By Patrik Bergabo – Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City (3-10-2, 11 pts.) fell to a late 3-2 defeat against rivals St. Louis City SC (5-6-4, 19 pts.) at Energizer Park on Thursday night. After falling behind by two goals, Sporting responded well with goals from Capita Capemba and Dejan Joveljic, only for a late penalty to sink the team on their return to MLS action.
In the team’s first match in seven weeks, head coach Raphael Wicky handed a debut to newly-signed center back Or Blorian while mostly sticking with the group that earned two wins in the last three games before the break. Wicky’s other two changes from the team’s match against Red Bull New York on May 23 saw Manu Garcia and Jansen Miller each enter the lineup with Wyatt Meyer (illness) and Taylor Calheira (ankle) dropping out.
St. Louis took control of the game early on and created the first big chance in the 21st minute when top scorer Marcel Hartel found space inside the area but his low effort was tipped onto the post by Stefan Cleveland in the Sporting KC goal.
The hosts found the breakthrough in the 28th minute when Sang Bin Jeong turned the ball home at the far post after Sporting was unable to clear the initial cross.
Despite a decent response from Sporting, it was St. Louis that grabbed the next goal of the game when Hartel concluded a rapid counterattack with a composed finish to make the score 2-0 in the 36th minute.
Sporting answered back six minutes later through a stunning strike from Capita Capemba, who rifled the ball into the top corner from 20 yards for his second goal of the season to give Sporting life heading into the second half.
St. Louis almost retook their two-goal advantage in the 65th minute when star midfielder Eduard Lowen was teed up inside the area but he sent his curling effort rasping just over the crossbar.
Sporting found the equalizer in the 76th minute when Dejan Joveljic found the bottom corner with a classy finish for his team-leading seventh goal of the season after Manu Garcia had picked off a pass from St. Louis goalkeeper Ben Lundt. The goal was Joveljic’s 25th in his Sporting KC career and Garcia’s team-leading fifth assist of the season.
Moments later, St. Louis were awarded a penalty kick after video review adjudged that Ethan Bartlow had handled in the box while attempting to block Simon Becher’s attempt. Lowen stepped up and buried the penalty kick to give St. Louis the lead in the 86th minute.
Sporting pushed forward in the time remaining with Jake Davis and Joveljic each having attempts but ultimately St. Louis held on for the victory.
Sporting returns home next week for the team’s first match at Sporting Park following the FIFA World Cup break when the squad welcomes Minnesota United to Kansas City on Wednesday, July 22. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on Apple TV, while the game will be air on the radio on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. Tickets are available via SeatGeek.com.
2026 MLS Regular Season | Game 14
Sporting Park | Kansas City, KS
Attendance: 17,575
Weather: 70 degrees and partly cloudy
Sporting Kansas City 2-3 St. Louis City SC
| Score | 1 | 2 | F |
| Sporting Kansas City (3-10-2, 11 points) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| St. Louis City SC (5-6-4, 19 points) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Sporting Kansas City: Stefan Cleveland; Ian James (Jake Davis 46’), Jansen Miller, Or Blorian (Ethan Bartlow 75’), Jayden Reid (Emir Karic 46’); Capita Capemba (Stephen Afrifa 85’), Lasse Berg Johnsen, Zorhan Bassong (Kwaku Agyabeng 75’), Calvin Harris; Manu Garcia, Dejan Joveljic (C)
Subs Not Used: John Pulskamp, Jacob Bartlett, Cielo Tschantret, Shapi Suleymanov
St. Louis: Ben Lundt; Conrad Wallem (Rafael Santos 46’), Lukas McNaughton, Dante Polvara, Timo Baumgartl, Tomas Totland (Jaziel Orozco 88’); Daniel Edelman, Eduard Lowen (Tomas Ostrak 88’); Sang Bin Jeong (Miguel Perez 64’), Simon Becher (Palmer Ault 96+), Marcel Hartel (C)
Subs Not Used: Christian Olivares, Fallou Fall, Kyle Hiebert, Mykhi Joyner
Scoring Summary:
STL – Sang Bin Jeong 2 (Unassisted) 28’
STL – Marcel Hartel 4 (Simon Becher 5, Eduard Lowen 2) 36’
SKC – Capita Capemba 2 (Unassisted) 42’
SKC – Dejan Joveljic 7 (Manu Garcia 5) 76’
STL – Eduard Lowen 2 (Penalty Kick) 86’
Misconduct Summary:
SKC – Capita Capemba (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 78’
STL – Ben Lundt (Yellow Card; Time Wasting) 90’
STL – Daniel Edelman (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 97+
Match Statistics
| STAT | SKC | STL |
| Shots | 11 | 21 |
| Shots on Goal | 2 | 6 |
| Expected Goals | 1.1 | 3.0 |
| Corner Kicks | 6 | 5 |
| Possession | 46.4% | 53.6% |
| Saves | 3 | 0 |
| Fouls | 11 | 15 |
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referee: Logan Brown
Assistant Referee: Andrew Bigelow
Fourth Official: Fotis Bazakos
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
AVAR: Tom Supple
