Sporting KC can’t catch Real Salt Lake on road. Next comes home match vs. San Jose
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sporting KC lost 3-1 at Real Salt Lake after conceding in the 4th minute.
- Joveljic pulled one back; Xavier Gozo added an assist and late volley to seal it.
- Sporting hosts San Jose Apr 11 (7:30 p.m.), then travels to Colorado Springs Apr 14.
Sporting Kansas City faced a tall order coming out of Major League Soccer’s international break, facing Real Salt Lake on the road.
RSL started the season strong and kept its momentum going on home turf Saturday afternoon, defeating Sporting KC 3-1 at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
Sporting KC (1-4-1) conceded early. Diego Luna got the hosts on the scoreboard just four minutes in, picking up the ball, dribbling around KC’s Ethan Bartlow, and sending a low, driven shot past Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp.
That goal didn’t destroy Sporting KC’s game plan. But it sure seemed to rattle the KC club’s mindset.
“It looked after (the goal) that a lot of players were with a lack of confidence, didn’t really want the ball, or were struggling a lot with the ball and being very nervous when they had the ball,” said Sporting head coach Raphael Wicky. “Throughout the first half, we gave so many balls away, easy balls in our own half, which leads to big chances.
“I cannot tell you if that was the early goal, but it is impossible to win a football game if we continue doing as many mistakes as we did in the first half.”
RSL outshot Sporting KC 22-5 and won the possession battle in the first half. Sporting made a substitution at halftime, bringing on Diego Borges, which appeared to steady things a bit for Kansas City.
“It’s not easy to come in,” Wicky said of the young defender, who was making his debut. “He didn’t train a long time with us, he doesn’t know the league. But actually, I think Diego had an interesting performance, an interesting game in the second half. So that is for sure something we take as a positive out of this game.”
Justin Reynolds had a golden chance on a counterattack that went just wide, and KC pinned back RSL under pressure. Reynolds said Sporting simply played with more pride in the second half.
“To be honest, we didn’t look scared,” Reynolds said. “That’s nice to have, but you’ve got to have that from the first half.”
As the game opened up after halftime, Sporting eventually got burned. A quick counter from RSL through Xavier Gozo led to a pass to Sergi Solans in the box. Solans’ cutback sent KC’s Jansen Miller sliding the wrong way, making for an easy finish that doubled the gap in the 55th minute.
Dejan Joveljic responded almost instantly for Sporting. Reynolds found him at the top of the box, and the captain did what he does best: put the ball in the net. Joveljic’s left-footed curler kissed the inside of the post and gave SKC a sliver of a chance.
But with 10 minutes to go, Real Salt Lake iced it on a stunning volley from the 18-year-old Gozo. His right-footed strike had placement and power, sailing over Pulskamp.
Up next: Sporting KC returns to action Saturday, April 11, for a home date against the San Jose Earthquakes. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. After that, Sporting heads to Colorado Springs for a U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday, April 14.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published April 4, 2026 at 5:56 PM.