By Sam Kovzan – SportingKC.com
Sporting Kansas City (5-10-5, 20 points) battled back to claim a feisty 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake (5-10-4, 19 points) on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
After longtime Sporting captain Johnny Russell scored against his former club to give RSL the lead on the stroke of halftime, Erik Thommy leveled terms with a brilliant 59th-minute curler from distance as Sporting came back to secure a result for the fifth time in the team’s last eight games. Manu Garcia earned his ninth assist of the season on the play—third most in MLS—and now has an assist in four consecutive matches, the longest active streak in MLS and the second longest streak by an MLS player this year.
With a three-game homestand in the rearview mirror, Sporting will hit the road for a Fourth of July showdown against the Colorado Rapids (7-8-5, 26 points) on Friday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
On a night when club great and Kansas City native Matt Besler was inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor, RSL was first to threaten inside six minutes when midfielder Nelson Palacio dragged a shot narrowly wide of the left post. Shortly thereafter, in-form goalkeeper John Pulskamp made his first of seven saves by dropping low to smother a long-range drive from Diogo Goncalves.
The hosts manufactured their first good look in the 27th minute on a wonderfully worked buildup that culminated with forward Santiago Munoz pulling the trigger from 15 yards and forcing a smart save at the near post from goalkeeper Rafael Cabral.
Russell, a fan favorite at Children’s Mercy Park from 2018-2024, put his former team to the sword in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. The 35-year-old Scot latched onto an in-swinging cross from Alexandros Katranis and steered a powerful header past Pulskamp for his second goal in as many games, respectfully choosing not to celebrate in front of the Kansas City supporters.
Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin’s side responded with a strong showing in the second half. With 54 minutes on the clock, Munoz nodded a Shapi Suleymanov corner kick back across the face of goal for center back Jansen Miller, whose first-time effort was blocked on the doorstep.
Five minutes later, Thommy restored parity by settling a pass from Garcia and uncorking a right-footed curler from the left side of the box the bent inside the far post past the outstretched Cabral. The German playmaker now has four goal contributions (two goals, two assists) in five career regular season appearances against RSL, while Garcia has become only the second newcomer in club history (excluding the inaugural 1996 season) to record nine or more regular assists in his first season with the club. The only other player to do so was Russell, who had 10 assists in 2018.
Thommy almost bagged a brace in the 62nd minute, winning possession at the top of the box and seeing his low shot swallowed by Cabral. At the opposite end, Katranis sought his second assist of the night with a successful cross into the middle to Goncalves, whose acrobatic bicycle kick attempt was corralled by Pulskamp.
Sporting was reduced to 10 men in the 82nd minute when second-half substitute Jake Davis received a red card for his second bookable offense of the evening. The play gave RSL a numerical advantage that nearly translated to the visitors’ second goal five minutes later, but Dominik Marczuk’s cutback pass to Zavier Gozo prompted Pulskamp to make a superb kick save.
Miller delivered the defensive heroics after 96 minutes, helping his side salvage a point by retreating to the goal line for a pivotal block, repelling a breakaway shot from Gozo that had Pulskamp beaten.
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 20
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 17,050
Weather: 84 degrees and sunny
Sporting Kansas City 1-1 Real Salt Lake
| Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Kansas City (5-10-5, 20 points) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Real Salt Lake (5-10-4, 19 points) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton, Jansen Miller, Ian James, Tim Leibold (Logan Ndenbe 46′); Jacob Bartlett, Manu Garcia, Memo Rodriguez (Jake Davis 58′); Erik Thommy (C) (Andrew Brody 89′), Santiago Munoz (Mason Toye 77′), Daniel Salloi (Shapi Suleymanov 46′)
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Stephen Afrifa, Dejan Joveljic
Real Salt Lake: Rafael Cabral (C); Noel Caliskan, Justen Glad, Sam Junqua, Alexandros Katranis (Philip Quinton 85′); Nelson Palacio, Pablo Ruiz (Jesus Barea 89′); Johnny Russell (Dominik Marczuk 65′), Zavier Gozo, Diogo Goncalves; William Agada (Ariath Piol 65′)
Subs Not Used: Mason Stajduhar, Kobi Henry, Lachian Brook, Bode Hidalgo
Scoring Summary:
RSL — Johnny Russell 2 (Alexandros Katranis 3) 45+1′
SKC — Erik Thommy 3 (Manu Garcia 9) 59′
Misconduct Summary:
SKC — Daniel Salloi (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 24′
SKC — Tim Leibold (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 35′
SKC — Jacob Bartlett (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 43′
SKC — Memo Rodriguez (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 49′
RSL — Nelson Palacio (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 52′
SKC — Jake Davis (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 69′
RSL — Pablo Ruiz (yellow card; delaying a restart) 74′
SKC — Jake Davis (2nd yellow card/red card; unsporting behavior) 82′
Match Statistics
| STAT | SKC | RSL |
|---|---|---|
| Fouls | 10 | 15 |
| Offsides | 0 | 1 |
| Corner Kicks | 6 | 3 |
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Assistant Referee: Andrew Bigelow
Assistant Referee: Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Joshua Encarnacion
VAR: Shawn Tehini
AVAR: Brian Marshall
