2018 Sporting Kansas City season

Sporting Kansas City
2018 season
OwnerSporting Club
Head CoachPeter Vermes
StadiumChildren's Mercy Park
MLSConference: 1st
Overall: 3rd
PlayoffsConference Finals
U.S. Open CupQuarterfinals
Top goalscorerLeague: Johnny Russell (10)
All: Dániel Sallói (13)
Highest home attendance20,831 March 4 vs NYCFC
Lowest home attendance15,238 June 16 vs FC Dallas
Average home league attendanceLeague: 19,774
All: 19,270
← 2017
2019 →

The 2018 Sporting Kansas City season is the twenty-third season of the team's existence in Major League Soccer and the eighth year played under the Sporting Kansas City moniker.

Current roster

As of October 10, 2018

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  USA Adrián Zendejas
2 DF  CAN Amer Didic
3 DF  USA Ike Opara
4 DF  USA Brad Evans
5 DF  USA Matt Besler (Captain)
6 MF  ESP Ilie Sánchez
7 FW  SCO Johnny Russell
8 DF  USA Graham Zusi
9 FW  HUN Krisztián Németh
10 MF  FRA Yohan Croizet (DP)
11 FW  CHI Diego Rubio
12 FW  GNB Gerso Fernandes
13 FW  USA Gianluca Busio (HGP)
14 FW  USA Khiry Shelton
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF  USA Seth Sinovic
16 DF  USA Graham Smith
17 MF  HON Roger Espinoza (DP)
18 GK  USA Eric Dick
19 MF  ESP Cristian Lobato
20 FW  HUN Dániel Sallói (HGP)
21 MF  CHI Felipe Gutiérrez (DP)
23 DF  USA Colton Storm
26 DF  USA Jaylin Lindsey (HGP)
28 FW  USA Tyler Freeman (HGP)
29 GK  USA Tim Melia
30 DF  ESP Andreu Fontas
75 MF  USA Wan Kuzain
90 FW  USA Kharlton Belmar
94 MF  COL Jimmy Medranda

Player movement

In

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

Date Player Position Previous club Fee/notes Ref
December 14, 2017 Khiry Shelton FW New York City FC Traded for Saad Abdul-Salaam
December 15, 2017 Yohan Croizet MF KV Mechelen Transfer
January 17, 2018 Zach Wright FW University of North Carolina Homegrown Player
January 22, 2018 Matt Lewis DF Fordham University Homegrown Player
January 31, 2018 Johnny Russell FW Derby County Transfer
February 6, 2018 Felipe Gutiérrez MF Real Betis Transfer
February 15, 2018 Eric Dick GK Butler University 2018 MLS SuperDraft
February 15, 2018 Graham Smith DF Denver University 2018 MLS SuperDraft
February 20, 2018 Brad Evans DF Seattle Sounders FC Free agent
April 13, 2018 Wan Kuzain MF Saint Louis FC Homegrown Player
August 6, 2018 Krisztián Németh FW New England Revolution Trade with New England Revolution
August 8, 2018 Andreu Fontàs CB RC Celta de Vigo Trade with RC Celta de Vigo
October 2, 2018 Tyler Freeman FW Homegrown Player

(Will be added to roster ahead of 2019 season)

Draft picks

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only trades involving draft picks and executed after the start of 2018 MLS SuperDraft will be listed in the notes.

Round Pick Number Player Position School
1 13 Eric Dick GK Butler
18 Graham Smith DF Denver
4 75 Will Bagrou FW Bercer
82 Wilfred Williams DF Oakland

Out

Date Player Position Destination club Notes Ref
November 27, 2017 Cameron Porter FW Retired Out of contract
November 27, 2017 Erik Palmer-Brown DF Manchester City Out of contract
November 27, 2017 Cameron Iwasa FW Sacramento Republic Option declined, later signed with Sacramento Republic
November 27, 2017 Soni Mustivar MF Neftçi PFK Option declined, later signed with Neftçi PFK
November 27, 2017 Kevin Oliveira MF Ottawa Fury Option declined, later signed with Ottawa Fury
November 27, 2017 Tyler Pasher MF Indy Eleven Option declined, later signed with Indy Eleven
December 12, 2017 Latif Blessing FW Los Angeles FC Selected in 2017 MLS Expansion Draft
December 14, 2017 Saad Abdul-Salaam DF New York City FC Traded for Khiry Shelton
January 3, 2018 Benny Feilhaber MF Los Angeles FC Traded
February 8, 2018 Andrew Dykstra GK Colorado Rapids Traded
February 8, 2018 Soony Saad FW Indy Eleven Waived, later signed with Indy Eleven
February 27, 2018 Kevin Ellis DF Chicago Fire Signed with Chicago Fire on March 9
February 27, 2018 Zach Wright DF Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Waived
March 1, 2018 James Musa MF Phoenix Rising Waived
June 25, 2018 Matt Lewis DF Swope Park Rangers Waived

