2023 Sporting Kansas City season

Sporting Kansas City
2023 season
Owner	Sporting Club
Head coach	Peter Vermes
Stadium	Children's Mercy Park
MLS	Conference: 8th ; Overall: 15th
Playoffs	Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup	Round of 32
Average home league attendance	18,616
	← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 Sporting Kansas City season was the 28th season of the team's existence in Major League Soccer and the 13th year played under the Sporting Kansas City moniker.

Roster[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of April 24, 2023.


No.	Pos.	Player	Nation
1	GK	John Pulskamp	United States
3	DF	Andreu Fontas	Spain
4	DF	Robert Voloder	Germany
5	DF	Daniel Rosero	Colombia
6	MF	Nemanja Radoja	Serbia
7	FW	Johnny Russell (DP)	Scotland
8	DF	Graham Zusi	United States
9	FW	Alan Pulido (DP)	Mexico
10	MF	Gadi Kinda (DP)	Israel
11	FW	Khiry Shelton	United States
12	DF	Kortne Ford (HGP)	United States
14	DF	Tim Leibold	Germany
15	MF	Roger Espinoza	Honduras
17	MF	Jake Davis (HGP)	United States
18	DF	Logan Ndenbe	Belgium
19	DF	Robert Castellanos	United States
20	FW	Dániel Sallói (HGP)	Hungary
21	MF	Felipe Hernandez (HGP)	Colombia
22	GK	Kendall McIntosh	United States
23	FW	William Agada	Nigeria
24	DF	Kayden Pierre (HGP)	United States
25	FW	Ozzie Cisneros (HGP)	United States
26	MF	Erik Thommy	Germany
28	DF	Cameron Duke (HGP)	United States
29	GK	Tim Melia	United States
31	MF	Danny Flores	United States
54	MF	Remi Walter	France
77	FW	Marinos Tzionis	Cyprus
82	DF	Chris Rindov	United States

Player movement[edit]

In[edit]

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

Date	Player	Position	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref
October 26, 2022	Nemanja Radoja	MF	Levante	Signed	^[2]
January 12, 2023	Tim Leibold	DF	Hamburger SV	Signed	^[3]
January 13, 2023	Danny Flores	MF	Oakland Roots	Signed via waivers	^[4]
February 17, 2023	Robert Castellanos	DF	Kuopion Palloseura	Signed	^[5]
March 31, 2023	Dany Rosero	DF	Atlético Junior	Signed	^[6]

Draft picks[edit]

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only trades involving draft picks and executed after the start of 2023 MLS SuperDraft will be listed in the notes.

Round	Pick Number	Player	Position	School	Notes
1	8	Stephen Afrifa	FW	FIU	Signed
2	37	Chris Rindov	DF	Maryland	Signed

Out[edit]

Date	Player	Position	Destination club	Notes	Ref
January 21, 2023	Uri Rosell	MF	LA Galaxy	Waived, signed with LA Galaxy.	^[7]
November 15, 2022	Kaveh Rad	DF	Hartford Athletic	Option declined, signed with Hartford Athletic	^[8]
November 15, 2022	Nicolas Isimat-Mirin	DF	SBV Vitesse	Option declined, signed with SBV Vitesse	^[8]
April 4, 2023	Ben Sweat	DF	New England Revolution	Waived, signed by New England Revolution	^[9]

Competitive[edit]

Major League Soccer[edit]

Standings[edit]

Western Conference[edit]

MLS Western Conference table (2023)
Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
6	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	12	10	12	55	48	+7	48	Qualification for Round One
7	FC Dallas	34	11	10	13	41	37	+4	46	Qualification for Round One
8	Sporting Kansas City	34	12	14	8	48	51	−3	44	Qualification for the Wild card round
9	San Jose Earthquakes	34	10	10	14	39	43	−4	44	Qualification for the Wild card round
10	Portland Timbers	34	11	13	10	46	58	−12	43

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)

Overall table[edit]

