Sporting KC captain: ‘I’ll take us against anybody to make an MLS Cup run’

A set of refereeing decisions comprised the dialogue inside the Sporting Kansas City locker room earlier this month, a conversation between players, coaches and media that spanned more than an hour. But after the space had mostly cleared out, captain Matt Besler ultimately turned the narrative toward a more optimistic slant.

Because for all of the impact the perceived officiating errors had on the standings, it pales in comparison to the consequence of the next two weeks.

“If we play like that, there’s not a team in the league that’s going to wanna play us in the playoffs. That’s what I’m excited about,” Besler said. “(And) if our fans bring it like (that) for our last home game and in the playoffs, I’ll take us against anybody to make an MLS Cup run.”

Sporting KC clinched its eighth consecutive postseason berth in the draw with the LA Galaxy 10 days ago, a footnote in a match overrun by frustration. But it’s the next three games, which encompass the final two weeks of the regular season, that will determine the length of the postseason run and whether the aforementioned crowd has a chance to supply an impact on it.

Sporting KC sits in third place in the Western Conference, four points shy of first-place FC Dallas and three back of second-place Los Angeles FC, though Sporting has played one fewer game than each.

The top two finishers in the conference will receive a first-round bye. The third- and fourth-place clubs play host to the fifth and sixth seeds in the knockout round, which will take place Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Sporting KC has not played a playoff game inside Children’s Mercy Park since 2013. Not coincidentally, it hasn’t won a playoff match in that stretch, either.

FiveThirtyEight uses what it calls the Soccer Power Index to forecast outcomes of matches, and it gives Sporting KC a 46 percent chance to earn a first-round bye. It gives the club a 13 percent chance to win the West.

“I will look at the other results, sure. But at the same time, it’s wasted energy for me to think about those things,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “I just look at it as, ‘Let’s go do our business.’ It’s what you have control over. I’m very proud of the guys for clinching the playoffs. Now it’s about getting to a place where we can accumulate as many points as we possibly can over the last three games of the season.”

There is a hurdle. A sizable one.

Sporting KC has the most difficult schedule among the five teams jockeying for the two byes and the next two spots that ensure hosting rights in the knockout round. It travels to Vancouver on Wednesday; it travels to FC Dallas on Sunday; and it plays host to LAFC in the finale on Oct. 28.

Sporting KC averages 1.4 points per match on the road and 2.0 points per game at home. But when the difficulty of the opponent is taken into account in addition to the venue, Sporting KC is on target to garner just four points from its final three games, which would push its total to 57 for the year. FC Dallas is already at 57. LAFC is just one point shy of that. And Seattle, currently in fifth, plays three of the worst six teams in the league in its final three games. Seattle trails Sporting KC by just three points and mathematically is projected for 56 points, a number that pressurizes Sporting KC’s finish this month.

But there is a silver lining in all of this. If one team can throw a wrench in the math, it’s Sporting KC. The flip side of a treacherous schedule is the opening for opportunity. Because it has games remaining against both FC Dallas and LAFC, Sporting KC will get the No. 1 seed if it win all three of its remaining matches, regardless of what happens elsewhere.

That’s a big if.

But it’s an important one for the vitality of the postseason. Since 2012, Sporting KC has neither lost at home nor won on the road in the playoffs. So there’s a point behind Besler’s message earlier this month, a plea to the fans to repeat the atmosphere they produced against the LA Galaxy. Above all else over the past six years, the venue matters.

The final three matches of the regular season will govern where Sporting KC will play.

And likely how long.

Sam McDowell

Sam McDowell covers Sporting Kansas City, the Royals, Chiefs and sports enterprise for The Star

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Sporting KC captain: ‘I’ll take us against anybody to make an MLS Cup run’."