Sporting Kansas City lost 5-0 to the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on April 26, with all five goals coming in the second half.
The match was notable for head coach Raphael Wicky’s return to his former club. Wicky made four changes to Sporting’s lineup from their previous game, bringing in Lasse Berg Johnsen, Jake Davis, Ian James and Jansen Miller. Diego Borges and Justin Reynolds missed the match due to injury.
Sporting started strong and nearly scored early when Calvin Harris hit the post after a move up the left wing by Capita Capemba and Dejan Joveljic. The first half saw few clear chances for either side. Early in the second half, Chicago was awarded a penalty kick following a handball by Ian James. John Pulskamp saved Hugo Cuypers’ penalty shot but Philip Zinckernagel scored on the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
Sporting tried to respond and almost equalized through Capita Capemba after being set up by Manu Garcia, but his shot went wide under pressure from Jack Elliott. Chicago then doubled their lead with Zinckernagel scoring again after an intricate build-up. The home team added three more goals: Cuypers scored twice—once from open play and once off a corner—and Maren Haile-Selassie also found the net as Sporting pushed forward looking for opportunities.
The loss leaves Sporting Kansas City with one win from nine matches this season. They will return home next weekend to face Seattle Sounders at Sporting Park on Saturday, May 2 at 1:30 p.m., with tickets available via SeatGeek.com.