Overall MLS standings table
Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
13	Vancouver Whitecaps FC (V)	34	12	10	12	55	48	+7	48	Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One^[a]
14	FC Dallas	34	11	10	13	41	37	+4	46	Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32^[b]
15	Sporting Kansas City	34	12	14	8	48	51	−3	44
16	San Jose Earthquakes	34	10	10	14	39	43	−4	44
17	New York Red Bulls	34	11	13	10	36	39	−3	43

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
(V) Canadian Championship winner
Notes:

^ As 2023 Canadian Championship winners
^ As one of the top seven teams in the overall table to not qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup

Match results[edit]

February 27 1	Portland Timbers	1–0	Sporting Kansas City	Portland, Oregon
9:30 PM CST	Mosquera 6' (Chará) Zuparic 26' Williamson 73' Evander 89'	Report	Thommy 16'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 22,295 Referee: Timothy Ford
Note: Originally scheduled for February 25, but was postponed due to poor weather in Portland

March 4 2	Colorado Rapids	0–0	Sporting Kansas City	Commerce City, Colorado
8:30 PM CST	Abubakar 3' Cabral 69'	Report	Espinoza 58'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 14,954 Referee: Allen Chapman

March 11 3	Sporting Kansas City	0–0	LA Galaxy	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CST		Report		Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,612 Referee: Armando Villarreal

March 18 4	FC Dallas	2–1	Sporting Kansas City	Frisco, Texas
7:30 PM CST	Velasco 55' Paes 62' Twumasi 76' Ferreira 84'	Report	Sallói 11' Voloder 78'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 17,467 Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere

March 25 5	Sporting Kansas City	1–4	Seattle Sounders FC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CST	Agada 5' Sweat 53' 63'	Report	Morris 23', 54', 69', 77'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,629 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

April 1 6	Philadelphia Union	0–0	Sporting Kansas City	Chester, Pennsylvania
7:30 PM CDT	Harriel 18' Gazdag 40' Martínez 72'	Report	Agada 16' Walter 90+5'	Stadium: Subaru Park Attendance: 18,550 Referee: Victor Rivas

April 8 7	Sporting Kansas City	0–1	Colorado Rapids	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Rosero 35' Thommy 76'	Report	Max 37' Wilson 58' Rubio 68' Nicholson 71' Acosta 74'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,467 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

April 15 8	San Jose Earthquakes	3–0	Sporting Kansas City	San Jose, California
5:30 PM CDT	Espinoza 9', 59' Ebobisse 40' (pen.), 51' Gruezo 77'	Report	Thommy 31' Castellanos 90+3'	Stadium: PayPal Park Attendance: 14,212 Referee: Timothy Ford

April 22 9	New England Revolution	2–1	Sporting Kansas City	Foxborough, Massachusetts
6:30 PM CDT	Vrioni 31' (35)	Report	Fontàs 20' 61' Russell 50' Voloder 89'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 19,281 Referee: Nima Saghafi

April 29 10	Sporting Kansas City	0–2	CF Montréal	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Rosero 30' Pulido 52' Espinoza 57'	Report	Wanyama 27' Duke 35' Choinière 45+1' 90+6' Waterman 65'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,226 Referee: Ramy Touchan

May 7 11	Seattle Sounders FC	1–2	Sporting Kansas City	Seattle, Washington
3:30 PM CDT	Roldán 8' Lodeiro 66' (pen.) Rusnák 81'	Report	Thommy 4' Walter 12' Pulido 31' Ndenbe 65' Russell 90+5'	Stadium: Lumen Field Attendance: 31,620 Referee: Victor Rivas

May 13 12	Sporting Kansas City	3–0	Minnesota United FC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Tapias 36' Boxall 66'	Report	Rosero 9' 21' Sallói 22' Kinda 84'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 17,851 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

May 17 13	Los Angeles FC	1–1	Sporting Kansas City	Los Angeles, California
9:30 PM CDT	Bouanga 13' Sánchez 29' Palacios 40' Tillman 70'	Report	Russell 20' Sallói 90+4'	Stadium: BMO Stadium Attendance: 22,222 Referee: Armando Villarreal

