Michael Kinney
NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma is quickly becoming a second home to professional soccer. For the second consecutive year a Major League Soccer preseason game will be played at John Crain Field at the OU Soccer Complex when the 3rd Annual Saturn Cup Challenge returns to Norman.
The Kansas City Wizards and Real Salt Lake face-off in the second of three games Saturday that will form the Saturn Cup, which organizers say will benefit soccer in Oklahoma .
"The biggest motivation is to give more to the people," Saturn Cup lead organizer and former Westmoore coach Randall Robison said. "Our driving force is to promote soccer. Any profit will be donated back into the soccer community."
This is the second appearance for the Wizards in the Saturn Cup while Salt Lake is making its first.
"We are honored to have been selected to participate in the Saturn Challenge Cup and we are excited about this opportunity to travel outside our home market and spread the soccer gospel," RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey said in a statement. "We look forward to playing Kansas City, a semi-finalist in last year's MLS Cup chase, as they are an excellent team and will provide very high-level opposition to prepare us for our home opener a week later."
KC defeated FC Dallas 1-0 in the inaugural game in 2006, which was held in Moore at Moore Stadium in front of almost 6,000 fans. It was the first time a professional soccer match had ever been played in the city.
"Having the opportunity to play one week prior to the league opener against another MLS club in an area rich with soccer tradition provides us with a great environment to prepare for our home opener." KC Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes said.
In 2007 the Cup was moved to John Crane Field. More than 2,200 fans filled the stadium to see FC Dallas stop the Chicago Fire 4-3.
The previous matchups both came down to the wire and offered soccer fans entertainment and a taste of MLS soccer. Organizers are hoping they can get the same type of outcome this year.
For that to happen players such as Kansas City's Kevin Hartman, Jimmy Conrad and Carlos Marinelli and Salt Lakes Robbie Findley, Chris Brown and Nick Rimando will be expected to put on a show.
“The important thing is that the two teams come out to play," Vermes said. "I think both teams coming out and providing an entertaining style of soccer that not only shows the attacking style, but also the sophisticated and high level of play that the MLS can provide."
In its third year, Cup organizers are already changing the structure of the event. Instead of one MLS game, fans will have the opportunity to see three different contest.
The first game will feature the Norman Celtic U-16 and U-17 squads playing each other at 4 p.m. The night cap pits the Kansas City Wizards' reserves against the Southern Methodist University men's soccer team at 8 p.m.
"It's to offer more to the MLS teams and the fans in Oklahoma," Robison said. "The MLS teams wanted to include their reserves, but Real couldn't bring theirs. So that is where SMU was added. I am glad to have a third group involved."
Vermes, who is in his second year with the Wizards, said they are several reasons MLS squads enjoy taking part in exhibition games like the Saturn Cup. The possibility of Oklahoma becoming a home to professional soccer is at the top of the list.
"It's a number of things," Vermes said. "One, it's a great way for two MLS teams can go into a market that does not have an MLS franchise but could be a potential home and provide them a taste of what it could be."
