Sporting Kansas City kicks off the club’s 30th MLS season this weekend when the team heads south to take on Austin FC at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream in English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
1. 2025 MLS CAMPAIGN COMMENCES
Sporting Kansas City begins the 2025 MLS season this weekend with a challenging trip south to face off against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night. Sporting are yet to return from any trip to Q2 Stadium with a victory and will be facing a refreshed Austin team to kick off the campaign.
Sporting opened up the club’s competitive schedule midweek, falling to a narrow 1-0 loss to Inter Miami CF in the first leg of the club’s Concacaf Champions Cup Round One matchup. Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the game in the second half to secure a slender lead ahead of next Tuesday’s second leg at Chase Stadium.
While Austin missed the MLS Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season last year, the club has added high-priced players across the field, headlined by forward Brandon Vazquez from Mexican giants CF Monterrey and winger Myrto Uzuni from Granada in Spain. Also making the move to Austin this offseason is former Sporting midfielder Ilie Sanchez, who made 171 appearances for SKC from 2017-2021 before joining LAFC.
Sporting is looking to bounce back from a difficult 2024 campaign that saw the team finished 13th in the Western Conference and miss the MLS Cup Playoffs, leading to roster turnover that saw nine players depart and nine new arrivals to date.
2. LOOKING TO IMPROVE ROAD RECORD IN AUSTIN
Sporting Kansas City will look to improve on the club’s road record at Q2 Stadium when the team visits Austin FC to open the 2025 MLS season on Saturday night. Sporting has visited the venue four times since Austin’s expansion season in 2020, returning home empty-handed on all four occasions.
Last season, Sporting visited Q2 Stadium on May 18, 2024 and fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat in a nail-biter. Johnny Russell struck early to give Sporting the lead but Austin roared back to take a 3-1 lead following a brace from Jader Obrian and a header from Sebastian Driussi. Jake Davis pulled a goal back with a goal of the season contender and Erik Thommy hit the crossbar late on as Austin held on.
Sporting returned the favor when Austin visited Children’s Mercy Park on June 29, 2024 and cruised to a 2-0 victory. Tim Leibold saw his deflected strike find the back of the net for his first goal for the club to give Sporting a halftime lead before Stephen Afrifa converted at the far post midway through the second half to make the points safe.
Sporting trails the all-time series with Austin 3-5-1 with an 0-4-0 record at Q2 Stadium. A pair of familiar faces will be wearing green and black this weekend as long-time Sporting midfielder Ilie Sanchez and forward Diego Rubio are each poised to face their former side.
3. TRIO OF DEBUTS IN CHAMPIONS CUP
Three Sporting Kansas City players made their debuts for the club during Wednesday night’s 1-0 defeat to Inter Miami in a frigid first leg of Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup at Children’s Mercy Park.
Newly-acquired Designated Player Dejan Joveljic led the line for Sporting and played the opening 62 minutes of the match for his first action since joining from the LA Galaxy before being replaced by William Agada. He was joined in the starting lineup by 19-year-old Academy product and midfielder Jacob Bartlett, who played the full 90 minutes anchoring the team’s midfield.
In the 62nd minute, new Designated Player Manu Garcia checked into the game for the final 28 minutes, marking his debut since signing from Aris Thessaloniki in Greece at the start of the month.
Sporting still has six new offseason additions to the team that are awaiting their debuts: goalkeeper Jack Kortkamp, defenders Andrew Brody, Ian James and Jansen Miller and forwards Shapi Suleymanov and Mason Toye.
4. SPORTING ADDS ANDREW BRODY
Sporting Kansas City announced on Thursday that the club had acquired outside back Andrew Brody off waivers. Brody is under contract through the end of the 2025 season.
Brody, a 29-year-old native of Orlando, Florida, has logged 238 appearances since launching his professional career in 2016. Capable of playing as a right back or a left back, he has spent each of the last four MLS seasons at Real Salt Lake, where he had two goals and 17 assists in 133 matches across all competitions from 2021-2024.
Brody joined the RSL Academy as a 16-year-old before heading to the University of Louisville from 2013-2015. From 2016-2020, Brody was an integral contributor for Real Monarchs and spent six months on loan at FC Pinzgau Saalfelden in Austria in 2019. Brody joined RSL as a Homegrown Player ahead of the 2021 season and enjoyed a breakout year in 2022 while remaining an important piece for RSL in 2023 and 2024.
5. ESPINOZA JOINS TECHNICAL STAFF
Longtime Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza has joined the club’s technical staff as a Professional Development Coach and first team assistant coach ahead of the 2025 season. Espinoza, 38, steps into professional coaching after retiring as a player last summer.
In his new role, Espinoza will serve as an assistant coach for Sporting KC while also working with players on all three levels of the club’s professional player pathway - the first team, Sporting KC II and the Sporting KC Academy.
Espinoza joins Manager Peter Vermes, assistant Kerry Zavagnin, assistant Ash Wallace and goalkeeper coach Alec Dufty on Sporting’s first team coaching staff. In addition, the former MLS All-Star and World Cup veteran will play a leading role in the development of young players at the MLS, MLS NEXT Pro and Academy levels through individual training programs and ongoing mentorship off the field.
