SPORTING KANSAS CITY vs. REAL SALT LAKE
CHILDREN'S MERCY PARK, Kansas City, Kansas
APRIL 2, 2016 (WEEK 5, MLS GAME #36)
8:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE, KMCI-38, KMYU)
A key match between Western Conference clubs who have developed a bit of a rivalry is ahead when Sporting Kansas City meet Real Salt Lake on Saturday evening at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting are the only team still with a perfect record thus far in 2016, winning for a third time in three outings last time out in a 1-0 win against Toronto FC. Real are still without a defeat this season, pulled back into a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers in their last match two weeks ago at Rio Tinto Stadium.
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- Sporting KC are the last team remaining in MLS with a perfect record to start the season, following their third victory in three games on March 20 in a 1-0 win vs. Toronto FC. It matches the club’s second-longest winning streak to open a season (also: 2006), after winning seven games in a row to open the 2012 campaign.
- Real are also still undefeated to begin the season, after conceding a pair of late goals for a second time this season in seeing a two-goal lead reversed, in their 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers on March 19. Yura Movsisyan scored his first MLS goal since Oct. 24, 2009.
REFEREE: Ted Unkel. AR1 (bench): Claudio Badea; AR2 (opposite): Anthony Vasoli; 4th: Armando Villarreal
Unkel MLS Career: 33 games; FC/gm: 25.8; Y/gm: 4.2; R: 11; pens: 19
SUSPENDED: KC: Roger Espinoza (through April 3) … RSL: Kyle Beckerman (through April 3); Jamison Olave (through April 3); Juan Manuel Martinez (through April 3)
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME MLS REGULAR SEASON (20 meetings): Sporting 8 wins, 25 goals … Real 7 wins, 24 goals … Ties 5
AT KC (10 meetings): Sporting 5 wins, 12 goals … Real 1 win, 7 goals … Ties 4
RETURN MATCHES: 5/21: Sporting Kansas City vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30pm CT; 10/16: Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City, 5pm MT (FS1)
LAST YEAR (MLS)
4/11: KC 0, RSL 0
6/21: RSL 2, KC 1 (Jaime 15; Garcia 93+ -- Dwyer 30)
7/24: RSL 2, KC 1 (Morales 34; Plata 73 – Feilhaber 50)
- Real have a two-game winning streak alive vs. Sporting, having won the last two league meetings a year ago, both by 2-1 scorelines, and both at Rio Tinto Stadium (June 21 and July 24) – their first wins against KC since the 2011 season. RSL haven’t lost in four consecutive regular season matches vs. SKC.
- Real have never won at Sporting Park, in six meetings lifetime, including MLS Cup 2013. RSL last won in Kansas City in 2009 (at CommunityAmerica Ballpark).
LAST YEAR (US Open Cup)
8/12: KC 3, RSL 1 (Mustivar 35, Feilhaber 80, Nemeth 85 - Garcia 24)
- The teams also met in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal a year ago, Sporting winning 3-1 in Kansas City on their way to the title.
COACHES' RECORDS:
Peter Vermes vs. RSL: P11 W3 L5 D3
Jeff Cassar vs. KC: P4 W2 L0 D2
