Sporting Kansas City is expected to sell out its 100th consecutive MLS match on Saturday when FC Dallas visits Children’s Mercy Park. On the precipice of this special occasion, SportingKC.com is revisiting the club’s greatest goals, saves and comebacks since the sellout streak began on April 7, 2012.
Our third look at a century of sellouts consists of the greatest comebacks at Children’s Mercy Park since April 7, 2012 — when the first of 99 straight capacity crowds descended on the stadium. The list below consists of MLS home games only, since U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League matches don’t count toward the sellout streak.
After reliving the seven scintillating below, vote for your favorite in this poll.
100 Sellouts - Top Comebacks
Nov. 6, 2013: Sporting KC 3-1 New England Revolution
Peter Vermes’ men entered the decisive leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals trailing New England 2-1 on aggregate. Aurelien Collin restored parity with the game’s first goal before halftime, but a 70th-minute strike from Dimitry Imbongo put the Revs back in front. The fightback was ignited by the most unlikely of sources, as Seth Sinovic’s sweet volley drew the sides level on aggregate and pushed the match to extra time, where Claudio Bieler finished off Benny Feilhaber’s cross in the 113th minute.
Nov. 23, 2013: Sporting KC 2-1 Houston Dynamo
The possibility of falling to the Houston Dynamo for the third straight postseason became increasingly realistic when Boniek Garcia slotted home just three minutes into the second leg of the Eastern Conference Finals. Nerves were settled 11 minutes later when C.J. Sapong struck to level the series 1-1 on aggregate and set the stage for a superb winner just after the hour mark. A genius scoop pass from Feilhaber and a poised finish from Dom Dwyer blew the roof off Children’s Mercy Park and effectively ridded Sporting KC of its Houston curse.
Dec. 7, 2013: Sporting KC 1-1 (7-6) Real Salt Lake
For the third time during the 2013 playoffs, Sporting Kansas City was well and truly behind the eight-ball. Alvaro Saborio’s 52nd-minute opener had Real Salt Lake on the brink of an MLS Cup title at frigid Children’s Mercy Park, but a Graham Zusi corner kick in the 76th minute would change the course of league history. Collin shook free of his marker and rose above the rest to nod the out-swinging delivery into the back of the net, recording perhaps the most important equalizer in the club’s existence.
April 5, 2015: Sporting KC 3-2 Philadelphia Union
An Easter Sunday showdown with Philadelphia saw Sporting Kansas City rise from the dead in the waning moments. Trailing 2-1 in second-half stoppage time, Jalil Anibaba placed a header just inside the far post to level proceedings. With momentum firmly on the hosts’ side, a 94th-minute corner kick from Feilhaber was the last opportunity to turn one point into three. His low delivery was glanced across the face of goal by Matt Besler, where Krisztian Nemeth was on hand to poke home on the doorstep and usher wild celebrations at Children’s Mercy Park.
Aug. 15, 2015: Sporting KC 4-3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Everyone who’s seen the Paulo Game will remember it forever. Vancouver carried a 3-1 lead into the final 10 minutes of a mid-August matchup at Children’s Mercy Park, hoping to claim its first-ever win in Kansas City. Vermes’ side had different ideas, of course, and the comeback began in the 81st minute when Dwyer cut the deficit in half. Paulo Nagamura then stepped into the spotlight, curling into the corner in the 87th minute before steering a header over goalkeeper David Ousted in the 94th minute. Sporting KC’s three late goals marked only the second time in MLS history that a team which trailed by two goals in the 80th minute came back to win in regulation.
May 15, 2016: Sporting KC 2-1 Orlando City SC
What became known as the Jacob Peterson game was pure frustration for more than 70 minutes. Despite laying constant siege on Orlando’s goal, the Lions had capitalized on a rare foray forward in the 67th minute to take a 1-0 lead with a fluke own goal. At that exact moment, Peterson was subbed into the match and promptly turned it on its head. His inch-perfect service to Dwyer resulted in the equalizer, while his emphatic back-post header gave Sporting KC a fully deserved three points. After all, the hosts ended the afternoon with a club-record 34 shot attempts.
July 3, 2016: Sporting KC 3-2 Columbus Crew SC
In danger of falling three games below .500, Sporting KC went to halftime trailing Columbus on an early goal from Ola Kamara. The second half would deliver 45 of the most entertaining minutes of 2016, as Feilhaber and Zusi bagged superb goals to give their side a 2-1 advantage with a half-hour still to play. Kamara’s second of the night drew Columbus even and put the impetus back on Sporting KC to find a winner. The hosts would find just that with 91 minutes on the clock, when three defenders—Jimmy Medranda, Ike Opara and scorer Matt Besler — combined for a dramatic go-ahead goal.
