Sporting Kansas City’s losing streak hits five. Is this rock bottom for 2025?

After Minnesota United defender Anthony Markanich headed in his second goal of Saturday night’s Major League Soccer matchup, the broadcast flashed to a still shot of Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp lying face down in front of goal.

It was a fitting image of frustration, yet again, for Sporting KC. The visitors lost their fifth straight game, this one by a score of 3-0 at Allianz Field in St. Paul.

Even a formation change couldn’t stop the losing streak, as Sporting KC has hit rock bottom down the stretch of the 2025 season. This loss marks Sporting’s 20th of the 2025 season.

“The guys are gutted,” interim coach Kerry Zavagnin said. “I think they’ve put a lot of hard work into the year. It’s been a heavy year for everybody, and as we’ve come down the stretch — certainly in the last six to eight games — the results haven’t gone our way. Any season, no matter what things are happening on or off the field, it’s difficult when you suffer this many losses in a row.”

Sporting’s record of 7-20-6 (27 points) could still be bad enough for the “Wooden Spoon,” an unofficial award MLS fans collectively bestow on the team with the worst record in the regular season.

SKC has now conceded 70 goals this year, the worst mark in club history.

Sporting’s formation change was intended to address some of the defensive issues the team has faced of late, Zavagnin said. Sporting played with three center backs, two wing backs, three midfielders and two strikers.

The formation effectively transitioned from a 3-5-2 with the ball to a 5-3-2 without it.

The change appeared to work for much of the first half. Minnesota took only two shots and actually had a lower xG (expected goals) than Sporting despite leading at half.

“In the first half, we defended actually very well,” Zavagnin said. “The set piece (goal) was unfortunate because up until that point there really wasn’t a lot going on in front of our box.”

Markanich scored his first of the night in the 25th minute. It was a wide-open header in the middle of the box that Pulskamp could’ve done better with.

Sporting’s best chance of the night came toward the end of the first half, when Dejan Joveljic flicked a pass from Nemanja Radoja into the path of Mason Toye, who had a one-on-one chance. But his shot was tame and well-read by Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

“Unfortunately, we gave the ball away in midfield from a central defender, and they went down and scored,” Zavagnin said. “We were really playing catchup from then on out. And as the game evolved, as it went into the third goal and we started bringing (attacking) numbers on the field, the game was more or less finished.”

Joaquin Pereyra doubled Minnesota’s lead in the 59th minute, pouncing on a rebound from Pulskamp that could’ve been pushed away in any other direction. Markanich added a towering header four minutes later to round out the scoring.

Up next: Sporting KC’s final match of the 2025 season is at home on October 18. SKC will host the Houston Dynamo.

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

This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM.