Sporting Kansas City secured a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Friday, with Erik Thommy and Dejan Joveljic each finding the back of the net. Goalkeeper John Pulskamp delivered a stellar performance, recording eight saves to help his team clinch the win. The victory marked Sporting KC's first road win against the Rapids in over 11 years, ending a drought dating back to March 29, 2014.
Joveljic opened the scoring early in the fourth minute, capitalizing on a pass from Thommy. Thommy intercepted a weak clearing pass from Rapids goalkeeper Nico Hansen and quickly fed the ball to Joveljic, who fired a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net. For Joveljic, this was his seventh goal in the past eight games.
In the 53rd minute, Thommy extended Sporting KC's lead, receiving a long pass from Pulskamp and skillfully dribbling past three defenders before unleashing a right-footed shot into the same right corner of the goal. These were the only two shots on goal for Sporting KC the entire match.
Despite being outshot 24-5 overall, with an 8-2 disadvantage in shots on target, Sporting KC managed to maintain their lead. Colorado had an opportunity to equalize in the 31st minute when Pulskamp was called for a foul inside the box. However, Djordje Mihailovic's penalty kick struck the left post. Mihailovic again hit the woodwork in stoppage time of the first half.
The Rapids finally got on the board late in the game when Rafael Navarro converted a penalty kick just before stoppage time. The goal was not enough to spark a comeback.
Pulskamp's seven saves and assist helped power Sporting KC to the victory over the Colorado Rapids. His performance was crucial in securing the three points for his team.
With this win, Sporting Kansas City moved into a tie for 10th place in the Western Conference with the Houston Dynamo. They are now three points behind Austin and Colorado for the last two playoff spots. Sporting KC will return to Children's Mercy Park on Saturday, June 12th, to host the Seattle Sounders.