Sporting KC Hosts San Jose on Saturday
August 26, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Press release from Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City hosts the San Jose Earthquakes for the 1,000 on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT at Children’s Mercy Park. Game in club history in all competitions. Tickets for the milestone game are available through SeatGeek.com, and fans can also pre-order SportingStyle’s new capsule collection in support of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for game day pickup.
The Western Conference clash will be broadcast locally on 38 The Spot with three hour coverage beginning at 7:00 pm CT. The broadcast will also be streamed live on SportingKC.com and on the Sporting KC app for viewers in Kansas and Missouri (excluding the St. Louis area per MLS policy) and ESPN+ for out-of-market subscribers. In addition, the game will be broadcast live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes will attend his 662nd MLS game as a player or coach on Saturday, tying Jason Kreis for the most in league history. Vermes played seven seasons in Major League Soccer from 1996 to 2002 and, as of August 2009, is the longest-serving head coach at a club in MLS history.
Like Vermes, Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza is on the cusp of a major career milestone as the World Cup veteran is just 15 minutes from eclipsing 25,000 minutes in MLS competition. Espinoza has provided assists in two of the team’s last three games as Sporting have scored 11 goals in their last three games of the regular season, a feat accomplished only once before in club history during the inaugural MLS season in 1996.
No other MLS club has scored more goals in their last three regular-season games as Sporting currently lead the league in goals per game (3.67) and shots per game (8.3) in the month of August. Sporting got off to a strong start on offense, becoming the first team in MLS history to score three first-half goals in three straight regular-season games.
In those three games, no player has scored more than new signing Willy Agada. The 22-year-old Nigerian striker scored twice in the team’s 4-2 win over Portland last Sunday and now leads the league with five goals in the month of August. He is the second player in club history to score five goals in three regular-season games and on Saturday he has a chance to enter the record books as the first SKC player ever to score six goals in his first six MLS -Calls.
Sporting and San Jose are looking to win back-to-back games on Saturday for the first time this season. The Earthquakes went six games without a win in impressive style last weekend with a 2-1 win over Supporters’ Shield leaders LAFC thanks to goals from Benji Kikanovic and Cade Cowell.
Games involving San Jose have averaged the most goals (3.69) in Major League Soccer this season. Jeremy Ebobisse is fifth in MLS with 14 goals as team leader and career best, while winger Cristian Espinoza is third in MLS with 11 assists. Defensively, San Jose has conceded more than two goals per game this year, which is the most in the Western Conference. That average includes a league-high 2.4 goals per away game as the Earthquakes are 1-8-4 away from home in 2022.
Sporting Kansas City have beaten San Jose 7-1-5 in their last 13 competitive games since 2016, and the team has beaten the Earthquakes 13-1-3 in all competitions in 17 home games since 2004, when they met on May 22 at a 1-1 draw at PayPal Park as Johnny Russell and Jackson Yueill traded goals.
Sporting will be missing four players on Saturday with Kortne Ford (suspension), Gadi Kinda (knee), Tim Melia (hamstring) and Alan Pulido (knee) unavailable. San Jose will travel to Kansas City without Brazil defender Nathan as the center back is suspended for one game after being booked.
​ After Saturday’s game, match sponsor Hiland Dairy will be giving away mini soccer balls to fans and the postgame show The Final Whistle will be broadcast on Sports Radio 810 WHB with presenters Chad Reynolds and Dave Borchardt. Listeners can tune in through the Sporting KC Mobile App or online at 810WHB.com.
Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose Earthquakes
2022 MLS regular season | game 28
Saturday 27 August | 7:30 p.m. CT (7:38 kick-off)
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Broadcast schedule:
Local TV | 38 The spot
Stream | SportingKC.com, SKC App, ESPN+
English Radio | Sports radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340h
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