023, KC at DAL
Last Regular Season...
Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Goal March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA
Assist Sept. 4, 2022, KC at LA
2023 Record when: he starts 0-3-3 he scores 0-1-0
Height: 5-9
Weight: 180 Birthday: 9/17/1999
Hometown: Bauchi, Nigeria
Last Club: Hapoel Jerusalem (Israel)
Acquired: Acquired in transfer on 6/23/2022
Willy Agada joined Sporting KC in a transfer from Israeli side Hapoel Jerusalem in June 2022. A native of Nigeria, Agada scored 37 goals across four seasons in Israel before heading to the United States. Agada enjoyed an incredible start to his Sporting KC career, tallying eight goals and two assists in just 12 appearances to close out 2022 - placing him among the best goalscorers by a per-game basis in the league.
Agada turned professional as an 18-year-old and bagged eight goals during his first season with Hapoel Jerusalem in 2018-2019. He doubled his goal haul the following year, scoring a team-best 15 times across 36 appearances in the Israeli second division.
Agada’s excellent 2019-2020 campaign paved the way for a loan to Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Premier League where he finished second on the team with six goals in 20202021. The 2021-2022 season saw Agada return to Hapoel Jerusalem, which had gained promotion to the Premier League and led the team with eight goals.
Height: 6-1
Weight: 190
Hometown: Palmdale, California
Last Club: KuPS (Finland)
#19 | D | ROBERT CASTELLANOS | @rc4official
Regular
Last Regular Season...
Birthday: 5/11/1998
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 2/17/2023
Center back Robert Castellanos signed with Sporting Kansas City ahead of the 2023 campaign following a brief stint playing abroad with KuPS in Finland. Castellanos has made 70 club appearances since turning professional in 2017, including stints in the USL Championship, MLS and Finland.
Castellanos developed at the youth level with Nomads SC in San Diego before joining Liga MX club Atlas’ academy in 2016. He launched his professional career in early 2017, signing for LA Galaxy II and started 15 of 16 appearances in his debut USL Championship season. Castellanos spent the next three years at RGVFC, where he played 37 matches
and scored two goals. Castellanos jumped to MLS by signing for Nashville in February 2021. In his lone appearance for the club, Castellanos scored an equalizing goal in a 1-1 draw at Toronto FC. Nashville loaned Castellanos to the Tampa Bay Rowdies for the 2022 season where he played 13 matches, including starts in all three playoff games as the Rowdies reached the Conference Final. Castellanos then ventured abroad by joining KuPS, where he started three matches before leaving the club.
Castellanos is a former U.S. youth international, having made two appearances for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team in 2016.
15
KC
| April 8, 2023 vs.
Sporting
Game Notes
Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 18 16 1425 9 2 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 1 0 59 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 19 16 1484 9 2
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 18 16 1425 9 2 56 26 32 21 8 0 3 0 2 0 MLS - TOTAL 18 16 1425 9 2 56 26 32 21 8 0 3 0 2 0
Goals 1, Aug.
Assists 0 Shots on Goal 1, Aug. 1,
NSH at TOR (w/ NSH) Shots 2, Aug. 1, 2021, NSH at TOR (w/ NSH) Fouls Committed 3, April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Fouls Suffered 0
Season Game Highs:
1, 2021, NSH at TOR (w/ NSH)
2021,
Appearance
1,
Goal Aug. 1, 2021, NSH at TOR (w/ NSH) Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-1 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 1 1 90 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 1 1 90 0 0
April
2023, KC at PHI
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 1 1 90 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - Regular Season 2 2 180 1 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 2 2 180 1 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Height: 5-5
Weight: 145 Birthday: 3/13/2004
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
Last Club: Sporting KC Academy
Acquired: Signed as Homegrown Player on 1/20/2021
Midfielder Ozzie Cisneros, who has competed for the Sporting KC Academy at the U-13 through U-19 levels, became the fourth-youngest signing in club history when he inked an MLS contract at age 16 in early 2021. He scored his first professional goal for Sporting KC II against Louisville City FC on July 28, 2021 before making his debut for Sporting KC in a Leagues Cup match against Club Leon on Aug. 10, 2021.
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Cisneros joined the Sporting KC Academy as a 12-year-old in 2016. That summer, he led Sporting to a fourth-place finish at the Concacaf U-13 Champions League in Mexico City. Cisneros went on to play almost 70 matches for Sporting in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, scoring 15 goals and climbing to the
U-19 ranks by the time he was 15. He helped the U-17s reach the 2019 Development Academy Playoffs and split time between the U-17s and U-19s during the first half of the 2019-20 campaign. Cisneros and the SKC Academy returned to action in September 2020 in MLS Next play, with Cisneros striking twice during the abbreviated fall season - once for the U-17s and once for the U-19s.
On the international stage, Cisneros notably starred at the 2019 Concacaf U-15 Championship in Bradenton, Florida, scoring both goals in a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Costa Rica, and also found the back of the net at the 2019 Torneo delle Nazioni in Italy.
Height: 5-9 Weight: 160 Birthday: 1/3/2002
Hometown: Rochester, Michigan
Last Club: Sporting KC II (USL Championship) Acquired:
as Homegrown Player on 8/19/2021
Sporting Kansas City signed midfielder Jake Davis as a Homegrown Player in August 2021 as the 19th Homegrown Player to emerge from the Sporting Kansas City Academy. He made his first-team debut in the 4-0 victory over Minnesota United on Sept. 15, 2021.
A hard-nosed midfielder who can also play at right back, Davis has spent significant time developing with Sporting KC II under former Sporting greats Paulo Nagamura and Benny Feilhaber from 2019-2022. Davis moved to Kansas City in 2017 at age 15 to join the Sporting KC Academy and represented Sporting at the U-17 and U-19 levels.
A native of Rochester, Michigan, Davis moved to Kansas City in 2017 at age 15 to join the Sporting KC Academy. He represented Sporting at the U-17 and U-19 levels, amassing eight goals across 54 appearances in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
Davis earned international recognition in November 2019 when he was selected to the United States U-17 National Team for the 19th annual Nike International Friendlies.
16 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
#17 | M | JAKE DAVIS | @jdavis_3211 Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 0 Assists 0 Shots on Goal 1, March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA Shots 1, March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA Fouls Committed 2, March 12, 2022, KC at COL Fouls Suffered 0 Last Regular Season... Appearance March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 5 0 23 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 1 1 61 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 6 1 84 0 0
Signed
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 5 0 23 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 5 0 23 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#25 | M | OZZIE CISNEROS
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals N/A Assists N/A Shots on Goal N/A Shots N/A Fouls Committed N/A Fouls Suffered N/A Last Regular Season... Appearance N/A Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 0 0 0 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 1 1 18 0 0 International 1 1 90 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 2 2 108 0 0
| @OzzieCisner10
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
#28 | M | CAM DUKE | @camduke20
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 1, 2 times, last: Sept. 15, 2021, KC vs. MIN
Assists 1, 3 times, last: May 22, 2022, KC at SJ
Shots on Goal 1, 7 times, last: July 13, 2022, KC at MIN
Shots 2, 4 times, last: July 13, 2022, KC at MIN
Fouls Committed 5, June 19, 2022, KC at NSH
Fouls Suffered 8, July 21, 2021, KC vs. SJ
Last Regular Season... Appearance March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA
Goal Sept. 15, 2021, KC vs. MIN
Assist May 22, 2022, KC at SJ
2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-6
Weight: 130 Birthday: 2/13/2001
Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas
Last Club: Sporting KC Academy
Acquired: Signed as Homegrown Player on 7/18/2019
Sporting Kansas City announced the signing of midfielder Cam Duke as a Homegrown Player midway through the 2019 season. The Overland Park, Kansas native was in the club’s Academy from 2012-2019, advancing from the Under-12 side to the Under-19s. He made his professional debut in the MLS is Back Quarterfinals against the Philadelphia Union on July 30, 2020 and scored his first goal in a 3-1 road win over Seattle on July 25, 2021 before scoring again in a Leagues Cup match vs. Club Leon on Aug. 10, 2021.
Duke capped an impressive Academy career by helping the SKC Academy U-19s reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs in June 2019. After the U-19s secured the No. 4 overall seed with a 16-4-3 regular-season record, Duke
spearheaded a first-place finish in the group stage with a goal and an assist. Duke was the No. 1 prospect in the Heartland Region and the 20th-ranked player nationally at TopDrawerSoccer.com. Duke is the younger brother of former Sporting midfielder and SKC II captain Christian Duke, while his father, Chris Duke, played for the Kansas City Comets and Kansas City Attack in the early 1990s.
Duke represented the United States at the U-14 and U-15 level before guiding the U.S. U-16s to a third-place finish at the Val-de-Marne Tournament in France in 2016. Duke earned his first of several calls to the U.S. U-18s in November 2017 before returning to the team in 2018.
| M | ROGER ESPINOZA
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 1, 12 times, last: July 9, 2022, KC at MTL Assists
3 times, last: March 30, 2019, KC vs. MTL
Last Regular Season...
Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Goal July 9, 2022, KC at MTL Assist Sept. 17, 2022, KC vs. MIN 2023 Record when: he starts 0-3-2 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-10 Weight: 190 Birthday: 10/25/1986
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
College: Ohio State
Last Club: Wigan Athletic (England)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 1/6/2015
Roger Espinoza has enjoyed two spells with Sporting Kansas City, first from 2008-12 and again from 2015-present. After a two-year stint in the English Premier League and English Championship with Wigan Athletic, Espinoza returned to Sporting KC in 2015. In his two years at Wigan Athletic, he logged 57 appearances and started in the club’s 2013 FA Cup Final victory over Manchester City.
Espinoza was an MLS All-Star in 2012 and helped lead the club to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title that season. While he missed Sporting’s MLS Cup in 2013 while with Wigan in England, Espinoza helped guide the club to further Open Cup triumphs in both
2015 and 2017. Espinoza has made 374 appearances for the club in all competitions across the last 13 seasons, tallying 14 goals and 47 assists. “Red Card Roger”, as he’s affectionately known, is both the club’s all-time leader and the all-time MLS leader with 13 red cards.
