FiredUp Network
Tuesday, July 16: Game Time KC Soccer
Welcome into timeout Casey soccer. It was a busy week here in Kansas City Covering the two soccer teams the Kansas City current even on a break as they're on the international break as the Olympic Games ramp up They made the news and sporting Kansas City had quite possibly the best week of the year beating Dallas FC in an MLS game on Sunday two to one Then coming back in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and beating Dallas again to one in a game that just went forever because of a storm delay and Wrapping it up with the win on the road in San Jose beating the earthquake in a two-to-one game that Really was probably closer than it should have been but a very eventful week We have comments from sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermez From Jake Davis talking about the other news that sporting Kansas City made with two players making the U.S. Men's Olympic team and Reaction from Eric tell me postgame all coming up right here on timeout Casey soccer You're watching it on the fired-up network the best way to get it is to download that true TV plus app It's available on any app store that you're able to get Google Amazon Apple Android even Chromecast all free right there and you can catch out the fired-up network and wrestling spotlight as part of the featured channels on true TV boss. Hey, let's get into it with Jake Davis and John Pulse camp sporting Kansas City midfielder defender Jake Davis and goalkeeper John Pulse camp they are heading to the U.S. Olympic team There they are now as we speak getting ready for the Olympic Games in Paris We had a chance to talk with Jake Davis about what it means to make the Olympic team How do you feel about being called up to the limiting feel pretty good kind of a shock but I was working for that and You know, I'm really happy at the end of the day. It's It's an honor and I'm looking forward to going there and competing with some of the best guys How do you how do you manage the mindset of knowing you're going but you know, not knowing you know If you're actually going to play or how do you feel about that? How do you manage that mindset? I just try to simplify that and you know, I'm obviously going There's an alternate but at the end of the day They called me up because I'm a good player And I think that the way I manage that is just knowing that I'm gonna go there and work hard and try to become A better player and make sure that I'm giving my best for the team And I think at the end of the day that'll help everyone get better and help the team be successful And I think if I'm doing that and I'm doing the right things and putting in the effort then maybe You know, something will happen and I'll get an opportunity or you know, just keeping my head down and doing the work and not trying to You know get anxious and you know, I don't know like all the bad things like anxious and jealous I'm just there to be better and help my teammates prepare for the game Help to have a teammate going with you. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's the cool part. I guess He found out before me. So yeah, I First when he said he was going I was happy for him and then a couple days later I got a phone call and I was like, oh, yeah, I'll see you there, bro. And so It was kind of funny. And then one of my other friends John Luca Lucio's going, so it's good Especially not having been to a camp before it's nice to have people there Talk about the pride of representing your country Obviously Olympics is humongous. I mean it's the world's tournament, I guess and I Guess I've never had the chance to represent United States and and where the Jersey's so I think it's It's special for me, especially being this old I guess it's different like when you're younger and you go to youth camps and stuff I mean that's same thing But now you know, I'm a grown man and I'm going to the Olympics and I think that's it's truly not You're called up as a defender. I mean just how much now they've been put the right back You know come into play for that I think a lot I think also I've obviously been playing midfield and I think I've done pretty well, so I think having played right back and Doing good there and also having played midfield this year doing good there I think both of those factors contribute to being selected So with a just 18 player roster for the primary roster It's a the versatility is needed for all the players, so maybe that makes you more likely to Yeah, I mean I hope so But again, I'm not going in there wishing anything to happen to anybody You know, I'm called in as an alternate to start so all I'm gonna do when I get there is make sure I'm prepared If anything would happen Do you guys get to go through the opening ceremonies? Do you do all of that? I don't I'm not sure to be honest I really I haven't obviously I've communicated a lot with the people at the national team But I haven't been to the Olympics, and I don't know what it's like so I don't know though. It'd be cool if you went practicing that wave like, you know, yeah Yeah, I don't know Yeah, but that would be definitely special. I'd be cool Yeah, I've only been to Europe once so we'll see how the time change affects me and It's been a while I was like 13 the last time I went to Spain, so yeah, I'm excited It's gonna be a good experience, and I'm really happy to represent the United States