With the 2020 MLS season on temporary hold, SportingKC.com is taking daily strolls down memory lane with an "On This Day" web series that celebrates memorable moments in team history. As one of Major League Soccer's proud charter members, Sporting has a decorated past full of thrilling victories, amazing goals, momentous off-the-field developments and more. "On This Day" pays tribute to these specific instances, turning back the clocks while treating fans to nostalgia and club history lessons. To catch up on the series as it unfolds, visit SportingKC.com/OnThisDay.
Eleven years ago today—still a few years before the clubs forged a fierce rivalry in Major League Soccer's Western Conference—the Kansas City Wizards and Real Salt Lake squared off on the edge of the Wasatch mountain range. This fixture marked Kansas City's first trip to the new Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, where RSL had yet to lose an MLS regular season match since the venue's inauguration in October 2008.
Real Salt Lake would use raucous Rio Tinto Stadium as a catalyst for their run to the MLS Cup championship in late 2009, but not before suffering their first home setback in regular season play at the hands of Josh Wolff and Kansas City.
In a workmanlike performance that featured appearances from current Sporting Kansas City veterans Matt Besler and Roger Espinoza, the Wizards prevailed by a 2-0 scoreline as Wolff scored in the 20th and 67th minutes. The result snapped RSL's regular season unbeaten run at Rio Tinto Stadium and signaled the continuation of a trend that would become more and more pronounced for Sporting Kansas City.
So, what was that trend?
Sporting has become no stranger to handing MLS clubs the first regular season loss in their new stadium, having done so on six occasions since the MLS expansion era began in 2005—more such wins than any other team.
SPORTING KC GIVING MLS CLUBS FIRST LOSS IN NEW STADIUM
(MLS REGULAR SEASON SINCE 2005)
<strong>Club</strong> |
<strong>Stadium</strong> |
<strong>First Loss</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
Toronto FC |
BMO Field |
04/28/2007 |
L 1-0 vs. Sporting |
Seattle Sounders FC |
CenturyLink Field |
04/11/2009 |
L 1-0 vs. Sporting |
Real Salt Lake |
Rio Tinto Stadium |
05/16/2009 |
L 2-0 vs. Sporting |
Houston Dynamo |
BBVA Compass Stadium |
05/12/2013 |
L 1-0 vs. Sporting |
New York City FC |
Yankee Stadium |
03/28/2015 |
L 1-0 vs. Sporting |
Los Angeles FC |
Banc of California Stadium |
08/11/2018 |
L 2-0 vs. Sporting |
