Sporting KC Earns 5-3 Win in San Jose

Sports stats



MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Earns 5-3 Win in San Jose

April 20, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Daniel Salloi's two goals and two assists lifted Sporting Kansas City (2-6-1, 7 points) to an astonishing 5-3 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes (3-5-1, 10 points) on Saturday at PayPal Park.

The eight-goal thriller saw Sporting bag five goals in an away game for the third time in club history and the first time since prevailing 5-1 at San Jose on Sept. 15, 2018. The historic performance included a rampant first-half stretch in which Sporting scored three goals in a seven-minute span of a single half for only the second time in an MLS game.

Sporting midfielder Manu Garcia was also devastating in attack, tallying two assists in addition to notching his first goal for the club, while defender Logan Ndenbe opened the scoring and German playmaker Erik Thommy came off the bench in the second half to record a goal and an assist. Between the posts, goalkeeper John Pulskamp celebrated his 24th birthday by becoming the first Kansas City goalkeeper to assist a goal in an MLS match in over 20 years.

Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin made one change to Sporting's lineup from a 4-2 home loss to the Portland Timbers last Sunday as Serbian midfielder Nemanja Radoja replaced Jake Davis, who was sidelined with a minor hamstring injury. With Davis out, Pulskamp became the only Sporting player to start in all 11 matches this year across all competitions, while Salloi donned the captain's armband in his 218th regular season appearance, tying Preki for eighth most in club history.

An unforgettable encounter entertained from the start as San Jose threatened twice in the early stages. Pulskamp produced his first save on a grounded effort from Josef Martinez at the top of the box before Sporting midfielder Jacob Bartlett sprawled low for a crucial block on Vitor Costa's piledriver on the left side of the area. Pulskamp then did superbly to deny San Jose dangerman Cristian Espinoza in the 14th minute, spreading himself to repel a right-footed attempt from close range.

Sporting's first-half fireworks show burst to life in the 18th minute. After Salloi and Dejan Joveljic combined neatly on the edge of the box, the latter played a ball down the left side of the area for Ndenbe, whose rapturous strike found the far right corner for his first goal since netting twice in Sporting's famous series win over St. Louis City SC in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. Joveljic's assist was his first in a Kansas City uniform and gives him 10 total goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 11 MLS appearances against San Jose.

Only two minutes later, Sporting doubled their advantage when Pulskamp played an inch-perfect long ball over the top for Salloi, whose velvety first touch positioned him for a ruthless finish past San Jose goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. The play gave Salloi 50 regular season goals in his MLS career, made Pulskamp the sixth goalkeeper in team history to record an assist in an MLS match-the first since Bo Oshoniyi on April 2, 2005-and vaulted Sporting to 1,600 goals scored all-time in all competitions.

Zavagnin's side hit dreamland in the 24th minute by surging ahead 3-0. Isolated on the right wing, Shapi Suleymanov slipped an incisive pass into the penalty area for Garcia, who slotted low into the corner for his first MLS goal. Suleymanov now has three assists on the season and 50 assists in his professional career. Radoja tabbed a secondary assist on the play and now has nine assists in his MLS career, five of which have come against San Jose.

The Earthquakes entered the weekend with the top-scoring offense in MLS and responded with a pair of goals before intermission. Martinez tucked home at close range off a through ball from defender Rodrigues in the 30th minute before Chicho Arango steered a header into the back of the net after Espinoza's set piece delivery was glanced onward by defender Daniel Munie. Kansas City suffered another unfortunate blow on the cusp of halftime when center back Joaquin Fernandez was forced to exit with a hamstring injury, prompting Robert Voloder to enter as his replacement.

The visitors survived a nervy moment on 49 minutes when Vitor Costa had a pair of shots blocked at the back post following Espinoza's tantalizing delivery into the mixer. San Jose went close once more in the 62nd minute as Niko Tsakiris uncorked an 18-yard shot that deflected and struck the top of the crossbar. Not long later, Tsakiris' free kick found Munie on the edge of the six-yard area, but his bouncing header lacked the pace and precision to beat Pulskamp.

Sporting found another gear in the final quarter of the game, reclaiming a two-goal cushion in the 73rd minute. Thommy exploited a pocket of space on the right side and flashed a low ball across the face of goal for Salloi to tuck past Edwards for his second goal of the contest. It was Salloi's fifth multi-goal game in the MLS regular season, his first since May 2022 and enough to vault him into a tie for seventh most in club history.

Thommy added the proverbial icing to the cake in the 85th minute, finishing off a sublimely manufactured team goal with a left-footed strike from 15 yards. The German's second goal of the year culminated a silky-smooth buildup in which Garcia and Salloi both tallied assists. Garcia has a team-leading four assists this season, while Salloi tabbed two goals and two assists in a game for the first time in his professional career.

San Jose salvaged a consolation goal in second-half stoppage time when Martinez was taken down inside the penalty area. Arango subsequently stepped to the spot and buried his penalty kick down the middle to make the score 5-3 and close the curtains on an instant classic in the Bay Area.

Winners in two of their last three matches, Sporting stays on the road next weekend with a visit to Eastern Conference contender FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

QUOTES

Sporting Kansas City interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin

On the second-half performance...

I think they learned their lessons and sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Last week was a difficult pill to swallow for us. But a credit to the guys. I had a few words in the locker room at halftime, obviously, but it was their rhetoric, if you will, that really drove the intensity of how they came out. They were determined to think about the key moments of the game and to start the second half in a much better way. San Jose came back with two goals after we had scored three and the momentum looked to have shifted. We did a really good job in the first moments of that second half to neutralize any momentum that they would be able to sustain. I have to give big credit to the guys. They were fantastic with their mentality.