there I called my parents over there by like the the soccer nets and stuff because I Guess I was just kind of shocked. I mean I had a we had a meeting Before training and Peter wanted to talk to me after and I thought it was gonna be about the game against Austin like just about my performance and something like that, but he told me they wanted me to go to the Olympics and You know, I don't I Haven't really been involved that much national team stuff, so to hear that I Was just like oh really, you know like that's amazing and so then after that I went downstairs and called my dad and my mom and They were pretty stunned too because I texted my dad first and I was just like did you know about this or like? He said no, so I called him and then they put it on speaker of my family and it was pretty special It's definitely a huge honor to be on an Olympics team Peter for me sporting Kansas City's head coach represented the US in the 1988 Olympics in Korea he had a chance to talk about the importance of Jake and John get in a chance to join the Olympic team Here's what he had to say about it Yeah, actually we have those two and we also have boots going, you know, so we have three we have three guys You know currently involved in that group, so I'm happy for them. It's it's uh, I had a chance to represent You know the United States and the Olympics in in 88 in Korea, and so I think it's a it's a proud moment for them It's a problem over for the club and the other thing too is I as I told both of them He's got to be ready because you never know something can happen really quickly with somebody and next thing You know you find yourself starting so so be ready for that Now before we move on from the Olympics There are some Olympic representatives coming from the women's side here in Kansas City as well as Nichelle Prince is going to be a forward for the Canadian team and Lauren is Going to be a defender for the Brazilian team so the Olympic Games are alive and well here in Kansas City as The city ramps up for the 2026 World Cup It's closer than you think because Kansas City just hired a director of transportation To work on the logistics plans to get people to Arrowhead Stadium and two of the three training facilities gonna serve as team headquarters here in KC And now let's get into that US Open Cup Semaphinal game Sporting Kansas City gets the win in it thanks to this late goal from Danny Rosario after an Almost two-hour rain delay in a match that took four hours of real time to complete Swinger from Russell pre-header He's that the game winner They head to the Semaphinals despite having a difficult season in MLS fly They now get ready to host the India 11 and upset winner over Atlanta in Another quarter final game They're gonna play indie at Children's Mercy Park coming up in August Here's what Peter Burmese had to say about the team's effort after that long game Peter we talked a little bit about mentality after the game on Sunday Tonight weather delay extra time again up a goal level good extra time Just what does the results say about your guys tonight? Well, I actually said to the guys This is what I said to him. I said the rest when we came back out got re warmed up and all that I told him I said everything now is all about mentality. That's all it is. It's all about mentality I have to applaud. I mean we controlled That whatever that remaining 40 minutes. We were good other than the goal we gave up We were we were all over them. And then I thought we were really smart in the in the In the over times as well. We were good Yeah, it was it was well deserved win for the guys for sure. It seemed like two after Danny's goal there You guys just really locked in for that final 9 10 minutes plus I think even Johnny was yelling at Willie after a headed clearance just to see their fight in closing out the game and the hunger Yeah, and I and I and I told Danny Rosario I said thank God you scored because you made up because it was he should have been the guy in the middle there When the player turned he was mostly I can't remember what when he turned it it should have been Danny there. So I Said you should be happy right now because you you Cancelled out that mistake because he should have been there But the good thing is is he got the goal, which is great This is adds kind of another chapter to you guys in FC Dallas and to open cup extra time Just I know the hunt family's been involved in both franchises and something kind of special about that Especially with the tournament named after more I mean I guess my my my We have we've met each other a lot and we've I'll say this I can't speak for them. I can't I can only say this that we've always taken this this this tournament very seriously I Always say that I think every other team does it's just it sometimes it doesn't work out for him because of the the team They put on the field or the way they played that day But at the end of the day our guys fall for it and we've had some real battles against them We've been down a man. There's a lot of different things. You know, I'm still I'm still I don't know It's I I feel like every game I coach I learn I know less and less about the game because like How the fender doesn't get the red card I have no idea. I don't think He's you know, they're trying to say that the ball is going away from it's it's not he he got in front of him He's taking his touch to the goal. So I All's I know is