Zusi turns in classic performance as Sporting KC rolls past Vancouver in playoff opener

Throughout the course of his career, Graham Zusi has usually been a good bet to score at least one banger per season for Sporting Kansas City.

As the Sporting KC legend has moved on in age and assumed a more defensive role, those bangers have been fewer and farther between. But another big moment finally arrived on Saturday evening as Sporting KC opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

In the 58th minute of Saturday’s game at Children’s Mercy Park, Zusi sent a long switch toward Daniel Salloi on the left wing. Salloi took a couple of touches inside before squaring it back to Zusi on the right side of the field.

Needing no further invitation, the 34-year-old wingback let rip from 28 yards, sending a laser into the top-left corner of Vancouver’s goal that helped ensure Sporting KC would advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

“Daniel cut in like he’s done so many times and for me,” Zusi said. “I think it a drew a lot of the attention of the defenders, as it should. He’s had such a good year scoring goals.

“It opened up the space for me. He played a perfect ball, and in that spot it was always going to be a touch and hit from me. Caught it clean and celebrated with the fans.”

The victory extended Kansas City’s streak of wins when scoring two or more goals to 18.

Sporting KC will face the Seattle Sounders or Real Salt Lake in the semifinals on Nov. 28 at 2 p.m. Central Time. Those two teams play Tuesday evening: If Seattle wins, Sporting KC will be on the road; a Salt Lake win would set up another game at Children’s Mercy Park.

Khiry Shelton and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin also scored first-half goals for Sporting KC, sandwiching a converted penalty from Vancouver’s Cristian Dajome.

But Zusi, Sporting’s elder statesman, was at the height of his powers Saturday night. He played crucial roles in not only his second-half barnstormer of a goal, but also Kansas City’s opening goal in the 17th minute.

Winning the ball in his own defensive third with no apparent threat to Vancouver’s goal, he sent a long switching ball up the field to Salloi. Mirroring how KC’s third goal would later play out, Salloi held possession until Zusi joined the attack.

Then he sent a deep cross to the back post for the onrushing Zusi, who volleyed the cross back inside the box for Shelton. Shelton then shot across his body and into the bottom-right corner to rapturous cheers around Children’s Mercy Park.

“The ability for him to get on the backside of that first goal was unreal, great ball and not easy to do,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “And then a tremendous finish by Khi.”

Diagonal balls up the field from Zusi to Salloi and Luis Martins to Johnny Russell embodied KC’s plan against the Whitecaps. Vermes and his staff identified a weakness in Vancouver’s tight back three and exploited it to great effect.

“The way they play in the three back system, with the three pretty interior players, made the switch of play on all night,” Zusi said. “I think we could have utilized it even more so at times, but that’s where the space was. The long ball from me to Daniel, Luis to Johnny, that’s where the space was on the field tonight.”

Vancouver leveled the score from the penalty spot in the 39th minute. Sporting KC left back Luis Martins missed a header on a deep cross. The ball instead hit his outstretched arm, giving referee Alan Kelly little choice but to award a penalty after checking with the Video Assistant Referee.

But the party soon returned to the stands when Isimat-Mirin scored his first goal in a Sporting KC jersey on the stroke of halftime. After a couple of headers in the Vancouver box off a Johnny Russell corner, Isimat-Mirin bundled one into the net.

Zusi iced the outcome with his first career playoff goal just before the hour mark. He also completed 71% of his passes and won nine duels to round off yet another exhilarating chapter in his storied Sporting Kansas City career.

“Just as very solid, smart performance from the boys — defensively, very sound,” Zusi said. “I think we showed a lot of character to not get frustrated that they got the equalizer toward the end of the first half.

“It was probably against the run of play, so for us not to lose our heads in that moment and get the huge goal before the first half ended was everything.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Zusi turns in classic performance as Sporting KC rolls past Vancouver in playoff opener."