KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City is set to host San Diego FC for the first time at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday, August 9, as part of the club's annual Sporting Salutes theme night. The match will begin at 7:45 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on FS1, FOX Deportes, MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, and Sports Radio 810 WHB. Tickets are available through SeatGeek.

San Diego FC enters the fixture as a new team in Major League Soccer but has already reached the top of the Western Conference standings. The club’s attack has contributed to its strong position this season. Sporting Kansas City is currently in 13th place in the West with a record of 6-12-6 and is looking to use this match as a way to improve its standing before the regular season concludes.

The two teams previously met on May 17 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, resulting in a scoreless draw. During that game, San Diego had more shots (10-2) and shots on target (4-1), but Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp made four saves to secure his team's only road shutout so far this year.

Sporting Kansas City has shown strength late in games this season, with an +8 goal differential after the 60th minute—tied for second best in MLS behind only San Diego (+12). The team has scored half of its goals after the hour mark and has gained 11 points from losing positions during regular season play.

Dejan Joveljic leads Sporting with 13 goals this year and is tied for sixth among all MLS players. He also ranks second among Kansas City newcomers for most goals scored in a single regular season. Goalkeeper John Pulskamp has started every match for Sporting across all competitions and is tied for second in MLS with 83 saves.

Other notable contributors include Daniel Salloi, who has reached double-digit goal contributions for the fourth time since 2021; Manu Garcia, who leads Sporting with nine assists; Santiago Munoz and Shapi Suleymanov have also added key goals or assists off the bench or as substitutes.

Defensively, Jansen Miller leads all players selected in the latest SuperDraft with minutes played this year while Ian James became one of the youngest defenders ever to start an MLS match for Kansas City.

San Diego FC comes into Saturday’s contest atop the Western Conference with a record of 14-7-4. The team ranks near league leaders in several categories including total goals (48), goal differential (+16), average possession (57.4%), passing accuracy (88.4%), and distance covered per game (119.5km). Anders Dreyer leads both his team and Major League Soccer with 16 assists and is tied for most total goal contributions league-wide.

San Diego’s away form includes seven wins from eleven matches—one of the best records in MLS—and they have scored frequently late in games, outscoring opponents by nine after the 75th minute.

This weekend's fixture marks milestones for several players: Dejan Joveljic approaches his 100th professional club goal; Andrew Brody nears his 100th career MLS start; Memo Rodriguez could make his fiftieth appearance for Sporting; Manu Garcia aims to reach fifty career assists; John Pulskamp seeks to move up Sporting’s all-time wins list among goalkeepers; Daniel Salloi can tie Dom Dwyer and Johnny Russell as second-highest scorers in club history if he scores another goal.