The Replay: Chiefs preseason, two Royals milestones, KC NWSL makes news and more

Royals players reached significant milestones and the team nearly swept the first-place Astros.

The Chiefs hit the midpoint of training camp and won their second preseason game.

And Kansas City’s women’s soccer team made news on and off the field.

It’s all in The Kansas City Star’s new weekly feature: “The Replay.” A companion piece to the simultaneously launched “The Next Play,” in which we help you look ahead each week to five can’t-miss events that are close at hand.

But first, let’s look back at the week in KC sports headlines.

KC NWSL finally gets in win column

It’s been a huge week for Kansas City’s expansion pro women’s soccer franchise.

Last Saturday, Aug. 14, Victoria Pickett scored the only goal as KC NWSL defeated the OL Reign 1-0 at Legends Field, halting a streak of 17 games without a victory.

KC NWSL (1-9-4) waves across the league when it traded goalkeeper Abby Smith and $150,000 in allocation money for Portland Thorns goalkeeper Adrianna Franch.

Franch, 30, played on the Olympic bronze medal U.S. Women’s National Team this summer in Tokyo and was NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year in 2017 and 2018. She also hails from Salina, Kansas, and attended Salina South High School.

Also, the USWNT will play South Korea at Children’s Mercy Park on Oct. 21. The game will be part of Carli Lloyd’s “retirement tour” from the U.S. soccer team.

Chiefs preseason win

The Chiefs officially wrapped up training camp Wednesday at Missouri Western State University and then beat the Cardinals 17-10 in Arizona on Friday night.

The Chiefs’ starting defense was the story, pitching a first-half shutout, holding Cardinals starting quarterback Kyler Murray without a first down, forcing four consecutive three-and-outs to open the game. Juan Thornhill, relegated to the third string in practice recently, made a spectacular interception.

Earlier in the week, the Chiefs cut their roster from 90 players to 85 Tuesday morning. The Chiefs waived/injured tight end Evan Baylis (ankle) and wide receiver Antonio Callaway (knee), waived defensive back Manny Patterson, released receiver Chad Williams and placed running back Elijah McGuire on injured reserve with an ankle injury.

Two Royals hit milestones

On Aug. 14, Whit Merrifield set the franchise record for consecutive games played, passing Alcides Escobar’s record of 421, becoming the Royals’ new iron man.

The next day, Salvador Perez launched a 450-foot homer for his 30th home run of the season, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the Royals from being swept by the Cardinals in a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. He moved into a tie for ninth place on the Royals’ single-season list after hitting his 31st and 32nd homers on Friday against the Cubs in Chicago.

After the Cardinals series, the first-place Houston Astros came to KC and the Royals won the first three of the four-game series, including 3-2 on Wednesday night when Andrew Benintendi threw out a runner at home plate to end the game.

In other news, injured shortstop Adalberto Mondesi started a new rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Omaha after his previous one was cut short as a precaution.

College realignment drama

Hopes for the Big 12 without Oklahoma and Texas took a hit when The Athletic reported on Friday that the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC are expected to announce a partnership of some kind in the coming weeks.

But George Kliavkoff, who not long ago took over as the new Pac-12 commissioner, made a few comments during a recent interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal that are sure to be of interest to nervous fans in Big 12 country.

“I am not actively poaching any school or convincing anyone to leave their existing conference, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t listening to schools that wanted to go in the Pac-12,” Kliavkoff told the paper, “and we’ve had a lot of them reach out. Probably all of the ones you would expect and several you’d be surprised by.”

Sporting KC stays near top

Daniel Salloi’s bottom corner goal in second-half stoppage time salvaged a 1-1 tie for Sporting Kansas City against Portland on Wednesday evening at Children’s Mercy Park.

Salloi’s goal marked the 18th point that Sporting KC has gained from a losing position this season. It was also Salloi’s 18th goal contribution this season, taking him into the league lead in that statistical category.

Entering Saturday’s games, Sporting was one point behind MLS Western Conference-leading Seattle.