By Sam Kovzan – SportingKC.com
For the third time this season, Sporting Kansas City (3-8-4, 13 points) spun a multi-goal deficit into a result as Daniel Salloi, Dejan Joveljic and Manu Garcia combined to score three goals in eight scintillating second-half minutes in a 3-3 thriller against the New England Revolution (5-4-4, 19 points) at Children’s Mercy Park.
After New England took a 2-0 lead into halftime behind Tomas Chancalay’s opener and an own goal, Sporting rallied vengefully with Salloi, Joveljic and Garcia leading a wild turnaround to give the hosts a 3-2 advantage by the 61st minute. However, the Revolution would extend their MLS unbeaten streak to seven matches by restoring parity in the 84th minute on an equalizer from veteran forward Maxi Urruti.
Sporting has overcome two-goal deficits on three occasions this season after losing 47 straight regular season matches when trailing my two or more goals from April 2019 through the end of 2024. With draws in three consecutive matches, Kansas City will now look ahead to a road tilt against familiar foe Houston Dynamo FC next Saturday, May 31. Kickoff at Shell Energy Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin made three changes to Sporting’s starting XI from a scoreless draw at San Diego FC last weekend. Andrew Brody entered at right back in place of Khiry Shelton, Salloi replaced Erik Thommy at left wing and Joveljic reprised his center forward role with Santiago Munoz dropping to the bench.
Saturday’s contest flowed with emotion as Sporting players, coaches and fans honored former Kansas City midfielder Gadi Kinda, who passed away Tuesday in Israel at the age of 31. Pregame tributes and in-game chants from the Members Stand celebrated the memory of Kinda, who donned the No. 10 jersey that now belongs to Salloi. Fittingly enough, it was Salloi who kickstarted Sporting’s second-half fightback and almost opened the scoring twice inside six minutes, only to smash high on a side volley and wide on a breakaway with only New England keeper Aljaz Ivacic to beat.
The Revolution seized control shortly thereafter, drawing first blood in the 14th minute on a close-range finish from Chancalay, who was making his first MLS start in almost exactly a year after missing most of 2024 with an ACL injury. Nine minutes later, a driven ball into the six-yard area from Peyton Miller forced an unlucky own goal off the foot of 19-year-old midfielder Jacob Bartlett, burying the hosts in a 2-0 hole.
Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin summoned the services of three substitutes at halftime as Shelton, Thommy and Logan Ndenbe all took the field. Sporting looked like a decidedly new team after the restart and cut their deficit in half on 53 minutes. After Ivacic spilled Thommy’s 24-yard piledriver, Salloi was on hand to slot home the rebound for his fifth strike of the campaign. The homegrown forward’s 52 regular season goals and 65 goals across all competitions are both fourth most in club history.
Purring with momentum, Sporting won a penalty kick four minutes later when Joveljic was topped from behind by Revolution center back Mamadou Fofana, preventing the Serbian international from taking a shot at point-blank range. Joveljic promptly buried the subsequent spot kick for the Designated Player’s team-leading seventh goal of the season and the 41st of his regular season career.
With Children’s Mercy Park buzzing and the Revolution on the back foot, Sporting capped an astonishing eight-minute stretch on a sublime team goal after 61 minutes. Zorhan Bassong played Thommy into space on the right wing and the German lofted a pinpoint delivery into the area for Garcia, who took a settling touch before blistering a shot into the left corner, vaulting Kansas City ahead 3-2 with his second goal of the year. Thommy now has three assists in 2025, all coming in substitute appearances, while Bassong tabbed his first assist of the campaign.
Sporting’s three-goal salvo from the 53rd to the 61st minutes marked the second time that Kansas City has bagged three goals in eight or fewer minutes this year, having done so in a 5-3 victory at the San Jose Earthquakes on April 19.
Saturday’s barnburner delivered yet another dramatic twist in the 77th minute when the Revolution thought they had leveled terms. Ignatius Ganago’s sliding finish off a Brandon Bye cross and an ensuing shot by Wyatt Omsberg found the back of the net, but the goal was rightly disallowed by linesman Walt Heatherly because Ganago was in an offside position. Referee Sergii Boiko was even prompted to take a second look at the play from VAR Katja Koroleva, and the head official upheld his original call.
Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp produced a clutch save to thwart Urruti in the 83rd minute before Bye nodded inches wide off a New England corner kick a moment later. Yet the Revolution would find their third goal with six minutes remaining, Urruti finishing on the doorstep off a feed from Luis Diaz.
Both sides traded blows in the late stages as 10 minutes of second-half stoppage time unfolded, but neither team could conjure a winner.
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 15
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 17,181
Weather: 69 degrees and partly cloudy
Sporting Kansas City 3-3 New England Revolution
| Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Kansas City (3-8-4, 13 points) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| New England Revolution (5-4-4, 19 points) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Andrew Brody (Khiry Shelton 46′), Jansen Miller, Robert Voloder (Dany Rosero 74′), Tim Leibold (Logan Ndenbe 46′); Jacob Bartlett (Joaquin Fernandez 86′), Manu Garcia, Zorhan Bassong; Shapi Suleymanov (Erik Thommy 46′), Dejan Joveljic, Daniel Salloi (C)
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Memo Rodriguez, Stephen Afrifa, Santiago Munoz
New England Revolution: Aljaz Ivacic; Ilay Feingold (Brandon Bye 64′), Brayan Ceballos, Mamadou Fofana (Wyatt Omsberg 70′), Tanner Beason (Maxi Urruti 79′), Peyton Miller; Matt Polster, Carles Gil, Alhassan Yusuf; Ignatius Ganago, Tomas Chancalay (Luis Diaz 70′)
Subs Not Used: Alex Bono, Andrew Farrell, Keegan Hughes, Eric Klein, Jackson Yueill
Scoring Summary:
NE — Tomas Chancalay 1 (Ignatius Ganago 3, Carles Gil 3) 14′
NE — Own Goal (Jacob Bartlett) 23′
SKC — Daniel Salloi 5 (unassisted) 53′
SKC — Dejan Joveljic 7 (penalty kick) 59′
SKC — Manu Garcia 2 (Erik Thommy 3, Zorhan Bassong 1) 61′
NE — Maxi Urruti 1 (Luis Diaz 1, Alhassan Yusuf 2) 84′
Misconduct Summary:
NE — Mamadou Fofana (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 57′
SKC — Manu Garcia (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 68′
SKC — Jacob Bartlett (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 76′
Match Statistics
| STAT | SKC | NE |
|---|---|---|
| Fouls | 10 | 11 |
| Offsides | 2 | 2 |
| Corner Kicks | 5 | 1 |
Referee: Sergii Boiko
Assistant Referee: Walt Heatherly
Assistant Referee: Kevin Lock
Fourth Official: Brando Stevis
VAR: Katja Koroleva
AVAR: Brian Dunn
