Sporting Kansas City remains at home this weekend when the club hosts table-toppers San Diego FC at Sporting Park on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on Apple TV, while the game will also be broadcast locally on the radio via Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. Tickets are available via SeatGeek.com.
1. LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN OF 2026
Sporting Kansas City will look to build on the positives from last weekend’s 2-2 home draw with the Columbus Crew when the team hosts top-of-the-table San Diego FC at Sporting Park on Saturday night. Sporting picked up their first point of the campaign with the draw, while San Diego has comfortably won both of their opening matches this season with 5-0 and 2-0 home victories over CF Montreal and St. Louis.
While there were plenty of positives from Saturday’s draw with Columbus, highlighted by a brace from captain Dejan Joveljic and a stunning penalty save by John Pulskamp, Sporting will have to be at their best to stave off the challenge of San Diego who enter the match as league leaders in goals (7), assists (10) and average possession (63.3%) while the Californians are one of four teams yet to concede a goal during the opening two weeks of the season.
Following Saturday’s draw against Columbus, seven of Sporting’s 10 new players have debuted for the club, with only Lasse Berg Johnsen, Stefan Cleveland and Cielo Tschantret yet to see action among the newcomers.
2. HOSTING HIGH-FLYING SAN DIEGO
Sporting Kansas City is set to host early-season pacesetters San Diego FC in an intriguing contest at Sporting Park on Saturday night. A new-look Sporting picked up their first point of the season this past weekend while San Diego has got off to a roaring start, winning their opening two matches by a combined scoreline of 7-0.
Sporting last hosted San Diego FC on Aug. 9, 2025, falling to a 2-0 defeat at Sporting Park. San Diego got goals either side of halftime from star attacking duo Chucky Lozano and Anders Dreyer to pick up one of their league-best 12 road wins throughout the 2025 season.
The inaugural meeting between the two sides came on May 17, 2025, when Sporting visited the expansion side at Snapdragon Stadium and battled their way to a 0-0 stalemate. Shapi Suleymanov came closest to snatching a winner when his strike thundered off the crossbar in the second half.
Sporting trails the all-time regular-season series 0-1-1 following those two matchups in 2025 and will be looking to pick up their first win of the season and first-ever win over San Diego on Saturday.
3. JOVELJIC OFF THE MARK IN STYLE
Sporting Kansas City captain Dejan Joveljic opened his 2026 account this past weekend, bagging a pair of goals in the club’s 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew at Sporting Park on Saturday night and leading to a selection in the MLS Team of the Matchday.
After scoring 18 goals in his debut campaign with Sporting in 2025 - ranking tied for fifth in the MLS Golden Boot charts and tied for second all-time for a single season in club history - Joveljic tallied his first of the new season with a brilliantly taken finish to equalize just after halftime after receiving the ball off an assist from Jake Davis.
In the 72nd minute, Joveljic gave his side the lead with another expertly-taken goal inside the penalty area. The strike brought the Serbian to 20 regular-season goals for Sporting, equaling the club record as the fastest player to reach that total in team history.
Fastest to 20 regular-season goals (Sporting KC History)
1. Dejan Joveljic – 34 games (2025-26)
1. Preki – 34 games (1996-97)
3. Dom Dwyer – 44 games (2012-14)
4. Digital Takawira – 45 games (1996-97)
5. Alan Pulido – 48 games (2020-23)
4. PULSKAMP SAVES POINT WITH PENALTY STOP
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp showed his character this past weekend, atoning for an early error to preserve a point for his side with a penalty save in the 87th minute of the club’s 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew at Sporting Park on Saturday night.
After a turnover inside his own area led to the Columbus opener in the first half, Pulskamp kept his head and rose to the occasion when the Crew were awarded a potentially match-winning penalty kick late in the match. The 24-year-old dove low to his right to deny star Columbus striker Wessam Abou Ali and seal Sporting’s first point of the season.
Pulskamp is the only goalkeeper to save a penalty through the opening two weeks of the 2026 MLS season and has now saved each of the last two penalties he has faced, including one last season in the 4-2 win over the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 30, 2025.
5. SKC PARTNERS WITH MOMENTO
Sporting Kansas City has teamed up with Momento to introduce a real-time fan capture experience at Sporting Park, debuting during the club’s 2026 MLS season opener.
The activation delivers personalized photos and GIFs to supporters during live match moments – including goals, celebrations and key saves – turning in-stadium reactions into shareable digital content. Fans can access and download their moments minutes after they happen, extending the matchday experience beyond the final whistle.
In addition to delivering branded content directly to fans, the Momento platform provides Sporting KC with engagement analytics and first-party data, creating new inventory for sponsors and new insight into in-stadium behavior.
Momento was founded by 2023 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Tom Fletcher and Austin Fletcher. The company uses high-resolution stadium imagery and machine learning to give teams a clearer picture of their fans in the building – helping them increase ticket revenue, strengthen sponsorship programs and create new in-venue revenue opportunities. Momento collaborates with professional teams across the NFL, MLB, NHL, NWSL and MLS.
Sporting Kansas City becomes Momento’s fourth MLS club as the company continues expanding its footprint in live sports venues.
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