Sporting Kansas City remains at home this weekend to host Austin 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.
1. FOUR GAMES REMAINING
The clock is counting down on Sporting Kansas City’s 2026 MLS season with just four matches remaining and the team already eliminated from postseason contention. Sporting will host Austin FC at Sporting Park this Saturday with the ability to play spoiler, as a win would put Austin on the brink of MLS Cup Playoffs elimination.
Since his arrival in late August, Sporting has been spurred on by record-signing Andre Luiz, and the Brazilian got another goal contribution last weekend when his incredible run and selfless pass set up Taylor Calheira to score the team’s only goal of the 3-1 defeat to Real Salt Lake. Andre now has a goal contribution in each of his last four home matches.
Sporting has set an unwanted club record with 75 goals conceded this season, surpassing the previous record of 70 set in 2025. Sporting will be aiming to avoid setting a new MLS record in goals conceded (78) over the final four games of the season.
Sporting is in the midst of a hectic month of October that will see the team play seven matches - including games on the first day (Oct. 1 at Seattle) and final day (Oct. 31 vs. Dallas) of the month - with the squad playing home matches on four straight weekends on Oct. 10, 17, 24 and 31.
2. PENULTIMATE HOME MATCH
Sporting Kansas City remains at home this weekend when the team hosts fellow Western Conference side Austin FC at Sporting Park on Saturday night in the club’s penultimate home match of the 2026 campaign.
Sporting defeated Austin when the two sides met at Q2 Stadium earlier this season, claiming a comeback 2-1 victory on May 16, 2026. After Mikkel Desler had given Austin the lead against the run of play on the stroke of halftime, Sporting responded in the second half and eventually got quickfire goals from Manu Garcia and Stephen Afrifa to flip the game on its head, leading to the team’s first-ever win at Q2 Stadium.
Sporting last hosted Austin over a year ago on Sept. 7, 2025, falling to a 2-1 defeat. Despite taking an early lead through Dejan Joveljic’s penalty kick, Sporting was pegged back when Owen Wolff - who has since been acquired by SKC - equalized with a well-taken goal before halftime and Austin grabbed all three points late on when CJ Fodrey headed home off a corner kick.
Sporting trails the all-time regular-season series against Austin 4-7-1, including a 3-2-1 mark at Sporting Park.
3. ANDRE CONTINUES FINE FORM
Sporting Kansas City Designated Player Andre Luiz continued his fine form for the club this past weekend, tallying an assist in the club’s 3-1 setback against Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park on Saturday night.
Playing the full 90 minutes for just the second time since joining the club, Andre showed all of his strength and technical quality to burst away and hold off two RSL defenders before setting up Taylor Calheira to pull a goal back for his side in the first half of Saturday’s match. Andre now has a goal contribution in each of the team’s past four home games.
The Brazilian now has seven goals and two assists in his first nine appearances for the club, with all nine goal contributions coming in the last seven matches. Andre has only failed to get on the scoresheet in three games for Sporting, and in all three he played 58 minutes or less.
Andre broke out during the first half of the 2025-2026 season with Rio Ave FC in Portugal, tallying seven goals and six assists in 19 matches - including a stunning strike against Benfica. After a brief spell at Olympiacos, Andre joined Sporting in August and has so far proven to be more than a handful against MLS defenses, currently ranking first in club history with 0.78 goals per game in a single season.
4. CALHEIRA BAGS FOURTH GOAL OF FIRST MLS SEASON
Sporting Kansas City forward Taylor Calheira scored his first goal in six games on Saturday night, pulling a goal back with a composed finish to cap a rapid counterattack led by Andre Luiz.
Calheira now has four goals on the season, all coming since the start of September after bagging a brace at FC Dallas (Sept. 5), scoring the game-winner against LAFC (Sept. 12) and now tallying at home again against RSL (Oct. 17).
In his first MLS season after spending 2024 in MLS NEXT Pro with NYCFC II and 2025 with FC Tulsa in the USL Championship, Calheira has four goals and three assists on the season after breaking into the lineup midway through the campaign. His seven goal contributions rank third most among players on the active roster this season.
5. WOLFF NAMED TO MLS 22 UNDER 22 RANKINGS
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Owen Wolff has been named to Major League Soccer’s annual 22 Under 22 list, the league announced on Tuesday. Wolff, who is named to the list for the fourth straight year, is ranked 16th overall in 2026 after being voted fourth in 2025, 17th in 2024 and 18th in 2023.
Wolff, who joined Sporting KC as a U22 initiative player in a cash trade from Austin FC this summer, has enjoyed a brilliant start to his MLS career, recording 10 goals and 23 assists in 149 appearances. The 21-year-old is the only player to be selected to the 22 Under 22 Rankings each of the last four seasons and is one of only three players to be named to the 22u22 Rankings on four total occasions.
Wolff spent significant time growing up in Kansas City, playing for Sporting Blue Valley as his first youth club, before developing in the academies of the Columbus Crew and Atlanta United. He signed as a Homegrown Player with Austin in September 2021 and made his MLS debut as a 16-year-old with a substitute appearance in Austin’s 3-1 win over Sporting KC at Q2 Stadium on Nov. 3, 2021.
Wolff exploded in 2025, setting career-highs with seven goals and 12 assists in 41 matches across all competitions, leading the team with 19 goal contributions to help Austin qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs with a sixth-place finish while also reaching the U.S. Open Cup Final for the first time - resulting in Austin Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Owen’s father, Josh Wolff, starred for the Kansas City Wizards from 2003-2006 and 2008-2010, recording 46 goals and 30 assists leading to his induction in the Sporting Legends Hall of Honor in 2019.
