Sporting Kansas City vs. Austin FC
2026 MLS Regular Season | Game 31
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 7:30 p.m. CT (7:40 kickoff)
Sporting Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Watch: Apple TV | Pub Partners
Listen: 810 AM | 1340 AM | SKC App
More: Know Before You Go | 5 Things | Game Notes
Sporting Kansas City will host Austin FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Sporting Park as the club celebrates Faith and Family Night with a special ticket pack that includes a clear drawstring bag, a hotdog and a Coca-Cola product. Additional ticket options are available on SeatGeek and fans in attendance will receive a Sporting KC bag charm courtesy of match sponsor Saint Luke's while supplies last.
Ticket holders are also encouraged to arrive early to meet former Sporting Kansas City players Jack Jewsbury, Jon Kempin and Tim Melia at the Saint Luke's activation on the Sporting Plaza from 6-7 p.m. before the trio join the KC Cauldron at Beer Corner near the Budweiser Brew House prior to kickoff.
With four matches remaining in the regular season, Sporting Kansas City and Austin FC are rooted at the bottom of the Western Conference standings as the two sides have given up the most goals in the West while also scoring the fewest. Both clubs will be hoping to bounce back from disappointing results in recent weeks as Sporting is winless in four (0-3-1) and will miss the postseason for a third straight year while Austin FC is on the brink of being eliminated from playoff contention after going without a win in their past five games (0-3-2), including three straight defeats.
Sporting Kansas City earned a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Austin FC in the previous meeting back in May as Stephen Afrifa came off the bench to score an 82nd-minute game-winning goal for the club's first-ever triumph at Q2 Stadium. SKC will now aim for the club's first sweep of a season series with Austin FC, who entered Major League Soccer in 2021 and arrive in Kansas City with several connections between the clubs.
Sporting Kansas City acquired a pair of players from Austin FC via trades in the past year as goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland joined SKC after two seasons in Austin (2024-25) and midfielder Owen Wolff moved to Kansas City this summer following six seasons with Austin FC (2021-26). Wolff, who was named to this year's MLS 22 Under 22 along with Austin FC midfielder Ervin Torres earlier this week, has returned to training after missing Sporting's last four matches due to injury and could face his former team for the first time on Saturday.
On the opposite side, Austin FC is led by interim head coach Davy Arnaud who spent 10 seasons in Kansas City from 2002-11 and was inducted as a Sporting Legend in 2022. In addition, Austin FC captain Ilie Sanchez began his MLS career in Kansas City (2017-21), making 171 appearances across all competitions in five seasons for SKC.
Austin FC's attack is headlined by the Designated Player trio of Myrto Uzuni (seven goals, six assists), Facundo Torres (four goals, eight assists) and Brandon Vazquez (three goals, two assists) however it is 35-year-old forward Christian Ramirez who leads the team with nine goals while occupying a supplemental roster spot. Defensively, Austin FC is anchored by 35-year-old goalkeeper Brad Stuver who leads the Western Conference in saves (128) and is on pace to finish top-two in the league in the category for a fifth time in the past six years.
Saturday's showdown will be available to watch in English (Nate Bukaty, Devon Kerr and Benny Feilhaber) and Spanish (Nacho Garcia) on Apple TV in addition to local radio coverage on Sports Radio 810 WHB (Blake Aerni and Jon Kempin) and La Grande 1340 AM (Josue Orantes and Diego Gutierrez) with audio streams in the SKC mobile app. All of the action will also be shown in pub partners across the Sporting Pub Network.
