Sporting Kansas City (6-13-6, 24 points) suffered a 2-0 loss to Western Conference leaders San Diego FC (15-7-4, 49 points) on Saturday night at hot and humid Children’s Mercy Park.
Chucky Lozano vaulted the visitors ahead with an impressive long-range strike in the 23rd minute before Anders Dreyer doubled his side’s advantage in the 70th minute as San Diego became the first expansion team in MLS history to secure five straight road wins in their debut season.
Sporting will look to rebound next Saturday, Aug. 16, by visiting Orlando City SC (11-6-8, 41 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. The cross-conference clash will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin deployed a 4-4-2 formation for the first time this year as forwards Dejan Joveljic and Santiago Munoz started up top. Captain Daniel Salloi and fellow winger Shapi Suleymanov were used as wide midfielders, while Zorhan Bassong and Jake Davis manned the center of the pitch. Goalkeeper John Pulskamp was shielded by a back four of Khiry Shelton, Jansen Miller, Logan Ndenbe and Robert Voloder, who landed his first appearance since May 24 after recovering from a clavicle injury.
The first quarter-hour of the contest unfolded without any flashbulb moments, but Lozano atoned for the pedestrian start by winning a tackle 30 yards from goal, receiving a pass from Dreyer and unleashing a sublime strike that dipped over Pulskamp and under the crossbar for his eighth goal of the campaign.
Sporting responded well to falling behind, conjuring a flurry of chances before halftime. Suleymanov ran onto a clever Miller through ball in the 27th minute and cut the ball back to Joveljic, whose first-time effort was blocked through traffic. Salloi settled onto the rebound at the top of the box and fired his shot high. Two minutes later, Kansas City went agonizingly close as Munoz did brilliantly to create separation from his defender only to see his right-footed attempt skip inches wide of the far post.
Not long later, Salloi had a shot saved from a tight angle and Joveljic was denied at close range by San Diego goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos. Ndenbe was first to the ensuing loose ball, but his blast from near the penalty spot was blocked off the goal line by all-action San Diego defender Manu Duah.
San Diego seldom threatened throughout the night but demonstrated efficiency in front of goal, nearly doubling the lead on the stroke of intermission with Dreyer prompting Pulskamp to make a smart fingertip save at the near post.
Homegrown midfielder Jacob Bartlett replaced the injured Ndenbe in the 50th minute and quickly impacted proceedings, clipping a ball through to Munoz who found Salloi with space on the left side of the box, but the culminating shot dragged wide. Salloi was thwarted again three minutes later, leading a quick counter and unearthing a shot that was crucially blocked.
First-place San Diego was opportunistic in surging ahead 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining. An extended pass sequence culminated with Dreyer racing onto the end of a dinked ball into the area, and the Danish MVP candidate made no mistake with a low finish into the left corner for his 12th goal and 29th total goal contribution of the year.
Davis was active throughout the night and had a pair of shots blocked in the 72nd minute as Sporting pushed forward in search of due reward for their attacking endeavors. Midfield playmaker Manu Garcia entered as a second-half substitute and orchestrated a pair of good looks in the final 10 minutes, but Miller’s header on the edge of the six-yard area was saved and substitute Stephen Afrifa cannoned his shot high of the target. Bartlett then set up Salloi for a good look from 15 yards that was smothered by Dos Santos.
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 25
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 16,579
Weather: 90 degrees and sunny
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
Sporting Kansas City (6-13-6, 24 points) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
San Diego FC (15-7-4, 49 points) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton (Alan Montes 86'), Jansen Miller, Robert Voloder, Logan Ndenbe (Jacob Bartlett 50'); Shapi Suleymanov (Manu Garcia 64'), Jake Davis, Zorhan Bassong (Stephen Afrifa 86'), Daniel Salloi (C); Dejan Joveljic, Santiago Munoz (Mason Toye 64')
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Andrew Brody, Nemanja Radoja, Memo Rodriguez
San Diego FC: CJ Dos Santos; Aiden Harangi, Christopher McVey (Ian Pilcher 64'), Manu Duah, Luca Bombino; Jeppe Tverskov (C), Anibal Godoy (Emmanuel Boateng 64'), David Vazquez (Luca de la Torre 46'); Anders Dreyer (Tomas Angel 90+2'), Onni Valakari, Chucky Lozano (Alex Mighten 64')
Subs Not Used: Duran Ferree, Franco Negri, Pedro Soma, Corey Baird
Scoring Summary:
SD -- Chucky Lozano 8 (Anders Dreyer 17) 23'
SD -- Anders Dreyer 12 (unassisted) 70'
Misconduct Summary:
SKC -- Manu Garcia (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 65'
STAT | SKC | SD |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 22 | 6 |
Shots on Goal | 7 | 5 |
Saves | 3 | 5 |
Fouls | 10 | 11 |
Offsides | 5 | 1 |
Corner Kicks | 9 | 1 |
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referee: Jeffrey Greeson
Assistant Referee: Justin Howard
Fourth Official: Guido Gonzales Jr.
VAR: Shawn Tehini
AVAR: Robert Schaap
