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Sporting KC Game Notes | April 23, 2022 vs. Columbus Crew | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes SPORTING KANSAS CITY NEWS AND NOTES

GETTING BACK ON TRACK AT HOME

Sporting Kansas City returns home for the first of two consecutive matches at Children’s Mercy Park this weekend when the team hosts the Columbus Crew on Saturday night. Sporting is set to enjoy their first back-to-back home games of the season as the team then hosts FC Dallas next Saturday.

While Sporting is 2-6-0 on the season, the team has a winning record at home, having gone 2-1-0 in their three matches at Childrens’ Mercy Park to date. Sporting’s three home games are tied for the second fewest among teams that aren’t delaying home matches to open a new stadium (Nashville SC), only ahead of CF Montreal’s two home games in 2022. Of the 10 teams that have played three or fewer home matches this season, only three are currently in playoff positions (Montreal, Salt Lake and LA Galaxy).

Sporting’s 3-1 loss to Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium on Sunday afternoon extended the club’s road losing streak to seven matches, having last avoided defeat away from home with a 2-1 win at Seattle Sounders FC on Oct. 23, 2021. Sporting has also not drawn a regular-season game since a 1-1 tie with Colorado on Aug. 28, 2021 - a club-record 20-game streak in the post-shootout era. Sporting has gone 8-12-0 in those 20 games.

Sporting is now set to host a Crew team that is in dire straits themselves, having lost four in a row - three in the regular season before being eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup by lower division Detroit City FC on Tuesday night.

CRACKING THE CREW

Sporting Kansas City is set for a rarity in the past couple of seasons - hosting the Columbus Crew when the Ohio side visits Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Sporting last faced the Crew almost three years ago, with regionalization of the schedule during the COVID seasons preventing the two clubs from meeting in 2020 and 2021.

The last time the two teams met was at the old Crew Stadium on June 23, 2019. Much like this weekend, both teams were struggling for form in 2019 and it was Sporting who claimed a 1-0 victory on that afternoon in Columbus. Felipe Gutierrez headed home Gerso Fernandes’ cross from close range early in the second half before Harrison Afful was sent off for bringing down Gerso when through on goal in the latter stages.

Columbus last paid a visit to Children’s Mercy Park on May 27, 2018 - escaping with a point following a 0-0 draw. After Tim Melia had saved Gyasi Zardes’ early penalty kick, Columbus were reduced to 10 men when Federico Higuain was shown a straight red card for a rash tackle on Roger Espinoza right on the stroke of halftime. Despite the numerical advantage, Sporting was unable to find a breakthrough and settled for a point.

VOLODER EARNS SKC DEBUT AT LAFC

Sporting Kansas City center back and offseason U-22 initiative acquisition Robert Voloder earned his debut for the club during Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 loss to Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium.

Voloder, 20, entered the match in the 86th minute to replace stalwart Andreu Fontas in the left center back role. In his brief cameo, Voloder completed six of his seven passes, won his only duel, drew one foul and recorded one interception. Voloder has been an unused substitute in each of Sporting’s previous seven matches this season.

A left-footed center back, Voloder arrived in a transfer from Slovenian powerhouse NK Maribor, where he had played every minute since the 2021-22 PrvaLiga season began last July, guiding the team to the top of the table through 20 matches. In addition to scoring two goals and helping Maribor post 10 shutouts in league play, the Germanborn defender started four qualifying matches in the inaugural 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League last summer.

Voloder began his career with German side FC Cologne after rising through the club’s Academy. On the international stage, Voloder represented Bosnia & Herzegovina at the U-17 and U-19 levels before pivoting to Germany’s U-19s and U-20s in late 2019.

KAYDEN PIERRE CALLED UP TO U.S. U-20s

Sporting Kansas City right back Kayden Pierre has been named to the United States U-20 Men’s National Team for a domestic training camp at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, from April 22-30.

