Category: Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (8-15-7, 31 pts.) settled for a 0-0 draw with Houston Dynamo FC (8-16-6, 30 pts.) at PNC Stadium in Houston on Saturday night.

Despite playing with a man advantage following Matias Vera’s 41st-minute red card, Sporting was unable to find a way through a stubborn Dynamo backline.

Manager Peter Vermes made two changes from last Sunday’s draw in LA, as Felipe Hernandez stepped into central midfield in place of Roger Espinoza, while Ben Sweat returned from a recent back ailment to replace Logan Ndenbe at left back with the Belgian not making the trip while in health and safety protocols.

The game sprung to life just before the 15-minute mark as first Houston’s Teenage Hadebe saw a volley ricochet dangerously around the Sporting area before John Pulskamp pounced on the loose ball. Moments later, Johnny Russell cut inside on his left foot and curled an effort wide of the post from the edge of the area.

Felipe Hernandez went close in the 18th minute as he latched onto the ball on the edge of the area after Russell’s free kick had been half-cleared, but his strike fizzed wide of the post. Moments later, Erik Thommy almost provided the breakthrough as his thunderous effort from 25 yards was tipped onto the crossbar by Steve Clark.

A major flashpoint arrived in the 41st minute when Houston’s Vera, already sitting on a yellow card, crunched into Willy Agada near the halfway line and was sent off after being shown a second yellow card, leaving Sporting to play the final 49 minutes up a man.

Despite its numerical disadvantage, it was Houston that created the first threatening moment of the second half as Sebastian Ferreira, Fafa Picault and Corey Baird all linked up to get in behind the Sporting backline but Sweat produced an impressive defensive intervention to clear the ball in front of goal. When the ball recycled out, Picault’s shot was deflected into the path of Baird but Pulskamp raced off his line to charge down the winger’s effort.

In the 56th minute, Sweat popped up on the other end of the field as he drove into the area and lashed an effort on goal that Clark was forced to tip onto the bar for the second time on the evening.

Four minutes later, Pulskamp was called upon again to keep the game level as he dove to his left to parry away Picault’s effort from just inside the area.

Sporting should’ve taken the lead in the 65th minute as Sweat’s delivery picked out Willy Agada in the area and his powerful header was tipped into the air by Clark before Daniel Salloi thrashed the ball across the face of goal. Agada had another great look at goal in the 74th minute as again Sweat picked out the Nigerian striker but he flashed his left-footed strike narrowly over the bar.

Substitute Marinos Tzionis almost found a way through in the 80th minute as he controlled a bouncing ball and his volley seemed destined for the bottom left corner, but Clark was able to tip it around the post. A minute later, Tzionis picked out Agada sandwiched between the two Houston center backs but was unable to redirect his header on target.

With Sporting piling numbers forward looking for a winner in stoppage time, the Dynamo should’ve stolen it as Adalberto Carasquilla fed Thor Ulfarsson inside the area who saw his powerful effort tipped onto the underside of crossbar and out by Pulskamp. It was a day for the goalkeepers as Clark had the final say, pushing away Tzionis’ close-range attempt deep into stoppage time.

Sporting will now play its next three matches in the friendly confines of Children’s Mercy Park, starting with Tuesday’s clash with D.C. United. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. with tickets available via SeatGeek.com.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (8-15-6, 30 points) erased an early deficit with second-half goals from Johnny Russell and Felipe Hernandez to secure a thrilling 2-2 draw against the L.A. Galaxy (11-11-6, 39 points) on Sunday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

The Galaxy drew first blood through Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who later made the score 2-2 with a finish from the penalty spot, but Sporting rallied behind Russell’s 67th-minute penalty kick and a deflected finish from Hernandez in the 76th.

Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskmap then provided late-game heroics, saving Chicharito’s 97th-minute penalty to seal a hard-earned road result as manager Peter Vermes set a league record by participating in his 663rd MLS match as a player or a coach.

