Making his first appearance of the 2021 USL Championship season, 20-year-old goalkeeper John Pulskamp starred between the posts for Sporting Kansas City II in a 0-0 draw against El Paso Locomotive FC on Sunday afternoon at Children’s Mercy Park.
Pulskamp totaled six saves on his way to an impressive shutout and was selected to the USL Championship Team of the Week today for his razor-sharp performance. The California native helped SKC II to their first clean sheet of the campaign, producing five of his six saves from shots inside the penalty area, while also completing 27 of 30 passes.
Pulskamp notably started the first five matches of the 2021 MLS season for Sporting Kansas City, deputizing for the injured Tim Melia. On April 17—two days before his 20th birthday—Pulskamp became the third-youngest keeper in MLS history to win a match as Sporting collected a 2-1 win at the New York Red Bulls. He posted a 2-2-1 record and 11 saves in his five MLS appearances.
A member of the Sporting family since signing for SKC II in 2019, Pulskamp could be in contention to start again on Wednesday when head coach Paulo Nagamura’s men host FC Tulsa in a 7 p.m. CT kickoff on ESPN Plus.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 6
GK – John Pulskamp, Sporting Kansas City II: John Pulskamp recorded a six-save shutout including five saves on shots inside the penalty area and also completed 27 of 30 passes in SKC II’s 0-0 draw with El Paso Locomotive FC on Sunday.
D – Adrian Diz Pe, Rio Grande Valley FC: Adrian Diz Pe recorded the assist on Juan Azocar’s spectacular late equalizer for the Toros against San Antonio FC and defensively won 13 of 15 duels, 7 of 8 aerial duels and made four interceptions.
D – Dani Rovira, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Dani Rovira recorded one assist and two key passes and defensively recorded four interceptions and 12 recoveries while winning four tackles and 10 duels in his side’s 3-0 win against the New York Red Bulls II.
D – Yuma, El Paso Locomotive FC: Yuma completed a game-high 94 of 99 passes and won 5 of 6 duels while making four interceptions and 10 recoveries in El Paso’s 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas City II on Sunday evening.
D – Jack Metcalf, San Diego Loyal SC: Jack Metcalf recorded one assist and four key passes while completing 45 of 53 passes overall and winning 2 of 2 tackles in SD Loyal’s 2-1 victory against Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday night.
M – Alex Dixon, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Alex Dixon notched one goal, one assist and two key passes while making 11 recoveries and recording two interceptions in the Hounds’ 3-0 win away to the New York Red Bulls II.
M – Bruno Lapa, Birmingham Legion FC: Bruno Lapa scored the decisive goal in a pair of 1-0 victories for Birmingham Legion FC over the week and also completed 76 of 90 passes and had five key passes as his side defeated OKC Energy FC and Atlanta United 2.
M – Danny Griffin, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Danny Griffin scored the opening goal in the Hounds’ 3-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls II and also won 4 of 4 tackles and made nine recoveries and three interceptions during the contest.
F – Jordan Hamilton, Indy Eleven: Jordan Hamilton scored both goals for Indy from the penalty spot, including the side’s late winner, and completed 12 of 16 passes as Indy defeated Louisville for the first time since 2018.
F – Santi Moar, Phoenix Rising FC: Santi Moar continued his regular-season goalscoring streak to six games as he recorded the lone goal in Phoenix’s 1-0 win against Sacramento Republic FC, while also completing 2 of 3 dribbles and making recording three key passes.
F – Jonny Bolivar, Loudoun United FC: Jonny Bolivar scored his first goal for Loudoun to lift the side to a 1-0 victory on the road against New Mexico United, while also recording six shots overall and completing 11 of 15 passes.
Bench: Danny Vitiello (PIT), Robert Coronado (OKC), Jasser Khmiri (SA), Jake Areman (CLT), Jorge Hernandez (LA), Alejandro Guido (SD), Ariel Martinez (MIA)