Loans

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

In

Date Player Position Loaned from Notes Ref
January 18, 2018 Emiliano Amor DF Vélez Sarsfield one year loan, option to buy at the end of the year

Out

Date Player Position Loaned from Notes Ref
August 8, 2018 Emiliano Amor DF Vélez Sarsfield Mutually agreed to part ways with Sporting KC

Competitions

  Win   Tie   Loss

Preseason

Kickoff times are in CST (UTC-06) unless shown otherwise

January 27, 2018 Phoenix Rising FC trialists 1–2 Sporting Kansas City Scottsdale, Arizona
12:00 Player X 87' Report Sallói 23'
Busio 37'
Stadium: Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex
Note: Three 30-minute periods
February 3, 2018 Colorado Rapids 0–2 Sporting Kansas City Scottsdale, Arizona
11:30 Report Shelton 12'
Gerso 22'
Stadium: Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex
Note: Two 45-minute halves and an extra 30-minute period

Mobile Mini Sun Cup

Kickoff times are in CST (UTC-06) unless shown otherwise

Regular season

Kickoff times are in CDT (UTC-05) unless shown otherwise

March 10, 2018 2 Chicago Fire 3 – 4 Sporting Kansas City Bridgeview, Illinois
17:00 CST Kappelhof  36'
Schweinsteiger  50'
Katai 70' (Schweinsteiger)
Nikolić 74 ', 82' (Vincent, Polster)
Report Gutiérrez 9 ', 86' (Sallói, Russell)
Melia  33'
Russell 44' (Sallói, Espinoza)
Sánchez  56'
Medranda 83'
Stadium: Toyota Park
Attendance: 14,021
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
April 8, 2018 6 LA Galaxy 0 – 2 Sporting Kansas City Carson, California
20:00 Steres  55'
dos Santos  77'
Report Sallói 57'
Russell 61' (Espinoza)
Espinoza  82'
Stadium: StubHub Center
Attendance: 25,846
Referee: Robert Sibiga
May 5, 2018 10 Sporting Kansas City 1 – 0 Colorado Rapids Kansas City, Kansas
19:30 Opara  10'
Sallói 16'
Report McBean  13'
Castillo  52'
Badji  89'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,553
Referee: Armando Villarreal
May 27, 2018 13 Sporting Kansas City 0 – 0 Columbus Crew SC Kansas City, Kansas
17:00 Besler  90+4' Report Higuaín  45+6'
Afful  49'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,697
Referee: Robert Sibiga
June 9, 2018 15 Portland Timbers 0 – 0 Sporting Kansas City Portland, Oregon
21:30 Blanco  90+3' Report Opara  90+3' Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 21,144
Referee: Chris Penso
June 23, 2018 16 Sporting Kansas City 3 – 2 Houston Dynamo Kansas City, Kansas
19:30 Espinoza  27'
Sallói 59' (Russell)
Diego Rubio 85' (Sallói)
Shelton 88' (Sallói)
Report Manotas 2' (Martínez), 45' (Beasley)
Alexander  22'  87'
Willis  55'
Fuenmayor  90+2'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,081
Referee: Alan Kelly
June 30, 2018 17 Montreal Impact 2 – 0 Sporting Kansas City Montreal, Quebec
18:00 Krolicki  19'
Duvall  46'
Piatti 54'
Silva 70' (pen.)
Report Croizet  68'
Opara  69'
Stadium: Saputo Stadium
Attendance: 16,142
July 4, 2018 18 Real Salt Lake 4 – 2 Sporting Kansas City Sandy, Utah
21:00 Savarino 29'
Baird 37'
Saucedo  44' 45+1' (Kreilach)
Kreilach  77'
Silva 90+10' (PK)
Report Sallói 20' (Sinovic, Espinoza)  43'  90'
Amor  59'
Espinoza  60'  90+4'
Opara 64' (Russell, Espinoza)  66'
Gerso  90+3'
Ilie  90+9'
Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 19,206
Referee: Sorin Stoica
July 7, 2018 19 Sporting Kansas City 2 – 2 Toronto FC Kansas City, Kansas
19:30 Sánchez 57' (PK)
Russell 61' (Diego Rubio)
Zusi  81'
Kuzain  90+4'
Report Osorio 25' (Morrow, Giovinco)
Zavaleta  56'
