Sporting Kansas City returns home this weekend to host FC Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday 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. The match will also be available on the radio locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish). Tickets are available via SeatGeek.com.
1. PIVOTAL WEEK BEGINS
Sporting Kansas City kicks off a pivotal four-day period for the club this Sunday with the first of back-to-back matches against FC Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park. The first match is a regular-season contest against a Dallas side just six points ahead of Sporting in the Western Conference standings before the two sides engage in a rematch on Wednesday with a spot in the U.S. Open Cup Semifinals on the line.
Sporting has won two of their last three home matches against the Seattle Sounders on June 8 and Austin FC on June 29 and will be hoping to take that home form into this pair of matches as Sporting is in the midst of a stretch of seven matches in 22 days from June 29 through July 20 with huge implications for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
After Sporting fell to a late 2-1 loss against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Thursday night, the club has now gone 15 matches without tying - tied for the third longest streak in club history during the post-shootout era.
2. BACK-TO-BACK WITH DALLAS
Sporting Kansas City embarks on a unique proposition over the coming days: playing host to the same team twice at the same venue within a four-day period. Sporting will face off against FC Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park in MLS regular-season play on Sunday night before hosting a rematch in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Sporting last faced Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park over a year ago on May 31, 2023. With Sporting in the infancy of their remarkable turnaround during the 2023 season, the club picked up a vital three points following goals either side of the halftime interval from Gadi Kinda and Daniel Salloi to claim a 2-1 victory.
The two sides had already played out a wild encounter at Toyota Stadium earlier in the 2023 season, with Dallas claiming a 2-1 win on March 18. Salloi gave Sporting an early lead before Alan Velasco equalized after halftime. Sporting were awarded a golden opportunity to retake the lead with a penalty kick but missed both the initial spot-kick and a retake opportunity before Jesus Ferreira bagged a late winner for the hosts.
Sporting trails the all-time series 28-30-14, including a 16-12-9 mark at home - though Sporting has won just one of their last seven vs. FCD at Children’s Mercy Park.
3. RUSSELL SCORES 150th CAREER GOAL
Sporting Kansas City captain Johnny Russell reached a major personal milestone on Thursday night, tallying the 150th goal of his professional career to open the scoring in Sporting’s eventual 2-1 defeat to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
Following a flowing build-up down the left wing, Tim Leibold picked out Erik Thommy on the edge of the area and while the German mishit his effort, it fell straight into the path of Russell who finished calmly into the side-netting on his weaker right foot to give Sporting a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.
Russell has now tallied six goal contributions (four goals, two assists) in his last eight MLS starts since May 18 after only tallying one assist in the opening two-and-a-half months of the season as he battled a hamstring injury sustained in the club’s fourth game of the season on March 16.
Club | Apps | Goals |
Sporting Kansas City | 217 | 66 |
Dundee United | 119 | 45 |
Derby County | 203 | 34 |
Raith Rovers | 28 | 5 |
TOTAL | 567 | 150 |
4. LEIBOLD CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE IN THE ATTACK
Sporting Kansas City defender Tim Leibold continued his fine attacking form during the club’s 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Thursday night, tallying his second assist of the campaign on the team’s opener in the 48th minute.
Having just entered the match as a halftime substitute, Leibold drove down the left wing and his pin-point cross picked out fellow German Erik Thommy whose effort was diverted into the back of the net by Johnny Russell, giving Leibold a secondary assist and marking his second goal involvement in as many matches.
Leibold scored his first goal in a Sporting KC uniform - and his first goal since May 2021 as a member of German club Hamburg - with the game-winning goal this past Saturday in the 2-0 win over Austin FC at Children’s Mercy Park.
Leibold has made 39 appearances for Sporting since the start of 2023, tallying one goal and five assists from the left back position.
5. THOMMY TALLIES ASSIST
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy got back on the scoresheet this Thursday, tallying an assist on the club’s opening goal in the 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The assist arrived in fortuitous fashion - but they all count the same - as he met Tim Leibold’s cutback on the edge of the area and scuffed his shot into the path of Johnny Russell who calmly slotted home to give Sporting the lead early in the second half.
Thommy now has four goals and three assists in the 2024 season and ranks in a tie for second on the team with seven goal contributions across all competitions, only trailing striker Willy Agada’s eight (five goals, three assists).
Since joining the club midway through 2022, Thommy has been a driving force in midfield and has tallied 12 goals and 18 assists across 76 appearances in all competitions, approximately averaging one goal contribution every two games.
