SPORTING KANSAS CITY vs. LA GALAXY
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Sunday, September 18 | Week #28 | MLS Game #291
2 pm ET (MLS LIVE, FOX)
A pair of clubs holding down places in the push for the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs meet in a critical encounter when Sporting Kansas City entertain the LA Galaxy on Sunday afternoon at Children’s Mercy Park before a FOX audience. Sporting saw their home winning streak put to an end, still sitting in fifth place in the West after being hauled back into a late 3-3 draw with the Houston Dynamo last Friday evening. The Galaxy have moved into second place in the conference, just four points off the lead held by MLS overall leaders FC Dallas, their undefeated run now at five games following a 4-2 win against Orlando City SC last Sunday at StubHub Center.
Don't look now, but all of a sudden the Galaxy (No. 3 in West, 47 points) have the second-best record in MLS. With five matches to go, they're just four points back of Supporters' Shield leaders FC Dallas for the best record in MLS, and we've all witnessed over the years how Bruce Arena's teams tend to peak at just the right time before the playoffs.
Don't write a victory down in ink just yet, though. Sporting Kansas City (No. 6 in West, 39 points) haven't lost in their last seven league matches at home (6-0-1), and the Galaxy are just 3-4-7 on the road.
Also, what will you tell your friends if LA's Landon Donovan scores his first goal as an un-retiree, or Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer gets a chance for his first nationally-televised goal celebration as a new dad, and you miss it?
Exactly.
DOWNLOAD FULL GAME GUIDES (PDF)
- The night before welcoming son Cassius Cruz Dwyer into the world, Dom Dwyer netted his 13th goal of the season, though Sporting Kansas City was forced to settle for a 3-3 draw with the Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park.
- On the day when Landon Donovan made his return to active MLS duty, Giovani dos Santos scored a pair of goals and added a pair of assists as the Galaxy extended their undefeated streak to five games with a 4-2 win against Orlando City SC. Dos Santos has a goal and/or an assist in eight of his last 10 games, dating back to July 23, with seven goals and six assists in that span. Dos Santos has played a part in each of the Galaxy’s last eight goals.
- The teams are meeting for the third time this season, having played to draws in the first two. SKC’s Brad Davis and the Galaxy’s Giovani dos Santos traded first-half goals as the clubs finished in a 1-1 draw May 1 at Children’s Mercy Park; they reached a scoreless draw June 2 at StubHub Center.
- The Galaxy have not won in Kansas City since 2007; Sporting have won four of their eight home games since, with four draws. Sporting’s last win against the Galaxy in Carson came in 2010 – the last victory by the visiting team in the series; the Galaxy had won three home meetings in a row with KC before this year’s draw.
REFEREE: Ricardo Salazar. AR1 (bench): Peter Manikowski; AR2 (opposite): Frank Anderson; 4th: Younes Marrakchi
MLS Career: 225 games; FC/gm: 26.5; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 64; pens: 76
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: KC: Matt Besler, Roger Espinoza, Jimmy Medranda … LA: Jelle Van Damme
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: KC: Dom Dwyer, Lawrence Olum … LA: A.J. DeLaGarza, Jeff Larentowicz DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (57 meetings): Sporting 20 wins (2 shootout), 67 goals … Galaxy 24 wins (0 shootout), 85 goals …Ties 13
AT KC (29 meetings): Sporting 15 wins (1 shootout), 41 goals … Galaxy 8 wins (0 shootout), 37 goals … Ties 6
2016 (MLS)
5/1: KC 1, LA 1 (Davis 30 – dos Santos 42)
6/2: LA 0, KC 0
- The teams are meeting for the third time this season, having played to draws in the first two. SKC’s Brad Davis and the Galaxy’s Giovani dos Santos traded first-half goals as the clubs finished in a 1-1 draw May 1 at Children’s Mercy Park; they reached a scoreless draw June 2 at StubHub Center.
- The Galaxy have not won in Kansas City since 2007; Sporting have won four of their eight home games since, with four draws. Sporting’s last win against the Galaxy in Carson came in 2010 – the last victory by the visiting team in the series; the Galaxy had won three home meetings in a row with KC before this year’s draw.
- Coaches record: Peter Vermes vs. LA: P11 W4 L3 D4 … Bruce Arena vs. KC: P27 W8 L11 D8
LAST MEETING (MLS)
- It was a night for the defenses. Despite the Galaxy holding the majority of possession, they did not register an attempt at goal until after the hour mark, and failed to register a shot on target at all.
- Sporting did put four shots on target for the match, but never seriously tested Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe.
- LA GALAXY (4-1-3-2): Brian Rowe - Robbie Rogers, Daniel Steres, A.J. DeLaGarza, Ashley Cole - Nigel de Jong - Baggio Husidic, Jeff Larentowicz (Emmanuel Boateng 62), Sebastian Lletget (Jose Villarreal 87) - Mike Magee (Alan Gordon 81), Giovani dos Santos.
- SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-1-2-3): Tim Melia - Saad Abdul-Salaam, Ike Opara, Lawrence Olum, Jimmy Medranda - Benny Feilhaber - Paulo Nagamura, Roger Espinoza - Jacob Peterson (Chance Myers 58), Dom Dwyer (Diego Rubio 90), Connor Hallisey.