Espinoza earned 51 caps for the Honduras Men’s National Team after debuting in 2009. He has competed in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics before retiring from international play in 2019.
17 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
#15
2,
6,
5,
6,
2,
Shots on Goal
18 times, last: March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA Shots
May 15, 2016, KC vs. ORL Fouls Committed
7 times, last: July 9, 2022, KC at MTL Fouls Suffered
3 times, last: Aug. 17, 2019, KC vs. SJ
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 322 283 24372 12 43 MLS Postseason 17 14 1208 1 0 MLS is Back KO Stage 2 2 151 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 24 19 2139 0 3 International 9 8 727 1 1 ALL COMPETITIONS 374 327 28597 14 47
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 322 283 24372 12 43 359 101 504 396 19 16 76 13 2 11 KC - Postseason 17 14 1208 1 0 13 6 22 24 3 0 6 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 339 297 25580 13 43 362 107 526 420 22 16 82 13 2 11
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 52 21 2116 2 3 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 MLS is Back KO Stage 1 0 6 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 3 2 282 0 0 International 1 0 45 1 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 57 23 2449 3 3
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 52 21 2116 2 3 21 7 39 65 0 0 6 1 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 52 21 2116 2 3 21 7 39 65 0 0 6 1 0 0
Height: 5-9
Weight: 145 Birthday: 4/6/2002
Hometown: Half Moon Bay, CA
College: Virginia Tech
Last Club: Oakland Roots (USL Championship)
Acquired: Signed off Waivers on 1/13/2023
Sporting Kansas City added Danny Flores off MLS waivers in January 2023. Flores is set to begin his MLS career after a two-year college stint at Virginia Tech. Prior to his collegiate experience, Flores also boasts three seasons of play in the USL Championship, representing Philadelphia Union II from 2019-2020 and Oakland Roots SC in 2021.
Flores recorded two goals and two assists in 32 USL Championship matches across three seasons. He made his league debut in September 2019 for Union II and was an ever-present fixture for the club the following year by playing in all 16 matches. Flores returned to California in 2021 as he moved cross-country to join Oakland Roots SC for the club’s inaugural USL Championship campaign, starting 10 of 12 matches. Following his
FLORES
Height: 6-2 Weight: 200 Birthday: 11/14/1989
Hometown: Banyoles, Spain
Last Club: Celta Vigo (Spain)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 8/8/2018
Andreu Fontas, a 10-year professional with more than 200 appearances in his native Spain, joined Sporting KC midway through the 2018 season. Fontas underwent Achilles surgery in late 2019, keeping him out for the majority of the 2020 season before returning as an MLS Defender of the Year contender in 2021. Fontas has made 95 appearances in all competitions for Sporting KC, tallying three goals and one assist.
Fontas spent five seasons from 2013-2018 with Celta Vigo in Spain’s top-flight La Liga, where he played alongside current Sporting midfielder Nemanja Radoja and started 100 of 105 league appearances, helping the club to the semifinals of the 2016-17 UEFA
successful spell in Oakland, Flores began his collegiate career in Virginia Tech’s midfield. He started all 19 matches during his first season and was named the No. 3 freshman in the country by Top Drawer Soccer and earned ACC All-Freshman Team accolades. Flores continued to lead the Hokies in 2022, scoring a team-best four goals and adding two assists. He ended his time at Virginia Tech with five goals, five assists and starts in 31 of 33 career appearances.
Flores represented the U.S. U-17
Men’s National Team, where he competed alongside SKC Academy products Gianluca Busio and Tyler Freeman. Flores starred for two clubs at the Academy level, first with Shattuck St. Mary’s and later with the Philadelphia Union.
Last
Europa League. The defender developed in FC Barcelona’s famed La Masia youth academy, playing nearly 100 matches combined for FC Barcelona B and FC Barcelona from 2008-2012. Fontas advanced from Barcelona’s B team to the first team in 2009 and played in 16 games for the Spanish giants, including a sub appearance in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final. Fontas spent the 2012-13 season on loan at Mallorca before signing with Celta Vigo in June 2013.
Internationally, Fontas has represented Spain at the Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 levels and has also played for the Catalonia National Team.
18 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
| D | ANDREU
Season Game Highs: Goals 1, 3 times, last: Aug. 21, 2022, KC vs. POR Assists 1, June 23, 2021, KC vs. COL Shots on Goal 1, 8 times, last: Aug. 21, 2022, KC vs. POR Shots 2, 7 times, last: Aug. 21, 2022, KC vs. POR Fouls Committed 3, 3 times, last: March 26, 2022, KC vs. RSL Fouls Suffered 2, 8 times, last: March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA
#3
FONTAS | @AFontas3 Regular
Assist
2023 Record when: he
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 84 79 7186 3 1 MLS Postseason 2 2 180 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 5 5 474 0 0 International 4 4 326 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 95 90 8166 3 1
Regular Season... Appearance March 18, 2023, KC at DAL Goal Aug. 21, 2022, KC vs. POR
June 23, 2021, KC vs. COL
starts 0-2-2 he scores 0-0-0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 84 79 7186 3 1 33 8 50 32 0 0 10 1 1 1 KC - Postseason 2 2 180 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 86 81 7366 3 1 33 8 53 32 0 0 10 1 1 1
#31
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 0 Assists 0 Shots on Goal 0 Shots 0 Fouls Committed 0 Fouls Suffered 0 Last Regular Season... Appearance March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 1 0 6 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 1 0 6 0 0
| M | DANNY
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022, KC vs. SEA Goal May 27, 2017, COL vs. SKC (w/ COL)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 180 Birthday: 1/26/1996
Hometown: Olathe, Kansas
College: University of Denver
Last Club: Colorado Rapids (MLS)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 1/14/2022
Kortne Ford returned to his hometown and signed with Sporting KC as a free agent ahead of the 2022 season. Ford began his professional career in 2017 with the Colorado Rapids, where he started 33 of 35 MLS appearances as a Homegrown Player. Following a five-year stint in Colorado, Ford spent the last three months of 2021 on loan with San Antonio FC in the USL Championship. Having dealt with a host of injury issues in Colorado, Ford made his first MLS appearance since 2018 in Sporting’s match at the Colorado Rapids on March 12, 2022.
Ford enjoyed a strong rookie campaign with the Rapids in 2017, starting 19 of 20 MLS appearances. He earned his MLS debut in a road loss to Sporting KC on April 9 at
Children’s Mercy Park and opened his professional scoring account against SKC in a 1-0 home win on May 27. Born in Olathe, Kansas, Ford played youth soccer in the Kansas City area before moving with his family to Colorado at age 12. He joined the Colorado Rapids Academy in 2012 and represented the club at the U-16 and U-18 levels. In three standout seasons at the University of Denver, Ford was a two-time All-Summit League First Team selection and a Top Drawer Soccer Second Team All-America honoree in 2016. He started in all 62 college appearances, notching five goals and three assists, and led the Pioneers to their first NCAA Men’s College Cup appearance as a junior in 2016.
FELIPE HERNANDEZ | @Fe1ipe98
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 1, 3 times, last: Sept. 4, 2022, KC at LA
Assists 2, May 14, 2022, KC at POR
Shots on Goal 1, 10 times, last: Oct. 9, 2022, KC at DAL
Shots 4, 4 times, last: Sept. 10, 2022, KC at HOU
Fouls Committed 3, 4 times, last: July 23, 2022, KC vs. LAFC
Fouls Suffered 4, July 4, 2021, KC at LA
Last Regular Season...
Appearance March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA
Goal Sept. 4, 2022, KC at LA
Assist May 14, 2022, KC at POR
2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-7 Weight: 140 Birthday: 6/8/1998
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Last Club: Sporting Kansas City II (USL Championship)
Acquired: Signed as Homegrown Player on 8/30/2019
Felipe Hernandez signed with Sporting KC as a Homegrown Player in August 2019. Hernandez is the first Sporting player to progress from an Academy Affiliate club to the SKC Academy to Sporting KC II before signing with the senior team. He signed with the first team following a breakout 2019 with SKC II in the USL Championship, where he started 24 of 26 appearances, scored a team-best eight goals and recorded four assists.
Hernandez scored his first MLS goal for the club in a June 23, 2021 victory over the Colorado Rapids and also tallied the opener against his hometown club Nashville SC in a 2-1 Sporting KC victory on June 19, 2022.
Hernandez played for Sporting Nashville Heroes, a former Academy Affiliate, and moved to Kansas City in the summer of 2014 to join the Academy. At age 16, Hernandez earned a preseason training stint with Sporting KC in January 2015, before signing an Academy contract with Sporting KC II in August 2016, two months prior to earning Bob Gansler Academy Player of the Year honors that then led to a professional SKC II contract in early 2017.
On the international stage, Hernandez played for the U.S. U-19 and U-20 National Teams in 2016 and 2017.
19 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
| M
#21
|
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 62 29 3160 3 6 MLS Postseason 2 0 42 0 0 MLS is Back KO Stage 1 0 26 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 4 3 337 2 1 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 69 33 3565 5 7
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 62 29 3160 3 6 57 10 48 53 3 52 3 0 0 1 KC - Postseason 2 0 42 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 64 29 3202 3 6 57 10 49 56 3 52 3 0 0 1
#12 | D | KORTNE
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 1, May 27, 2017, COL vs. SKC (w/ COL) Assists 0 Shots on Goal 2, May 27, 2017, COL vs. SKC (w/ COL) Shots 3, Sept. 9, 2017, COL at HOU (w/ COL) Fouls Committed 3, 10 times, last: May 28, 2022, KC vs. VAN Fouls Suffered 3, Aug. 11, 2018, COL vs. SJ (w/ COL) Last Regular Season... Appearance Oct. 2,
Assist N/A 2023 Record
0-0-0
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 14 9 802 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 2 2 134 1 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 16 11 936 1 0
FORD | @KortFord
when: he starts
he scores 0-0-0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 14 9 802 0 0 2 0 11 7 1 0 4 0 0 0 MLS - Regular Season 49 42 3670 1 0 17 4 52 24 1 0 15 0 1 0 MLS - TOTAL 49 42 3670 1 0 17 4 52 24 1 0 15 0 1 0
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 1, 11 times, last: Oct. 3, 2021, KC vs. HOU
Assists 2, Oct. 27, 2021, KC vs. LA
Shots on Goal 3, 2 times, last: Oct. 3, 2021, KC vs. HOU
Shots 5, July 31, 2021, KC vs. DAL
Fouls Committed 4, Feb. 29, 2020, KC at VAN
Fouls Suffered 5, Oct. 17, 2021, KC at VAN
Last Regular Season... Appearance Nov. 3, 2021, KC at ATX
Goal Oct. 3, 2021, KC vs. HOU
Assist Nov. 3, 2021, KC at ATX
2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-7
Weight: 155 Birthday: 3/23/1994
Hometown: Ashdod, Israel
Last Club: Beitar Jerusalem (Israel)
Acquired: Acquired in loan/transfer on 1/23/2020
Gadi Kinda joined Sporting KC ahead of the 2020 season from Israeli Premier League side Beitar Jerusalem. Kinda earned Sporting KC Newcomer of the Year honors in his first MLS season and has contributed 11 goals and 12 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions for Sporting. Kinda is set to return in 2023 after missing the entire 2022 campaign after undergoing knee surgery.