Sporting is now unbeaten in its last four meetings against the Galaxy—who sit three points below the playoff line—and have scored multiple goals in four of the last five matches since the start of August, with the club going 3-1-1 during that stretch.

Vermes’ side will now prepare for another important road fixture against Houston Dynamo FC, slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday with live coverage on 38 The Spot, the Sporting KC app and SportingKC.com.

Minor injuries to veteran defenders Ben Sweat and Graham Zusi prompted Sporting to make two lineup changes from last weekend’s 1-0 home win over the Portland Timbers, with 22-year-old left back Logan Ndenbe and 19-year-old right back Kayden Pierre joining the backline.

The hosts needed just four minutes to find their breakthrough, taking a 1-0 lead through an in-form Chicharito.

Newly acquired Spanish midfielder Riqui Puig played an incisive forward pass to Victor Vazquez, who took a settling touch and squeezed a through ball into the path of the longtime Mexican international. Chicharito made no mistake from there, hammering past goalkeeper John Pulskamp and into the left corner for his team-best 13th goal of the year, his sixth in as many games and the 200th strike of his club career.

Sporting briefly thought it had drawn level seven minutes later when Remi Walter’s long-range piledriver fizzed through traffic, deflected off the foot of teammate Willy Agada and nestled into the net, but Agada was flagged offside and the goal was disallowed.

A week removed from bagging the decisive match-winner against Portland, Sporting winger Daniel Salloi was next to threaten at the half-hour juncture by lacing a 22-yard strike marginally wide of the right post.

Not long later, a combination involving Pierre and Roger Espinoza down the right flank culminated with a cross that skipped to Erik Thommy, who uncorked a volley attempt that narrowly missed the mark.

The visitors continued to gain a foothold and went close to restoring parity in the 39th minute. Russell found a pocket of space on the left wing and swung a probing cross into the box for the leaping Agada, who planted his header over the crossbar at a tough angle.

Thommy remained Sporting’s chief orchestrater in the second half, having a shot blocked before picking out Ndenbe with a cheeky ball into the box in the 55th minute. Puig saw his 24-yard belter scream wide at the opposite end prior to Agada nodding wide off an Espinoza cross in the 57th.

A growing nuisance for the Galaxy defense, Agada went agonizingly close to scoring what would have been a goal of the year contender near the hour mark. The 22-year-old Nigerian adjusted to Salloi’s in-swinging cross midflight and sent a bicycle kick effort inches wide of the left-hand post, much to the relief of rooted Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.

Vermes’ men conjured an equalizer from the penalty spot in the 67th minute. Russell exploited space on the left channel and barreled into the box before pulling the ball back to Walter, whose blocked shot struck the outstretched hand of L.A. defender Derrick Williams.

Referee Ramy Touchan swiftly pointed to the spot and Russell delivered from there, powering home a penalty that trickled over the goal line after the diving Bond touched the ball onto his left post. The play gave Russell a team-leading 10 goals in all competitions and 53 goals in his Sporting career, passing Davy Arnaud for third place on the club’s all-time charts.

Brimming with momentum, Sporting surged ahead as Hernandez made an impact from off the bench.

With 76 minutes on the clock, Agada dropped into midfield and received a pass with his back to goal. He held off a defender, kept possession, turned his right shoulder and played a ball down field to Hernandez, who had acres of room to gallop goalward as a flurry of L.A. defenders desperately retreated.

Hernandez entered the penalty area, cut centrally and smashed a strike off Julian Araujo and past Bond for his second goal of the MLS campaign and his fourth of the year in all competitions.

Not to be outdone, Puig showcased his skill by scurrying past and around a slew of Sporting players and slipping an inch-perfect 35-yard through ball into the path of Kevin Cabral, who went down easily under Pulskamp’s challenge. Touchan awarded a penalty kick and Chicharito duly finished from 12 yards, notching his second brace against Sporting this season after scoring twice in L.A.’s 4-2 loss at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 6.

