KANSAS CITY, Kan. – After sitting out one match with a concussion and chafing as a late sub in his return to the pitch, Graham Zusi couldn't wait to get back into the XI for Sporting Kansas City.
And once he did, Zusi lit up the stat sheet with two assists and his first goal of the season in Friday night's 4-0 pasting of shorthanded FC Dallas.
“You could tell throughout this week that there was nothing wrong with him,” said rookie winger Connor Hallisey, who capped his first MLS start with a backheel assist to set up Zusi's 64th-minute goal. “I think going into the game, he's going to do something brilliant every game and put in the work.”
Zusi, who had to come out of a 1-1 away draw to D.C. on May 9 after knocking heads with defender Bobby Boswell, came back from his one-match absence to play the final 13 minutes of last weekend's scoreless road draw against Seattle.
That was tough to take, Zusi acknowledged, but he said manager Peter Vermes – who originally hadn't planned to play Zusi at all against the Sounders – made the right call to limit his minutes in that match.
“It was probably the right decision on Peter's part, but I also want to get out there and play as much as I can,” Zusi said in the postmatch news conference. “But I understood the decision, as much as I hated it. But I felt great this week. We had a very good week of training, and it's probably the best I've felt all season so far.
“It's good to get on the scoresheet, but I'm most impressed with the team performance – and most of all, the shutout. That's two shutouts in a row, and if they don't score, we've got a good chance of winning the game.”
The concussion recovery period wasn't Zusi's only forced absence this year. He missed most of the preseason with a stress fracture in his foot, and missed two games with a hamstring strain earlier this season.
But in his latest return from injury, he was solid on both sides of the ball and provided the sort of set-piece service that made him a mainstay for club and country and earned him a trip to the 2014 World Cup – where he recorded two assists in four matches – for the United States.
Zusi's free kick in the 19th minute led to Krisztian Nemeth's goal to put Sporting up 1-0, and his 57th-minute corner found Kevin Ellis for a close-range header – Ellis' first MLS goal – and a 3-0 lead.
“Zus is a guy that you expect – regardless of how long he's out – to be able to come in and have that kind of performance,” midfielder Benny Feilhaber told reporters. “It's nothing new for us. It might be tough on him to have that expectation thrust upon him, but I think he takes it pretty well.
“He's coming back now. He played an exceptional match today.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
