Sporting Kansas City forward Dejan Joveljic has been named to the MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi for his performance in Matchday 2 of the regular season. Joveljic scored both goals for Sporting KC during their 2-2 draw against the Columbus Crew at Sporting Park.
By scoring twice, Joveljic matched a club record as the fastest player to reach 20 regular season goals for Sporting KC, achieving this milestone in just 34 games. He shares this record with Preki, who also reached 20 goals in 34 matches between 1996 and 1997. Other players on the list include Dom Dwyer (44 games), Digital Takawira (45 games), and Alan Pulido (48 games).
Joveljic’s first goal came in the 48th minute, marking his third consecutive year scoring in Sporting KC’s home opener. He added a second goal in the 72nd minute, making it his ninth multi-goal game in MLS regular season play.
“Dejan is one of the best strikers in this league in and around the box,” said Sporting Kansas City head coach Raphael Wicky after Saturday’s match. “He’s also our captain. The way he behaves himself on the field and in the locker room as a leader is really good, and now I hope the team can keep going and he can also keep going.”
Joveljic commented on his approach following Saturday’s match: “I just try to stay focused and try to make that one extra run because I know that the ball will come,” he said. “I was happy that the ball bounced twice to me and I scored two goals. One extra run and be a little bit hungrier than the defenders.”
Sporting Kansas City will host Western Conference leaders San Diego FC next Saturday at Sporting Park, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are available online at SeatGeek, with college students able to purchase $15 Supporters’ Stand tickets throughout the season via the Sporting U Pass program.
The upcoming match will be broadcast live on Apple TV with commentary available in English from Neil Sika and Kyndra de St. Aubin, as well as Spanish coverage by Jesus Acosta. Local radio broadcasts will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB (Blake Aerni and Jon Kempin) and La Grande 1340 AM (Josue Orantes and Diego Gutierrez).