May 20 14	St. Louis City SC	4–0	Sporting Kansas City	St. Louis, Missouri
8:30 PM CDT	Löwen 19' Vassilev 25', 75' Nerwinski 30' Gioacchini 55'	Report	Kinda 28' Sallói 42'	Stadium: CityPark Attendance: 22,423 Referee: Chris Penso

May 28 15	Sporting Kansas City	4–1	Portland Timbers	Kansas City, Kansas
2:00 PM CDT	Thommy 11' Fontàs 47' Sallói 66' Mabiala 68' (o.g.) Radoja 72' Shelton 85' Hernández 90+3'	Report	Boli 8' Loría 89'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,514 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

May 31 16	Sporting Kansas City	2–1	FC Dallas	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Ndenbe 37' Kinda 41' Sallói 60'	Report	Ferreira 90+1' Cerrillo 90+3'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 17,178 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Note: Delayed start due to inclement weather

June 3 17	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	1–1	Sporting Kansas City	Vancouver, British Columbia
9:30 PM CDT	White 39' Blackmon 63' Cubas 69' Gauld 78' 88' Sartini 86'	Report	Castellanos 7' Pulido 20' Kinda 79' McIntosh 90+5'	Stadium: BC Place Attendance: 13,739 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

June 10 18	Sporting Kansas City	4–1	Austin FC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Pulido 19', 57' Castellanos 47' Radoja 61' Thommy 87' Shelton 89'	Report	Cascante 52' Zardes 60' Driussi 61'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,885 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

June 17 19	Sporting Kansas City	1–2	Los Angeles FC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Pulido 17' (pen.) Rosero 50'	Report	Maldonado 48' Bogusz 59' Biuk 65' Vela 90'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 19,410 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

June 21 20	LA Galaxy	2–2	Sporting Kansas City	Carson, California
9:30 PM CDT	Cáceres 24' Judd 64' Aguirre 90'	Report	Pulido 12', 90+1' (pen.) Thommy 17' Rosero 23'	Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park Attendance: 20,960 Referee: Filip Dujic

June 24 21	Sporting Kansas City	0–1	Chicago Fire FC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Shelton 88' Sallói 90+2'	Report	Czichos 38' Herbers 47' Pineda 64' Souquet 67'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,032 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

July 1 22	Sporting Kansas City	3–0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Walter 33' Pulido 45+2' Thommy 53', 57' Davis 89'	Report	Berhalter 66'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,867 Referee: Malik Badawi

July 8 23	Houston Dynamo FC	2–2	Sporting Kansas City	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Aliyu 45+2' Úlfarsson 49' Herrera 50' Franco 90+8' Ferreira 90+10'	Report	Pulido 25', 62' (pen.) Rosero 65' Leibold 90+11'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 16,489 Referee: Nima Saghafi

July 12 24	Sporting Kansas City	2–2	Real Salt Lake	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Sallói 30' Russell 36'	Report	Musovski 46' Arango 67' Julio 72' Ruiz 87'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 17,924 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

July 15 25	Austin FC	2–1	Sporting Kansas City	Austin, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Zardes 17' Finlay 19' Cascante 59'	Report	Fontàs 8' Rosero 33' Davis 53'	Stadium: Q2 Stadium Attendance: 20,738 Referee: Ted Unkel

August 26 26	Sporting Kansas City	3–0	San Jose Earthquakes	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Sallói 3' Russell 42' Thommy 69'	Report		Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,892 Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere

September 2 27	Sporting Kansas City	2–1	St. Louis City SC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Pulido 31', 44', 71' Melia 86' Espinoza 90+7'	Report	Adeniran 22' Alm 81' Klauss 89'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 21,650 Referee: Allen Chapman

September 9 28	Inter Miami CF	3–2	Sporting Kansas City	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
6:30 PM CDT	Campana 25' (pen.), 45' Farías 60' Avilés 66' Alba 90+3'	Report	Sallói 9' Gutiérrez 33' Pulido 78' Leibold 79'	Stadium: DRV PNK Stadium Attendance: 19,355 Referee: Ismail Elfath