Fraser  59'
Hamilton 69' (Hasler)
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 21,064
Referee: José Carlos Rivero
July 28, 2018 21 Sporting Kansas City 2 – 3 FC Dallas Kansas City, Kansas
19:30 Opara  45+2'
Gerso 50' (Diego Rubio)
Espinoza  87'
Sallói 90+7' (Opara)
Gruezo  15'
Barrios 23 ', 62' (Lamah), 74' (Urruti)
Lamah  41'
Pedroso  69'
Urruti  90+9'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,758
Referee: Drew Fischer
August 4, 2018 22 Houston Dynamo 0 – 1 Sporting Kansas City Houston, Texas
20:00 Quioto  4'
Fuenmayor  14'
Elis  15'  90+8'
García  19'
Willis  70'
Peña  80'
Cerén  90+4'
Leonardo  90+10'
Report Sinovic  22'
Diego Rubio 74' (Busio, Zusi)  90+2'
Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 14,675
Referee: Chris Penso
August 11, 2018 23 Los Angeles FC 0 – 2 Sporting Kansas City Los Angeles, California
21:30 Nguyen  36'
Jakovic  63'
Report Gerso 17' (Diego Rubio)
Sánchez 66' (PK)
Espinoza  70'
Zusi  72'
Stadium: Banc of California Stadium
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Ismail Elfath
September 1, 2018 26 Seattle Sounders FC 3 – 1 Sporting Kansas City Seattle, Washington
15:00 Ruidíaz 12' (Smith, Alonso)
Kee-hee  27'
Zusi 52' (O.G.)
Lodeiro 56' (P.K.)
Marshall  81'
Frei  82'
Report Diego Rubio 2' (Fernandes),  32'
Sánchez  43'
Opara  45+1'
Stadium: CenturyLink Field
Attendance: 39,530
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Note: Marshall's red card was rescinded by an independent panel
September 23, 2018 29 Philadelphia Union 2 – 0 Sporting Kansas City Chester, Pennsylvania
12:00 Simpson 71', 89'
Accam  66'
Mbaizo  75'
Report Espinoza  65' Stadium: Talen Energy Stadium
Attendance: 15,080
Referee: Mark Geiger
October 6, 2018 31 Sporting Kansas City 1 – 1 LA Galaxy Kansas City, Kansas
19:30 Zlatan 25'
Bingham  89'
Report Sinovic  34'
Russell  49' 83'
Sánchez  49'
Sallói  50'
Rubio  90+7'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,092
Referee: Jair Marrufo
October 17, 2018 32 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 – 4 Sporting Kansas City Vancouver, British Columbia
21:00 Felipe 42' Boxscore Sinovic  53'
Croizet 62'
Sallói 82', 90'+7'
Busio 90'+4'
Stadium: BC Place
Attendance: 18,689
Referee: Armando Villarreal
October 21, 2018 33 FC Dallas 0 – 3 Sporting Kansas City Frisco, Texas
16:00 González  16'
Pedroso  86'
Report Sallói 45'
Espinoza  45+2' 64'
Gutiérrez  68'
Sánchez  73'
Russell 87' (P.K.)
Stadium: Toyota Stadium
Attendance: 19,096
Referee: Robert Sibiga
October 28, 2018 34 Sporting Kansas City 2 – 1 Los Angeles FC Kansas City, Kansas
15:30 Russell  14'
Espinoza 37'
Sinovic  62'
Gutiérrez  70'
Sallói 72'
Melia  90+1'
Report Atuesta  8'
Vela 63' (P.K.)
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,702
Referee: Allen Chapman

MLS Cup Playoffs

Western Conference Semifinals

November 4, 2018 Leg 1 Real Salt Lake 1–1 Sporting Kansas City Sandy, Utah
9:00pm CDT Rusnák  26', 51'
Beckerman  72'
Report Rubio 60',  76' Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 14,045
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
November 11, 2018 Leg 2 Sporting Kansas City 4–2 Real Salt Lake Kansas City, Kansas
2:00 PM Rubio 14'  63'
Sallói 19', 90+7'
Sánchez 67' (pen.)
Espinoza  82'
Report Herrera  49'
Saucedo 60'
Beckerman  64'
Kreilach 72'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 19,918
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Sporting Kansas City won 5-3 on aggregate.

