The locker-room door swung open Monday morning at the Sporting Kansas City training complex, and goalkeepers Andrew Dykstra and Adrian Zendejas were the first two players to walk out. Two days after starter Tim Melia strained his hamstring — an injury that will sideline him at least two to four weeks — the battle for his job officially commenced.
A day later, on Tuesday, Dykstra and Zendejas were the final stragglers on the field, absorbing penalty kicks and long-distance shots from teammates and then coaches.
The two relatively anonymous players over the initial eight months of the MLS season are now in the center of the action, and at least one of them will play a key factor in Sporting Kansas City’s playoff hunt, and perhaps even its postseason fate.