September 16 29	Minnesota United FC	0–1	Sporting Kansas City	Saint Paul, Minnesota
7:30 PM CDT	Taylor 24'	Report	Fontàs 44' Kinda 84' 90+5' Sallói 90+1'	Stadium: Allianz Field Attendance: 19,685 Referee: Tori Penso

September 20 30	Sporting Kansas City	0–3	Nashville SC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Rosero 90+4'	Report	Picault 29' Muyl 52' Mukhtar 66' Maher 76' Washington 82' Moore 90+1'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 16,825 Referee: Victor Rivas

September 23 31	Sporting Kansas City	2–1	Houston Dynamo FC	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Russell 7' (pen.), 39' Radoja 34' Agada 45+6' Thommy 73' Rosero 89' Sallói 90+6'	Report	Escobar 45+1' Hadebe 45+9' Dorsey 74' Caicedo 83'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,033 Referee: Chris Penso

September 30 32	St. Louis City SC	4–1	Sporting Kansas City	St. Louis, Missouri
7:30 PM CDT	Markanich 41' Adeniran 73' Stroud 75' Klauss 80', 85' Parker 87'	Report	Agada 90+3'	Stadium: CityPark Attendance: 22,423 Referee: Armando Villarreal

October 7 33	Real Salt Lake	2–3	Sporting Kansas City	Sandy, Utah
8:30 PM CDT	Glad 3' Vera 58', 81' Savarino 89' MacMath 90+7'	Report	Thommy 4' Russell 29' Radoja 38' Pulido 77' Melia 90+2'	Stadium: America First Field Attendance: 21,205 Referee: Ted Unkel

October 21 34	Sporting Kansas City	3–1	Minnesota United FC	Kansas City, Kansas
8:00 PM CDT	Russell 28', 78' Walter 31' Davis 85'	Report	Trapp 53' Taylor 66' Boxall 68' 82'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 20,479 Referee: Ismail Elfath

MLS Cup Playoffs[edit]

October 25 Wild Card	Sporting Kansas City	0–0 (4–2 p)	San Jose Earthquakes	Kansas City, Kansas
8:30 pm CDT	Fontàs 59'	Report	Hoppe 55' Skahan 80' Judson 87'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 17,437 Referee: Allen Chapman
	Penalties
	Russell Pulido Thommy Kinda Sallói		Espinoza Yueill Skahan Akapo

October 29 Round One	St. Louis City SC	1–4	Sporting Kansas City	St. Louis, Missouri
9:00 pm CDT	Parker 28' Jackson 45' Stroud 58' Löwen 70' Blom 78' Adeniran 87'	Report	Kinda 15', 39' Ndenbe 27' Walter 36' Sallói 61'	Stadium: CityPark Attendance: 22,423 Referee: Ted Unkel

November 5 Round One	Sporting Kansas City	2–1	St. Louis City SC	Kansas City, Kansas
4:00 pm CST	Pulido 42' Ndenbe 45+1', 69' Sallói 73' Rosero 81' Espinoza 90+14'	Report	Löwen 23' Parker 32' Pompeu 86' Hiebert 90+6'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 21,650 Referee: Ismail Elfath
Note: Sporting Kansas City won the series 2–0.

November 26 Conference semifinals	Houston Dynamo FC	1–0	Sporting Kansas City	Houston, Texas
6:00 pm CST	Escobar 39' Carrasquilla 69'	Report	Leibold 78'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 20,319 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

US Open Cup[edit]

April 25 Third Round	Sporting Kansas City (MLS)	3–0	Tulsa Athletic (NPSL)	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Sallói 32' Pulido 54' Tzionis 68'	Report	Torres 59' Ugbah 64' Harris 90+2'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 9,912 Referee: José Lara

May 10 Round of 32	Houston Dynamo FC (MLS)	1–0	Sporting Kansas City (MLS)	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Úlfarsson 12' Gasper 35' Dorsey 87'	Report	Espinoza 10' Sallói 90+3'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 5,094 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

