Sporting Kansas City defeated Chivas USA 4-0 on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd at Sporting Park.
Claudio Bieler opened the scoring in the 41st minute with Graham Zusi claiming the assist. Bieler doubled Sporting KC's lead in the 57th minute after converting a penalty kick drawn by Paulo Nagamura.
Jimmy Nielsen's clean sheet marked his 38th with the club, the most in team history. The win also marked Peter Vermes' 50th as manager for Sporting Kansas City.
The victory improved Sporting Kansas City's record to 5-3-2 and puts them in a three-way tie for first place in the Eastern Conference.
It was Sporting Kansas City with the first chance of the match, arriving in the 10th minute when Zusi crossed the ball to Jacob Peterson, who did well to find space deep in the box and sent in a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
Eight minutes later, Zusi played a similar ball across the mouth of the goal to Peterson, but it was just beyond his sliding reach. The 21st minute saw another chance for the home team, orchestrated by Zusi once again when he evaded Chivas USA's backline and nudged the ball out wide to Bieler, but his looping chip on frame was skillfully headed out by Joaquin Velazquez.
Peterson again proved to be a thorn in Chivas USA's side when he found himself unmarked on the right flank, cut to the middle and shot low but Kennedy deflected the shot.
Sporting Kansas City's persistence paid off in the 41st minute when Peterson forced a turnover by Chivas USA, nudged the ball to Zusi who slid it to Bieler on the right.
The Argentinean Designated Player evaded Kennedy and shot a cool and collected ball into the back of the net, notching his fifth goal of the season while Zusi claimed his fourth assist.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Zusi nearly doubled Sporting Kansas City's lead when he fired in a dangerous cross that went unmet.
The second half commenced with the same fervor and Sporting Kansas City dominating the game. In the 54th minute Kennedy denied Paulo Nagamura of a goal-scoring opportunity inside the box and was shown a red card prior to the penalty kick. Bieler converted the penalty, notching his second goal of the game and his sixth of the season.
Zusi tripled Sporting Kansas City's lead in the 65th minute after her met Gardner's cross at the mouth of the goal, got a neat touch on it and sent it in past goalkeeper Patrick McLain. The goal marked Zusi's third of the season and Gardner's first assist.
Sporting Kansas City secured their victory with a fourth goal in the 87th minute with a strike from Sapong. Mechack Jerome served in a low cross to the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year, who re-directed the service with a first-time volley to the far post.
Sporting Kansas City will host the Seattle Sounders at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wed., May 8 at Sporting Park. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com and at Sporting Park.
