KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City will finish their 2025 Major League Soccer season this Saturday by hosting the Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park. The match, which starts at 8 p.m. CT, marks the end of a challenging season for both teams, as neither has qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Sporting Kansas City is set to conclude its season no higher than 14th in the Western Conference and 25th in the Supporters’ Shield standings. However, the club will not finish last in the league; D.C. United and Atlanta United occupy the bottom two spots and face each other on Decision Day to determine who receives the Wooden Spoon. Sporting remains notable as the only original MLS club never to have finished last.

Saturday’s game holds little consequence for either side beyond looking ahead to next year. After this match, President of Soccer Operations & GM David Lee will lead Sporting into a new phase, bringing experience from his time as New York City FC’s Sporting Director.

The matchup with Houston gives Sporting a chance to sweep their Texan rivals for the first time since 2018. Earlier this year, Sporting defeated Houston 3-1 at Shell Energy Stadium with Dejan Joveljic scoring twice and Santi Munoz adding his first goal for Sporting. The last meeting between these teams at Children’s Mercy Park ended in a 2-1 victory for Houston in May 2024.

In regular-season play against Houston, Sporting leads with a record of 15 wins, 14 losses, and 16 draws overall—9-6-7 at home—and has lost just once in their last nine matches against Houston since mid-2021.

Forward Dejan Joveljic aims to finish his standout debut season with another strong performance. Joveljic currently ranks fourth in MLS Golden Boot standings with 18 goals and is tied for second-most goals scored by a player in one regular season for Sporting—behind Dom Dwyer’s record of 22 from 2014. Since joining from LA Galaxy after helping them win the 2024 MLS Cup, Joveljic has scored a total of 39 league goals over two seasons; only Lionel Messi (47) and Denis Bouanga (45) have more during that span.

Sporting announced its annual awards on October 10. "Most Valuable Player: Dejan Joveljic

Offensive Player of the Year: Dejan Joveljic

Defensive Player of the Year: John Pulskamp

Newcomer of the Year: Manu Garcia

Goal of the Year: Shapi Suleymanov (6/14 vs. DAL)

Save of the Year: John Pulskamp (5/10 at POR)" according to votes cast by players, fans, and media.

Additional honors included:

"Golden Boot: Dejan Joveljic

Neal and Jeanne Patterson Humanitarian of the Year: Mason Toye

Sporting KC II Most Valuable Player: Shane Donovan

Bob Gansler Academy Player of the Year: Jacob Molinaro

Sporting Club Network Member of the Year: Sporting Columbia"

Midfielder Zorhan Bassong returned to Canada’s national team during October’s FIFA international window. He was an unused substitute as Canada lost to Australia before making his seventh appearance as a late substitute against Colombia four days later. Bassong also played in this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup group stage matches and started against Romania in September.

"C’est magnifique! Zo has received the call from Canada Men's National Team for two friendlies in October." — Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC), September 30, 2025.