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PAGE 8B
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Sporting Kansas City's Graham Zusi to miss time
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@HardyNFL
Sporting Kansas City went into its first practice of the week on Tuesday after its first weekend win of the season. The team followed up on a 1-0 win against New York City FC after starting the season with two draws in three matches, but the team didn't feel relaxed at practice.
Captain Matt Besler got into the face of his fellow defenders multiple times during a short-pitch scrimmage, and manager Peter Vermes haggled some of his players and coaches to keep their voice and communication levels up.
The injury bug bit the team a bit during their 1-0 win in the Bronx, as when Graham Zusi came up lame in the first half and was removed from the match. Vermes gave an update on Zusi, as well as a few others.
INJURY UPDATES
Vermes told media that Zusi has a grade one hamstring strain, which is the lowest grade there is for Zusi's injury. If it were a grade 3 strain, it would sideline Zusi for over a month, Zusi is week-to-week. Vermes ruled out Zusi for Sunday's match, but it's not all bad.
"He's probably got a couple weeks under his belt," Vermes said. "It's probably not a bad thing. It gives him a chance to rest his foot a little bit. It's not what any of us want, but if you look for a positive, that's it."
The winger opposite of Zusi to start Sunday's game, Jimmy Medranda, also left with an injury in the second half, but it was only cramps. He's good to go for Sunday.
"He's trying to get 90 minutes fit, he's just not there yet, at his intensity," Vermes said of Medranda.
Krisztián Németh returned to the practice field for the first time in over 10 days, but with a light brace on his knee. Vermes said he should be ready to go this season. We haven't seen a lot of the 26-year-old Hungarian who came to Sporting KC this offseason, but Vermes said he can slot in anywhere from center forward to the wings.
"He's very good in those positions; that's where his world is," Vermes said. "A lot of that will be defined over time as we play games."
he as his midfielder Roger Espinoza also returned from his stint with the Honduras national team. He'll start this week after his team earned a spot in the Gold Cup with a 4-3 two-leag aggregate score against French Guiana.
LEFT-BACK IS A TOSS UP
To me, the left-back position for Sporting KC is one of the most interesting parts of the squad. Although Seth Sinovic has owned the position for three years, he was handed real competition for the first time since he first earned his starting spot with the club when it signed Canadian left-back Marcel De Jong.
De Jong.
In the one game De Jong and Sinovic have both been available, it was De Jong who drew the start. We should get a second look at who it will be this weekend against Philadelphia.
"I'll decide for each game," Vermes said. "The greatest thing is, you have competition for the position, and that's the most important thing."
De Jong has played up front
in the past, and Vermes isn't ruling that out, but right now, he doesn't need help up front. Instead, the team will just have significant depth in the back four.
"He can play up there," Vermes said. "I'd never say anything is out of the question, but that's not my intentions at the moment."
With De Jong not yet back from his stint with the Canadian national team, Kevin Ellis was running as the back-up left-back at practice on Tuesday.
CHANCE MYERS RETURN
Defender Chance Myers was in practice on Tuesday, working on the side once again. He's still working to get back from rupturing his Achilles' tendon last May. He's been working on one day and resting on the next. Vermes said there's been change to his timetable, and he's still set for a June return, as of now.
MEXICO VS. PARAGUAY
MEXICO VS. PARAGUAY Vermes said he'd be at Arrowhead Stadium for Tuesday night's international friendly between Mexico and Paraguay. As of Monday, close to 35,000 tickets had already been sold, according to ESPN. Sporting KC is a portion of the reason the friendly is being hosted in Kansas City, as it's bred into one of the biggest soccer towns in the United States.
"It shows that the city has become a hotbed for soccer," Vermes said. "From a selfish point of view, it's good for me because it winds up being a great scouting opportunity for possible players in the future."
— Edited by Vicky Diaz-
Camacho
Graham Zusi kicks the ball to center at a home game earlier this season. Zusi will miss time due to a hamstring strain.
BEN BRODSKY/KANSAN
Senior Chelsea Gardner goes up for a basket in a game against Texas Tech on March 26. Gardner was named as an All-American Honorable Mention by the Associated Press on Tuesday.
ALI DOVER/KANSAN
Chelsea Gardner adds All-America honor to résumé
The awards keep coming in for Kansas women's basketball senior forward Chelsea Gardner. Tuesday morning, Gardner was named as an All-America Honorable Mention by the Associated Press.
This is Gardner's first Honorable Mention in her career, and she is the first Jayhawk to have an All-American Honorable Mention since 2013, when Angel Goodrich received the same honor.
Beside this honor, Gardner adds to her list of All-Big 12 First Team honors this season and was also named to the Women's
Gardner averaged 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game during her senior year. In 16 of her last 17 games as a Jayhawk, she recorded double-digit scoring. She also scored in double-figures in 28 of 32 games played.
Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Region 5 Team. Gardner is also one of 52 finalists to be a part of the WBCA All-American team, which will be selected at the NCAA Women's Final Four this weekend in Tampa, Fla.
The senior from DeSoto Tex. was the 27th Jayhawk to surpass the 1,000 point mark in Kansas uniform. She surpassed that mark in her first senior game against South Dakota
In the past two seasons, Gardner scored 20 or more points against a top-10 opponent on multiple occasions. This occurred last season against No. 7 Baylor, where she had 28 points in the 76-60 upset win on Jan. 19, 2014. That win for Kansas snapped Baylor's 53-game conference winning streak. Gardner also recorded 22 points against No. 10 Cal on Dec. 7, 2014, where Kansas also picked up the upset victory, 62-39.
in November. Gardner finished with 1,516 points on the season, which is the 12th all-time highest in program history.
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