Sporting KC stuns LAFC 3-1 to end series drought

Sporting Kansas City turned in its most complete performance in months on Saturday, beating visiting LAFC 3-1 at Sporting Park for its first win in the series since 2021.

Goals from record signing André Luiz, Taylor Calheira, and homegrown midfielder Jacob Bartlett carried Sporting past a club that entered the night 25 points ahead in the standings. The result snapped a seven-game winless run and ended an 11-match streak without a win over LAFC.

Cmdr. Benjamin Mills, the new commanding officer of the USS Kansas City, a littoral combat ship based in San Diego, was recognized on the field at halftime, along with several of his officers and sailors.

Salutes night

Saturday marked the club’s annual Sporting Salutes night, held on the weekend of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Under a cloudy sky and steady rain, retired Navy Petty Officer First Class Generald Wilson sang the national anthem while soldiers and Gold Star family members held a large flag across the field. At halftime, the club recognized officers and sailors from the USS Kansas City.

Taylor Calheira won the race to Stephen Afrifa’s rebound, tapping it in for the game winner.

A fast start

Sporting struck in the 18th minute. Moises Mosquera and Justin Reynolds combined down the right, and Reynolds fed André Luiz inside the box. The Brazilian cut onto his left foot, a move so smooth it sent his former teammate Igor Jesus stumbling to the turf. André then fired a burner into the upper left corner, grazing the crossbar and marking a memorable first goal with his new club.

Andre nearly had a second four minutes later. He met a long ball from Emir Karic on the volley, but the shot skipped just wide.

The lead doubled in the 31st minute. Karic swung in a cross, Stephen Afrifa’s attempt rattled the post, and the ball fell to Calheira, who gave it a head tap to make sure it went in.

“The ball’s in the box and it just dropped to me, which is great. I couldn’t ask for more,” Calheira said afterward.

Afrifa had another chance in the 39th minute. He seized on a turnover and struck a half-volley that Hugo Lloris denied.

LAFC pushed back before the break. Denis Bouanga burst clear in the 43rd minute, but Stefan Cleveland dropped low to deny him. Son Heung-Min then tested Cleveland with a stoppage-time free kick, and the goalkeeper held on. Sporting led 2-0 at halftime.

Reluctant to venture onto the field, the ball retriever timidly cleared the errant ball after the crowd starting chanting “Get that ball! Get that ball!”

LAFC pushes back

The visitors came out sharp after the interval. In the 48th minute, halftime substitute Jacob Shaffelburg cut the ball across for Bouanga, who tapped in to make it 2-1.

For the next 20 minutes, LAFC chased an equalizer and Cleveland answered. He stopped Marky Delgado at close range, then pushed away a long strike from Mathieu Choiniere.

Sporting still carried danger on the counter. Calheira drew another save from Lloris, and in the 69th minute he sent Afrifa clear, only for the Canadian to drag his shot wide.

Midfielder Jacob Bartlett played the ball out to the wing.

Bartlett seals it

The clincher came in the 71st minute. Ten minutes after entering as a substitute, Overland Park native Bartlett collected a loose ball on the edge of the area after Nkosi Tafari blocked Andre’s shot. He took a touch and slid a low finish into the corner for 3-1.

Cleveland kept the margin intact late, turning away a stoppage-time header from Ryan Hollingshead to finish with seven saves. LAFC forced 13 corner kicks to Sporting’s six but could not find a second goal.

The goal carried extra weight given his long history with the club.

“I’ve been in this club pretty much half my life, so it means everything to me to be able to score and to impact the team and help this city get back to where it used to be,” Bartlett said.

The André Luiz difference

André Luiz gave the home crowd a look at why the club made him its record signing. He scored the opener, drew a team-high five fouls, and gave LAFC’s left back a miserable night. Yevhen Cheberko fouled him inside the opening two minutes, hauled him down again in the 80th minute for a yellow card, and came off a minute later. André had a hand in the third goal as well, his shot deflecting into Bartlett’s path.

Wicky said the Brazilian’s quality had been clear from his first day at the club.

“That’s why we bought him. That’s why he’s here. From the first moment he trained with us you could see his individual quality, his change of pace, his one-v-one,” Wicky said.

Bartlett felt the effect on his goal.

“The ball kind of favorably bounced to me and André attracted a lot of defenders for me, so he gave me a chance to score. I’m just grateful to be able to do it,” Bartlett said.

Finding their level

Cleveland, who finished with seven saves, said the team finally showed what it can do.

“I think that we played great tonight. I think that we played the way that everybody in this locker room knows that we can play, and for whatever reason, we haven’t been,” he said.

He also credited the group for holding together after LAFC pulled a goal back.

“Earlier in the season the mentality of this team may have struggled to maintain a two-one lead, much less get the third. But I think we continued to drive forward. We knew what we could do and we did that, and we held our character tonight,” Cleveland said.

A word on the standings

Sporting improved to 5-16-3 and 18 points. Although the three points isn’t enough to lift Sporting from the bottom of the MLS standings, it brings the team within a win of catching Eastern Conference basement-dwellers Montreal (5-14-6, 21 points).

“I see the standing every day, and it hurts every day. It hurts every player every day, and it hurts every staff member every day,” Wicky said.

Calheira said the group knows what it owes the city.

“We know that we need to win games to turn things around and that our performance has been unacceptable,” he said.

LAFC dropped to 11-8-7 and 40 points.

Rallying around Blorian

Saturday was Sporting’s first game since the club announced that defender Or Blorian will miss the rest of the season. After a health scare earlier in the week, team physician Dr. Neal Erickson referred the 26-year-old to cardiologist Dr. Anthony Magalski at Saint Luke’s Hospital, where Blorian underwent cardiac testing and a procedure on his heart. Players held up his jersey before kickoff.

“I would like to thank the medical staff at the club as well as Dr. Erickson and Dr. Magalski for identifying the problem and acting so fast to save my life,” Blorian said in the club’s statement. He added that he already feels much better and expects to stay with the team through the end of the year.

Blorian joined Sporting in June after winning the Israeli Premier League title with Hapoel Be’er Sheva. He made his debut on July 16 at St. Louis and has appeared in seven matches.

Wicky said the situation put the night in perspective.

“I’m not a doctor. I cannot go into details, but there are things which are more important than a soccer ball,” said the concerned coach.

Sporting returns home next Saturday to host Philadelphia. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.