How Sporting KC honored late Gadi Kinda before emotional, whirlwind MLS match

On an emotional night at Children’s Mercy Park, Sporting KC dug deep and conjured one of the most furious comebacks it could.

Down two goals after a frustrating first half, Sporting KC rattled off three straight goals to take the lead within the first 20 minutes of the second period.

But the visiting New England Revolution found an equalizer and the match ended 3-3, a disappointing end to an evening filled with plenty of focus on what happened earlier in the week: the death of former KC player Gadi Kinda at 31.

“We, as a group, have been through a lot this year already,” interim coach Kerry Zavagnin said. “Although the result didn’t go in the most positive direction, you can see the competitiveness, the spirit, the will, the want in the group. And it’s very difficult to be disappointed when you have a group like that.”

Sporting honored Kinda’s memory with a video before kickoff, as well as with a moment of silence Saturday. KC players also wore the No. 10, Kinda’s number, on their backs in warmups.

Some players wore shirts referencing Kinda under their kits, while the crowd chanted Kinda’s name during the match. Players also wore armbands that read: “Gadi.”

“It’s special, and we’re all gonna miss him,” Sporting’s Daniel Salloi said. “I hope he was watching it. And he wanted us to win it, but I know he’s smiling up there to see us fight for him.”

Indeed, the emotional atmosphere set the stage for what turned into an eventful game. And Sporting flipped the match on its head in about 15 minutes.

A goal from Tomas Chancalay and an own goal by Jacob Bartlett had Sporting down 2-0 to start the second half. Sporting responded with three key substitutions, bringing on Erik Thommy, Khiry Shelton, and Logan Ndenbe.

“I told the guys, ‘As much as we’re going to make these tactical changes, the real way to get back in this game is to start to compete,’” Zavagnin said. “’We need energy and we need an emotional commitment to the second half.’”

Sporting responded — maybe no player more so than Zorhan Bassong. He jump started all three of the goal-scoring attacks either with a pass or tackle to win the ball.

The initial response came in the 53rd minute. Thommy’s shot from distance was saved, but Salloi pounced on the rebound to make it 2-1.

Then, on nearly the exact same sequence, Dejan Joveljic was fouled trying to follow up a rebound. Joveljic dispatched the ensuing penalty kick to make it 2-2.

Two minutes later, Manu Garcia’s volley made it 3-2. Sporting led.

The roar from the KC crowd at Children’s Mercy Park was deafening as the ball hit the back of the net. It all boiled down to effort.

“We got into the second half, and we had nothing to lose,” Bassong said. “You saw from the very beginning we had a lot of energy and we scored three amazing goals, honestly, because everybody was really committed to the task.”

The home side tried to hang on, but a goal from Maxi Urruti made it 3-3 in the 84th minute. Neither team could find a winner after that, despite more than 10 minutes of stoppage time.

Up next: Sporting KC travels to Houston to play the Dynamo on Saturday, May 31, at 7:30 p.m.

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

This story was originally published May 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM.