FC Kansas City Looks to Win Regular Season Series

Blues Build Momentum For Postseason

FC Kansas City (10-4-3 33pts) will travel to the Rose City to play Portland Thorns FC (6-6-4 22pts) for the last time of the regular season on Sunday. Kick off was moved to 6PM Central Time to avoid conflict with the FIFA World Cup final. The game will be the third meeting between Portland and Kansas City. The series is split with both teams winning one match. FC Kansas City comes off of a stellar 5-0 win over Sky Blue FC. The win included an ESPN SportsCenter Top Ten featured goal from midfielder Lauren Holiday. Portland hosts after a 1-1 tie with Chicago Red Stars. Sunday’s match will be streamed live online from Providence Park in Portland.

Last Sunday, FC Kansas City visited Sky Blue FC in Piscataway, NJ. The last meeting was a 1-1 draw in the season opener. The Blues started scoring goals early on in the match. Erika Tymrak scored on a bouncing cross from Leigh Ann Robinson in the second minute. Holiday’s Goal of the Year contender was scored in the ninth minute when a corner kick hit the side net without any additional guidance. New FC Kansas City member Sarah Hagen notched a brace in the first half when she scored in the 20^th minute on a pass from Tymrak. Hagen netted her second goal from a rebound ball in the 42^nd minute. The Blues played the best 45 minutes of the season on Yurcak Field scoring 4 goals and maintaining clear possession of the ball until halftime. After the short break, Sky Blue FC game out determined to start a comeback. The New Jersey club saw more close chances in the second half than the first. June’s Player of the Month, Nicole Barnhart continued her current shutout streak with 4 saves in the second half. The game looked to stay at 4-0 until the final minutes of the match when Amy Rodriguez scored from the top of the box from Liz Bogus. FC Kansas City’s 7^th straight win ended at 5-0.

On Wednesday, Portland Thorns FC and the Chicago Red Stars met for the second time in a week. The teams also tied again at 1-1. Portland was first to get on the board when Allie Long scored on a penalty kick in the 27^th minute of the match. The Thorns seemed to have the game put away with the one goal as the clock crept towards 90 minutes. Then in the 86^th minute, Chicago had an equalizing chance. A foul was called in the box rewarding the Red Stars with a penalty kick. Emily Van Egmond took the resulting penalty kick and capitalized on it. Both goals came from penalty kicks resulting from handballs in the box. The game would close out shortly after in a 1-1 draw.

Sunday could decide who wins the regular season series between FC Kansas City and Portland Thorns FC. At home, the Blues’ backline held strong against the notorious duo of Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair. Kansas City captain Becky Sauerbrunn was stopping their attacks from all over the defensive third. If Kansas City can take the defensive performance from Portland along with the offensive efforts against Sky Blue FC, the Blues will have the parts of a perfect match.

Sunday’s match will be in Portland at 6PM Central Time at Providence Park. The game can be streamed live at fckansascity.com/live-feed/. Looking ahead, FC Kansas City has one more road game before a home match. The Blues will play Western New York on July 18^th in Rochester. The home match is scheduled for July 27^th against Sky Blue FC. For tickets to the remaining home matches, call 855.4KC.GOAL