By Sam Kovzan – SportingKC.com
Braces from Alan Pulido and Erik Thommy propelled Sporting Kansas City (8-15-7, 31 points) to a resounding 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids (14-10-5, 47 points) on Wednesday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
Sporting’s third consecutive home win in all competitions saw the hosts thoroughly outplay their Western Conference counterparts from start to finish, scoring four goals in an MLS match for the first time since June 2023 and totaling 31 shot attempts, fifth most in club regular season history. With Pulido and Thommy bagging two goals apiece, it was also the first time since April 2019 that Sporting had two players score twice in the same MLS match.
Manager Peter Vermes’ men will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday when regional rival Minnesota United FC (11-12-6, 39 points) visits Children’s Mercy Park for a 7:30 p.m. CT kickoff. Tickets for the contest are available at SeatGeek.com with live broadcasts on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
With his team navigating a stretch of five matches in 14 days—including the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final next Wednesday at LAFC—Vermes deployed a lineup that featured seven changes from Sunday’s 2-0 loss at Seattle Sounders FC. Among the fresh faces was left back Logan Ndenbe, who made his 100th professional club appearance and his first MLS start since last November after overcoming an ACL injury.
Ndenbe created Sporting’s first of many chances on Wednesday with a clever cutback pass from the left side in the fourth minute, but William Agada’s first time effort at the top of the box sailed wayward. Four minutes later, however, Sporting broke through as Pulido pounced on a loose ball 15 yards from goal and fired low into the left corner to give his side an early lead.
Kansas City’s attacking appetite remained evident as Agada had a breakaway attempt blocked by the sliding Michael Edwards, Pulido dragged a shot wide from a tight angle and Stephen Afrifa cut centrally before seeing his shot smothered all before the 20-minute mark. Near the half-hour juncture, midfielder Memo Rodriguez went agonizingly close to scoring from long range with a 25-yard piledriver that screamed inches wide of the left post.
The Rapids stayed on the backfoot and were fortunate not to concede again before the break. Afrifa had a stinging drive touched over the crossbar by Colorado goalkeeper Zack Steffen before Agada’s header off a Johnny Russell corner kick rattled the woodwork. Agada was again unfortunate not to score on the cusp of intermission, lunging to meet a driven Russell cross that was just beyond his reach.
Sporting found the second goal they deserved in the 49th minute. Holding the ball up on the left edge of the box, Afrifa squeezed a pass through to Pulido, who evaded multiple tacklers near the penalty spot before slotting past Steffen for his second goal of the night. In doing so, the Mexican striker—who has five goal involvements in his last five MLS matches—recorded his seventh multi-goal match in the MLS regular season, tying teammate Russell and Preki for third most in club history. With eight goals and five assists in all competitions, Pulido’s 13 total goal contributions this year are second most on the team behind Agada’s 15.
Smelling blood in the water, Sporting hunted a third and nearly found it before the hour mark. Pulido and Ndenbe both forced saves from Steffen before Afrifa settled a diagonal ball from Thomy and uncorked a volley that narrowly missed the target.
With 69 minutes played, Thommy pushed the scoreline to 3-0 by scoring shortly after entering as a substitute alongside Daniel Salloi and Tim Leibold. Sporting broke forward with numbers as Agada charged centrally and spread the ball left to Thommy, who cut the ball onto his patented right peg and picked out the far right corner with expert precision. Sporting has now scored three or more goals in 12 of the club’s last 28 regular season home games dating back to May 13, 2023.
Colorado seldom threatened Sporting’s net, but Edwards provided the visitors a consolation prize with his first career MLS goal in the 75th minute. After Sporting failed to clear a corner kick, Keegan Rosenberry got a touch on the ball and Edwards applied the finish at close range to make the score 3-1.
Sporting restored its three-goal cushion in the 82nd minute. Zorhan Bassong’s searching long ball over the top found Agada, who muscled off a defender and poked a pass to Salloi at the top of the box. The Hungarian then slid a clever pass into the path of the overlapping Thommy, who sent a left-footed strike low past Steffen for his MLS career-high seventh goal of the year. It was the German’s second brace of the season after his double against Inter Miami CF at Arrowhead Stadium on April 13, and it gave Salloi the fifth multi-assist game of his MLS career.
The final flashbulb moment of the game came in the 87th minute when Sporting substitute Remi Walter did brilliantly to extinguish the danger of a Colorado breakaway, sprinting back to block an Omir Fernandez shot that was destined for an empty net after goalkeeper John Pulskamp was bypassed. The 4-1 scoreline would hold to the final whistle as Sporting secured its second straight MLS home win by a three-goal margin.
After hosting Minnesota on Saturday, Sporting will venture to Los Angeles next week for a colossal showdown with LAFC in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. Kickoff next Wednesday at BMO Stadium is slated for 9:30 p.m. CT with a free stream on Apple TV. Sporting will be competing for a record-tying fifth Open Cup title, while LAFC is playing for its first tournament championship.
2024 MLS Regular Season | Match 30
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 14,826
Weather: 82 degrees and sunny
Sporting Kansas City 4-1 Colorado Rapids
| Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Kansas City (8-15-7, 31 points) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Colorado Rapids (14-10-5, 47 points) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton, Robert Castellanos, Andreu Fontas, Logan Ndenbe (Tim Leibold 59′); Memo Rodriguez (Remi Walter 70′), Zorhan Bassong; Johnny Russell (C) (Daniel Salloi 59′), Alan Pulido (Erik Thommy 59′), Stephen Afrifa (Alenis Vargas 84′); William Agada
Subs Not Used: Tim Melia, Dany Rosero, Robert Voloder, Danny Flores
Colorado Rapids: Zack Steffen; Keegan Rosenberry (C), Michael Edwards, Andreas Maxso, Jackson Travis (Reggie Cannon 74′); Cole Bassett (Kimani Stewart-Baynes 71′), Connor Ronan (Jasper Loffelsend 71′); Calvin Harris (Oliver Larraz 57′), Djordje Mihailovic, Jonathan Lewis (Omir Fernandez 57′); Rafael Navarro
Subs Not Used: Ethan Bandre, Sebastian Anderson, Wayne Frederick
Scoring Summary:
SKC — Alan Pulido 6 (unassisted) 8′
SKC — Alan Pulido 7 (unassisted) 49′
SKC — Erik Thommy 6 (William Agada 3, Daniel Salloi 4) 69′
COL — Michael Edwards 1 (Keegan Rosenberry 1) 75′
SKC — Erik Thommy 7 (Daniel Salloi 5) 82′
Misconduct Summary:
COL — Calvin Harris (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 16′
COL — Rafael Navarro (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 38′
SKC — Daniel Salloi (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 74′
SKC — Alenis Vargas (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 90+2′
Match Statistics
| Stat | SKC | COL |
|---|---|---|
| Fouls | 10 | 5 |
| Offsides | 3 | 2 |
| Corner Kicks | 11 | 4 |
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistant Referee: Kyle Atkins
Assistant Referee: Seth Barton
Fourth Official: Chris Penso
VAR: Luis Guardia
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert
