2017 Sporting Kansas City season

The 2017 Sporting Kansas City season was the twenty-second season of the team's existence in Major League Soccer and the seventh year played under the Sporting Kansas City moniker.

Sporting Kansas City
2017 season
OwnerSporting Club
Head CoachPeter Vermes
StadiumChildren's Mercy Park
MLSConference: 5th
Overall: 11th
PlayoffsKnockout Round
U.S. Open CupChampions
Top goalscorerLeague: Gerso
(8 goals)

All: Gerso
(10 goals)
Highest home attendance21,523
(Open Cup Final vs New York Red Bulls)
Lowest home attendance15,016
(Open Cup Quarterfinals vs FC Dallas)
Average home league attendanceLeague: 19,565
All: 19,051
← 2016
2018 →

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of September 12, 2017.[1]

No.Pos.Player Nation
1GKAdrián Zendejas  United States
2DFErik Palmer-Brown (HGP)  United States
3DFIke Opara  United States
4DFKevin Ellis (HGP)  United States
5DFMatt Besler (Captain)  United States
6MFIlie Sánchez  Spain
7FWGerso Fernandes (DP)  Guinea-Bissau
8DFGraham Zusi (DP)  United States
9FWLatif Blessing  Ghana
10MFBenny Feilhaber  United States
11FWDiego Rubio  Chile
15DFSeth Sinovic  United States
17DFSaad Abdul-Salaam  United States
19MFCristian Lobato  Spain
20FWGianluca Busio (HGP)  United States
21GKAndrew Dykstra  United States
22FWSoony Saad  Lebanon
23DFColton Storm  United States
24FWCameron Iwasa  United States
27MFRoger Espinoza (DP)  Honduras
29GKTim Melia  United States
30FWDániel Sallói (HGP)  Hungary
39FWCameron Porter  United States
41DFJames Musa  New Zealand
55DFAmer Didic  Canada
77MFTyler Pasher  Canada
88MFKevin Oliveira  Cape Verde
90FWKharlton Belmar  United States
93MFSoni Mustivar  Haiti
94MFJimmy Medranda  Colombia

Player Movement

In

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

DatePlayerPositionPrevious clubFee/notesRef
December 12, 2016 Tyler PasherMF Swope Park RangersSigned from USL team[2]
December 2, 2016 Adrian ZendejasGK Swope Park RangersSigned from USL team[2]
January 4, 2017 Gerso FernandesFW/MF C.F. Os BelenensesUndisclosed[2]
January 9, 2017 Latif BlessingFW Liberty Professionals F.C.Undisclosed[2]
January 9, 2017 Christian VoleskyFW Portland TimbersRights acquired in exchange for 4th Round pick in 2017 MLS SuperDraft[2]
January 10, 2017 Cameron IwasaFW Sacramento Republic FCFree Transfer[2]
January 10, 2017 Andrew DykstraGK D.C. UnitedRe-Entry Draft[2]
January 13, 2017 Ilie SanchezMF TSV 1860 MunichFree Transfer[2]
January 30, 2017 Soony SaadFW BEC Tero SasanaFree Transfer[2]
June 29, 2017 Cristian LobatoMF Gimnàstic de TarragonaFree Transfer[3]
August 11, 2017 James MusaDF Swope Park RangersSigned from USL team[4]
August 25, 2017 Gianluca BusioFWHGP[5]
September 15, 2017 Kharlton BelmarFW Swope Park RangersSigned from USL team[6]
September 15, 2017 Kevin OliveiraMF Swope Park RangersSigned from USL team[6]

Out

DatePlayerPositionDestination clubNotesRef
October 28, 2016 Brad DavisMFNoneRetired[2]
November 23, 2016 Jacob PetersonMF Atlanta United FCOut of Contract, Signed with Atlanta United FC on December 21, 2016[2]
November 23, 2016 Nuno André CoelhoDF G.D. ChavesOption Declined[2]
November 23, 2016 Chance MyersDF Portland TimbersOption Declined, later signed with Portland as a free agent[2]
November 23, 2016 Justin MappMFOption Declined[2]
November 23, 2016 Éver AlvaradoDF CD OlimpiaOption Declined[2]
November 23, 2016 Emmanuel AppiahMF Saint Louis FCOption Declined[2]
November 23, 2016 Jon KempinGK LA GalaxyOption Declined[2]
November 23, 2016 Connor HalliseyMFOption Declined[2]
December 12, 2016 Paulo NagamuraMFNoneRetired[2]
December 13, 2016 Alec KannGK Atlanta United FCExpansion Draft[2]
February 3, 2017 Lawrence OlumDF Portland TimbersTrade[2]
February 27, 2017 Benji JoyaMFWaived[7]
February 27, 2017 Christian VoleskyFW Saint Louis FCWaived[7]
July 25, 2017 Dom DwyerFW Orlando City SCTraded[8][9][10][11]

Loans

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

In

DatePlayerPositionLoaned fromNotesRef
December 23, 2016 Igor JuliaoDF Fluminense FCWaived on June 29[2][3]

Competitions

Match results

  Win  Tie  Loss

Preseason

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

Desert Diamond Cup

Regular season

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

March 4, 2017 CST 1 D.C. United 0 – 0 Sporting Kansas City Washington, D.C.
18:00Franklin  64'
Vincent  64'
ReportSinovic  37'
Espinoza  72'
Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 18,268
Referee: Robert Sibiga
March 11, 2017 CST 2 Sporting Kansas City 0 – 0 FC Dallas Kansas City, Kansas
20:00Sinovic  79'
Dwyer  81'
Gerso  95'
ReportGuillen  4'
Figueroa  29'
Harris  69'
Gruezo  86'
Cermeno  92'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 19,117
Referee: Sorin Stoica
March 31, 2017 4 Toronto FC 0 – 0 Sporting Kansas City Toronto, Ontario, Canada
18:30Altidore  81'ReportSánchez  69'Stadium: BMO Field
Attendance: 27,909
Referee: Alan Kelly
April 22, 2017 7 FC Dallas 1 – 0 Sporting Kansas City Frisco, Texas
19:00Figueroa 77'ReportStadium: Toyota Stadium
Attendance: 15,411
Referee: Kevin Stott
April 29, 2017 8 Sporting Kansas City 3 – 0 Real Salt Lake Kansas City, Kansas
19:30Feilhaber 17'  49'
Dwyer 51'
Espinoza  55'
Zusi  69'
Gerso  84' 95+'
ReportMulholland  39'
Phillips  51'
Movsisyan  55'
Lennon  85'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 18,648
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
May 13, 2017 11 Orlando City SC 2 – 2 Sporting Kansas City Orlando, Florida
18:00Aja  11'
Larin 16'
Kaká 26'
Higuita  40'
ReportBlessing 9', 74'  79'
Zusi  48'
Sánchez  79'
Stadium: Orlando City Stadium
Attendance: 25,527
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
May 17, 2017 12 Sporting Kansas City 3 – 0 Seattle Sounders FC Kansas City, Kansas
19:30Gerso 56', 58', 69'ReportDelem  3'
Alfaro  85'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,139
Referee: Ted Unkel
June 3, 2017 15 Sporting Kansas City 3 – 0 Minnesota United FC Kansas City, Kansas
16:00Feilhaber  12'
Melia  44'
Opara 45+2'
Medranda 54'
Abdul-Salaam 87'
ReportJome  7'
Warner  23'
Shuttleworth  43'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,361
Referee: Jorge González
June 10, 2017 16 Sporting Kansas City 1 – 1 Montreal Impact Kansas City, Kansas
19:00Gerso 24'ReportPiatti  45+1'
Mancosu 82'  84'
Duvall  86'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 20,335
Referee: Robert Sibiga
June 17, 2017 17 San Jose Earthquakes 0 – 0 Sporting Kansas City San Jose, California
20:00Godoy  73'
Wondolowski  74'
ReportBesler  78'
Espinoza  86'
Stadium: Avaya Stadium
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Armando Villarreal
June 24, 2017 18 LA Galaxy 1 – 2 Sporting Kansas City Carson, California
21:30Villarreal  33'
Smith  59'
Van Damme  81'
ReportEspinoza 22'
Opara 35'
Gerso  73'
Stadium: StubHub Center
Attendance: 20,140
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
July 22, 2017 21 Real Salt Lake 1 – 1 Sporting Kansas City Sandy, Utah
21:00Silva 43' (Plata, Acosta)
Sunny  53'
Acosta  56'
Beltran  71'
ReportEspinoza  40'
Ilie  47'
Feilhaber 59' (pen.)
Gerso  77'
Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 19,316
Referee: Nima Saghafi
August 19, 2017 25 Sporting Kansas City 2 – 0 FC Dallas Kansas City, Kansas
19:30Diego Rubio 42' (Zusi)
Ilie  48'
Gerso 90+2' (Zusi)
ReportFigueroa  80'Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 19,869
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Note: 100th straight sellout
September 10, 2017 27 Columbus Crew SC 1 – 1 Sporting Kansas City Columbus, Ohio
12:00Mensah  13'
Kamara 45+1' (Santos)
Williams  59'
Abu  85'
ReportEspinoza  15'
Lobato 19' (Besler)
Feilhaber  53'
Stadium: Mapfre Stadium
Attendance: 17,089
Referee: Chris Penso
September 16, 2017 28 Sporting Kansas City 3 – 1 New England Revolution Kansas City, Kansas
19:30Gerso 16'
Diego Rubio  23' 45' (Gerso, Zusi), 58'
Medranda  26'
ReportBunbury 4'
Németh  11'
Fagúndez  90+2'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 19,089
Referee: Jorge González
September 24, 2017 29 Sporting Kansas City 2 – 1 LA Galaxy Kansas City, Kansas
12:00Sallói 18' (Diego Rubio, Zusi)
Diego Rubio 35' (Sinovic, Ilie)
ReportJ. dos Santos  1'
Ciani  55'
Alessandrini 58'
McBean  90+2'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 19,028
Referee: Mark Geiger
October 7, 2017 31 Minnesota United FC 1 – 1 Sporting Kansas City Minneapolis, Minnesota
19:00Thiesson  41'
Kallman 84' (Danladi)
Greenspan  86'   90+1'
ReportDiego Rubio 45+2' (Latif)
Sinovic  70'
Dykstra  72'
Stadium: TCF Bank Stadium
Attendance: 23,060
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
October 11, 2017 32 Houston Dynamo 2 – 1 Sporting Kansas City Houston, Texas
19:00Clark  45'
Martinez 63'
Wenger  79'
ReportMedranda 33' (Abdul-Salaam)
Palmer-Brown 77' (OG)
Ilie  87'
Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 15,724
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Note: Postponed from August 26 due to Hurricane Harvey[12]
October 22, 2017 34 Real Salt Lake 2 – 1 Sporting Kansas City Sandy, Utah
15:00Silva 3'
Lennon 41'
ReportSallói  28'
Besler  72'
Opara 89' (Zusi)
Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 19,102
Referee: Ricardo Salazar