Born in Ethiopia and raised in Israel, Kinda joined Beitar Jerusalem in February 2019 and started 30 of 31 appearances in all competitions. Kinda spent the first seven and a half years of his professional career at FC Ashdod. He developed as a youth in his hometown club’s academy prior to landing a top-flight debut in September 2011 as a 17-year-old.
Ashdod spent the 2015-16 season in Israel’s second division, but a strong bounce-back culminated with a Liga Leumit title as Kinda earned 27 appearances and helped his team finish atop the standings. Ashdod’s promotion saw Kinda tally seven goals and seven assists over the next two and a half seasons before his transfer to Beitar Jerusalem.
Kinda has five caps for the senior Israeli National Team, making his debut on June 5, 2021 when he scored the final goal in a 3-1 friendly win over Montenegro. He previously represented Israel at the U-18, U-19 and U-21 levels.
Height: 5-9 Weight: 165 Birthday: 11/30/1993
Hometown: Friolzheim, Germany
Last Club: Hamburger SV (Germany)
Tim Leibold joined Sporting Kansas City in January 2023 having amassed more than 20 goals and 40 assists in nearly 300 professional appearances in his native Germany. Leibold becomes the third German newcomer at Sporting since the start of 2022, following center back Robert Voloder and midfielder Erik Thommy.
Leibold spent the last eight seasons across Germany’s top two divisions. He starred at Nurnberg from 2015-2019 and has competed since then for Hamburg, including a one-year stint as club captain during the 2020-21 campaign. Leibold developed in youth academies at VfB Stuttgart, TSF Ditzingen and SGV Freiberg before turning professional with Freiberg at age 18 in 2012. Leibold enjoyed a breakthrough in 2015 by joining 2.
Bundesliga side Nurnburg and solidifying his place as a regular starter. The 2018-19 campaign saw Leibold lead Nurnburg with 32 Bundesliga starts while also assisting three goals. Competing in one of the world’s best leagues, he led the team in key passes, tackles, recoveries and touches while placing second in minutes played.
Leibold then returned to the 2. Bundesliga with a move to Hamburg, where he had his best professional season to date in 2019-20. He played every minute of all 34 league matches and led the 2. Bundesliga with 16 assists.
At the international level, Leibold played five matches for the Germany U-20s in 2013.
20 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
#14 | D | TIM LEIBOLD Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 0 Assists 0 Shots on Goal 0 Shots 1, March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA Fouls Committed 2, March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA Fouls Suffered 0 Last Regular Season... Appearance March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-1 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 3 1 102 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 3 1 102 0 0
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 1/12/2023
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 3 1 102 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 3 1 102 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#10 | M | GADI KINDA
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 44 40 3429 11 12 MLS Postseason 4 2 214 0 0 MLS is Back KO Stage 2 1 135 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 1 0 45 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 51 43 3823 11 12
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 44 40 3429 11 12 86 36 70 82 8 41 10 1 4 5 KC - Postseason 4 2 214 0 0 2 0 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 48 42 3643 11 12 88 36 75 88 8 41 10 1 4 5
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals Allowed 2, Oct. 9, 2022, KC at DAL Saves 6, Oct. 9, 2022, KC at DAL
Last Regular Season...
Appearance Oct. 9, 2022, KC at DAL
Shutout Sept. 13, 2022, KC vs. DC 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0
Height: 5-11
Weight: 180 Birthday: 1/24/1994
Hometown: Santa Rosa, California
College: Santa Clara
Last Club: New York Red Bulls (MLS)
Acquired: Acquired in Re-Entry Draft on 12/17/2020
Sporting KC acquired goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh in Stage 1 of the MLS Re-Entry Process in late 2020. McIntosh spent the previous MLS campaign with the New York Red Bulls following a four-year stint in the Portland Timbers organization from 2016-2019. After seven years in MLS, McIntosh made his MLS debut in Sporting KC’s 3-0 home win over D.C. United on Sept. 13, 2022.
As a rookie in 2016, McIntosh competed for Timbers 2 of the USL Championship prior to signing his first MLS contract with Portland in January 2017. He played most of the next three years on loan with Timbers 2. In his lone appearance for Portland’s first team,
McIntosh secured a 2-0 shutout victory over San Jose in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 in 2018.
Born in Oakland and raised in Santa Rosa, California, McIntosh was a member of the San Jose Earthquakes Academy as a youth before embarking on a four-year collegiate career at Santa Clara University. He was named the 2015 West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year as a senior, leading Santa Clara to the WCC Championship.
On the international stage, McIntosh featured for the U.S. U-14, U-15, U-17 and U-20 National Teams, including a stint in residency with the U-17s in Bradenton, Florida.
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals Allowed 7, 2 times, last: May 14, 2022, KC at POR Saves 10, April 8, 2018, KC at LA
Last Regular Season... Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Shutout April 1, 2023, KC at PHI 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-1
Height: 6-1 Weight: 210 Birthday: 5/15/1986
Hometown: Great River, New York College: Lynn University
Last Club: Chivas USA (MLS)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 12/23/2014
Tim Melia leads Sporting KC in regular-season wins (92), shutouts (64) and saves (628), and has also played the most games (217) of any goalkeeper in club history. Melia claimed the 2017 Goalkeeper of the Year crown with career-highs in wins (12), shutouts (10), saves (91), starts (31) and minutes (2,759) before surpassing each of those stats in 2018.
Melia has an unbelievable knack for saving penalty kicks, having only conceded 17 of the 30 he has faced for Sporting while also guiding the team to penalty shootout victories in the 2015 U.S. Open Cup Final, the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Semifinal, the 2020 MLS is Back Round of 16 and the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Quarterfinal.
Among goalkeepers with at least 15 regular-season appearances in 2017, he led MLS with a 0.78 goals against average, 78.4 save percentage and 69.2-percent passing accuracy. He also ranked second in shutouts. On April 8, 2018, Melia set a new club record and career-high with 10 saves in a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy. During his breakout campaign in 2015, he was named MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
After a four-year college career with NCAA DIII program Lynn University, Melia began his professional career in 2008 with the Rochester Rhinos of the USL First Division. After stints with Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA, he spent the latter half of 2014 as a League Pool Goalkeeper, earning call-ups from Sporting KC, FC Dallas and D.C. United.
21 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
#29 | GK | TIM MELIA | @TimMelia28
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 217 217 19446 0 0 MLS Postseason 10 10 924 0 0 MLS is Back KO Stage 2 2 180 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 11 11 1080 0 0 International 6 6 540 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 246 246 22170 0 0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN SHT SVS SO GA GAA PG PA C E W L T KC - Regular Season 217 217 19446 905 628 64 270 1.25 17 30 16 1 92 73 49 MLS - Regular Season 223 222 19885 938 646 64 284 1.29 18 31 16 2 92 77 50 KC - Postseason 10 10 924 49 31 1 17 1.66 1 1 0 0 2 4 3 MLS - TOTAL 233 232 20809 987 677 65 301 1.30 19 32 16 2 94 81 53
#22 | GK | KENDALL MCINTOSH
| @McIntoshKendall
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 2 2 180 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 2 2 180 0 0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN SHT SVS SO GA GAA PG PA C E W L T KC - Regular Season 2 2 180 10 8 1 2 1.00 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 MLS - TOTAL 2 2 180 10 8 1 2 1.00 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
27, 2022, KC
SJ
April 30, 2022, KC vs. DAL
May 18, 2022, KC vs. COL
2 times, last: July 3, 2022, KC vs. NY Last
4, 2022, KC at LA
Height: 5-8
Weight: 180 Birthday: 2/9/2000
Hometown: La Louviere, Belgium
Last Club: EA Guingamp (France)
Acquired: Acquired in transfer on 1/14/2022
Logan Ndenbe joined Sporting in a transfer from French team EA Guingamp in January 2022. Ndenbe arrived in Kansas City after spending his first five professional seasons in Europe with Belgian top-flight side KV Oostende and Guingamp. Ndenbe made 25 appearances in all competitions for Sporting KC in his first season with the club, tallying one assist in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Ndenbe developed in the Royal Excel Mouscron academy before joining KV Oostende as a 17-year-old in 2017. Ndenbe left Belgium in July 2020, signing for Guingamp to mark the start of a successful stint in the French Ligue 2.
On the youth international stage, Ndenbe rose through the Belgian U-17 and U-18 teams before earning his Belgium U-21 debut in June 2021 for his first of six matches in 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying. He started in four games during qualifying, helping the team go 3-0-1.
#24 | D | KAYDEN PIERRE | @KaydenPierre5
Height: 5-9 Weight: 150 Birthday: 2/16/2003
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Last Club: Sporting KC Academy
Acquired: Signed as Homegrown Player on 5/4/2021
Kayden Pierre signed with Sporting as a Homegrown player early in the 2021 season after impressing at preseason camp in Arizona with the Sporting KC first team. He made his debut for the club against Club Leon in the Leagues Cup on Aug. 10, 2021 before making his MLS debut at Colorado on March 12, 2022. He enjoyed a breakout spell over the summer of 2022 with senior right back Graham Zusi sidelined through injury, as Pierre made 12 of his 19 appearances on the season between June 25-Sept. 17.
