KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City is set to host Austin FC in Major League Soccer's Match of the Week on Sunday at Children's Mercy Park. The match, which will kick off at 6:12 p.m. CT, marks Sporting KC’s 29th game of the 2025 regular season.

Tickets for the Western Conference contest are available through SeatGeek. A special Coca-Cola Family & Friends 4-Pack is being offered, including four seats in the Price Chopper South Stand, four Coca-Cola products, and four hot dogs for $100. On Sunday, SportingStyle will offer a 25% discount on youth and plush items and release a new Victory Project crewneck sweatshirt, with all proceeds benefiting Sporting’s philanthropic foundation.

Compass Minerals, the match title night partner, will distribute custom teddy bears featuring One KC jerseys to children on Mazuma Plaza before kickoff while supplies last. The event coincides with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and includes several activities as part of this year’s Kick Childhood Cancer theme night to honor past Victory Project Honorees.

Both teams enter the fixture following multi-goal wins last week. Sporting Kansas City achieved a second-half comeback against Colorado for a 4-2 win—marking their 300th home victory across all competitions. Dejan Joveljic scored twice and now leads the team with 16 goals this season, tying him for third most in MLS and third most in a single regular season in club history. Daniel Salloi netted his seventh goal of the campaign, moving into joint second place on Sporting's all-time scoring chart with 67 career goals.

Austin FC recently secured a 3-1 victory over San Jose Earthquakes to move up to seventh place in the Western Conference standings with seven games left in their regular season schedule. Osman Bukari (three goals, seven assists) and Owen Wolff (four goals, six assists) combined for Austin’s opening goal last weekend; both players lead their team with ten goal contributions each this year.

In defense, John Pulskamp of Sporting KC has made 97 saves so far this season. Brad Stuver of Austin FC leads all Western Conference goalkeepers in saves and has started every regular-season match since July 2022—a streak that began against SKC—and recently became only the second goalkeeper in MLS history alongside Tony Meola (1996-2000) to record 600 saves over five years.

Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez oversees a roster featuring several former Sporting KC players: assistant coach Davy Arnaud spent ten seasons with Kansas City from 2002-2011 and was named a Sporting Legend in 2022; captain Ilie Sanchez played five seasons for SKC from 2017-2021; forward Diego Rubio was with SKC from 2016-2018; while current SKC midfielder Memo Rodriguez played half of the previous season at Austin before joining Kansas City and leading them with six assists during the current campaign.

Sporting KC will be without Zorhan Bassong (Canada) and Ian James (U.S. U-17s), who are away on national team duty. Austin FC travels without six internationals: Micah Burton (U.S. U-20s), Julio Cascante (Costa Rica), Jimmy Farkarlun (Liberia), Daniel Pereira (Venezuela), Oleksandr Svatok (Ukraine), and Myrto Uzuni (Albania). The home side has won each of the last six meetings between these clubs.

The match can be viewed via MLS Season Pass or Apple TV+ in English or Spanish commentary or listened to locally on ESPN Kansas City radio stations or through the SKC App. Pub partners throughout Kansas City will broadcast the game live—including No Other Pub at Power & Light District hosting an official watch party starting at 4 p.m., offering drink specials for fans wearing SKC gear.