The dying embers of a delicately poised contest provided pulsating end-to-end action, with Russell curling a breakaway shot inches wide of the far post in the 93rd minute.

VAR then gave the Galaxy a gift, as Touchan went to the replay monitor and deemed Pierre’s touch inside the box as a handball infraction.

Chicharito stepped forward with hopes of sealing three points and a hat trick, clipping a floated Panenka attempt straight down the middle. Unfooled by his opponent’s trickery, Pulskamp stood his ground and made an easy catch for his first career penalty stop at the MLS level, ensuring split points and a 2-2 stalemate between the MLS originals.

• Story from Sporting KC

Coming off back-to-back wins over the Portland Timbers and San Jose Earthquakes, Sporting Kansas City will travel to play the LA Galaxy at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

The Western Conference clash will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. In addition, UniMas and TUDN will nationally televise the match and provide an English-language live stream on Twitter. Radio coverage of Sunday’s showdown will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

A pair of MLS charter clubs, Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy are historically two of the most successful teams in Major League Soccer. Both sides have reached the MLS Cup Playoffs on 19 occasions in the past 26 years – tied for the second most postseason appearances behind the New York Red Bulls – despite the Galaxy missing the playoffs in four of the past five seasons.

Most wins all-time

1. LA Galaxy 374
2. NY Red Bulls 351
3. Sporting KC 347

Sporting swept the Galaxy in 2021 with a pair of 2-0 wins and most recently earned a 4-2 victory over LA on Aug. 6 to level the all-time series at 26-26-15 in 67 all-time regular season encounters. SKC is 7-2-4 against LA in the last 13 regular season meetings since 2015, including a 3-1-1 record in the team’s last five visits to Dignity Health Sports Park.

The club returns to Carson, California, for the first time since July 4, 2021 when Johnny Russell and Khiry Shelton scored late as Tim Melia made seven saves for the shutout. With Melia sidelined by a hamstring injury, Sporting KC goalkeeper John Pulskamp – a member of the LA Galaxy Academy from 2017-2019 – has played in each of the team’s last eight matches.

Sporting Kansas City will kick off a slate of four matches in September on Sunday after going 3-1-0 in August. Sporting scored 12 goals across those four fixtures, ranking second in MLS along with the Galaxy with a 3.0 goals per game average for the month.

Defensively, Sporting Kansas City enters Sunday’s contest coming off the club’s first clean sheet since May 7 after shutting out San Jose last weekend in a 1-0 win at Children’s Mercy Park. Daniel Salloi, whose new four-year contract was announced recently, scored the decisive goal and in doing so tied the all-time club record with 13 career game-winning goals in the regular season.

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes will participate in his 663rd MLS match as a player or coach on Sunday, moving him past Jason Kreis for the most in league history. Vermes played seven seasons in Major League Soccer from 1996 to 2002 and has become the longest tenured head coach with one club in MLS history as Sporting’s manager for 14 seasons since August 2009.

The LA Galaxy – five-time MLS Cup champions – are riding a four-match unbeaten run and have moved within a point of playoff position after securing a pair of road results against Eastern Conference opponents. Manager Greg Vanney’s side recorded a 2-1 win at New England last Sunday and a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Toronto on Wednesday as newcomer Riqui Puig – signed from FC Barcelona last month – opened his MLS scoring account in impressive fashion with a long-range equalizer in the 89th minute.

The Galaxy roster is headlined by club captain Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, whose 26 non-penalty goals are second most in MLS over the past two seasons. The MLS All-Star has five goals in his last five matches, including a brace against SKC, and leads all LA players with 12 goals on the season.

Second in scoring on the squad is Serbian striker Dejan Joveljic with 10 goals, all of which have come at Dignity Health Sports Park where he has a goal or assist in eight consecutive home matches. Joveljic and Puig, both 23, are part of a youthful Galaxy contingent that also includes young designated player Kevin Cabral, 20-year-old Mexican international Efrain Alvarez and 21-year-old right back Julian Araujo who leads the team with seven assists.

• Story from Sporting KC