S3E33 - For the Glory KC is back with the 98th episode of the show! (Our 100th episode is coming up, should we do something special?) 

Sporting Kansas City keep the momentum going with a huge semifinal win over Indy Eleven to book a place in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup finals against LAFC. They got there on goals by Johnny Russell and Dany Rosero.

It wasn't always smooth sailing for Sporting KC though, as Indy Eleven gave them all they could handle in the second half, but Tim Melia repeatedly came up big to keep a clean sheet. The game also marked the return of Logan Ndenbe to the starting lineup and overall had a unique lineup that looked a lot more like 2023 than 2024 (with the exceptions of right back Khiry Shelton and midfielder Jake Davis).

The game came to an end with an ultimately meaningless penalty kick that was missed by Alan Pulido. It made us wonder who should have taken the PK instead of Pulido based on who was on the field, as well as who would have gone if a game came to penalties.

The KC Current continued to faulter as they lost their third straight NWSL game. This time it was the North Carolina Courage who got the better of them. It made us wonder if it's simply a slump, them running into tougher teams, or if they aren't as good as we thought they were.

The team also made a series of transactions this week trading away Hanna Glas and Jordan Silkowitz while bringing in Kayla Sharples (formerly of Bay FC) and signing a few extensions. The NWSLPA also announced their list of free agents, which were loaded with KC players, including: Elizabeth Ball, Kristen Hamilton, Vanessa DiBernardo, AD Franch, Nichelle Prince, Almuth Schult, Desiree Scott and Mallory Weber. Who should Vlatko prioritize to keep? 

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few topics, including:

• An update on Kayden Pierre's transfer


• Vermes hitting a milestone


• Stephen Afrifa getting a call-up from Canada


• SKC II finally winning


• and the USWNT U-20s start to the World Cup

And there is no good way to talk about this, but a Sporting KC fan tragically lost her life as a result of injuries suffered in an auto accident outside the US Open Cup game on Tuesday night. If you'd like to donate to the family of Summer Lynn, they have a Go Fund Me setup.

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• Sporting KC advance to the US Open Cup finals - 4:54


• Who Should have Taken the PK that Pulido Missed? - 11:36


• SKC qualified for CCC? - 18:10


• KC Current lose a 3rd straight - 27:41


• A bunch of KC Current transactions - 38:03


• Errors and Corrections - 52:41


• Digital Crawl - 54:02

Upcoming Schedule:

• USWNT U-20s vs. Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 4th @ 8:00 PM CDT


• USMNT vs. Canada, Saturday, Sept 7th @ 3:00 PM (at Children’s Mercy Park)


• USWNT U-20s vs. Paraguay, Saturday, Sept. 7th @ 6:00 PM 


• Sporting KC at New York Red Bulls, Saturday, Sept 7th @ 6:30 PM


• KC Current vs. Utah Royals, Saturday, Sept 7th @ 6:30 PM


• SKC II at LAFC2, Sunday, Sept. 8th @ 3:00 PM

We recently turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

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