Sporting Kansas City concluded the Coachella Valley Invitational with a 2-0 victory over Austin FC on Saturday at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.
John Pulskamp earned the clean sheet in net -- including a superb save in the ninth minute to deny Jayden Nelson - while Dejan Joveljic and Daniel Salloi provided the goals in the preseason finale.
Joveljic's goal came in the 42nd minute as he snapped a header into the far corner off a cross from Stephen Afrifa.Â
Afrifa then came close to doubling Sporting's lead in the 60th minute however Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver did well to tip the effort over the bar.
Following three ejections in a span of 10 minutes -- Austin FC's Besard Sabovic (67th minute) and Guilherme Biro (72nd minute)Â were shown straight red cards by referee Victor Rivas before Calvin Harris (76th minute) received a second yellow -- Joveljic nearly bagged a brace only to see his shot strike the post in the 85th minute.
Salloi capped off the scoring in the 89th minute, burying a right-footed finish into the back of the net past Stuver on an assist from Joveljic after Jayden Reid cut the ball back from the endline.
Sporting travels home to Kansas City on Saturday night to prepare for the club's season opener in a week's time when SKC will return to California to take on the San Jose Earthquakes at 9:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 21 live on Apple TV.
Sporting Kansas City vs. Austin FC
Feb. 14, 2026 – Empire Polo Club (Indio, Calif.)
Sporting Kansas City 2, Austin FC 0
Scoring Summary:
SKC - Dejan Joveljic (Stephen Afrifa, Justin Reynolds) 42'
SKC - Daniel Salloi (Dejan Joveljic, Jayden Reid) 89'
Sporting Kansas City Lineup
John Pulskamp; Justin Reynolds (Jake Davis 81'), Ian James, Wyatt Meyer, Zorhan Bassong (Jayden Reid 72'); Jacob Bartlett, Manu Garcia, Daniel Salloi; Stephen Afrifa (Shapi Suleymanov 72'), Dejan Joveljic, Calvin Harris
