Saturday morning: What's in the news ...

• by Soccer America , Aug 30, 2019

1. D.C. United loaned U.S. U-20 midfielder Chris Durkin to Belgium's Sint-Truiden through the 2019-20 Jupiler Pro League season. Durkin, 19, signed with D.C. United in 2016 and made 36 MLS appearances the last two seasons. He started for the USA at the 2017 U-17 World Cup and 2019 U-20 World Cup when it reached the quarterfinals at both tournaments. Since its return to Belgium's top flight in 2015, Sint-Truiden's best finish was seventh in 2018. Like many Belgian clubs, Sint-Truiden relies heavily on imports. Its current team includes players from Argentina, Brazil, Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

2. San Jose Earthquakes head coach Matias Almeyda was handed an additional two-game suspension (three games total) for his misconduct after being red-carded during the Quakes' 4-0 loss at LAFC on Aug. 21. Almeyda, who was also fined, continued to plead his case, initially refusing to leave the field, and then returned from the tunnel after he finally left to further let the refereeing crew know his feelings. He served the red-card suspension last Saturday against Vancouver. The additional suspensions will include Saturday's game against Orlando City and the Sept. 11 match against Real Salt Lake.

3. Sporting Kansas City signed 21-year-old Felipe Hernandez to a contract as a Homegrown Player through the 2020 season with club options for 2021 and 2022. The Colombian-born Hernandez, who hails from Tennessee, is the first player to progress from an academy affiliate (Sporting Nashville Heroes) to the SKC Academy to the Swope Park Rangers before signing with the MLS team. He has made 22 appearances for Swope Park Rangers in 2019 and scored a team-best eight goals with three assists.