"This Week in Sporting," presented by The Smile Generation, is a biweekly series that highlights the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City. To visit the series archive, click here.
1. Back with a Bang
Sporting Kansas City opened the 2020 MLS season with an impressive 3-1 win Saturday over Vancouver Whitecaps FC as newcomers Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda each scored first-half goals in memorable debuts and Erik Hurtado put an exclamation point on the performance with a last-minute goal against his former club.
The road result at sold-out BC Place saw Sporting emerge victorious for a league-leading 14th time in a season opener in the club's 25-year history and improve to 10-3-4 in MLS action against Vancouver. Sporting now has 13 regular season away wins in Canada, most in MLS, and 31 victories all-time against Canadian clubs, also an MLS best.
2. Some Kinda Wonderful
Midfielder Gadi Kinda wasted no time endearing himself to the Sporting Kansas City faithful. The diminutive spark plug delivered a rousing debut performance on Saturday night, helping his side to a momentum-building victory with an exquisite 39th-minute strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Kinda's masterclass is one of five AT&T Goal of the Week nominees for Week 1 of the 2020 MLS season, going up against strikes from Oswaldo Alanis of the San Jose Earthquakes, Carlos Vela of LAFC, Cristian Pavon of the LA Galaxy and Emerson Hyndman of Atlanta United FC. Fans can cast their vote for Kinda at MLSsoccer.com and the ballot will remain open until 2 a.m. CT on Thursday.
3. Homeward Bound
With a well-earned win in the books, Sporting Kansas City will now return home to host the Houston Dynamo at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the long-awaited and highly anticipated home opener are available at SeatGeek.com and the first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive Sporting rally towels courtesy of match sponsor UMB Bank. The Western Conference clash will also air live on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO.
3. Taking It to the Street
The KC Streetcar Authority has kicked off the 2020 Sporting Kansas City season with a specially designed Sporting Streetcar as part of the club's One Sporting Way campaign. Streetcar 803 is wrapped in a Sporting Blue and Dark Indigo design highlighted by images of the team's seven major championship trophies, the state line brand element found in the Sporting KC crest and the Swiss Dot pattern seen on this year's secondary kit.
5. Unbeaten Preseason
Sporting Kansas City II closed out their 2020 preseason with an unbeaten 2-0-2 record following a 2-1 road victory over fellow USL Championship outfit FC Tulsa on Saturday afternoon. Portuguese winger Ze Pedro fired the visitors ahead in the eighth minute and Sporting KC Academy product Wilson Harris buried a 78th-minute penalty to restore Sporting II's advantage. The contest also saw the Sporting II debut of former MLS veteran and 25-year-old Dillon Serna, who signed for the club on Friday.
Head coach Paulo Nagamura's side will now ramp up preparations for Sunday's USL Championship season opener against the Charlotte Independence, slated for 4 p.m. CT at Children's Mercy Park with tickets available at SeatGeek.com and a live stream on ESPN Plus.
6. BODYARMOR
BODYARMOR, the official sports drink of Sporting and Major League Soccer, has launched an online sweepstakes giving fans the opportunity to enter to win a custom, limited-edition Sporting KC BODYARMOR bottle. Fans can visit www.drinkbodyarmor.com/MLS-sweepstakes through March 20 and enter the giveaway for a chance to win an exclusive Sporting KC bottle, designed to invoke the spirit of the club. Click here for the official rules and information.
BODYARMOR announced a multi-year partnership with Sporting last month. As part of the agreement, BODYARMOR Sports Drink will hydrate Sporting players on sidelines at matches and practices, in locker rooms and in training facilities. BODYARMOR’s logo and branding will be featured on coolers, cups, squirt bottles and towels on sidelines starting this season.