Conference Finals

November 25, 2019 Leg 1 Portland Timbers 0–0 Sporting Kansas City Portland, Oregon
18:30 CST Guzmán  36' Report Sinovic  45+1'
Besler  66'
Sallói  89'
Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 21,144
Referee: Robert Sibiga
November 29, 2018 Leg 2 Sporting Kansas City 2–3
(2–3 agg.)
Portland Timbers Kansas City, Kansas
20:30 CST Sallói 20'
Rubio  47'
Fernandes 81'
Report Valentin  17'
Guzmán  45+5'
Blanco 52'
Valeri 61', 90+9'
Chara  77'
Villafaña  90+6'
Asprilla  90+7'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,091
Referee: Mark Geiger

Kickoff times are in CST (UTC-06) unless shown otherwise

2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Kickoff times are in CDT (UTC-05) unless shown otherwise

June 6, 2018 Fourth RoundReal Salt Lake0 – 2 Sporting Kansas City Sandy, Utah
20:00 MDT Herrera  28'
Ruíz  47'
Report Russell 47'
Belmar 74'
Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 15,833
Referee: Malik Badawi
June 16, 2018 Round of 16 Sporting Kansas City 3 – 2FC DallasKansas City, Kansas
20:00 Sallói 43' (Opara, Zusi), 66' (Kuzain)
Amor  83'
Croizet 89'
Report Gruezo 18' (Barrios)
Lamah  20' 77'
Barrios  37'
Hayes  72'
Ulloa  74'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 15,238
Referee: Ramy Touchan
July 18, 2018 Quarterfinals Houston Dynamo 4 – 2 Sporting Kansas City Houston, Texas
19:30 Quioto  26', 35', 66' (Cerén)
O. García  45'
Manotas 69', 88' (Rodríguez)
Fuenmayor  79'
Report Russell 2' (Gerso)
Croizet 90+3' (Russell)
Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 6,431
Referee: Allen Chapman

Player statistics

Top scorers

Rank Position Number Name MLS MLS Cup Open Cup Total
1 FW 20 Dániel Sallói 8 3 2 13
2 FW 7 Johnny Russell 10 0 2 12
3 FW 11 Diego Rubio 8 2 0 10
4 MF 21 Felipe Gutiérrez 6 0 0 7
5 FW 12 Gerso Fernandes 5 1 0 6
6 MF 6 Ilie Sánchez 4 1 0 5
7 MF 10 Yohan Croizet 2 0 2 4
8 DF 3 Ike Opara 3 0 0 3
9 DF 8 Graham Zusi 2 0 0 2
FW 14 Khiry Shelton 2 0 0 2
MF 19 Cristian Lobato 2 0 0 2
DF 94 Jimmy Medranda 2 0 0 2
MF 17 Roger Espinoza 2 0 0 2
14 MF 75 Wan Kuzain 1 0 0 1
FW 90 Kharlton Belmar 0 0 1 1
FW 9 Krisztián Németh 1 0 0 1
Total 58 7 7 72

As of November 10, 2018

Disciplinary record

Number Nation Position Name MLS U.S. Open Cup Total
3 DF Ike Opara 5 0 0 0 5 0
5 DF Matt Besler 2 0 0 0 2 0
6 MF Ilie Sánchez 5 0 0 0 5 0
7 FW Johnny Russell 2 0 0 0 2 0
8 DF Graham Zusi 2 0 0 0 2 0
10 MF Yohan Croizet 2 0 0 0 2 0
11 FW Diego Rubio 3 0 0 0 3 0
12 FW Gerso Fernandes 1 0 0 0 1 0
14 FW Khiry Shelton 2 0 0 0 2 0
15 DF Seth Sinovic 4 0 0 0 4 0
17 MF Roger Espinoza 8 1 0 0 8 1
20 FW Dániel Sallói 3 1 0 0 3 1
22 DF Emiliano Amor 1 0 1 0 2 0
29 GK Tim Melia 1 0 0 0 1 0
75 MF Wan Kuzain 1 0 0 0 1 0
94 DF Jimmy Medranda 1 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS 43 2 3 0 46 2

