It was a dramatic Western Conference encounter on Saturday night between Sporting Kansas City and LAFC, which ended in a last-gasp 2-1 loss for Sporting. The match took place at Children’s Mercy Park and was sold out.
Sporting Kansas City took the lead in the 17th minute when Alan Pulido scored from the penalty spot, extending his scoring streak to three consecutive games. However, LAFC rallied in the second half, with Denil Maldonado equalizing in the 48th minute and Carlos Vela scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute.
There was some controversy in the match as well. Roger Espinoza thought he had equalized for Sporting in stoppage time, but the goal was disallowed by VAR after a foul by Khiry Shelton in the buildup to the play.
The defeat ended Sporting’s four-game home winning streak, and they now prepare for a match against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Manager Peter Vermes made two changes to the starting lineup compared to their previous match, with Dany Rosero returning to the defense after recovering from a hamstring injury, and Gadi Kinda earning his 50th start for Sporting.
Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made an early save to deny LAFC’s Stipe Biuk in the third minute. Sporting then earned a penalty in the 27th minute when Kinda was fouled by Maldonado. Initially, the referee waved away the penalty, but VAR intervened, and Pulido successfully converted the spot-kick.
Sporting continued to dominate and came close to scoring a second goal through Kinda and Daniel Salloi. LAFC made three substitutions at halftime, which improved their performance, and they found the equalizer through Maldonado’s header in the 48th minute.
Both teams had chances to take the lead, with Aaron Long having a goal disallowed for offside for LAFC and Sporting appealing for another penalty. However, it was LAFC who scored the winning goal in the 90th minute when Vela found the back of the net.
Sporting pushed for an equalizer in the dying moments, and Espinoza thought he had scored, only for VAR to disallow the goal due to a foul by Shelton. Sporting had one final chance, but Rosero’s header went over the bar.
The defeat was a disappointing result for Sporting Kansas City, but they will look to bounce back in their upcoming match against the LA Galaxy.
Other MLS finals from Saturday, June 17, 2023:
San Jose 0, Portland 0
Nashville 3, St. Louis 1
Real Salt Lake 2, D.C. United 1
New England 3, Orlando City 1
New York City FC 1, Columbus 1