if that was reversed we get the red card and that's what that's what frustrates me for our guys But that the game the game was one of those ones where you have to have an incredible an incredible amount of Concentration and and like I said mentality and it was really good for our guys tonight We we won more than just you know getting to the semifinals in this game tonight And then the other last thing is playing a team back-to-back the way we just did and winning both games Not easy at all Peter the weather delay started just after the second half So what's when you go in there and you don't know how long it's gonna last? What's the message to the team and how do you keep them keep them locked in well? You kind of know that there's it's automatically gonna be 30 minutes at a minimum. So we always have a time a Timeline that we follow but then it was very obvious I was gonna be longer and at that point I just let the guys relax and I tell everybody leave them alone because if talked to start talking too much You know, it's just too much information. It was really more about when it was time to go Let's get ourselves out in the field. We're not gonna warm up like we normally do we're gonna do a different warm up Which we did and I think if they get the guys ready in the guys were like I said from the opening whistle We took it to them, which was great And I think that set the tone for the rest of the game think they couldn't find a rhythm And then knowing that you're already in a short week heading into Saturday night with the weather delay and then the extra time How does that impact the roster decision Saturday night? Well, we go back to 20 guys And we'll have to make we'll have to make you know some I can't I can't bury a bunch of guys And you know one of the problems is is is the song being out for that next game? That that that hurts a little bit, but then Jake's gone Jake leaves tomorrow, so we'll have some challenges We'll have to deal with but We'll have to deal with that I don't see on Saturday Saturday morning to start really talking about where the inventory the players are Can you just speak to the the creativity with Kyrie and Jake and Johnny on the on the a goddess go? Yeah, let's talk about Kai for just a second Unbelievable match for him tonight. He doesn't get he does I know there's people get on him and all this other stuff that guy He he played a great game tonight great game. He was Lockdown on that side of the field For not for not being a player that's played there really at all in his career He had a tremendous game, and that was not an easy task that he had Because the guy I played against is fast as well He's good on the ball But he was he was stellar tonight and to be able to go a hundred and twenty minutes was was big time, so we needed that Yeah, and in regards to the goal Yeah, just Great moving off the ball We work on that kind of they kind of that pattern play a lot Doesn't always work out, you know, but they the timing was excellent The pass was really good the ball across was yeah, it was just timing everything was just spot on But I was I can't say enough about Jake - since Jay's got under the middle of midfield his his energy His work ethic is his winning the ball back has been Excellent. He's he's been a competitor in there he has he has really proven to be a Player that has as has really made it and I don't say that lightly He a lot of times guys come in they they try to find their way in their first contract You know, they're just kind of hanging on But he's he's taken the bull by the horns and and really really taken taken that's you know Taken his career to a different level happy for him. Yeah, I think I mean with Kyrie and Jake It seems that you know, the the theme with them and some of the guys is changed can be you know Inviting and can show them new ways. Is that what you're seeing with them now? Yeah, I look I think Kai has Has really first off Six foot three right back. It's not normal, right? There's been a couple guys some big time players over the years I think kafu from from from Brazil was You know a little different size type guy Maldini was left back, but he was big dude I mean, there's been some players over the years But being six three right back it's such an advantage because we also get another guy who's really good in the air in the box For especially set pieces and you can see at the end of the game when he flipped that ball to the backstick and went up with Those guys he makes a challenge for them. So I Jake the difference is is that he adjusted to the right back which he never played and now he's you know He's getting his head all straight for that and now I have to push him back to the midfield because we're you know decimated there but he his Instincts have really come to fruition because he's he's a competitor. He fights for the ball. He wants to He has great energy. So It is it's I guess I would say is that his adaptation was very quick because he has really good qualities for the position From the players perspective. We got a chance to talk to memo Rodriguez about what it meant To compete in the US Open Cup and how it may set him up for the rest of the season So, you know, you guys get the win over FC Dallas. It's kind of do the double over then. What did that mean for you guys? Great. I mean, obviously you we had to pick up points in in the league and then obviously in the tournament Whereas you