As of September 9, 2018

References

  1. ^ "Sporting Kansas City 2018 Roster". MLS Soccer. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Kovzan, Sam (December 14, 2017). "Sporting KC acquires forward Khiry Shelton in trade with New York City FC". Sporting Kansas City.
  3. ^ Kovzan, Sam (December 15, 2017). "Sporting KC signs 25-year-old French midfielder Yohan Croizet as a Designated Player". Sporting Kansas City.
  4. ^ Kovzan, Sam (January 17, 2018). "Sporting KC signs forward Zach Wright as Homegrown Player". Sporting Kansas City.
  5. ^ Kovzan, Sam (January 22, 2018). "Sporting KC signs defender Matt Lewis as a Homegrown Player". Sporting Kansas City.
  6. ^ Kovzan, Sam (January 31, 2018). "Sporting KC acquires Scottish winger Johnny Russell in a transfer from English club Derby County FC". Sporting Kansas City.
  7. ^ Kovzan, Sam (February 6, 2018). "Sporting KC signs Chilean international midfielder Felipe Gutierrez as a Designated Player". Sporting Kansas City.
  8. ^ a b Kovzan, Sam (February 15, 2018). "Sporting KC signs first-round draft picks Eric Dick and Graham Smith to MLS contracts". Sporting Kansas City.
  9. ^ Kovzan, Sam (February 20, 2018). "Sporting KC signs free agent midfielder and two-time MLS Cup champion Brad Evans contracts". Sporting Kansas City.
  10. ^ Kovzan, Sam (April 13, 2018). "Sporting KC signs 19-year-old midfielder Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal as Homegrown Player". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Kovzan, Sam (August 6, 2018). "Sporting KC acquires forward Krisztian Nemeth in trade with New England Revolution". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  12. ^ Kovzan, Sam. "Sporting KC signs 28-year-old Spanish defender Andreu Fontas". Sporting KC. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  13. ^ Kovzal, Sam (October 2, 2018). "Sporting KC signs 15-year-old forward Tyler Freeman as a Homegrown Player". Sporting KC. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c Kovzan, Sam (November 27, 2017). "Sporting KC exercises options on 11 players ahead of 2018 MLS season". Sporting Kansas City.
  15. ^ "2018 MLS Transactions". MLSsoccer.com. January 1, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  16. ^ "Amerikaans international van Manchester City versterkt de Kerels" [American international of Manchester City strengthens the Guys]. kvk.be (in Dutch). K.V. Kortrijk. January 31, 2018. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  17. ^ a b Kovzan, Sam (December 10, 2017). "Sporting KC acquires forward Kenwyne Jones, goalkeeper Alexander Tambakis and 2021 draft pick in trade with Atlanta United FC". Sporting Kansas City.
  18. ^ Kovzan, Sam (December 12, 2017). "Los Angeles FC selects Sporting KC forward Latif Blessing in MLS Expansion Draft". Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  19. ^ Kovzan, Sam (January 3, 2018). "LAFC acquire Benny Feilhaber from Sporting KC for $400K in Allocation Money". Sporting Kansas City.
  20. ^ Kovzan, Sam (February 8, 2018). "Sporting KC trades goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra to Colorado Rapids in exchange for 2020 MLS SuperDraft pick". Sporting Kansas City.
  21. ^ Kovzan, Sam (February 8, 2018). "Sporting KC waives forward Soony Saad". Sporting Kansas City.
  22. ^ a b Kovzan, Sam (February 27, 2018). "Sporting KC waives defender Kevin Ellis and forward Zach Wright". Sporting Kansas City.
  23. ^ "Chicago Fire Soccer Club Adds Kevin Ellis and Patrick McLain". Chicago Fire SC. March 9, 2018.
  24. ^ Kovzan, Sam (March 1, 2018). "Sporting KC waives midfielder James Musa". Sporting Kansas City.
  25. ^ Kovzan, Sam (June 27, 2018). "Ranges sign rookie defender Matt Lewis to USL contract". sportingkc.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  26. ^ Rodriguez, Alicia (January 18, 2018). "Sporting KC add Argentine defender Emiliano Amor on loan". MLSsoccer.com.
  27. ^ "Emiliano Amor". MLS Soccer.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  28. ^ "Independent Panel rescinds red card, suspension for Seattle's Chad Marshall". MLSsoccer.com. September 6, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.