Pierre joined the Sporting KC Academy in 2018 from Vardar SC in his native Michigan. He represented Sporting at the U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels and helped guide the U-17s to
the Academy Playoffs in 2019. Capable of playing at left back and right back, Pierre gained his first professional experience in 2020 when he signed an amateur academy contract with SKC II. Pierre enjoyed a breakout season for Sporting in 2022, making 22 appearances in all competitions.
On the international stage, Pierre has competed for the U.S. U-14, U-16 and U-20 national teams.
22 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 0 Assists 1, July 13, 2022, KC at MIN Shots on Goal 0 Shots 1, Sept. 13, 2022, KC vs. DC Fouls Committed 3, Sept. 4, 2022, KC at LA Fouls Suffered 4, July 3, 2022, KC vs. NY
Appearance
Goal
Assist
2023 Record when: he starts
scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 20 9 953 0 1 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 3 2 190 0 0 International 1 0 75 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 24 11 1218 0 1
Last Regular Season...
March 18, 2023, KC at DAL
N/A
July 13, 2022, KC at MIN
0-0-0 he
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 20 9 953 0 1 1 0 5 20 0 0 1 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 20 9 953 0 1 1 0 5 20 0 0 1 0 0 0
#18 | D | LOGAN NDENBE | @Ndenbe22 Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 0 Assists 0 Shots on Goal 1,
Fouls Committed 3,
Suffered 4,
Appearance
Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when:
starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 22 19 1752 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 3 1 84 0 1 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 25 20 1834 0 1
Aug.
vs.
Shots 3,
Fouls
Regular Season...
Sept.
he
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 22 19 1752 0 0 7 1 24 28 1 0 2 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 22 19 1752 0 0 7 1 24 28 1 0 2 0 0 0
#9 | F | ALAN PULIDO | @alanpulido
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 2, 2 times, last: May 16, 2021, KC vs. VAN
Assists 2, July 22, 2020, KC at RSL
Shots on Goal 6, Oct. 24, 2020, KC vs. COL
Shots 8, May 22, 2021, KC at SJ
Fouls Committed 3, June 19, 2021, KC at POR
Fouls Suffered 5, 2 times, last: Aug. 4, 2021, KC at LAFC
Last Regular Season...
Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Goal Aug. 14, 2021, KC at DAL
Assist Aug. 18, 2021, KC vs. POR
2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-10
Weight: 180 Birthday: 3/8/1991
Hometown: Ciudad Victoria, Mexico
Last Club: C.D. Guadalajara (Mexico)
Acquired: Acquired in transfer on 12/10/2019
Mexican star Alan Pulido signed with Sporting KC as a Designated Player in a club-record transfer from Chivas Guadalajara in December 2019. Pulido has scored over 100 combined goals for club and country during a decorated career highlighted by five domestic championships and the 2018 Concacaf Champions League title.
In his first two seasons with the club, Pulido tallied 15 goals and eight assists in 36 appearances and was named Sporting’s Offensive Player of the Year. Pulido made his return to the field on April 1, 2023 after missing the entire 2022 campaign following knee surgery.
Pulido developed in the Tigres UANL youth academy before breaking into the first team in 2009 as an 18-year-old. He helped Tigres to the 2009 SuperLiga title and two years later, Pulido scored in the second leg of the 2011 Liga MX Apertura Final as Tigres won its first
league championship since 1982. Pulido enjoyed a breakout 2013-14 campaign with 25 goals in all competitions during his final season at Tigres, scoring in the 2014 Copa MX Clausura Final to finish as the tournament’s top scorer. Pulido then signed for Greek outfit Levadiakos and scored on his debut before heading to Greek powerhouse Olympiacos. Pulido returned to Liga MX in August 2016, joining Chivas on a club-record transfer fee. His first full season with Chivas yielded 14 goals, helping his side to a double-winning campaign that ended with his first Liga MX Best XI selection. In 2018, he led Chivas to the Concacaf Champions League title and the club’s first continental championship in 56 years.
At the international level, Pulido has bagged five goals in 20 caps for Mexico’s senior team and was part of the El Tri squad at the 2011 Copa America and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals Allowed 4, 2 times, last: March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA Saves 7, July 17, 2022, KC at RSL
Last Regular Season...
Appearance March 25, 2023, KC vs. SEA Shutout March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA 2023 Record when: he starts 0-3-2
Height: 6-4 Weight: 205 Birthday: 4/19/2001
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Last Club: Sporting Kansas City II (USL Championship)
Acquired: Signed as a Homegrown Player on 2/24/2020
John Pulskamp joined Sporting KC as a Homegrown Player ahead of the 2020 season after acquiring his Homegrown rights from the LA Galaxy where he spent two seasons in the club’s Academy. He made his MLS debut in the 2021 season opener, helping the side to a 2-1 victory at the New York Red Bulls.
Pulskamp became the youngest goalkeeper in Sporting KC history to record a shutout following a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy on Oct. 27, 2021 at the age of 20 years and 191 days. He enjoyed a breakout year in 2022 when he deputized for an injured Tim Melia to make 15 starts in all competitions, posting an 8-3-4 record.
Pulskamp joined the MLS ranks on the heels of a breakout 2019 USL Championship season with SKC II. Pulskamp arrived in Kansas City in April 2019 after a two-year stint in the LA Galaxy Academy. He also spent time on trial with English Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2018. Prior to joining the Galaxy, he represented youth sides Real So Cal and Central California Aztecs.
Pulskamp was called in to a U.S. Men’s National Team training camp in December 2021. At the youth international level, Pulskamp has represented the U.S. at the U-18 and U-20 levels.
23 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
|
#1
GK | JOHN PULSKAMP | @john_pulskamp
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 23 22 2017 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 4 4 420 0 0 International 1 1 90 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 28 27 2527 0 0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN SHT SVS SO GA GAA PG PA C E W L T KC - Regular Season 23 22 2017 90 58 6 32 1.43 2 3 0 0 8 9 6 MLS - TOTAL 23 22 2017 90 58 6 32 1.43 2 3 0 0 8 9 6
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 34 26 2441 14 8 MLS Postseason 1 1 73 0 0 MLS is Back KO Stage 2 2 180 1 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 37 29 2694 15 8
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 34 26 2441 14 8 96 34 20 67 11 0 4 0 5 2 KC - Postseason 1 1 73 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 35 27 2514 14 8 98 35 20 69 11 0 4 0 5 2
Height: 6-0
Weight: 175 Birthday: 2/6/1993
Hometown: Novi Sad, Serbia
Last Club: Levante (Spain)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 10/26/2022
Nemanja Radoja signed with Sporting KC ahead of the 2023 campaign, having spent most of the last decade in the Spanish La Liga with Celta Vigo and Levante. Radoja has played nearly 300 matches across the top divisions of Serbia and Spain and also boasts experience in the UEFA Europa League with Vojvodina and Celta Vigo.
Radoja began his professional career with Serbian club Vojvodina before embarking on an eight-year journey in La Liga. He logged 181 La Liga appearances from 2014-2022, playing alongside Sporting defender Andreu Fontas at Celta Vigo from 2014-2018 and spending each of the last three seasons with Levante. Radoja developed in Vojvodina’s youth academy and joined the club’s senior team in 2011 prior to brief loan spells in Serbia. Celta Vigo acquired Radoja via transfer in August 2014 and he took little time settling in as a key figure for Celta, regularly competing in tandem with Fontas for a team
that finished eighth in 2014-15. Radoja and Celta improved upon their fortunes in 2015-16 leading to a sixth-place league finish. Celta Vigo’s 2016-17 campaign was highlighted by runs to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey and UEFA Europa League, where they fell to eventual champions Manchester United. Radoja moved to Levante ahead of the 2019-20 campaign. His first year at the club was highlighted by scoring in a 3-1 upset win over European powerhouse FC Barcelona.
On the international stage, Radoja has two caps for the Serbia Men’s National Team. He earned his senior debut in a friendly match at Ukraine in November 2016 and made one appearance in Serbia’s successful qualifying campaign ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. As a youth, Radoja represented Serbia at the U-18 through U-21 levels.
Height: 6-2 Weight: 185 Birthday: 10/8/2001
Hometown: Rockville, Maryland College: Maryland
Acquired: 2023 MLS
Sporting Kansas City singed center back Chris Rindov ahead of the 2023 season after selecting the defender in the Second Round (37th overall) of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft out of Maryland. Rindov becomes Sporting’s first MLS SuperDraft selection to sign for the first team since 2018 and the second defender on Sporting’s active roster to join as a second-round draft pick out of Maryland, alongside World Cup veteran and seven-time MLS All-Star Graham Zusi.
Rindov was a defensive mainstay for perennial powerhouse Maryland, starting in each of the program’s 38 matches over his final two seasons and finishing his college career with four goals and five assists in 58 appearances. Rising from freshman walk-on to team
captain as a senior, he had a banner year in 2022 as an All-Big Ten First Team honoree and an MLS College Showcase participant. Rindov played every minute in all 20 matches for the Terrapins in 2022, pushing Maryland to the Big Ten regular season title with an unbeaten 4-0-4 conference record. A two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, Rindov guided the Terps to their 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in the fall of 2022.
Rindov won four consecutive state championships at Rockville High School. He also played for youth club OBGC, where he competed at two national championships and won an Eastern Regional title in 2018.
24 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
SuperDraft
#82 | D | CHRIS RINDOV
@ChrisRindov Regular Season Game Highs: Goals N/A Assists N/A Shots on Goal N/A Shots N/A Fouls Committed N/A Fouls Suffered N/A Last Regular Season... Appearance N/A Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-0 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 0 0 0 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 0 0 0 0 0
2nd Round (#37)
|
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#6 | M |
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 0 Assists 0 Shots on Goal 0 Shots 0 Fouls Committed 0 Fouls Suffered 1, March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA Last Regular Season... Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-1 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 3 1 72 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 3 1 72 0 0
NEMANJA RADOJA
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 3 1 72 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 3 1 72 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Height: 6-2
Weight: 190 Birthday: 10/6/1993
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Last Club: Atletico Junior (Colombia) Acquired:
in transfer on 3/2/2023
Sporting Kansas City acquired center back Dany Rosero in a transfer from Colombian side Atletico Junior in March 2023. Rosero has eclipsed 300 professional appearances across Argentina and his native Colombia, scoring 20 goals and competing in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. Beginning his career at Argentine club Arsenal de Sarandi as a teenager, the defender has spent the last seven seasons in the Colombian top-flight Categoria Primera A with Patriotas Boyacá, Deportivo Cali and Junior.
