Category: Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City announced today that the club has signed MLS All-Star forward Daniel Salloi to a new four-year contract through 2026.

Salloi, a product of the Sporting Kansas City Academy, has developed into one of the most prolific attackers in club history since signing as a homegrown player in 2016.

The 26-year-old Hungarian international ranks eighth in team history with 37 regular season goals and fifth with 47 goals in all competitions. As Sporting’s all-time leader with seven goals in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 13 match-winning goals in the regular season, he is one of nine Kansas City players with 70 combined goals (47) and assists (23) across all competitions.

“I feel lucky to be at this club and I am very excited for my future here in Kansas City,” Salloi said. “My professional journey has been so rewarding because we’re an ambitious club with amazing fans. It’s an honor to be a part of this culture and I’m happy to continue pursuing my long-term goals at Sporting KC.”

With 40 career goals in MLS competitions, Salloi has the fifth-most goals among MLS Homegrown Players all-time. In addition, he is one of just four MLS players with at least 22 goals and 11 assists in the regular season since the start of 2021.

Since Salloi signed his first professional contract with Sporting, the club has made five playoff appearances, finished atop the Western Conference standings twice and hoisted the 2017 U.S. Open Cup title after the winger scored the game-winning goal in the final against the New York Red Bulls at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting has a 30-4-6 record when Salloi scores dating back to 2017.

Raised in Budapest, Hungary, Salloi signed for Sporting in January 2016 after two standout seasons with the Sporting KC Academy. He spent his first professional campaign on loan with Sporting KC II, formerly the Swope Park Rangers, as well as Hungarian club Gyirmot SE. He then experienced a breakthrough year in 2017, scoring six times including the decisive second goal in a 2-1 victory over the Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup Final.

Salloi enjoyed a superb 2018 as the club’s Golden Boot winner, notching 16 goals and seven assists while helping Sporting to first place in the Western Conference. He reached even greater heights in 2021, recording 16 goals and 10 assists in all competitions as a finalist for both the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award and the MLS Comeback Player of the Year. His 24 combined goals and assists during the regular season were tied for fourth in MLS, while his 16 non-penalty goals were tied for the league lead and equaled the MLS record for a homegrown player.

The 2022 campaign has seen Salloi add eight goals and three assists, including two strikes in Sporting’s run to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals as he became the club’s all-time leading scorer in the competition. He is currently the team’s regular season leader in shots (56), shots on target (22) and assists (three) while placing fourth in chances created (22).

• Story from Sporting KC

Daniel Salloi’s early strike was enough to give Sporting Kansas City (8-15-5, 29 points) a deserved 1-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes (6-12-9, 27 points) on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

By slotting home in the 10th minute, Salloi moved into a tie atop Sporting’s all-time charts with his 13th game-winning goal in the regular season.

The result—which saw goalkeeper John Pulskamp make four saves en route to his first shutout of the 2022 MLS campaign—also lifted Sporting to within seven points of playoff position in the Western Conference and pushed Kansas City’s record against San Jose to 8-1-5 in the last 14 meetings across all competitions.

Winner in three of the last four matches, Sporting will carry momentum into next weekend when it travels to face longtime rival LA Galaxy (10-11-4, 34 points) on Sunday, Sept. 4. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. with live coverage on 38 The Spot, the Sporting KC app and SportingKC.com.

Taking the field for the 1,000th competitive match in club history, Sporting deployed the same lineup for the fourth straight game—a rare instance that last happened in May 2017.

Manager Peter Vermes also hit a major milestone by participating in his 662nd MLS match as a player or a coach, tying Jason Kreis for most in the league’s 27-year existence.

The Earthquakes wasted a golden opportunity to draw first blood inside five minutes, dashing free on a quickfire counterattack only for Jeremy Ebobisse to drag his right-footed shot wide on the breakaway. Sporting then threatened on the opposite end a few minutes later when veteran midfielder Roger Espinoza uncorked a long-range blast that fizzed over the crossbar by a matter of inches.

Espinoza’s near miss was a warning sign for San Jose, which fell behind 1-0 when Salloi landed the game’s first punch. The 26-year-old winger started his own scoring move by spraying a ball down the left channel for Erik Thommy, who evaded his marker, accelerated into the final third and slipped a clever through ball to Espinoza. His low cross was cut out by the sliding Paul Marie, but Salloi was positioned to poke home the rebound for his sixth league goal of the season and his 47th career Sporting goal in all competitions, passing Josh Wolff for fifth most in Kansas City history.

An end-to-end spectacle continued to unfold and Sporting had Pulskamp to thank in the 15th minute for keeping San Jose at bay.

Graham Zusi’s diagonal pass in his own penalty area was intercepted by Cristian Espinoza, who took a touch before firing goalward, but Pulskamp produced an outstanding reflex stop to deny the Earthquakes winger. Sporting’s gloveman was involved once more at the half-hour juncture, diving left to cast aside Jan Gregus’ 25-yard piledriver.

