Graham Zusi Powers Sporting Kansas City to Conference Final in 2-0 Win

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Midfielder Graham Zusi assisted on both goals to lead Sporting Kansas City to a 2-0 win in the second leg of the Eastern Conference semifinal. In front of 18,565 rain-soaked fans in a sold-out LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, Zusi became the first player in franchise history to get multiple assists in a playoff game.

Added to their result from the first leg, Kansas City now advances to the next round 4-0 on aggregate.

The first true scoring chance of the game came in the 16th minute, when defender Aurelien Collin played a long ball into the area for Teal Bunbury. Bunbury tracked it down near the end line, but his shot was saved by Brad Pickens and went out for a corner kick.

The game was fairly sloppy, owing to the incredibly wet conditions. The rain started a few hours before the game and did not let up. Chances were few and far between, but Kansas City seemed to get most of them.

Sporting KC opened the scoring in the 28th minute, when Zusi put a free kick into the penalty area, bouncing it off the back of Collin's head and into the back of the net.

In the first minute after halftime, forward C.J. Sapong went down in the box after attempting a bicycle kick. While he was down on the ground, Colorado's Marvell Wynne went up for a ball and caught Sapong in the head with his foot. Sapong was able to continue after receiving treatment.

Collin almost scored again in the 57th minute. Off a corner kick, Collin put the ball off the crossbar. Bunbury got to the rebound, but was not able to put the ball on target.

In the 61st minute, Sapong got on the end of a through ball and got a shot off, but a good save from Pickens kept the score 1-0.

Sapong doubled the lead in the 76th minute. Zusi sent a free kick into the area and Sapong got his head on it and buried it in the back of the net.

After the game, Sapong said, "Zusi did what he's been doing all season, putting the ball there for us forwards to go get it and I was able to go and get it and put it in the net."

Sporting will now wait to see who they play and when. If Real Salt Lake hosts the Western Conference final, Sporting will play the Houston-Philadelphia winner at 8 p.m. CT on Sunday. If Los Angeles or Seattle hosts, Kansas City will play at 4:30 CT, also on Sunday.