Born in Colombia, Rosero moved to Argentina to join Arsenal’s youth academy and began his professional career with the club in 2012. He enjoyed a pair of early breakthroughs by helping Arsenal win the 2013 Copa Argentina and by appearing in the 2014 Copa Libertadores. Rosero returned to his home country in 2016 and made an immediate impact, scoring four goals and starting 35 of 37 league appearances with Patriotas
Boyacá. Strong performances with Patriotas paved the way for Rosero to join Colombian powerhouse Deportivo Cali in 2017. Rosero delivered his most dominant season to date in 2019, scoring seven goals and starting 55 games in all competitions, with Deportivo Cali finishing as Copa Colombia runners-up.
In 2020, Rosero signed for Colombian heavyweights Junior and played in both the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, making 11 starts across the two tournaments. The following season, Rosero made seven appearances in the Copa Libertadores and one in the Copa Sudamericana while scoring three goals in 33 Primera A matches as Junior finished fifth in the aggregate league table. Rosero remained one of the Colombian first division’s best center backs in 2022, starting 36 league games and propelling Junior to the Copa Colombia finals.
#7 | F | JOHNNY RUSSELL
Regular
Height: 5-9 Weight: 170 Birthday: 4/8/1990
Hometown: Glasgow, Scotland
Last Club: Derby County FC (England)
Acquired: Acquired in transfer on 1/31/2018
Scottish winger Johnny Russell joined Sporting KC in a transfer from English club Derby County FC in January 2018. A cult-hero at the club, Russell has tallied 53 goals and 39 assists in 167 appearances for Sporting KC since the start of 2018. He was named club captain ahead of the 2021 season.
In 2021, Russell scored in eight consecutive games as part of a run where he tallied 15 goals in 19 matches over the second half of the campaign. Russell was named the club’s MVP in 2020 and 2022 as well as Offensive Player of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Russell previously scored 93 goals during a 12-year professional career in England and his native Scotland. Russell developed in the Dundee United Academy in Scotland before
April 30, 2022, KC vs. DAL Fouls Suffered
July 23, 2022, KC vs. LAFC
Last Regular Season... Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Goal Sept. 4, 2022, KC at LA Assist Sept. 17, 2022, KC vs. MIN
2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-1 he scores 0-0-0
making his professional debut for the top-flight Scottish Premiership club in May 2007 at age 17. He spent most of the following three seasons out on loan and marked his first Dundee United start with a goal in the 2009 Scottish FA Cup. After scoring 23 goals from 2010-2012, Russell’s final season at Dundee saw him produce a team-best 20 goals. Russell joined Derby County in the summer of 2013 and marked his debut for the Rams with his first of nine goals in the 2013-14 English Championship as Derby fell just short of promotion to the EPL. He totaled 18 goals over the next two seasons.
Russell has 13 career caps for Scotland and scored his first international goal during a European Championship Qualifier in San Marino on March 24, 2019. He has also represented Scotland at the U-19 and U-21 levels.
25 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
3, 2 times,
Assists 2, 3
Shots
Goal 4, 4 times,
Shots 8,
5,
Season Game Highs: Goals
last: May 26, 2019, KC vs. SEA
times, last: Sept. 15, 2021, KC vs. MIN
on
last: Aug. 28, 2021, KC vs. COL
Sept. 2, 2020, KC vs. DAL Fouls Committed
6,
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 144 123 10846 48 32 MLS Postseason 8 8 735 1 2 MLS is Back KO Stage 2 2 157 0 1 U.S. Open Cup 7 5 508 4 2 International 6 5 422 0 2 ALL COMPETITIONS 167 144 12668 53 39
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 144 123 10846 48 32 312 124 90 212 17 340 12 0 10 6 KC - Postseason 8 8 735 1 2 16 6 10 19 1 25 1 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 152 131 11581 49 34 328 130 100 231 18 365 13 0 10 6
Acquired
#5 | D | DANY
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 0 Assists 0 Shots on Goal 1, April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Shots 3, April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Fouls Committed 0 Fouls Suffered 1, April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Last Regular Season... Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Goal N/A Assist N/A 2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-1 he scores 0-0-0 SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 1 1 90 0 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 1 1 90 0 0
ROSERO
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 1 1 90 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 1 1 90 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
SALLOI | @danielsalloi
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 2, 4 times, last: May 18, 2022, KC vs. COL
Assists 2, 3 times, last: Aug. 6, 2022, KC vs. LA
Shots on Goal 4, 3 times, last: July 13, 2019, KC at VAN
Shots 8, May 5, 2018, KC vs. COL
Fouls Committed 4, June 7, 2019, KC at TOR
Fouls Suffered 5, July 31, 2021, KC vs. DAL
Last Regular Season... Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Goal March 18, 2023, KC at DAL
Assist Oct. 2, 2022, KC vs. SEA
2023 Record when: he starts 0-3-3 he scores 0-1-0
Height: 6-1
Weight: 165 Birthday: 7/19/1996
Hometown: Budapest, Hungary
Last Club: Gyirmot SE (Hungary) - Loan
Acquired: Signed as Homegrown Player on 1/13/2016
Daniel Salloi signed with Sporting KC as a Homegrown Player in early 2016 and made his Sporting KC debut on April 9, 2017. After enjoying a breakout campaign in 2018 where he tallied 16 goals and seven assists in all competitions, Salloi rebounded from a few lean years to be named an MLS MVP finalist in 2021 after recording 16 goals and 10 assists in all competitions, tying the club record for most non-penalty goals in a single MLS regular season. Salloi’s 13 game-winning goals is tied for most in club history. Salloi, who signed a new four-year contract in late 2022, has recorded 49 goals and 25 assists in 178 appearances across all competitions.
Salloi scored on his first start for the club - a 4-0 win over Minnesota United in the U.S. Open Cup on June 14, 2017 - and added his first MLS goal vs. Portland on July 1, 2017.
Salloi reached even greater heights by scoring the winning goal in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Final against the New York Red Bulls. Salloi moved to the U.S. in 2014 as an AFS exchange student and attended Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas, joining the SKC Academy U-18s for the 2014-15 season.
Salloi returned to his former Hungarian Academy side Ujpest FC in July 2015. He made his pro debut in the OTP Bank Liga on July 18, 2015 the day before his 19th birthday.
Salloi has four caps for the senior Hungary National Team, having made his debut in a World Cup Qualifier against England on Sept. 2, 2021. He previously played for the Hungary Under-21 National Team.
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 1, 17 times, last: Sept. 13, 2022, KC vs. DC Assists 3, Sept. 23, 2016, NYC vs. CHI (w/ NYC) Shots on Goal 4, July 17, 2020, KC vs. COL
Shots 6, May 5, 2018, KC vs. COL
Fouls Committed 4, 2 times, last: Oct. 21, 2018, KC at FCD
Fouls Suffered 4, April 11, 2015, NYC at PHI (w/ NYC)
Last Regular Season... Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI Goal Sept. 13, 2022, KC vs. DC
Assist July 9, 2022, KC at MTL
2023 Record when: he starts 0-3-1 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 6-3 Weight: 180 Birthday: 6/26/1993
Hometown: Austin, Texas
College: Oregon State
Last Club: SC Paderborn 07 (Germany)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 12/9/2019
Khiry Shelton is in the midst of his second stint with Sporting Kansas City, having initially helped the club to a first place in the Western Conference and a record-breaking scoring season in 2018, before departing to play in Germany with SC Paderborn 07 for one season in 2019. He returned to the club ahead of the 2020 season and has tallied 14 goals and 16 assists across 114 appearances for the club.
Shelton was selected second overall in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by expansion side New York City FC and spent three seasons with the club before initially arriving in KC via trade ahead of the 2018 season.
He was NYCFC’s first-ever SuperDraft pick and played a total of 54 regular-season games for the club, notching six goals and 10 assists across just 23 starts.
In college, Shelton attended Oregon State University where he was an NSCAA All-America Second Team selection; Pac-12 Player of the Year; All-Far West Region First Team as he helped lead the Beavers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003 during his senior year. Shelton was a member of the U.S. U-18 National Team as a youth player.
26 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
| F |
#11
KHIRY SHELTON | @KhiryShelton
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 101 76 6798 11 13 MLS Postseason 7 5 489 1 1 MLS is Back KO Stage 1 1 80 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 5 2 242 2 2 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 114 84 7609 14 16
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 101 76 6798 11 13 113 42 88 91 18 1 7 0 4 8 MLS - Regular Season 155 100 9283 17 23 149 54 112 122 21 1 7 0 4 11 KC - Postseason 7 5 489 1 1 6 2 8 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - Postseason 9 5 546 1 1 6 2 8 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 164 104 9833 18 24 155 56 120 127 23 1 7 0 4 11
#20 | F |
DANIEL
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 151 115 10695 39 23 MLS Postseason 7 6 577 3 2 MLS is Back KO Stage 2 1 74 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 12 7 838 7 0 International 6 3 197 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 178 132 12381 49 25
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 151 115 10695 39 23 352 144 81 144 28 26 11 3 13 10 KC - Postseason 7 6 577 3 2 18 6 5 10 2 0 1 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 158 121 11992 42 25 370 150 86 154 30 26 12 3 13 10
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 1, 3 times, last: Sept. 17, 2022, KC vs. MIN
Assists 1, 2 times, last: Oct. 9, 2022, KC at DAL
Shots on Goal 4, 2 times, last: March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA
Shots 8, March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA
Fouls Committed 2, 6 times, last: March 18, 2023, KC at DAL
Fouls Suffered 4, Aug. 21, 2022, KC vs. POR
Last Regular Season...
Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Goal Sept. 17, 2022, KC vs. MIN
Assist Oct. 9, 2022, KC at DAL
2023 Record when: he starts 0-3-3 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-8
Weight: 160 Birthday: 8/20/1994
Hometown: Wettenhausen, Germany
Last Club: VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 6/23/2022
Erik Thommy, a German Bundesliga veteran, signed with Sporting KC in June 2022. Thommy previously recorded 42 goals and 33 assists across nine seasons in his native Germany - including nine goals, 14 assists and 96 appearances in the Bundesliga, one of the top leagues in the world. He scored his first goal for Sporting in the 4-2 victory over the LA Galaxy on Aug. 6, 2022 and finished the season with an impressive three goals and two assists in 13 appearances.
Capable of playing in an advanced midfield role or on the wing, Thommy launched his professional career with FC Augsburg in 2014 before going on loan to FC Kaiserslautern
(2014-2016) and Jahn Regensburg (2016-2017). Thommy joined VfB Stuttgart in 2017, starred for Fortuna Dusseldorf during a successful loan spell in 2019-2020, and ended his time at Stuttgart in the Spring of 2022 by appearing in each of the club’s last six matches of the 2021-2022 campaign.
Thommy developed in academies at SV Kleinbeuren (2000-2002), SSV Ulm (2002-2009) and TSG Thannhausen (2009-2010) before moving to FC Augsburg. He signed for FC Augsburg II in 2013 and made his Bundesliga debut with Augsburg’s senior team as a 19-year-old in February 2014.
#77 | F | MARINOS TZIONIS
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 1, May 14, 2022, KC at POR
Assists 0
Shots on Goal 2, 2 times, last: Sept. 10, 2022, KC at HOU
Shots 3, Sept. 10, 2022, KC at HOU
Fouls Committed 2, 2 times, last: July 17, 2022, KC at RSL
Fouls Suffered 5, April 17, 2022, KC at LAFC
Last Regular Season...
Appearance March 18, 2023, KC at DAL
Goal May 14, 2022, KC at POR
Assist N/A
2023 Record when: he starts 0-0-1 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-7 Weight: 150 Birthday: 7/16/2001
Hometown: Nicosia, Cyprus
Last Club: Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus)
Acquired: Acquired in transfer on 1/24/2022
Marinos Tzionis signed with Sporting KC in a transfer from Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus in late January 2022. Tzionis scored 15 goals in 88 appearances for hometown club Omonia Nicosia since turning professional as a 15-year-old in 2017. In his debut season with Sporting KC, Tzionis tallied two goals in 29 appearances across all competitions.
Tzionis scored his first goal for the club with a last-gasp equalizer in the 98th minute of the club’s U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 clash with FC Dallas on May 10, 2022 and scored his first MLS goal four days later in a loss at Portland.
Tzionis developed in Omonia Nicosia’s academy, signed for the first team in 2017 and made his senior debut for the club in May 2018. In a breakout 2020-21 campaign, Tzionis guided Omonia to the club’s first league title in 11 years by tallying seven goals in 43 games. He landed his UEFA Champions League debut in the qualifying rounds and started all six of Omonia’s games in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
Tzionis represented Cyprus at the U-17 and U-19 youth levels, before breaking into the senior national team in September 2020. To date, Tzionis has two goals in 22 caps for the Cyprus National Team, scoring his first goal in a 2-0 win over Estonia on March 29, 2022.
27
KC
Notes | April 8, 2023 vs.
Sporting
Game
Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
#26 | M | ERIK
THOMMY | @erikthommy
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 18 16 1371 3 2 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 1 1 83 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 19 17 1454 3 2
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 18 16 1371 3 2 62 30 17 28 2 72 2 0 1 0 MLS - TOTAL 18 16 1371 3 2 62 30 17 28 2 72 2 0 1 0
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 31 7 888 1 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 2 1 148 1 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 33 8 1036 2 0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 31 7 888 1 0 24 8 11 32 1 14 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 31 7 888 1 0 24 8 11 32 1 14 0 0 0 0
Last Regular Season...
Height: 6-0 Weight: 175 Birthday: 5/9/2001
Hometown: Frankfurt, Germany
Last Club: NK Maribor (Slovenia) Acquired: Acquired in transfer on 1/19/2022
Robert Voloder arrived in Kansas City in a transfer from NK Maribor in the Slovenian first division ahead of the 2022 MLS season. Voloder had played every minute for Slovenian powerhouse Maribor during the 2021-22 season, before making 14 appearances for Sporting KC during the 2022 campaign and tallying his first MLS goal against D.C. United on Sept. 13, 2022.
Prior to joining Maribor, Voloder began his professional career at heralded German side FC Cologne. He developed in the club’s academy from 2016-2020 before being selected to Cologne’s first team squad for three German Bundesliga matches at the end of the
April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Sept. 13, 2022, KC vs. DC
2019-20 campaign. Voloder featured regularly for FC Cologne II in 2020-21, starting all 26 appearances.
On the youth international stage, Voloder represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the U-17 through U-19 levels from 2017-2019 before switching his national team allegiance to Germany in September 2019, debuting for the country’s U-19s in a friendly against England. He played his first of five matches for the German U-20s in the fall of 2020 and recently captained the team in an Under 20 Elite League matchup against Norway on Sept. 6, 2021.
#54 | M | REMI WALTER | @remi_walter
KC vs. SEA
on Goal 1, 15 times, last: March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA
times, last: March 11, 2023, KC vs. LA
Last Regular Season... Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
July 9, 2022, KC at MTL
Oct. 2, 2022, KC vs. SEA
Height: 5-8 Weight: 160 Birthday: 4/26/1995
Hometown: Essey-les-Nancy, France
Last Club: Yeni Malatyaspor (Turkey)
Acquired: Signed as Free Agent on 12/22/2020
Remi Walter signed with Sporting KC in December 2020, having amassed nearly 200 professional appearances since 2012 while playing in his native France and one season in Turkey. Walter has been an integral part of the Sporting KC squad since 2021, tallying four goals and five assists in 75 appearances, and was the only Sporting player to start all 34 regular-season matches in 2022.
Walter developed in Nancy’s youth academy before joining the first team as an 18-year-old in 2013. He became a regular starter in the early stages of the 2013-14 season and spent the next two and a half years as an integral midfield contributor for the side before being transferred to French title contender Nice in early 2016. Walter helped
the club to a fourth-place finish as well as qualification to the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League. The following season, Walter and Nice took another step forward by placing third in Ligue 1 and booking a spot in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League. Walter split the 2017-18 campaign between Nice and Troyes on loan, before returning to Nice in the summer of 2018. Walter transferred to Turkish first division outfit Yeni Malatyaspor in January of 2020 before departing later that summer.
On the international stage, Walter was a French youth international who participated in a number of high-profile tournaments, namely the 2012 UEFA U-17 Championship in Slovenia and qualifying for the 2017 UEFA U-21 Championship in Poland.
28 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado
| SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
Rapids
#4
Regular Season Game Highs: Goals 1, Sept. 13, 2022, KC vs. DC Assists 0 Shots on Goal 1, Sept. 13, 2022, KC vs. DC Shots 1, 3 times, last:
KC at COL Fouls Committed 2,
at POR Fouls Suffered 2,
KC vs. DAL
| D | ROBERT VOLODER
March 4, 2023,
May 14, 2022, KC
April 30, 2022,
Appearance
Goal
Assist
2023
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 18 13 1256 1 0 MLS Postseason 0 0 0 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 2 0 42 0 0 International 0 0 0 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 20 13 1298 1 0
N/A
Record when: he starts 0-3-3 he scores 0-0-0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 18 13 1256 1 0 3 1 8 8 0 0 2 1 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 18 13 1256 1 0 3 1 8 8 0 0 2 1 0 0
Season Game Highs: Goals 1, 4 times, last:
9,
KC at MTL Assists 1, 4 times, last: Oct. 2, 2022,
Shots 3,
Fouls Committed 3,
Fouls Suffered 3,
Regular
July
2022,
Shots
3
March 5, 2022, KC vs. HOU
Nov. 7, 2021, KC vs. RSL
Assist
2023
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 68 63 5411 4 4 MLS Postseason 2 2 180 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 4 3 331 0 1 International 1 1 45 0 0 ALL COMPETITIONS 75 69 5967 4 5
Goal
Record when: he starts 0-3-3 he scores 0-0-0
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 68 63 5411 4 4 43 15 42 49 0 38 6 1 2 2 KC - Postseason 2 2 180 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 MLS - TOTAL 70 65 5591 4 4 45 15 44 49 0 39 6 1 2 2
#8 | D | GRAHAM ZUSI
Regular Season Game Highs:
Goals 2, 3 times, last: Sept. 28, 2012, KC vs. CHI Assists 2, 9 times, last: Aug. 21, 2022, KC vs. POR
Shots on Goal 3, 5 times, last: Aug. 18, 2018, KC vs. POR
Shots 6, May 15, 2016, KC vs. ORL
Fouls Committed 4, 2 times, last: March 30, 2013, KC vs. MTL
Fouls Suffered 6, Oct. 26, 2013, KC at PHI
Last Regular Season...
Appearance April 1, 2023, KC at PHI
Goal Oct. 9, 2022, KC at DAL
Assist Aug. 21, 2022, KC vs. POR
2023 Record when: he starts 0-3-3 he scores 0-0-0
Height: 5-10 Weight: 160 Birthday: 8/18/1986
Hometown: Orlando, Florida College: Maryland
Acquired: 2009 MLS SuperDraft 2nd Round (#23)
Sporting’s all-time appearance and minutes leader, Graham Zusi has garnered MLS All-Star (2012-15, 2017-19), MLS Best XI (2012-13) & MLS Breakout Player of the Year (2011) accolades in addition to receiving a 2012 MLS MVP nomination. He earned Sporting KC MVP honors from 2012-14 and is the only player to appear in every All-Star Game from 2011-2014.
Zusi has recorded 35 goals and 89 assists in 401 appearances for Sporting KC across all competitions since being drafted in 2009 out of Maryland, where he won two national championships. He is second in club history with 87 total assists, while his 410 chances created from 2011-2015 (including postseason) ranked third in MLS. With his assist
against RSL on April 29, 2017, Zusi reached 50 regular-season assists and later moved into first in club history with 24 game-winning assists on Aug. 19, 2017 versus FC Dallas.