Not long later, Sporting captain Johnny Russell powered his way along the right endline and clipped a ball across the face of goal to Willy Agada, whose leaping header narrowly missed the target. Thommy was next to go close in the 27th minute, settling Zusi’s feed and cutting centrally from the left edge of the box before curling an effort just wide of the far post.

Dissatisfied with the halftime advantage, Sporting sought to inflict more damage after the restart and nearly did so in the 46th minute. Remi Walter’s 30-yard missile forced San Jose keeper J.T. Marcinkowski into a palmed save and yet another stop on the rebound as Sporting midfielder Felipe Hernandez—who replaced Espinoza at the break—was first to pounce on the loose ball inside the box.

The hosts remained on the front foot in the 54th minute when Thommy’s corner kick was nodded by Russell into the path of Agada, whose close-range attempt was blocked through traffic. On Sporting’s ensuing possession, second-half substitute Logan Ndenbe tried his luck from distance with a well-struck effort that lacked the precision to beat Marcinkowski.

Sporting center back Nicolas Isimat-Mirin thought he had opened his regular season scoring account in the 58th minute when he latched onto Zusi’s inch-perfect diagonal delivery and slotted past Marcinkowski on the doorstep. The goal was initially given, but VAR intervened and referee Guido Gonzales Jr. deemed Isimat-Mirin to be in an offside position, keeping the scoreline at 1-0.

Undeterred by the close call, Sporting kept knocking on the door and almost doubled its lead in the 62nd minute when Thommy embarked on a dazzling solo run and hammered a shot that deflected low and behind for a corner kick. On the ensuing play, Thommy had San Jose on the backfoot once more by slicing past a defender and seeing another low low shot smothered by Marcinkowski.

Thommy continued to shine as a centerpiece of Sporting’s attack, drawing awes from the crowd in the 73rd minute with an admirable bicycle kick that Marcinkowski saved from a tight angle.

San Jose struggled to generate momentum going forward, but the visitors did conjure a scare in the 82nd minute off a set piece when Ebobisse pelted a free kick inches beyond the far left post. Sporting held on from there, seeing out the result to jump from 14th place to 12th in the West.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City will welcome the San Jose Earthquakes to Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday for the 1,000th match in club history across all competitions.

Tickets for the match are available via SeatGeek.com.

The Western Conference clash will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 7 p.m. The broadcast will also stream live on SportingKC.com and in the Sporting KC app for viewers in Kansas and Missouri (excluding the St. Louis area per MLS policy), as well as ESPN+ for out-of-market subscribers. In addition, the match will air live on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes will participate in his 662nd MLS match as a player or coach on Saturday, tying 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.

Like Vermes, Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza is on the cusp of a major career milestone as the World Cup veteran is 15 minutes shy of eclipsing 25,000 minutes played in MLS competitions.

Espinoza has assists in two of the team’s last three matches as Sporting has scored 11 goals in their past three regular season matches, equaling a feat that had been accomplished just once previously in club history during the inaugural 1996 MLS campaign.

No other MLS club has scored more goals in its last three regular season matches as Sporting currently leads the league in goals per match (3.67) and shots on goal per match (8.3) during the month of August.

Sporting has started strong during the offensive outburst, becoming the first team in MLS history to score three first-half goals in three consecutive regular season matches.

In those three matches, no player has scored more often than newcomer Willy Agada. The 22-year-old Nigerian striker struck twice in the team’s 4-2 win over Portland last Sunday and now leads the league with five goals in the month of August. He is the second player in club history to score five goals in the span of three regular season matches and on Saturday will have a chance to write his name in the record books as the first SKC player all-time to score six goals within his first six MLS appearances.

Sporting and San Jose will both be aiming to win back-to-back games for the first time this season on Saturday. The Earthquakes snapped a six-game winless skid last weekend in impressive fashion with a 2-1 victory over Supporters’ Shield leaders LAFC courtesy of goals from Benji Kikanovic and Cade Cowell.

Matches involving San Jose have averaged the most goals (3.69) in Major League Soccer this season. Jeremy Ebobisse ranks fifth in MLS with a team-leading and career-high 14 goals, while winger Cristian Espinoza is tied for third in MLS with 11 assists. Defensively, San Jose has conceded more than two goals per game this year, which is most in the Western Conference. That average includes a league-high 2.4 goals per road match, as the Earthquakes are 1-8-4 away from home in 2022.

Sporting Kansas City is 7-1-5 against San Jose in the last 13 competitive meetings dating back to 2016 and the team has gone 13-1-3 in 17 home matches with the Earthquakes in all competitions since 2004. The clubs last met on May 22 in a 1-1 draw at PayPal Park as Johnny Russell and Jackson Yueill traded goals.

Sporting will be missing four players on Saturday as Kortne Ford (suspension), Gadi Kinda (knee), Tim Melia (hamstring) and Alan Pulido (knee) remain unavailable. San Jose will travel to Kansas City without Brazilian defender Nathan as the centerback serves a one-game suspension for caution accumulation.

Following Saturday’s match, fans will receive mini soccer balls from a sponsor.

• Story from Sporting KC