Sporting Kansas City (0-3-1, 1 point) erased a three-goal deficit to secure a result for the first time in club history on Saturday, roaring back with three unanswered second-half goals in a remarkable 3-3 thriller against regional rivals Minnesota United FC (2-1-1, 7 points) at snowy Children’s Mercy Park.
After Minnesota built a commanding 3-0 lead behind Hassani Dotson’s wonderstrike and a Tani Oluwaseyi brace, Sporting bagged three goals in 12 rapturous minutes to snap the team’s 10-game losing streak dating back to last September. Daniel Salloi kickstarted the comeback with a well-taken goal in the 68th minute, Shapi Suleymanov forced a Minnesota own goal four minutes later, and star striker Dejan leveled terms on a superb finish with 10 minutes remaining to ensure a share of the spoils.
Saturday’s wild encounter marked only the 19th time that an MLS team has overturned a three-goal deficit to claim a win or a draw in the regular season. The historic result generates palpable momentum for a Sporting side that will return to Children’s Mercy Park next Saturday, March 22, when LAFC (2-2-0, 6 points) visits Kansas City for a 7:30 p.m. CT kickoff. Tickets for the Western Conference clash are available at SeatGeek.com.
Making his 50th regular season appearance, center back Robert Voloder accounted for the lone change to Sporting’s lineup from last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at D.C. United, replacing the injured Dany Rosero. With watery flakes of snow swirling in the sky, the backdrop for an unforgettable game was aptly set as the hosts dominated territory and possession in the early stages.
However, the visiting Loons would strike first on an undeniably superb long-range belter from Dotson in the 15th minute. After Sporting failed to fully clear a set piece delivery, Robin Lod nodded the ball in the direction of Dotson, whose right-footed volley from 22 yards rippled the top left corner of the net to give Minnesota a 1-0 advantage.
Sporting sustained another haymaker near the half-hour mark when Minnesota doubled its cushion. Bongokuhle Hlongwane kickstarted a counter attack down the right side before squaring a low cross to Oluwaseyi, who slotted past John Pulskamp for his first goal of the 2025 campaign.
The hosts had two opportunistic attempts go begging on the cusp of halftime, Suleymanov forcing a save from Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and Erik Thommy narrowly missing the target at the top of the box.
Less than a minute into the second half, the Loons thought they had put the game to bed as Joaquin Pereyra received a probing diagonal ball from Lod and steered a ball across the face of goal for Oluwaseyi to finish at the doorstep, digging Kansas City into a 3-0 hole.
Down but not out, Sporting staged a stunning rally that spanned the final quarter-hour of the contest. With 68 minutes on the clock, a pair of impact substitutes combined as left back Tim Leibold lofted an inch-perfect ball over the top for Salloi to dink past St. Clair near the left edge of the six-yard area. Salloi, whose 258th career appearance for Sporting passed Seth Sinovic for eighth most in club history, now has 85 regular season goal contributions (48 goals, 37 assists) in a Kansas City uniform, breaking a tie with Chris Klein for fourth most on the club’s all-time charts.
In the 72nd minute, Sporting landed another blow when Suleymanov squared up his defender on the right side of the penalty area and uncorked a low cross that Minnesota center back Morris Duggan inadvertently pinged into his own net. It marked the first time that Sporting had scored from an own goal since April 20, 2024—coincidentally a match that also ended 3-3 against rivals St. Louis City SC at Children’s Mercy Park.
Brimming with belief, Sporting thrust forward again on 79 minutes when St. Clair corralled a 30-yard effort from Salloi. Seconds later, Sporting’s Designated Players delivered to restore parity in dramatic fashion. Spanish midfielder won a crucial tackle on the edge of the penalty area to set up Joveljic, whose predatory strike from 15 yards caromed off the far right post before nestling into the net, completing the wild fightback and knotting the score at 3-3.
The dying embers of the match unfolded frantically with both sides gunning for a winner. Hlongwane embarked on a mazy solo run before prompting a save from Pulskamp, who then delivered a gigantic stop in the 83rd minute to deny Duggan off a Loons corner kick. The visitors thought they had been awarded a penalty kick on 85 minutes when Joaquin Fernandez was penalized for a handball infraction on his sliding block of Jeong Sang-Bin’s piledriver. VAR Robert Schaap instructed head referee Joe Dickerson to take a second look at the play, and the initial decision was overturned after replays confirmed that the shot struck Fernandez’s head.
Leibold had a decent look at an unlikely winner in the 89th minute, dragging wide near the left corner of the box, then Sang-Bin had a guilt-edged chance go begging by rifling over the crossbar with an empty net at his mercy in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 4
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 14,868
Weather: 43 degrees and snowy
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
Sporting Kansas City (0-3-1, 1 point) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Minnesota United FC (2-1-1, 7 points) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Jake Davis (Khiry Shelton 88'), Joaquin Fernandez, Robert Voloder, Logan Ndenbe (Tim Leibold 59'); Nemanja Radoja, Zorhan Bassong (Memo Rodriguez 46'), Manu Garcia; Shapi Suleymanov, Dejan Joveljic, Erik Thommy (C) (Daniel Salloi 58')
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Jansen Miller, Stephen Afrifa, William Agada, Mason Toye
Minnesota United FC: Dayne St. Clair; Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Carlos Harvey, Michael Boxall (C), Morris Duggan, Anthony Markanich; Joaquin Pereyra (Jefferson Diaz 65'), Wil Trapp, Hassani Dotson (Owen Gene 74'); Tani Oluwaseyi (Jeong Sang-Bin 64'), Robin Lod (Kelvin Yeboah 74')
Subs Not Used: Alec Smir, Devin Padelford, Fernando Romero, Hoyeon Jung, Samuel Shashua
Scoring Summary:
MIN -- Hassani Dotson 1 (Robin Lod 1) 15'
MIN -- Tani Oluwaseyi 1 (Bongokuhle Hlongwane 1) 31'
MIN -- Tani Oluwaseyi 2 (Joaquin Pereyra 1) 46'
SKC -- Daniel Salloi 1 (Tim Leibold 1) 68'
SKC -- Own Goal (Morris Duggan) 72'
SKC -- Dejan Joveljic 2 (Manu Garcia 1) 80'
Misconduct Summary:
MIN -- Tani Oluwaseyi (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 6'
SKC -- Tim Leibold (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 64'
STAT | SKC | MIN |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 7 | 14 |
Shots on Goal | 3 | 6 |
Saves | 3 | 1 |
Fouls | 10 | 18 |
Offsides | 0 | 2 |
Corner Kicks | 4 | 4 |
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referee: Kyle Atkins
Assistant Referee: Corey Parker
Fourth Official: Daniel Radford
VAR: Robert Schaap
AVAR: Matthew Corrigan