Zusi earned 55 caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team after debuting in January 2012, recording five goals and seven assists. He played four matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, tallying two assists as the U.S. advanced out of the group stage. He played in his first CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2015, starting two matches, and scored in a World Cup qualifier against Guatemala on March 29, 2016. He played five games for the U.S. at the 2016 Copa America Centenario, scoring on June 7 in a 4-0 win over Costa Rica. He made four appearances as the U.S. won the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
29
SPORTING KC STATS GP GS MIN G A MLS Regular Season 347 302 27398 31 73 MLS Postseason 20 20 1919 1 7 MLS is Back KO Stage 2 2 180 0 0 U.S. Open Cup 19 17 1657 3 6 International 13 13 1140 0 3 ALL COMPETITIONS 401 354 32294 35 89
MLS CAREER STATS GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E GWG GWA KC - Regular Season 347 302 27398 31 73 480 143 280 384 34 800 32 1 10 28 KC - Postseason 20 20 1919 1 7 32 4 26 30 1 69 2 0 0 3 MLS - TOTAL 367 322 29317 32 80 512 147 306 414 35 869 34 1 10 31 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
SINGLE SEASON RECORDS (FIELD PLAYERS)
(2011), Ilie Sanchez (2018), Graham Zusi (2018), Luis Martins (2021), Felipe
(2022), Remi Walter (2022)
ALL-TIME RECORDS (FIELD PLAYERS)
SINGLE SEASON RECORDS (GOALKEEPERS)
ALL-TIME RECORDS (GOALKEEPERS)
SINGLE GAME RECORDS (FIELD PLAYERS)
Takawira (1998), Preki (1998), Davy Arnaud (2004), Eddie Johnson (twice in 2007), Birahim Diop (2010), Gerso Fernandes (2017), Johnny Russell (2018), Krisztian Nemeth (2019), Johnny
SINGLE GAME RECORDS (GOALKEEPERS)
30 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
SEASON TEAM RECORDS
SINGLE
Stat Player # Games C.J.
Hernandez
34 Minutes Ilie Sanchez (2018),
Zusi (2018) 3060 Goals Dom Dwyer (2014) 22 Assists Preki (1997 & 2003) 17 Shots Preki (1996) 140 Shots on goal Preki (1996) 61 Fouls Committed Chris Henderson (2000) 79 Fouls Suffered Davy Arnaud (2004) 111 Offsides Eddie Johnson (2007) 50 Corner Kicks Graham Zusi (2012) 150 Cautions Aurelien Collin (2013) 13 Ejections Davy Arnaud (2010), Roger Espinoza (2019) 3 Stat Player # Games Jimmy Nielsen (2012 & 2013), Tim Melia (2018) 34 Minutes Jimmy Nielsen (2012 & 2013), Tim Melia (2018) 3060 Wins Mike Ammann (1997) 21 Losses Mike Amman (1998) 16 Draws Bo Oshoniyi (2005) 12 Shutouts Tony Meola (2000) 16 Goals Against Average Tim Melia (2017) 0.78 Goals Allowed Tim Melia (2019) 56 Saves Tony Meola (2000) 129 Stat Player # Goals
(2019) 3 Assists Chris Henderson (1999) 4 Shots Preki (1997) 12 Shots on goal Preki (1996), Eddie Johnson (2007) 6 Fouls Committed Davy Arnaud (2010), Oriol Rosell (2013) 8 Fouls Suffered Davy Arnaud (2006) 10 Offsides Alex Bunbury (1999) 7 Corner Kicks Alex Zotinca (2006) 12 Stat Year # Points Per Game 2020 1.857 Goals 2018 65 Assists 2018 69 Shots 2018 583 Shots on goal 1996 250 Fouls Committed 2013 511 Fouls Suffered 2000 541 Offsides 1997 117 Corner Kicks 2021 207 Cautions 2019 74 Ejections 2011 8 Points 2012 63 Wins 1997 21 Losses 1999 24 Ties 2017 13 Shutouts 2000 17 Goals Allowed 2019 67 Stat Player # Goals Allowed Bo Oshoniyi (2001), Tim Melia (2019), Tim Melia (2022) 7 Saves Tim Melia (2018) 10 Stat Player # Games Tim Melia* 217 Minutes Tim Melia* 19,446 Wins Tim Melia* 92 Losses Tim Melia* 73 Draws Tim Melia* 49 Shutouts Tim Melia* 64 Goals Allowed Tim Melia* 270 Saves Tim Melia* 628 Goals Against Avg. Jimmy Nielsen 0.99 Stat Player # Games Graham Zusi* 347 Minutes Graham Zusi* 27,398 Goals Preki 71 Assists Preki 98 Shots Preki 693 Shots on goal Preki 283 Fouls Committed Roger Espinoza* 504 Fouls Suffered Davy Arnaud 528 Offsides Vitalis Takawira 126 Corner Kicks Graham Zusi* 800 Cautions Roger Espinoza* 76 Ejections Roger Espinoza* 13
Sapong
Graham
Digital
Russell
SPORTING KANSAS CITY INDIVIDUAL ALL-TIME CHARTS (MLS REGULAR SEASON)
ASSISTS
GOALKEEPER
31 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
GAMES PLAYED Player GP 1. Graham Zusi* 347 2. Roger Espinoza* 322 3. Matt Besler 294 4. Davy Arnaud 240 5. Kerry Zavagnin 237 6. Nick Garcia 224 7. Preki 218 8. Tim Melia* 217 9. Seth Sinovic 210 10. Jimmy Conrad 204 GOALS Player GP G 1. Preki 218 71 2. Dom Dwyer 128 57 3. Johnny Russell* 144 48 4. Davy Arnaud 240 43 4. Josh Wolff 144 43 6. Daniel Salloi* 151 39 6. Chris Klein 200 39 8. Kei Kamara 113 38 9. Graham Zusi* 347 31 9. Benny Feilhaber 167 31 9. Mo Johnston 149 31 GAME-WINNING GOALS Player GP GWG 1. Daniel Salloi* 151 13 1. Dom Dwyer 128 13 1. Preki 218 13 4. Chris Klein 200 12 5. Kei Kamara 113 11 5. Josh Wolff 144 11 7. Johnny Russell* 144 10 7. Graham Zusi* 347 10 7. Davy Arnaud 240 10 10. Vitalis Takawira 103 8 GAME-WINNING ASSISTS Player GP GWA 1. Graham Zusi* 347 28 2. Preki 218 23 3. Chris Klein 200 16 4. Benny Feilhaber 167 13 5. Roger Espinoza* 322 11 6. Daniel Salloi* 151 10 6. Davy Arnaud 240 10 6. Josh Wolff 144 10 9. Khiry Shelton* 101 8 9. Jack Jewsbury 195 8 9. Mo Johnston 149 8 9. Kei Kamara 113 8 9. Chance Myers 147 8 9. Kerry Zavagnin 237 8 MULTI-GOAL GAMES Player GP MGG 1. Dom Dwyer 128 10 2. Vitalis Takawira 103 8 3. Preki 218 7 4. Johnny Russell* 144 6 5. Felipe Gutierrez 52 5 5. Kei Kamara 113 5 5. Scott Sealy 88 5 5. Josh Wolff 144 5 9. Daniel Salloi* 151 4 9. Mo Johnston 149 4 9. Chris Klein 200 4 PENALTY KICK GOALS Player GP PKG 1. Preki 218 21 2. Benny Feilhaber 167 12 3. Johnny Russell* 144 7 3. Dom Dwyer 128 7 5. Ilie Sanchez 144 5 5. Felipe Gutierrez 52 5 5. Kei Kamara 113 5 8. Claudio Lopez 57 4 9. Alan Pulido* 34 3 9. Claudio Bieler 41 3 9. Jose Burciaga Jr. 115 3 9. Jack Jewsbury 195 3 9. Josh Wolff 144 3 GOALS PER GAME Player GP GLS AVG 1. Dom Dwyer 128 57 0.45 2. Kei Kamara 113 38 0.34 3. Johnny Russell* 144 48 0.33 3. Preki 218 71 0.33 5. Scott Sealy 88 28 0.32 6. Josh Wolff 144 43 0.30 7. Vitalis Takawira 103 28 0.27 8. Daniel Salloi* 151 39 0.26 9. Mark Chung 94 20 0.21 9. Mo Johnston 149 31 0.21 *Minimum 20 goals
BOLD * - denotes player on current roster
