Category: Sporting KC

A longstanding Western Conference rivalry will continue early Saturday afternoon when Sporting Kansas City (1-0-1, 4 points) visits Real Salt Lake (1-0-0, 3 points) at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

The Week 3 showdown will kick off at 1 p.m. CT as both clubs look to preserve their unbeaten starts to the 2021 MLS campaign.

Saturday’s contest will be televised live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus and Bally Sports Midwest Plus with three hours of coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT. Fans within the Bally Sports Midwest footprint can also stream the action on BallySports.com or the new Bally Sports app, formerly FOX Sports GO. ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish) will air local radio broadcasts, while the Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates.

Under the guidance of manager Peter Vermes, Sporting has enjoyed a strong start by taking four points from their first two matches in 2021.

Blossoming 18-year-old Gianluca Busio led the way in a home-opening 1-1 draw on April 23 at Children’s Mercy Park, bagging the sixth goal of his young MLS career.

Fellow Sporting KC Academy product Daniel Salloi has been equally dynamic in attack, having assisted Busio’s strike six days after netting the game-winner in a 2-1 victory at the New York Red Bulls.

Between the posts, John Pulskamp became the third-youngest MLS goalkeeper to win a match on April 17 — two days before his 20th birthday — then helped Sporting to a point with three saves against Orlando in his home debut.

Led by third-year head coach Freddy Juarez, new-look Real Salt Lake parted ways with MLS ironman Kyle Beckerman, forward Corey Baird and experienced defender Nedum Onuoha during a transitional offseason.

Productive veterans Damir Kreilach and Albert Rusnak have returned alongside U.S. U-23 standouts Aaron Herrera and Justen Glad, while notable reinforcements have come in the form of winger Anderson Julio and former U.S. international forward Rubio Rubin.

Julio and Rubin both dazzled in their MLS debuts last Saturday when RSL knocked off Minnesota United FC away from home.

Julio struck twice before halftime on a pair of Rubin assists as RSL grabbed a 2-1 win at Allianz Field — a venue where Minnesota lost just once last season at the hands of Sporting. Returning to the friendly confines of Rio Tinto Stadium — where the club ranks third in MLS with 111 regular season home wins since 2009 — RSL will look to start the year with consecutive victories for the first time since 2012.

Like Sporting, RSL boasts a talented young goalkeeper in 20-year-old U.S. youth international David Ochoa. If Pulskamp and Ochoa line up against each other on Saturday, they will have a combined age of 40 years and 118 days — the youngest combination of two opposing goalkeepers ever in an MLS match.

Sporting sits tied for second place in the early Western Conference standings despite playing significant periods without two of their best players in captain Johnny Russell and striker Alan Pulido. Both players suffered injuries during the preseason and have come off the bench as substitutes in Sporting’s first two matches. Russell was one of five MLS players to notch 20 goals and 20 assists in the regular season from 2018-2020, and Pulido led the league last year with 1.03 goals and primary assists per 90 minutes. The duo has worked toward full fitness this month and could be poised for increased roles this weekend.

Vermes and Sporting enter Saturday with four names on the club’s player availability report. Tim Melia (chest) and Felipe Hernandez (knee) will miss through injury, while French center back Nicolas Isimat-Mirin is listed as questionable (hamstring) after starting in the team’s first two games. Veteran Graham Zusi has notably been upgraded to questionable after missing the last several months with a long-term foot injury. Should Zusi participate on Saturday, he will move into sole possession of first place in club history with 295 regular season appearances.

The simmering rivalry between Sporting and RSL stemmed from a bench-clearing preseason brawl in 2011 and truly blossomed in 2013 when Sporting ousted their Utah counterparts in an epic MLS Cup at Children’s Mercy Park. The clubs have met multiple times each year since then, including the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2015 and 2018 editions of the Lamar Hunt U.S. open Cup.

Although Sporting won both meetings last season by a 2-0 score — including a momentous Decision Day victory at Rio Tinto Stadium last November — the clubs have posted 14 victories and 10 draws apiece in 38 head-to-head encounters across all competitions.

Sporting will put two impressive streaks on the line Saturday. Their eight-game regular season unbeaten run dating back to 2020 is the longest active streak in MLS and the club’s longest since 2017. Similarly, their current five-match road unbeaten run in the regular season is also the longest in MLS and their best since winning five straight away from home in 2014.

• Story from Sporting KC

by Brian Turrel

Sporting Kansas City was happy to be back playing in front of the fans, and the 40 percent capacity crowd gave the stadium the atmosphere of a true home game for the first time in over a year.

Kansas City and Orlando delivered a home opener whose excitement belied the 1-1 final score.

Kansas City started with the early attack, playing out of the back and pushing aggressively up field. The space behind Sporting’s offense gave Orlando the opportunity to counter, but the new-look defense was quick to recover. Kansas City’s defensive speed may give its offense opportunities it hasn’t had in a few years.

An apparent Kansas City goal in the 13th minute by defender Nicolas Isimat-Marin was called back for offsides after a video review. The aggressiveness of both sides kept the linesmen busy waving the offsides flag throughout the match.

Sporting got on the board first just before halftime. Daniel Salloi won the ball in the Orlando penalty area and played from the endline back to Gianluca Busio about 12 yards out on the left side. After the game, Busio remarked that Orlando’s defender had been shading him toward the back post, so he fired low and just inside the near post for the score.

Orlando took the initiative in the second half, holding the ball for extended possessions in dangerous areas of Kansas City’s end. Orlando appeared to have its equalizer just after halftime, but a second video review nullified that goal.

Orlando finally drew level in the 79th minute. Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp blocked a shot from Chris Mueller, but the defense was unable to clear it.

Standing with his back to the goal as the ball rolled to him, Orlando forward Nani calmly chipped it with the back of his heel and into the net. Nani’s score was initially voided for an offsides infraction, but the third video review of the game revived it.

Although Kansas City pressed the offense in the late minutes, Orlando was content to see out the draw.

Sporting will play next at Real Salt Lake on May 1 at 1 p.m. The next home match is May 9 at 6:30 p.m. against Austin FC, in Austin’s inaugural season in Major League Soccer.