win or go home and you know, thankfully we we got the result in both games and you know We move on to the next round to the semis and also get a home game So perfect for us and now it's a difficult stretch that we got coming up away from home You're one of the three players in the team that's won the Open Cup before you didn't do it with sporting But what does this competition mean to you? Yeah, it means a lot I mean I think every day as a professional athlete you play to win a trophy, right? And for us to have that opportunity To win a trophy on lifted for this club It's you know, it's an amazing opportunity for all of us and then knowing you have the next round at home, you know Is that a big boost? Yeah, of course. I mean obviously we think all everybody that came out obviously there was a delay And we understand that everybody had to go home with kids and stuff But we appreciate the support there everybody that stayed around and for us to have a game and in the semis, you know We're gonna have to bring the energy the fans always bring the energy So we're excited for that and then you know you guys won four your last five at home in all competitions What do you think you've done? Well at home that you can kind of carry over into these road matches? Yeah, I think our defensive mentality the way we're aggressive on the defensive have and obviously we know that we can score goals now is a matter of fixing tuning up little Bad decisions that were that was giving away goals in in our half in transition moments And you know, we tiny that up a bit I mean obviously you can improve every game and it's a matter of us Improving in these next two games away from home because we know how playing away from home It's difficult and Peter called you and Jake Bulldogs in the midfield. Do you think that's a fair way of your mentality? Yeah, I mean, I think I'd like to bring a high-energy Obviously me and Jake and everybody in the mid for this. There's a great job and everybody has their own qualities and they bring to the table Like I do I try to play with a chip on my shoulder every time I play for the club for my teammates For myself for my family and you know, it's great to be a part of this organization and everybody I think it's been doing a great job and you can start seeing the results now Then the stretch continued as they wrapped up a series of three games in under seven days With that win in the US Open Cup against Dallas after just beating Dallas the Sunday prior They had to travel on the road to take on San Jose the earthquakes a long road trip like game they end up pulling it out to one at the chance to talk to Peter Vermees after a And estimate is this the turnaround? Beginning of the season you talked about how the mentality of the team wasn't right. It was hurting them It was stopping him from winning has it flipped and now is the mentality of the team carrying the victories as this is easily the best week They've had all season Peter, congrats on the win just the second half they're On your quote-unquote heavy hitters, but this guy's like Lito and Tommy who was playing the whole match They get the job done for you. I'm just What can you say about their performance tonight? First off, I think team wise it was a good performance. I Don't really think we gave really much away in the game. I thought we defended well I thought we were it was a it was a rough field tonight It really was and I normally wouldn't say that but it really had an effect on the game field was coming up in a lot of different places It was hard with with the footing even with the different style of cleats Definitely had an impact on the game, but the guys the guys managed the situation well Tommy scores a rope of a goal Alan has a great movement up front in the back line and and finishes like a key can we gets balls in those areas He's he's deadly. So it was good the from that perspective was good You know unfortunate on the goal because we're completely in control of the game the goal that we gave away You know again just a poor poor, you know execution on the pass unfortunately, and then and then we just had a you know A fire drill in the box. It was just crazy, but unfortunately we should we deserve the clean sheet tonight But yeah, good result for the guys on the road for sure And to I know Wednesday it was probably pretty taxing for most mentally and physically I know Tim Leibold is a guy who sticks out who went the whole match there and goes again the whole 90 here Just one of your team kind of shown you and the over this stretch about physicality is the mentality for it all right. Yeah I mean look I Agree with you. We expended a lot of energy in the open cup game, especially On top of that, I think There's there's you know, there's there's a physical energy. There's also emotional energy and we we we definitely expended a lot of that Unfortunately, it's hard Because we're gonna have to do something really outside of the box if we're gonna change Tim at some point because we don't have another left Back cuz with Zoe being out on the red card a good thing is we get him back for this next game and we'll have to continue to keep making You know rotating the roster around with with this group just because You know with all so many games in such a short period of time all the travel and everything else But yeah, their mentality has been good. We found a way to get three points tonight I had