Player GP A 1. Preki 218 98 2. Graham Zusi* 347 73 3. Chris Klein 200 45 4. Roger Espinoza* 322 43 4. Benny Feilhaber 167 43 6. Davy Arnaud 240 35 7. Johnny Russell* 144 32 8. Mo Johnston 149 28 9. Josh Wolff 144 26 10. Mark Chung 94 25 SHOTS Player GP SH 1. Preki 218 693 2. Graham Zusi* 347 480 3. Davy Arnaud 240 452 4. Dom Dwyer 128 401 5. Kei Kamara 113 370 6. Roger Espinoza* 322 359 7. Daniel Salloi* 151 352 8. Chris Klein 200 312 9. Johnny Russell* 144 311 10. Mo Johnston 149 274 SHOTS ON GOAL Player GP SOG 1. Preki 218 283 2. Davy Arnaud 240 176 3. Dom Dwyer 128 161 4. Daniel Salloi* 151 144 5. Graham Zusi* 347 143 6. Mo Johnston 149 138 6. Chris Klein 200 138 6. Josh Wolff 144 138 9. Kei Kamara 113 126 10. Johnny Russell* 144 124 FOULS COMMITTED Player GP FC 1. Roger Espinoza* 322 504 2. Davy Arnaud 240 329 3. Kerry Zavagnin 237 326 4. Matt McKeon 144 309 5. Graham Zusi* 347 280 6. Matt Besler 294 241 7. Dom Dwyer 128 239 8. Nick Garcia 224 234 9. Mo Johnston 149 226 10. Seth Sinovic 210 217 FOULS SUFFERED Player GP FS 1. Davy Arnaud 240 528 2. Roger Espinoza* 322 396 3. Graham Zusi* 347 384 4. Preki 218 362 5. Kerry Zavagnin 237 354 6. Benny Feilhaber 167 299 7. Dom Dwyer 128 273 8. Nick Garcia 224 250 9. Johnny Russell* 144 212 10. Mark Chung 94 204 CAUTIONS (YELLOW CARDS) Player GP YC 1. Roger Espinoza* 322 76 2. Kerry Zavagnin 237 44 3. Davy Arnaud 240 43 4. Nick Garcia 224 37 5. Matt Besler 294 35 5. Seth Sinovic 210 35 7. Graham Zusi* 347 32 8. Aurelien Collin 107 31 9. Diego Gutierrez 119 30 9. Matt McKeon 144 30 CORNER KICKS Player GP CK 1. Graham Zusi* 347 800 2. Preki 218 452 3. Johnny Russell* 144 340 4. Benny Feilhaber 167 287 5. Claudio Lopez 57 188 6. Jose Burciaga Jr. 115 175 7. Francisco Gomez 114 157 8. Chris Henderson 61 154 9. Chris Klein 200 152 10. Davy Arnaud 240 144
STARTED Player GS 1. Graham Zusi* 302 2. Matt Besler 285 3. Roger Espinoza* 283 4. Kerry Zavagnin 228 5. Nick Garcia 224 6. Tim Melia* 217 7. Davy Arnaud 213 8. Jimmy Conrad 203 9. Seth Sinovic 200 10. Preki 199 MINUTES PLAYED Player MP 1. Graham Zusi* 27,398 2. Matt Besler 25,501 3. Roger Espinoza* 24,372 4. Kerry Zavagnin 20,515 5. Nick Garcia 20,157 6. Tim Melia* 19,446 7. Davy Arnaud 19,399 8. Jimmy Conrad 18,194 9. Preki 17,817 10. Seth Sinovic 17,738
PLAYED IN GOAL Player GP 1. Tim Melia* 217 2. Jimmy Nielsen 128 3. Tony Meola 125 4. Bo Oshoniyi 96 5. Kevin Hartman 90 6. Mike Ammann 60 7. Chris Snitko 26 8. Eric Kronberg 25 9. John Pulskamp* 23 9. Garth Lagerwey 23 SAVES Player GP SV 1. Tim Melia* 217 628 2. Tony Meola 125 507 3. Bo Oshoniyi 96 354 4. Kevin Hartman 90 332 5. Jimmy Nielsen 128 304 6. Mike Amman 60 206 7. Chris Snitko 26 95 8. Garth Lagerwey 23 83 9. John Pulskamp* 23 58 9. Eric Kronberg 25 58
GAMES
GAMES
WINS Player GP GW 1. Tim Melia* 217 92 2. Jimmy Nielsen 128 57 3. Tony Meola 125 49 4. Mike Ammann 60 33 4. Bo Oshoniyi 96 33 6. Kevin Hartman 90 30 7. Garth Lagerwey 23 12 8. Eric Kronberg 25 9 9. John Pulskamp* 23 8 10. Andy Gruenebaum 11 6 SHUTOUTS Player GP SO 1. Tim Melia* 217 64 2. Jimmy Nielsen 128 45 3. Tony Meola 125 37 4. Kevin Hartman 90 22 4. Bo Oshoniyi 96 22 6. Mike Ammann 60 10 7. Eric Kronberg 25 8 8. John Pulskamp* 23 6 9. Luis Marin 8 3 9. Andy Gruenebaum 11 3 9. Garth Lagerwey 23 3 9. Chris Snitko 26 3
SPORTING KANSAS CITY INDIVIDUAL SINGLE-SEASON CHARTS (MLS REGULAR SEASON)
32 Sporting KC Game Notes | April 8, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes
GAMES PLAYED Year Player GP 2011 C.J. Sapong 34 2012 Jimmy Nielsen 34 2013 Jimmy Nielsen 34 2018 Tim Melia 34 2018 Ilie Sanchez 34 2018 Graham Zusi 34 2021 Luis Martins 34 2022 Felipe Hernandez 34 2022 Remi Walter 34 GAMES STARTED Year Player GS 2012 Jimmy Nielsen 34 2013 Jimmy Nielsen 34 2018 Tim Melia 34 2018 Ilie Sanchez 34 2018 Graham Zusi 34 2022 Remi Walter 34 MINUTES PLAYED Year Player MIN 2012 Jimmy Nielsen 3060 2013 Jimmy Nielsen 3060 2018 Tim Melia 3060 2018 Ilie Sanchez 3060 2018 Graham Zusi 3060 2017 Ilie Sanchez 2970 2000 Nick Garcia 2915 2000 Peter Vermes 2915 GAMES PLAYED IN GOAL Year Player GP 2012 Jimmy Nielsen 34 2013 Jimmy Nielsen 34 2018 Tim Melia 34 2005 Bo Oshoniyi 32 2019 Tim Melia 32 GOALS Year Player GP GOALS 2014 Dom Dwyer 33 22 1996 Preki 32 18 2021 Daniel Salloi 30 16 2016 Dom Dwyer 33 16 2021 Johnny Russell 30 15 2007 Eddie Johnson 24 15 ASSISTS Year Player GP ASSISTS 1997 Preki 27 17 2003 Preki 30 17 2000 Preki 31 15 2012 Graham Zusi 32 15 2015 Benny Feilhaber 32 15 SHOTS Year Player GP SHOTS 1996 Preki 32 140 2012 Kei Kamara 33 134 2016 Dom Dwyer 33 119 2014 Dom Dwyer 33 113 1999 Preki 30 97 SHOTS ON GOAL Year Player GP SOG 1996 Preki 32 61 2012 Kei Kamara 33 49 1996 Vitalis Takawira 28 48 2014 Dom Dwyer 33 48 1997 Preki 27 44 2002 Preki 25 44 2016 Dom Dwyer 33 44 FOULS COMMITTED Year Player GP FC 2000 Chris Henderson 31 79 2001 Matt McKeon 26 76 1997 Matt McKeon 31 75 2000 Matt McKeon 30 75 2013 Oriol Rosell 31 66 2016 Dom Dwyer 33 66 2018 Roger Espinoza 32 66 FOULS SUFFERED Year Player GP FS 2004 Davy Arnaud 30 111 2005 Davy Arnaud 31 85 2015 Dom Dwyer 30 81 1999 Preki 30 77 2006 Davy Arnaud 32 76 CAUTIONS (YELLOW CARDS) Year Player GP YC 2013 Aurelien Collin 29 13 2019 Felipe Gutierrez 32 11 2022 Roger Espinoza 30 11 2011 Aurelien Collin 23 10 2013 Oriol Rosell 31 10 2016 Roger Espinoza 30 10 1997 Mo Johnston 29 9 2005 Jose Burciaga Jr. 31 9 2017 Roger Espinoza 30 9 2018 Roger Espinoza 32 9 EJECTIONS (RED CARDS) Year Player GP RC 2010 Davy Arnaud 27 3 2019 Roger Espinoza 16 3 nine players tied with 2 CORNER KICKS Year Player GP CK 2012 Graham Zusi 32 150 2013 Graham Zusi 27 128 2014 Graham Zusi 25 125 2009 Claudio Lopez 29 123 2019 Johnny Russell 28 109 OFFSIDES Year Player GP OFF 2007 Eddie Johnson 24 50 1996 Vitalis Takawira 28 44 1997 Vitalis Takawira 28 43 2014 Dom Dwyer 33 38 2000 Chris Henderson 31 36 GAME-WINNING GOALS Year Player GP GWG 2000 Miklos Molnar 17 6 2007 Eddie Johnson 24 6 2014 Dom Dwyer 33 6 2018 Daniel Salloi 29 6 1997 Preki 27 5 2012 C.J. Sapong 31 5 2015 Krisztian Nemeth 27 5 2021 Daniel Salloi 30 5 GAME-WINNING ASSISTS Year Player GP GWA 2000 Chris Henderson 31 5 2000 Matt McKeon 30 5 2003 Preki 30 5 2004 Davy Arnaud 30 5 2004 Josh Wolff 26 5 2012 Graham Zusi 32 5 2013 Graham Zusi 27 5 2015 Benny Feilhaber 30 5 PENALTY KICK GOALS Year Player GP PKG 1996 Preki 32 7 2014 Dom Dwyer 33 7 2003 Preki 30 5 2015 Benny Feilhaber 32 5 2016 Benny Feilhaber 29 5 2019 Felipe Gutierrez 32 5 GOALS PER GAME Year Player GP GLS AVG 2000 Miklos Molnar 17 12 0.71 2014 Dom Dwyer 33 22 0.67 2022 Willy Agada 12 8 0.67 2007 Eddie Johnson 24 15 0.63 1996 Preki 32 18 0.56 2021 Daniel Salloi 30 16 0.53 *Minimum 5 goals SAVES Year Player GP SV 2000 Tony Meola 31 129 2003 Tony Meola 30 121 2008 Kevin Hartman 30 117 2005 Bo Oshoniyi 32 112 2019 Tim Melia 32 111 SHUTOUTS Year Player GP SO 2000 Tony Meola 31 16 2012 Jimmy Nielsen 34 15 2013 Jimmy Nielsen 34 13 2018 Tim Melia 34 13 2008 Kevin Hartman 30 10 2010 Jimmy Nielsen 29 10 2017 Tim Melia 31 10 GOALKEEPER WINS Year Player GP GW 1997 Mike Ammann 29 21 2012 Jimmy Nielsen 34 18 2018 Tim Melia 34 18 2013 Jimmy Nielsen 34 17 2000 Tony Meola 31 15 1996 Garth Lagerwey 23 12 2011 Jimmy Nielsen 31 12 2017 Tim Melia 31 12
AGAINST AVERAGE Year Player GP GA GAA 2017 Tim Melia 31 24 0.78 2012 Jimmy Nielsen 34 27 0.79 2013 Jimmy Nielsen 34 30 0.88 2000 Tony Meola 31 29 0.92 2004 Tony Meola 21 22 1.05 *Minimum 1,000 minutes played
GOALS