2023 Leagues Cup[edit]

July 23 G1	FC Cincinnati	3–3 (4–2 p)	Sporting Kansas City	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 pm ET	Murphy 10' Mosquera 11' Pulskamp 34' (o.g.) Moreno 48' Boupendza 50' Vazquez 56' Powell 68' Acosta 90+8' (pen.)	Report	Hagglund 9' (o.g.) Rosero 12', 90+6' Pulido 30' Kinda 51', 69' (pen.) Pulskamp 83' Thommy 90+2' Espinoza 90+8'	Stadium: TQL Stadium Attendance: 24,524 Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitrón
	Penalties
	Acosta Vazquez Kubo Miazga		Thommy Shelton Walter Fontas

July 31 G2	Sporting Kansas City	1–0	Chivas	Kansas City, Kansas
10:00 pm ET	Russell 27'	Report	Gutierez 56' Vazquez 67' Calderón 85'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 20,373 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

August 4 R32	Sporting Kansas City	1–4	Toluca	Kansas City, Kansas
9:00 pm ET	Gutiérrez 19' Agada 88'	Report	Rosero 29' (o.g.) Raul 32', 61' Morales 54', 61' Domínguez 63'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 15,121 Referee: Jorge Abraham Camacho

References[edit]

^ Kennedy, Paul (October 22, 2023). "MLS breaks attendance record". Soccer America. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
^ "Sporting KC Signs Midfielder Nemnja Radoja". OneFootball. October 26, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ Kovzan, Sam (January 12, 2023). "Sporting KC signs German left back Tim Leibold". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ Kovzan, Sam (January 13, 2023). "Sporting KC signs 20-year-old midfielder Danny Flores". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ "Sporting KC Signs Robert Castellanos". Our Sports Central. February 17, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ Sperry, Daniel (March 31, 2023). "New arrival Dany Rosero brings needed defensive impact, upbeat mindset to Sporting KC". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ Smith, Chris (January 21, 2023). "Sporting Kansas City waive Spanish midfielder Uri Rosell". 90min. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Kovzan, Sam (November 15, 2022). "Sporting KC announces roster moves ahead of 2023 MLS season". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
^ Kovzan, Sam (April 4, 2023). "Sporting KC waives defender Ben Sweat". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

External links[edit]

Sporting Kansas City

[table_note_res_CCC70.68845559269584-10] As 2023 Canadian Championship winners

[table_note_res_USOC10.68845559269584-11] As one of the top seven teams in the overall table to not qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup

[Attendance-2023-1] Kennedy, Paul (October 22, 2023). "MLS breaks attendance record". Soccer America. Retrieved October 25, 2023.

[2] "Sporting KC Signs Midfielder Nemnja Radoja". OneFootball. October 26, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[3] Kovzan, Sam (January 12, 2023). "Sporting KC signs German left back Tim Leibold". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[4] Kovzan, Sam (January 13, 2023). "Sporting KC signs 20-year-old midfielder Danny Flores". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[5] "Sporting KC Signs Robert Castellanos". Our Sports Central. February 17, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[6] Sperry, Daniel (March 31, 2023). "New arrival Dany Rosero brings needed defensive impact, upbeat mindset to Sporting KC". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[7] Smith, Chris (January 21, 2023). "Sporting Kansas City waive Spanish midfielder Uri Rosell". 90min. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[Roster_Change_for_2023-8] Kovzan, Sam (November 15, 2022). "Sporting KC announces roster moves ahead of 2023 MLS season". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

[9] Kovzan, Sam (April 4, 2023). "Sporting KC waives defender Ben Sweat". Sporting KC. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

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v t e 2023 MLS season
SuperDraft All-Star Game Playoffs MLS Cup Transfers Leagues Cup
Eastern	Atlanta United FC Charlotte FC Chicago Fire FC Cincinnati Columbus Crew D.C. United Inter Miami CF CF Montréal Nashville SC New England Revolution New York City FC New York Red Bulls Orlando City SC Philadelphia Union Toronto FC
Western	Austin FC Colorado Rapids FC Dallas Houston Dynamo FC LA Galaxy Los Angeles FC Minnesota United FC Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC St. Louis City SC Sporting Kansas City Vancouver Whitecaps FC