Sporting Kansas City lost 2-0 to San Diego FC on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park. The match saw Sporting fall to 6-13-6 on the season, while San Diego improved their record to 15-7-4 and maintained their position at the top of the Western Conference.
San Diego took the lead in the 23rd minute when Chucky Lozano scored from long range after winning a tackle and receiving a pass from Anders Dreyer. Dreyer added a second goal in the 70th minute, finishing off an extended passing sequence with a low shot into the left corner.
With this win, San Diego became the first expansion team in Major League Soccer history to achieve five consecutive road victories during their debut season.
Sporting Kansas City interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin opted for a 4-4-2 formation for the first time this year. Dejan Joveljic and Santiago Munoz started as forwards, while Daniel Salloi captained from midfield alongside Shapi Suleymanov, Zorhan Bassong, and Jake Davis. John Pulskamp was in goal behind defenders Khiry Shelton, Jansen Miller, Logan Ndenbe, and Robert Voloder. Voloder returned to action for his first appearance since May following recovery from injury.
After conceding early, Sporting generated several chances before halftime but were unable to score. Attempts by Joveljic and Munoz were blocked or narrowly missed, while Salloi had multiple shots either saved or off target. San Diego goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos made key saves throughout the match.
Jacob Bartlett replaced an injured Logan Ndenbe early in the second half and contributed offensively but Sporting could not convert opportunities into goals. Manu Garcia entered as a substitute and helped create late chances; however, efforts by Miller and Afrifa failed to reduce the deficit.
Sporting Kansas City will play their next match away against Orlando City SC on August 16 at Inter&Co Stadium. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT with coverage available on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Attendance at Children’s Mercy Park was reported as 16,579 under sunny conditions with temperatures around 90 degrees.