MLS Cup Playoffs

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

October 26, 2017 Knockout Round Houston Dynamo 1 – 0 (a.e.t.) Sporting Kansas City Houston, Texas
20:30Senderos  14'
Clark  21'
Machado  76'
Quioto  109'
Elis 94' (Sánchez)  120+1'
ReportZusi  45+2'
Ilie  53'
Espinoza  65'
Diego Rubio  89'
Dykstra  120+3'
Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 14,126
Referee: Mark Geiger

U.S. Open Cup

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

June 14, 2017 Fourth Round Sporting Kansas City 4–0 Minnesota United FC Kansas City, Kansas
19:30Opara 43' (Zusi)
Gerso 45+1'
Dwyer 72' (Gerso)
Sallói 83' (Espinoza)
ReportDavis  90'
Warner  90+4'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 15,260
Referee: Juan Guzman
June 28, 2017 Fifth Round Houston Dynamo 0–2 Sporting Kansas City Houston, Texas
17:30Bird  23'
Wenger  48'
Rodriguez  64'
ReportEspinoza  49'
Opara 61' (Ellis, Sánchez)
Gerso 91+' (Blessing)
Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
July 11, 2017 Quarterfinal Sporting Kansas City 3–0 (a.e.t.) FC Dallas Kansas City, Kansas
19:30Sinovic  15'
Espinoza  45+3'
Medranda  65'
Blessing 105+3' (Feilhaber), 105+8' (Medranda)
Sallói 118' (Feilhaber)
ReportUlloa  45+2'
Díaz  62'
Urruti  90'   101'
Morales  105+5'
Harris  120'
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 15,016
Referee: Younes Marrakchi

Player statistics

Top scorers

RankPositionNumberNameMLSMLS CupOpen CupTotal
1FW7 Gerso Fernandes80210
2FW11 Diego Rubio5027
3FW9 Latif Blessing3036
FW14 Dom Dwyer5016
FW30 Dániel Sallói3036
4DF3 Ike Opara3025
MF10 Benny Feilhaber5005
5MF93 Jimmy Medranda2002
6DF15 Seth Sinovic1001
DF17 Saad Abdul-Salaam1001
MF19 Cristian Lobato1001
MF27 Roger Espinoza1001
Total3701350

As of October 26, 2017

Disciplinary record

NumberNationPositionNameMLSU.S. Open CupTotal
3 DFIke Opara301040
4 DFKevin Ellis100010
5 DFMatt Besler200020
6 MFIlie Sánchez700070
7 FWGerso400040
8 MFGraham Zusi410041
9 FWLatif Blessing300030
10 MFBenny Feilhaber400040
11 FWDiego Rubio300030
14 FWDom Dwyer400040
15 DFSeth Sinovic501161
17 DFSaad Abdul-Salaam100010
21 GKAndrew Dykstra200020
27 MFRoger Espinoza11120131
29 GKTim Melia100010
30 FWDániel Sallói100010
40 DFIgor Julião100010
41 DFJames Musa100010
94 MFJimmy Medranda201030
TOTALS60251653

As of October 26, 2017.

References