THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012
SOCCER
PAGE 21
Sporting KC keeps road to finals alive with win over Lions
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — C.J. Sapong scored two goals, and Sporting Kansas City beat the Dayton Dutch Lions 3-0 on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the U.S.Open Cup.
Graham Zusi also scored for Sporting, which will travel to
meet the Philadelphia Union in the semifinals on July 11, and Jimmy Nielsen had to make just one save for his second straight Cup shutout.
Sporting, which last made the semis when it won its only Open Cup in 2004, broke open the game with two goals in a three-minute span in the second half.
Zusi's blast from just outside the penalty area made it 2-0 in the 56th minute, and Sapong's
header in the 59th widened the lead to 3-0.
Sapong gave Sporting an early lead over the Dutch Lions, who play in the third-tier USL Pro, with a goal in the fifth minute.
Sporting center back Matt Besler started and played into the 68th minute after missing three MLS matches to recover from an emergency appendectomy.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NICK SMITH/SPORTING KC
A Dayton Dutch Lions opponent attempts a header over Sporting KC Forward C.J. Sapong during their match on Tuesday.
NICK SMITH/SPORTING KC
Sporting KC defender Lawrence Olum completes a header over a Dayton Dutch Lion defender during their match on Tuesday night, where Sporting KC gained a 3-0 victory.
NICK SMITH/SPORTING KC
Sporting KC midfielder Michael Thomas prepares to push the ball forward during the match against the Dutch Lions Tuesday night. The month of June was a strong month for Sporting KC with the exception of the 0-1 loss against Chicago June 29th.
NICK SMITH/SPORTING KC
Defender Matt Besler kicks the ball towards a teammate during their match against the Dayton Dutch Lions Tuesday night, a game that ended in victory for Sporting KC.
FOOTBALL
Linebacker
Two transfer to KU one transfers away
With Jon Shelby announcing his commitment to the Jayhawks on Friday, the 2012 Kansas football signing class is complete at 27 players.
The Kansas defense, which ranked last out of the 120 FBS teams in 2011, picks up a linebacker who made his presence felt in junior college.
At Nassau Community College in New York, Shelby registered 82 tackles in 21 games, while the Lions went 19-2 in his two seasons on Long Island. After the 2011 campaign Shelly was named to the first team All-Northeast Conference.
Also coming over from NCC is offensive tackle Aslam Sterling. Sterling signed with Kansas after considering offers from Buffalo and Stony Brook as well.
The Jayhawks will open the season on Sept. 1, 2012 when South Dakota Sate visits Memorial Stadium.
Quarterback
Former Kansas quarterback Jordan Webb is transferring to the University of Colorado according to a report from the Lawrence-Journal World.
On Jan. 16, new Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis announced the quarterback would no longer be a part of the team, yet would still remain a student at Kansas.The announcement from Weis came a month after the commitments of five-star quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps.
From 2010-11 Webb accumulated 3079 yards, 20 touchdowns, 20 interceptions on Kansas teams that went a combined 5-19.
With the Buffaloes, Webb will have a chance to compete for the starting role with two years of eligibility left.
FOOTBALL
Top special teamers earn early honors
Blake Schuster
Two Jayhawks received a preseason honor after being named to the 2012 College Football Performance Awards Special Teams Watch List Monday afternoon, according to KU Athletics.
D. J. Beshears, senior wide receiver and kick returner from Denton, Texas, was listed as one of the top all-purpose players in the country. Ron Doherty, Junior
punter and kicker from Klein, Texas, was listed as one of the top punters in college football.
Beshears is ranked second on the University's all-time list for his 1,936 return yards in three seasons with the Jayhawks. He led the Big 12 in return yards last year with 1,014. He was also third in all-purpose yards with 1,587.
Doherty finished the 2011 season, which was also his first season as the team's punter, with the third best punting average in the
Recipients are selected by CFPA based on objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.
Big 12, at 42.8 yards per attempt. He had 2,738 total yards on 64 attempts for the season. He earned Big 12 Honorable Mention honors by landing 15 punts inside the opponents 20-yard line.
Kelsea Eckenroth