Philadelphia 3 – Sporting Kansas City 1
Today was the first day of the quarterfinals and the sparks were flying early. All of the goals in the lone game of the day were scored in the first half. Luckily there were plenty of them, although the game was fairly one sided.
Philadelphia: A
It’s tough to grade this Philadelphia side for me because I love teams that constantly pressure and get shots off. That’s just not their game. They rely on their stellar defense and the man between the posts who should easily be voted goalkeeper of the tournament in Andre Blake. They don’t normally get too many chances in a game, but when they make them count as they did tonight, it is one of the better performances we’ll see. That’s why they’re the first team through to the semifinals.
Sporting Kansas City: B
SKC didn’t really do too many things wrong. They just ran into the better team with the better keeper. They controlled possession and were able to get many shots off but they struggled to deal with the quick counter-attack of Philadelphia and that proved to be their downfall.
Man of the Match: Sergio Santos
This one was a tough one for me between Santos and Andre Blake. Philadelphia would not be through to the next round without either of these guys, but since Blake has been MotM before and has even bigger rewards waiting for him at the end of this tournament, I gave it to Santos. He was key in setting up the opening goal before putting in two goals of his own to put the game out of reach by the 39th minute.
No Scrubs Allowed 
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