Pierre is part of a 22-player squad assembled by U.S. U-20 head coach Mikey Varas and becomes the second Sporting KC Academy product to represent the U.S. U-20 MNT this year after Jayvin Van Deventer earned a training camp call-up in January. The upcoming camp in Carson serves as preparation for the Concacaf U-20 Championship this summer, which counts as qualification for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia as well as the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Pierre, 19, hit a major milestone on March 12 by making his MLS debut in Sporting’s road match against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The dynamic right back entered 2022 on the heels of an impressive 2021 campaign with Sporting KC II in the USL Championship, where he made 28 appearances and finished second on the team in both starts (26) and minutes (2,252) while recording two assists. Pierre, who opened his professional scoring account in a 1-1 home draw against FC Tulsa last September, has appeared in two of SKC II’s first three MLS NEXT Pro matches this season, including a 90-minute outing in a 2-0 triumph over MNUFC2 on April 3.

Sporting has a strong record against Columbus over the last 10 meetings between the two sides, going 7-1-2 since the start of the 2013 season. That includes a 4-0-1 mark at Children’s Mercy Park, with Sporting winning the previous four matches prior to that draw in 2018.

Sporting leads the all-time series between the two sides 26-22-8, including a 14-9-3 mark at home. Sporting last lost a home game to Columbus on July 28, 2012 when a brace from Jairo Arrieta cancelled out an early Kei Kamara opener before Crew midfielder Cole Grossman was sent off deep into second-half stoppage time.

TZIONIS SHINES IN No. 10 ROLE

Sporting Kansas City forward Marinos Tzionis earned his second start of the season in Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 loss to Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium, playing in the No. 10/attacking midfield role as Sporting played a 4-2-3-1 with Tzionis occupying the space in front of Roger Espinoza and Remi Walter in midfield.

Tzionis was a constant pest for the LAFC midfield and backline, drawing five fouls - tied for the most on the pitch alongside teammate Johnny Russell - two of which resulted in yellow cards for LAFC center backs Jesus Murillo and Mamadou Fall. The 20-yearold also won nine of his 13 duels in the match, with his 69.2 percent duel success rate the highest on the team and tied for the highest in the match among outfield starters alongside former Sporting midfielder Ilie Sanchez.

#LAFCvSKC QUOTES

Manager & Sporting Director Peter Vermes...

On Sporting’s 3-1 loss to LAFC: “I actually thought we were pretty good in the first half. In certain places it’s not easy to come in and play, and I thought we did. I thought we did a decent job of that in the first half. I thought that Marinos (Tzionis) was very good underneath. He caused a lot of problems for them and found some really good spaces, which in turn kind of helped us get on the attack and eventually get the first goal. I haven’t seen the replay (of LAFC’s first goal) yet, but they get a free kick and the ball goes wide, then the guy hits it from a long way away and they get a header off the cross. It’s a little tough to give up that goal right before halftime. We’ve got to do everything we can not to, but we were in a good place coming into the second half, for sure. I thought we were playing well. We maybe could have done something differently on the second goal in how we covered, but the one thing you can say is (Ismael Tajouri-Shradi) hit an absolute bomb. Sometimes it happens and unfortunately it happened at that point. Tim (Melia) is not saving that and it’s not his fault. It’s a great shot, so now we’re behind. The third goal I can’t really talk too much about from our point of view and where the referee was from me. Both referees weren’t in a good area to see it, but I thought we were in a good place in the game. We were keeping the ball well and breaking through them. We were coming up the field and building out and going on the counter a couple of times. At the end, that second goal (from LAFC) was a back breaker.”

Tzionis, a full Cyprus international, arrived in Kansas City this past offseason as a U-22 initiative player after completing a transfer from Omonia Nicosia. He scored 15 goals in 88 appearances for his hometown club after turning professional as a 15-year-old in 2017, helping Omonia to the club’s first league title in 11 years by tallying seven goals in 43 games during the 2020-21 campaign. The winger has also featured in 18 matches across Europe’s three most prestigious club tournaments: the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

Tzionis has 14 caps for the Cyprus National Team and scored his first international goal in March with the game-winner against Estonia in the UEFA Nations League play-out series. On if Marinos Tzionis will continue playing as an attacking midfielder in future matches: “I’m not sure. He played really well there today. Right now with us having to move the team around as much as we have to, it was interesting. We thought he could do a good job there and he did a lot better than we even thought, so that’s a plus.”

On Vermes’ decision to play a double pivot with Roger Espinoza and Remi Walter as defensive midfielders: “It was how we felt was the best way to go into this game and for the most part, it really was. It was really good. Roger and Remi did a really good job. Roger was running out of gas, so that was why I made the (substitution) with him, but we were in a good place for the most part. I think the (midfield) change was based on the game.”