Sporting Kansas City captain Johnny Russell was selected to the MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi on Monday for Matchday 38 of the 2023 MLS regular season. In addition, fellow winger Daniel Salloi earned a spot on the Team of the Matchday bench after the club's 3-1 victory over Minnesota United FC this weekend at Children's Mercy Park.
Russell struck twice on Saturday to help Sporting Kansas City secure a berth in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, curling a left-footed strike inside the far post to open the scoring in the 28th minute before bagging his brace in the 78th minute. The Sporting skipper has scored in three consecutive MLS appearances and his 11 regular season goals during the month of October are the most in club history.
"I like cutting in on my left foot. I feel like defenders are getting a little bit smarter and making it a lot harder for me to do it, but you still get opportunities in the game," Russell told media in the postgame press conference. "I'm glad it went in. It got us off to a great start."
Playing his 250th professional match, Salloi set up Sporting's first two goals on Saturday with a pair of assists less than three minutes apart. The Sporting KC Academy product earned the game-winning assist in the 31st minute and, in doing so, tied Davy Arnaud for fifth on the club's all-time chart with 77 goal contributions (45 goals, 32 assists).
Sporting Kansas City will open the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs against the San Jose Earthquakes at 8:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the Western Conference Wild Card match are available online at SeatGeek, including the Coca-Cola Friends & Family 4-Pack which features four Price Chopper South Stand tickets, four 20-ounce Coca-Cola products and four hot dogs for $100.
Wednesday's winner will advance to play St. Louis CITY SC in a Round One Best-of-3 Series and the mid-week match will be streamed live on Apple TV in English and Spanish for MLS Season Pass subscribers. Radio coverage will also air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM with streams in the Sporting KC app in addition to a simulcast on SiriusXM FC.
