Sporting KC hosts Austin FC after comeback win; Joveljic reaches milestone

Children's Mercy Park | Sporting Kansas City

By C. A. Shannon

Sep 4, 2025

Sporting Kansas City will host Austin FC this Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park in the MLS Match of the Week. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT and can be streamed on MLS Season Pass. Local radio coverage will be provided by ESPN 94.5 FM, and tickets are available through SeatGeek.com.

The team enters the match following a significant 4-2 comeback win over the Colorado Rapids last weekend, ending a six-game winless streak. Sporting scored three goals within eight minutes late in the second half to secure their 300th home victory across all competitions. This was the third time this season Sporting has scored three goals in an eight-minute span.

Sporting Kansas City has accumulated 14 points from losing positions during the regular season, ranking fifth in Major League Soccer for this statistic. Despite these efforts, the team remains eight points away from securing the final playoff spot with six games left to play.

Sunday’s match against Austin FC marks the end of a stretch where Sporting faced nine consecutive opponents currently above the playoff line. The last meeting between Sporting and Austin occurred on February 22, when Austin secured a 1-0 win at Q2 Stadium after Osman Bukari scored in the 76th minute. The previous home fixture against Austin was on June 29, 2024, when Sporting won 2-0 with goals from Tim Leibold and Stephen Afrifa.

Sporting trails Austin in their all-time series with three wins, six losses, and one draw but holds a better record at home with three wins, one loss, and one draw at Children’s Mercy Park.

Dejan Joveljic reached a milestone last weekend by scoring his 100th professional club goal during the victory over Colorado Rapids. He contributed two goals in that match and now leads Sporting with 16 goals this season—tied for third most in MLS and matching single-season records set by Dom Dwyer (2016) and Daniel Salloi (2021). Joveljic’s tally is also notable as it represents the highest goal total by a Kansas City newcomer since Preki's inaugural season performance in 1996. Since early 2024, only Lionel Messi has more MLS goals than Joveljic.

Joveljic is now part of a select group of players who have scored at least 15 goals in consecutive regular seasons for different clubs.

Mason Toye added to his recent run of form by scoring Sporting’s game-winning goal off the bench against Colorado Rapids. This marks back-to-back games with goals for Toye—the fourth such instance in his career—and extends his streak of goal contributions to three matches. Santi Munoz assisted Toye’s winner and now has five goal contributions this season.

Daniel Salloi also played a key role last weekend by scoring his seventh goal of the year during Sporting’s comeback win over Colorado Rapids. His performance earned him recognition on the MLS Team of the Matchday. With seven goals and four assists this season, Salloi ties Manu Garcia for second most goal contributions on the team behind Joveljic. Salloi now shares second place for most career goals scored for Sporting (67), alongside Dom Dwyer and Johnny Russell; only Preki has more with 81.

"Sporting Kansas City forward Dejan Joveljic scored a pair of goals to lead his side to a dramatic 4-2 comeback victory over the Colorado Rapids at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night - leading to a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday."

"The Serbian frontman, who entered the game with 99 professional club goals, scored his team’s first and final goals in the win as he eclipsed 100 goals in his professional club career by scoring twice, recording his third multi-goal game of the season."

"Joveljic now has a team-leading 16 goals this season, tied for third most in MLS and tied for third most in a single regular season in club history alongside Dom Dwyer (2016) and Daniel Salloi (2021). His 16 goals this season are the most by a Kansas City newcomer since Preki scored 18 in the club’s inaugural 1996 campaign."

"Joveljic, whose 37 MLS goals since the start of 2024 are second most in the league behind Lionel Messi, has now scored all three of Sporting’s headed goals in the 2025 campaign."

"Joveljic has hit 15 goals for the second straight regular season after scoring 15 times for LA Galaxy last year. He is the third player in MLS history to score 15 goals in consecutive regular seasons with different clubs after Raul Diaz Arce (DC in 1996, NE in 1997) and Evander (POR in 2024, CIN in 2025)."

"Sporting Kansas City forward Mason Toye continued his hot streak in front of goal this past weekend, coming off the bench to score Sporting’s winning goal in the 4-2 comeback victory over the Colorado Rapids at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night."

"Toye, who recorded an assist at Orlando on Aug. 16 and scored at Seattle on Aug. 24, now has goals in back-to-back games for the fourth time in his MLS career and goal contributions in three straight matches for the third time in his MLS career."

"Forward Santi Munoz assisted Toye’s winning goal last weekend and now has five goal contributions this season (three goals and two assists). His assist to Toye was his first goal contribution as a starter this year."

"Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi got back on the scoresheet with a stunning effort this past weekend, helping spur a 4-2 comeback victory against the Colorado Rapids at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Salloi was honored with a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday following his game-turning performance."

"With his team trailing 2-1 in the 73rd minute,Salloi received a pass on the right wing,

meandered through several Colorado challenges before striking

a brilliant effort into

the side-netting

to give

the stadium life.

The

goal was

the Hungarian’s seventh

the

season

to go along with four assists,