"This Week in Sporting," presented by The Smile Generation, is a weekly series that highlights the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City. To visit the series archive, click here.
1. Soaring in San Jose
Defender Jaylin Lindsey scored his first professional goal and forwards Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi struck for the second straight game as Sporting Kansas City (4-2-1, 13 points) battled from behind to secure an excellent 3-1 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes (3-4-0, 9 points) on Saturday night at PayPal Park.
After Eduardo Lopez lifted San Jose into an early lead, Lindsey provided a first-half equalizer and Pulido fired Sporting ahead with a stunning effort in the 60th minute. Salloi sealed the triumph on a sublime finish with 15 minutes to play as Sporting collected their second consecutive victory and vaulted to second place in the Western Conference. Saturday’s enthralling matchup saw Sporting improve to 7-1-3 in their last 11 competitive meetings against San Jose and claim their league-leading third win from a losing position this season.
2. Priceless Pulido
Of the 33 goals scored during Week 6 of the 2021 MLS regular season, arguably none were better than Alan Pulido's scintillating strike in Sporting win at San Jose. Not surprisingly, Pulido is one of four nominees for the AT&T MLS Goal of the Week, with fan voting open at @MLS on Twitter and in the poll below. The in-form Mexican international is up against goals from San Jose's Eduardo Lopez, Columbus Crew's Lucas Zelarayan and Houston Dynamo FC's Maxi Urruti.
Pulido, whose eight shots on Saturday were the second-most by a player in an MLS match this season, landed his second straight MLS Team of the Week honor today. He leads MLS during the month of May with four goals and 25 shot attempts as one of the league's most prolific attackers.
3. Nielsen is a Legend
Sporting Kansas City has announced former goalkeeper and captain Jimmy Nielsen as the newest member of the Sporting Legends hall of honor. Nielsen, who enjoyed a brilliant four-year stint in Kansas City from 2010-2013, will be officially inducted as a Sporting Legend in a pre-match ceremony before Sporting Kansas City hosts the Colorado Rapids on June 23 at Children’s Mercy Park. Tickets for the Western Conference clash are now available at SeatGeek.com.
Nielsen, who famously captained Sporting to the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 2013 MLS Cup titles, is the 11th club icon to join Sporting Legends, an initiative launched in 2013 that pays tribute to all-time greats while providing a platform for inductees to engage with the Kansas City community. Nielsen was selected through an online ballot of write-in votes submitted by fans.
4. Full House Saturday
Hot off a big win over San Jose, Sporting Kansas City (4-2-1, 13 points) will host rivals Houston Dynamo FC (3-2-2, 11 points) on Saturday night in the first full-capacity match at Children's Mercy Park since March 7, 2020. Tickets for the highly anticipated showdown are available at SeatGeek.com as the club welcomes 1,000 local medical professionals to the match and celebrates its Sporting Sustainability conservation initiative.
Saturday's contest will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT with three hours of live coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app. Listeners can follow the action live locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), while the Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates. The Final Whistle postgame show will also air immediately afterward on 810 WHB.
5. Gold Cup Tickets
Tickets are now on sale via SeatGeek.com for the five international matches at Children's Mercy Park during the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, headlined by United States Men's National Team matches on July 11, July 15 and July 18. Tickets start at $45 and three-day passes can be purchased for access to all five matches.
6. Tune In Tuesday
A new episode of the Sporting KC Show Podcast will debut at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday on Sports Radio 810 WHB. Hosts Nate Bukaty, Aly Trost and Conall McCourt will hear from a Sporting guest, recap Saturday's win over San Jose and preview the upcoming home match against Houston. The Sporting KC Show Podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes and SportingKC.com, giving supporters a weekly destination to catch up on club storylines, player achievements, guest interviews and more.
7. SKC II Sunday
Led by head coach Paulo Nagamura, Sporting Kansas City II (0-3-2, 2 points) will continue their USL Championship campaign on Sunday when they host El Paso Locomotive FC (1-0-1, 4 points) at Children's Mercy Park. The match will kick off at 4 p.m. CT and stream live on ESPN Plus.