told the guys before we left. It would be great if we could get you know If you get six if you can get you know four great You can get three or if you can get two you get what we got to get points on the road here So getting three here today is a massive result for us moving forward The next question will be a bad bill with the Kansas City soccer journal that your line is open Hey Peter congrants on the win Remi was first extended minutes since the end drink. What can you say about her? Well, it was good It was good cuz I asked him at how I asked him just at halftime I say do you think he can go 45 because memo memo was struggling a little bit And so he's like yep, I got I can do 45 and I thought he did a really good job But Remy's always been very good from a fitness perspective. He's always been one of the top guys in the team in that regard so When I asked him and I believed him wasn't like he was you know Giving me selling me a bill of goods. He's pretty honest in those situations and he did a good job Yeah, he just said that his hamstring got tight on him on on that head ball that he did where he Excuse me where he went off the field and He said and he and he just said hey best. I don't push it any further So I thought Cassidy came in and didn't miss a beat Next question will be to Gerald Bentley with the fired up network Gerald your line is open fired up Hey Peter, I've been really impressed with the work that Kyrie has been doing Sitting at it right back. It's not his natural position And I just wanted to ask how hard is it for somebody to go from usually playing on the attacking end So now being in a key position on defense and having to bring the ball a lot Yeah, I mean I did that myself and I'd say it's actually a lot easier than going the other way It's hard to go as a defender and then become an attacking guy It's it's a lot easier to go the other way, especially when a lot of times when you're up front You're playing with your back to the goal right and in this way you're facing the field all the time But but to that to that point I think Kai and to your point Kai has has done a really good job very impressed mentality has been good He didn't give anything away in the game and he actually came back and cleared a couple of things off the line That could have been real chances, but he turned them into almost nothing. So Yeah, I can't say enough the last couple games that he's played there. He's been tremendous Next question, I'm gonna Chad Smith with the Kansas City Soccer Journal Chad your line is open Chad we are not able to hear you I Go back to Daniel spirit Daniel you're the light is open Peter pneumonia had a or had a great game tonight. Just what did you see from him? I think like he was all over the place. I know he gets credited to assist there, too Yeah, I think Taking him out in the last game when I did Allowed him to to finish the game tonight, which he did again. That part was good he's been he's been He's been pretty rock solid throughout the the course of the season. So just it was just another performance for him that's been kind of You know kind of in his wheelhouse Next question go back to Gerald Bentley Gerald your line is open Peter I just wanted to go back to earlier in the season when we were talking about the need to Change the mentality and play with a confident position and play with heart I think the team has exemplified that tremendously this Last stretch. I mean this is a tough stretch winning three in a row Including that US Cup the weather delay and then traveling to the west coast You got to be proud of the effort that the guys are putting forward. I am I am I and I also think that which is not and has not been my Hasn't been my style. I haven't you know, I'm not a I'm not a huge rotation guy on the roster You know Mainly because normally our teams pretty high in the table and We're having a good run of form and you find kind of your group and you go at that and you find your substitutes and you're you're you're kind of you're kind of You know, you're you're kind of routine with that Whereas what has happened is is that because of all the games that we've had. It's really It's been really important for us to actually give player rotation and and allow players to get a rest and stay fresh and Keep the team fresh on the field and I think that what also has happened is the guys each time no matter what their responsibility is whether they're starting Playing 90 minutes coming in the second half or what have you the contribution and the responsibility to come in and make a contribution to the team Has taken on a much different effect than I did. I think early on the season I think we missed that early on the season and what it's also done is it's also Made the guys who have to start also understand their responsibility as well And it's a credit to the guys because they're to the players that they're the ones who are on the field having the to do the work And and make the contribution so I would agree with you Let's look back and try to Chad Smith one more time. Chad, you want to back open? Hey guys, sorry about that Congrats on the wind tonight Peter. You said that Numa was struggling a little bit. Was that with an injury of some sort? I think it was when the guy hit him for the foul. I don't I don't know exactly yet But yeah, they told me that at halftime he was struggling. So that's why we took him out Then we also talked