Go Inside KC Soccer with surging Sporting & Current + local lower-division action

Just over one week ago, Sporting Kansas City was coming off a 6-0 loss and alarm bells were sounding loud and clear.

Then Sporting KC did something it hadn’t since 2024, winning back-to-back Major League Soccer matches. A decisive 3-1 home victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy and come-from-behind 2-1 road win at Austin FC have altered the outlook for Kansas City’s MLS club.

Sporting KC forward Calvin Harris, who starred in the win over the Galaxy, credited a recent rise in confidence. His point was that the players’ mentality has always been the same, but their confidence was lacking.

“When things are going against you, it’s hard to kind of change (your confidence),” Harris said. “But it kind of just happened naturally. I think we were saying the same message week in and out, but something clicked in that game (against the Galaxy), and we were able to replicate it.”

Confidence is the biggest performance enhancer in sports. It is equally a detractor when that level wanes. Take Stephen Afrifa, for example, who scored the winning goal in Sporting’s comeback win in Texas.

Afrifa has amassed just 216 minutes so far this season and has not picked up a single start. But in the last two games, he collected a goal and assist off the bench. KC head coach Raphael Wicky said that a team-first, confident mentality is important whether you’re a starter or not.

“I expect them to put themselves in a state of mind that they can help the team when they come in, because the team needs them,” Wicky said. “I think you can only help the team when you’re in a good state of mind and accept that, ‘Today I’m not starting, but I’m going to help. And maybe sometimes I’m going to show the coach that he was wrong to put me on the bench.’”

With just 11 points from 13 matches so far, Sporting KC remains in last place in the Western Conference. However, anything is possible, as more than half the season is yet to be played. Sporting will play its last game before the World Cup break on Saturday, hosting Red Bull New York.

Chawinga, Current stay hot

After enduring some uncharacteristic struggles early in the season, the KC Current is flying high. The team won its third in a row last weekend, beating the Houston Dash 3-0.

Temwa Chawinga has netted five goals in the Current’s last two matches, closing in on Barbra Banda in the golden boot race.

So much of the team’s return to form is thanks to her goal-scoring prowess. Chances that went unmet are now being put away regularly, and the team has a new dimension to its attack.

New head coach Chris Armas was squarely in the crossfire of fans’ ire early in the season as results piled up against his team. Those outcomes followed overall performance that seemed equally confusing.

And now? With things seemingly running much more smoothly? Armas pointed to the ebbs and flows of development throughout the year.

“One phase of that is when things get tough,” he said. “And then sometimes it settles down, and then you get really hot, and you can perform. And then maybe there are injuries or trades, and then you’re in the storm again.

“The key is that you stay steady, and we all stayed very steady through the tough moments.”

Houston and Chicago, back-to-back victims in 3-0 KC wins, weren’t exactly the biggest of tests. Angel City away on Wednesday night, followed by Portland at home on Sunday afternoon, will provide better guages of where the Current fall within the pecking order of the National Women’s Soccer League.

Acknowledging the fans

Headlines surrounding fan protests at Inter Miami over the lack of acknowledgment or appreciation from players have percolated around the league this week.

But Sporting KC found itself on a more positive end of that conversation after its home win over the Galaxy.

In a tradition started by Matt Besler and The Cauldron supporters’ group more than a decade ago, KC victories at Sporting Park are followed by a serenade of “Oh, when the Wiz go marching in.”

Fans put their outstretched arms across the shoulders of the people standing next to them, all throughout the supporters’ section of the stadium. As they sway back and forth in unison, the Sporting players line up at the edge of the 18-yard box and do the same.

Wednesday night was Sporting’s first home win of the 2026 season, and just the 13th home victory since 2024 (40-plus home matches). With this past offseason’s mass changeover of players and staff, some pre- and post-game traditions did not return in 2026.

While some rumors swirled that the post-win Sway, as it’s called, was cut, multiple sources familiar with the situation refuted that claim. The question became moot after Sporting topped L.A.

Players and staff shook hands with Galaxy opponents after the final whistle, and then Sporting’s Jake Davis and Zorhan Bassong — as well as some of the other players who have been with the club for a few years — led the team over to the top of the 18-yard box.

There they stood, arm in arm, and celebrated with the fans.

Shuttle service to KC Current games ends

On Sunday, for the first time, KC Current fans will be able to arrive by KC Streetcar to CPKC Stadium for a match.

In turn, the team announced Tuesday that the shuttle services the club operated for fans along the existing streetcar route have ended.

The shuttle service was initially put into place to supplement the streetcar route and minimal available on-site parking. Pickup locations were placed strategically near free parking lots downtown, close to existing streetcar stops.

Lower-division soccer kicks off in KC

While Sporting KC and the KC Current are at the top of their pyramids, several other local clubs are underway in the USL League 2 season.

USL League 2 is a pre-professional league featuring some semi-pro players and collegiate stars from around the country. Santafé Wanderers, the longest-running active soccer club in the metro, won its first match Friday, beating Des Moines Menace 3-2.

The Wanderers will call Pioneer Stadium at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe their home this summer.

Sunflower State FC lost 4-1 to FC Ambush of St. Louis on Saturday. Sunflower State’s home matches will be played at Pembroke Hill High.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.