KC Reporter

Goalkeeper John Pulskamp made seven saves to secure a shutout as Sporting Kansas City concluded its 2025 Major League Soccer season with a 0-0 draw against Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park. The result ended a five-game losing streak for Sporting Kansas City and marked Pulskamp’s fourth clean sheet of the year.

Pulskamp became the fifth player in club history to play every minute of a 34-game regular season. He finished the season with 121 saves, the second-highest total by a Kansas City goalkeeper in a single regular season.

The team now faces an important offseason before the 2026 MLS campaign, which will start in late February. Kansas City is set to be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin made five changes to the starting lineup from the previous match on October 4. Designated Player Manu Garcia returned to the starting lineup for the first time since July 19 after recovering from a quad injury.

Garcia created Sporting’s first opportunity within seven minutes, passing to Daniel Salloi, whose shot was saved by Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond. Salloi had another chance ten minutes later but missed over the crossbar.

Houston had three chances before halftime, but none resulted in a goal. Ondrej Lingr’s breakaway was saved by Pulskamp, Ezequiel Ponce’s shot was stopped from a tight angle, and Lawrence Ennali forced another save from Pulskamp.

A notable moment occurred at the hour mark when Ennali was awarded a penalty after being tackled by Pulskamp, but the assistant referee flagged for offside during Houston's buildup, nullifying the penalty.

Pulskamp made another key save in the 73rd minute, deflecting Ennali’s shot onto the post.

Both teams had chances to win late in stoppage time. Ponce missed a header for Houston, and at the other end, Salloi’s cross was nearly redirected by Dejan Joveljic but went over the bar.

The match was played in front of 16,983 fans at Children’s Mercy Park with windy conditions and a temperature of 69 degrees.

The Sporting Kansas City lineup included John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton, Jansen Miller, Alan Montes, Logan Ndenbe; Erik Thommy (captain), Nemanja Radoja, Zorhan Bassong, Daniel Salloi; Dejan Joveljic, and Manu Garcia. Houston Dynamo FC started Jonathan Bond; Griffin Dorsey, Erik Sviatchenko, Antonio Carlos, Felipe Andrade; Artur (captain), Duane Holmes, Brooklyn Raines; Ondrej Lingr, Ezequiel Ponce, and Lawrence Ennali.

The match ended without any goals scored. Several yellow cards were issued during the game for unsporting behavior and dissent.

Referee Nabil Bensalah officiated the match, with Corey Parker and Walt Heatherly as assistant referees. The fourth official was Ismir Pekmic, with Carol Anne Chenard as VAR and Robert Schaap as AVAR.