with Eric Tommy who scored one of the goals for Kansas City along with Alon Polito and just got to talk with him about how good it feels to win and put three wins in a row across all competitions Hey First of all, hello, and thank you and like you said, yeah, it was a crazy night on Thursday against Ellis a long night for us Will it delay 120 minutes? So I could say that we were a little bit tired today But yeah, over the 90 minutes I think we control the game in the first half. We have more possession didn't create that much edges, but in the second half we were Right there where we have to be scored twice received in my eyes like a stupid goal And open the game a little bit, but at the end well deserved three points here in San Jose and I think after a tough week We had just good results, and we can be confident and happy for the next few games as well I mean I saw Rado I was between the lines. No one behind me or next to me and I received a ball on my right Didn't get a nice position to score or to shoot and made a fake shot and Yeah, put it on my left and just hit it good Finally a goal again after a few weeks without one was also important for me, but especially for the team today Next question we'll get a bad bill with the city soccer journal that your line was open Congrats on the goal and the win How does it feel to be like in a good run of form for the team now this last week? Feels of obviously good if you win. I mean we had in the past a lot of games where we are very very lucky where we weren't Yeah, maybe the last few percent were missing I think especially in the last few games and the mentality was right We closed the game also today. We defended well in the last few minutes So it feels really good and it's important for our confidence like I said before Next question we're going to Jimmy back You mentioned that you thought that you called it a stupid goal that was conceded And there have been a couple games earlier this year where leg goals have put you in difficult position over this game You guys were able to hold down defensively and see the game out Just what does it mean that you're able to see the game out? And what do you think was the key mentality difference tonight versus some of the past games where you did end up giving up a late equalizer? I mean in soccer. It's all about details. I said it always and I will say it now again and like we defended good sometimes it's one yard where you have to be closer to your man and Like Kyrie especially Kyrie. I think was the 92nd minute when he defended well that these are situations we need right now and Maybe we missed in the in the past So and we have to build on it because we will need it in the next few games as well and it's gonna be tough It's gonna be maybe close Who knows but the same mentality we had today. It's it's like a must-have Next question. I'm gonna Gerald Bentley with the fired-up network Gerald your line is open Hi, Eric. Yeah, I want to congratulate you guys on a great week and also just ask does the adversity from earlier in the season? help pull you guys together to Be ready to fight through this tough stretch Again again, sorry, I didn't understand the question But what do you mean like Does the difficulty of early in the season yeah Make the wins now better and does it kind of pull everybody together because you're fighting through it together? I mean, I mean we we fight it in the beginning of the season as well. We dropped so many points at home against galaxy whatever and It's I repeat myself every time it's all about details of course It feels really good and we have to collect the points because we have just I don't know Nine games left. I'm not I'm not sure but not many so I think 10 games But we we need every point if you want to keep the chance to go into the playoffs We have to we need these wins like today and it feels obviously very good Yeah, if I can change something I would change the the games in the in the past right in the beginning where we drop points at home But yeah, that's something we cannot do so we have to look into the future and yeah keep working on it And finally just wrapping up the week here in Kansas City Like I said the NWSL is on a extended international break is there shut down during the Olympic Games There's going to be a couple of friendlies. There's going to be a tournament Small tournament between League of MX and the NWSL those kick off starting on the 20th But there was a little bit of news from the NWSL as they named their top 11 players for the month and the current was well represented with Izzy Rodriguez low Levanta Temua Chiwinga and Elizabeth ball making that all League starting lineup all Having a great years Temua leading the table and scoring low the team captain having her first brace of her career and Izzy Rodriguez and Elizabeth ball being active contributors on the offensive side while holding down defensive positions so Really reflects the season. They're having Sitting at second in the league just that one loss against Orlando that they get a chance to get revenge on when they travel to Orlando a little bit later in the season That wraps up the week in Kansas City soccer stay tuned here to the fired up network for more coverage and Go ahead and download that true TV plus app to get access to the channel wherever you go On your phone on your TV on your computer for fired up network and Gerald Bentley. Thanks [BLANK_AUDIO]