On the insertion of Zorhan Bassong and Erik Thommy...

If you're asking whether they gave a major contribution, I would say yes. Erik Thommy had a goal and assist. Zorhan brought an incredible amount of energy in closing the space and pressuring the ball and winning it and playing forward. (Nemanja) Radoja had been coming off of a little bit of an injury and it looked like he was tiring out. We needed fresh legs in the midfield. It was a double sub at the time just because we had to use one moment in the first half. I'd have to also give credit to all the subs that came in. I thought outstanding of Memo (Rodriguez) and (William) Agada who only had a few moments at the end. It was really (Robert) Voloder stepping in at a really difficult time under pressure. He hasn't played in a little while and accounted himself really well. And of course Erik Thommy. It was a team effort. I mentioned before the game to the guys that we were going to need everybody and tonight everyone responded.

On the defense and the play of John Pulskamp...

I think we're a work in progress with that. We want to get better defensively. We want to be more balanced. I think whenever you play San Jose, and certainly this year, we talked about going into the game that they were outstanding on set pieces, which they got another one. They're outstanding in their transitioning and going forward. And they get a huge amount of numbers in the box, so they put you under a lot of pressure. Tonight was no different. So we knew we were likely not going to get out of here with a scoreless game on either side. I'm pleased that the guys stuck with it. We made mistakes, for sure. We gave up a few easy opportunities, but we're not perfect and we keep working. With the mentality that the guys had and the approach they had for the game, I know we're going to get better.

On Daniel Salloi's performance...

Fantastic for him, obviously. I think that's his best scoreline in terms of goals and assists since he's been in the club. But what I liked even more about that was his willingness to run off the ball and move off the ball and compete for the little moments in the game. That's what it takes to win, a collective effort like that. But his movement in the box, especially on the ball that Erik (Thommy) played across the goal - you have got to work hard to get there - and that's where he found himself tonight in good situations with good opportunities. Credit to him. It's great for him and great for us.

On Salloi's resurgence...

I think he's taking ownership of his responsibilities, both as an individual and also starting to take ownership of the team as a leader. Putting those pieces together and leading the way with his work and his commitment and how he carries himself around the club is a benefit to all of us. I think what he does off the field right now is equally as important as what he does on. I know attackers want to score. They're streaky players and when they get one, they usually get a few of them. Over his career, that's been the case. He's trending in the right direction and we're excited for him and we're excited for us.

Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi

Thoughts on the match...

I'm very, very proud of the team and the way we played tonight. We've seemed to be clicking more and more. We created last week a lot of chances. This week, we scored them as well. So I'm just very happy for the team. Playing away and scoring this many goals and winning this game is huge. It's very important. So I'm very proud of the guys.

On the halftime discussion in the locker room...

We just want to make sure that we don't keep our head down if mistakes happen because they will always happen. We are not a team yet to be able to have clean sheets every game. We'll get a couple, but especially against a team like San Jose, you're going to make mistakes. You're going to get scored on. We just have to always stay in the game and keep playing our game. And that's what we did. In the second half, we were under a lot of pressure. Actually, the whole game we were under a lot of pressure. But this team scores a lot of goals and that's when you rely on the attack. We showed up today and I'm just happy that there were big saves in the back and big clearances and we put our chances away. This is a huge team effort.

On his run of form...

That's the attacker's life. You have just got to keep grinding and keep staying at it and chances will come. If you work hard enough, you will reward yourself. And that's how I went into this season. And it happens. Attackers have bad seasons. I think it's always important in any position or in life in general, how you bounce back. So far, I'm doing a good job. I'm still hungry. I still want to score more and assist more and, most importantly, win games with the team. I'm very happy about today. It's nice to pat myself on the back a little bit when I get to the right places and finish those chances.

On nearly getting a hat trick...

I'm very mad at myself and I know that there's a text from my dad for sure my inbox just pissed at me for not finishing that chance. That's the closest I've ever been to a hat trick. And I'm very mad at myself. I'm trying to put that aside and just celebrate the win right now. But I still have never scored a hat trick and I am going to probably wake up a couple of times tonight because that's an annoying miss for me.

On the team's resolve...

This team over the past years, to be honest, has had to fight against positions where we were beaten and we were down or just struggling as a club in general. I feel like we always try to stay in it and we always try to give our best and fight back. I always say this. Individuals have to show up. And that's what we did today. A lot of guys showed a great performance and that's how you put together the team. Not putting our head down after getting scored on two goals and the momentum shifting their way, I think that's huge. Just once again, I'm very, very proud of the team. Next week we are going to work on not conceding those goals. But, at the same time, we have got to take our wins. Creating this many chances and scoring this many goals is amazing.

On the assist from John Pulskamp...

That's a big tunnel for him, for sure. That's one. Two, I wanted to celebrate with him, but what is he doing? As a goalkeeper, if I'm giving an assist, I'm sprinting for sure up the field. He just stayed in the goal. He said he didn't want to get tired, so I'm kind of disappointed in that. I can say we had a nod, but not really. It's more like he played an amazing ball and I made a good run. I'm very happy for him that I could score that goal and that gives him an assist. It's his birthday as well. Overall, I'm very happy for him.

-- SportingKC.com --

Check out the Sporting Kansas City Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

Major League Soccer Stories from April 20, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Sporting Kansas City Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central