For a second time this week and third time this season, Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi was selected to MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi on Thursday for Matchday 16 of the 2023 MLS regular season. In addition, Sporting KC midfielder Gadi Kinda was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday bench after providing a goal and the game-winning assist in Sporting Kansas City's 2-1 win over FC Dallas.
Salloi contributed the game-winning goal in Wednesday's victory at Children's Mercy Park, striking in the 60th minute for his fourth goal of the campaign and the 42nd of his regular season career. The 26-year-old has scored in three straight home matches and now has 11 goals against Dallas in all competitions, the most of any player since the start of 2017.
A Sporting KC Academy product, Salloi has scored or assisted on half of Sporting's 18 goals in all competitions this year (five goals, four assists) and Wednesday's goal moved Salloi past Davy Arnaud for fourth on Kansas City's all-time chart with 53 career goals in all competitions.
"I think it's always a desire to want to score," Salloi said postgame. "So you look for situations when you can put yourself in the box or in the right spot. I feel like I had a couple (chances) this game and I just wasn't taking my shots. I just went for it and it took a tiny deflection, which I needed. I'm very happy about it. I’m glad it worked out because we needed it at the end."
Salloi also helped set up Sporting Kansas City's opening gaol in the 41st minute on Wednesday with a low pass across the box to Kinda, who pelted a right-footed shot into the back of the net for his second goal of the campaign and 13th of his MLS career. The Israeli international now has four career MLS matches with a goal and an assist since joining the club in 2020. After missing all of the 2022 season with a knee injury, the 29-year-old has 14 goal contributions (eight goals, six assists) in 21 regular season starts at Children's Mercy Park.
"I actually thought, if you're a real spectator of the game, I think it was a really good game to watch with chances going back and forth each way," Manager Peter Vermes told reporters in the postgame press conference. "I've said from the beginning, I believe in the group. It was just a matter of time. And, as I said before, I'm the guy that had to have the most patience with the group because it was all about letting them get healthy, fit and giving them time to get in form."
Winners of two straight and only two points below the playoff line in the Western Conference, Sporting will play for their third victory in a seven-day period on Saturday when the team ventures north of the border for a road game against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place. Kickoff is slated for 9:30 p.m. CT and the Matchday 17 finale will stream free on Apple TV in English, Spanish and French in addition to local radio broadcasts on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
