Sporting KC Video Interviews: Ilie Sanchez, Wilson Harris, Tyler Freeman

After the first preseason game of the 2019 season, Sporting Kansas City made players available to talk to The Blue Testament. We were lucky enough to catch up with fan favorite Ilie Sanchez, Swope Park Ranger Wilson Harris and 15-year-old rookie, Tyler Freeman.

Ilie Sanchez — Midfielder — SKC

Obviously, no introduction needed here. Ilie is the holding midfielder and possibly the most important player on the pitch to make Sporting KC tick. During our interview Ilie speaks on:

• His new teammates Kelyn Rowe, Rodney Wallace and Erik Hurtado
• How the team performed in the first game
• Toluca FC and playing at altitude
• The level of competition during preseason

Wilson Harris — Center Forward — SPR

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Harris, he is just 19-years-old and signed a contract with the Swope Park Rangers last year instead of going to college at the University of Louisville. He saw limited minutes in his first year with the Rangers (15 games, seven starts, 573 minutes, three goals) but looks to take on a bigger role in 2019. On Wednesday he was the only player to get more than 30 minutes on the field as he played center forward for both the 2nd and 3rd 11 players to come onto the field.

During the interview he talked about:

• Getting 60 minutes on the field on Wednesday
• Forgoing college to sign a professional contract
• and his preferred position on the pitch (center forward).

Tyler Freeman — Attacker — SKC

Unfortunately, the video for Freeman was unusable due to the fact that he was physically exhausted having just come off the training field and because multiple airplanes were flying overhead during our talk, so we’ll fill you in on what you are missing.

First, he dropped some news that it was his first game back after recovering from a sports hernia injury. It didn’t require surgery, just lots of rehab (cheap plug — follow me on Twitter and you’d have known that a week ago).

He weighed in on the teams performance on Wednesday. Even though he was on the field with Swope Park Rangers, unsigned draft picks and a trialist he said, “I think we played pretty good given the circumstances. Everybody is feeling each other out right now. I expect the next game we’ll be even better.” When TBT asked him if he knows who he’ll be grouped with or if he’ll get more time with the first team, he simply replied with a wry smile, “I’m not sure yet.” He probably doesn’t know, but we can’t help but wonder if simply the thought of playing with the first team brings a smile to his face.

The Blue Testament will have more coverage from Arizona as preseason continues. The next scrimmage is on Wednesday the 23rd against Phoenix Rising FC’s trialists.