PAGE 12
MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MLS
Sporting settles for draw in MLS Cup rematch
NICK CHADBOURNE
sports@kansan.com
For an early season game, Sporting Kansas City's match against Real Salt Lake was saltier than the famous lake from which the opposition resides in Saturday night's scoreless draw.
This was the teams' first meeting since last season's MLS Cup, which took the full 90 minutes of regulation, 30 minutes of overtime and ten rounds of penalty kicks to decide a winner. The match established that Kansas City was no longer the Wizards of old, playing unspectacular soccer in front of sparse crowds at the cavernous Arrowhead Stadium. Today, Sporting is an MLS power with some of the league's most passionate supporters.
If you thought the animosity toward each other had dissipated in the 119 days since Sporting's cup win, you'd be wrong.
Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer (14) misses a kick while covered by Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers, top, during the first half of an MLS soccer match in Kansas City, Kan., Saturday.
Minutes after defeating Colorado Rapids last week, striker Dom Dwyer initiated the week long verbal sniping, stating he hates Salt Lake. Days later, Salt Lake's Nat Borchers said, "We don't like [Sporting] as much as they don't like us. We're just ready to batter each other and go after each other this Saturday."
That they did, from the opening kick to the final whistle.
earn a yellow card in the 39th minute, one of the four doled out during the match. A handful of players from both sides crowded the referee after he showed the card. The crowding violated a new anti-mass confrontation rule, leaving both teams and the involved players subject to fines of $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sporting's Chance Myers was sent crashing into an advertisement board at full speed by an opposing defender after streaking down the sideline, causing the board to concave.
The early warnings from the referee came to an end when Salt Lake's Chris Schuler stuck out his foot and tripped Sal Zizzo on a counter-attack to
The match began getting chippy toward the end as Borchers earned a delayed yellow for a late tackle that sent Claudio Bieler flying in an attempt to avoid the challenge. The referee continued play, deciding to give the advantage to Sporting despite six defenders covering three Sporting players ahead of the ball. The advantage ended after Real Salt Lake defender Rich Balchan dispossessed Graham Zusi with a shoulder charge as they battled down the left side, sending the ball out of bounds for a Real goal kick.
Though the referee called 20 combined fouls,the number could've doubled had he been stingier.
The cherry on top came in the 83rd minute as Sporting's Oriol Rosell was shown a straight red card after a dangerous, studs-up tackle.
Rosell's red effectively ended Sporting's chance to take three points.
a one-on-one, which Attinella stoned as he lay extended on the ground.
Kansas City bombarded the goal of goalkeeper Jeff Attinella for a majority of the 90 minutes, yet the back-up keeper answered each assault. He made it clear early in the game that Sporting wouldn't have it easy just because three time all-star and U.S. National Team regular goalkeeper Nick Rimando was resting.
It was the first save of an incoming artillery shelling of Sporting screamers.
Dwyer got behind the defense in the 11th minute, charging down the field unmarked for
Attinella answered Seth Sinovic's 27th minute blast from outside the box by reflexively tipping it over the net. Benny Feilhaber tattooed a volley from the perimeter of the box in the 34th minute after a failed clearance from a Real defender, yet Attinella again extended himself to prevent the goal.
"When I hit it, I thought it was going in, but he got to the spot and made a good save," Feilhaber said.
The assault continued in the second half as Zusi created two chances in the 51st and 52nd minute. Free on the left side, he booted one goal that beat Attinella, but barely sailed past the post. Next, he set up Dwyer with a crossing pass at the penalty spot, but Dwyer's sliding offering was blocked.
Sporting's best chance came in the 63rd minute when it beat Attinella for the second time, but again couldn't beat the net. Dwyer, dashing down the side of the penalty box, pulled Attinella off his line and rounded him then kicked it past his reach toward the net. But Dwyer was unable to angle it from the side and into the net as it bounced off the post. Zizzo was in position at the penalty spot and one-timed it toward the keeper-less net, but the shot was blocked at the goal line by Borchers.
The Kansas City offensive slowed down as Real began improving its possession in the second half. It came to a screeching halt when Rosell earned a straight red for a dangerous tackle on Real's Devon
Sandoval late in the second half. Sandoval avoided contact, yet the referee dismissed Rosell for going in with his studs up. He faces a one game suspension for the straight red per MLS rules.
"I think he wasn't in a good position to see it and just saw the guy go to the ground," Rosell said. "I don't know. I
was thinking it absolutely it wasn't a red card."
Sporting was disappointed with the result after dominating most of the game. Sporting attempted 20 shots with nine on target, compared to Salt Lake's five shots with one on target, and won possession at the tune of 60 percent to 40 percent.
"We did everything right today except the hardest part of the game, which is to score," Feilhaber said.
Sporting (2-1-2) fell to third in the Eastern conference with the draw. They are now on a bye-week and resume play at home against Montreal Impact on April 19.
- Edited by Chelsea Mies
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