Sporting Kansas City closes out a three-game road swing this weekend with a trip to take on the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on Apple TV while the game will also be broadcast locally on the radio via Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
1. LOOKING TO SNAP SKID
Sporting Kansas City heads to Chicago to take on the Fire this weekend at Soldier Field on Saturday night looking to snap a five-game losing streak across all competitions, having fallen in each contest since the team’s first win of the season at the LA Galaxy on March 14.
Saturday’s match will be a reunion and homecoming for three members of Sporting’s squad, as head coach Raphael Wicky will face the team he led from 2020-2021 while defender and former Chicago Homegrown Justin Reynolds (2023-2025) and goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland (2017-2019) are both in line to take on their former team.
Led by head coach Gregg Berhalter now in his second year at the helm, Chicago have enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 campaign, going 4-2-2 and securing fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings behind a stout defense that has conceded just eight goals in eight games this season.
2. HEADING TO CHICAGO FOR RARE SAUNTER NORTH
Sporting Kansas City is set to make a rare trip north to take on the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Saturday night. It is the first time that Sporting has visited Chicago in over four years, and the first meeting of any kind between the two sides since midway through the 2023 season.
Sporting last visited Soldier Field on March 19, 2022 during a wet and dreary early-season contest in the Windy City with the hosts running out as 3-1 winners. Kacper Przybyłko bagged a brace for Chicago before Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri converted a penalty late on as Roger Espinoza’s second-half strike was rendered academic.
The most recent MLS meeting between the sides came on June 24, 2023 as Fabian Herbers tallied the only goal of the game for the visiting Fire early in the second half as SKC fell 1-0 at Sporting Park. The two sides did meet once more in the Leagues Cup, with Sporting earning a 2-1 group stage victory on July 28, 2024 at Sporting Park.
All-time, Sporting trails Chicago 19-28-12 in the regular-season series, including a 5-19-3 mark on the road.
3. TSCHANTRET MAKES MLS DEBUT
Sporting Kansas City Homegrown midfielder Cielo Tschantret made his first-team debut last week, starting and playing the opening 51 minutes of the team’s loss to the table-topping Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place on Friday night.
An unused substitute for every prior MLS match this season, Tschantret was inserted into the lineup in the team’s midfield in Vancouver and went on to complete 95 percent of his 19 passes and put himself about with five defensive actions and two fouls committed.
The 20-year-old moved up to the first team this offseason after rising through the Sporting KC Academy and SKC II over the past several years. Tschantret arrived in Kansas City from his native Baltimore in 2020 and starred for the Sporting KC Academy at the U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels before earning minutes with SKC II in 2023 and signing his first professional contract with the second team in 2024.
In total, Tschantret appeared in 56 matches for SKC II as both an amateur and professional from 2023-2025, recording six goals and one assist, and captained the team throughout the 2025 season while leading all MLS NEXT Pro teenagers with 2,327 minutes played.
4. AGYABENG EARNS FIRST PROFESSIONAL START
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng made his first professional start last week, going the full 90 minutes in an unfamiliar left back role during the team’s defeat against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place on Friday night.
While the team struggled against a high-octane Whitecaps squad that tops the MLS standings, Agyabeng showed well throughout the night - especially in the second half of the contest. The 19-year-old completed 84 percent of his 44 passes in the match - including six passes into the final third - completed both his attempted dribbles, had 12 defensive actions and won five of his nine ground duels.
Sporting selected Agyabeng as the fourth overall selection in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft out of Clemson and he was immediately added to the team’s roster as a Generation adidas player. The Ghanaian made 16 appearances for Clemson in his freshman season last fall as the Tigers reached the NCAA tournament. He earned ACC All-Freshman Team and Third Team All-ACC honors in addition to being named the No. 6 player on TopDrawerSoccer.com’s Top 100 Freshmen list.
Prior to college, Agyabeng led Cedar Stars Academy Bergen to two national titles and a spot in the MLS NEXT Cup U-19’s final in 2025.
5. HINES NAMED MLS NEXT RISING STAR OF MATCHWEEK 7
Sporting Kansas City Academy and Sporting KC II forward Kashan Hines was named the MLS NEXT Rising Star of Matchday 7 after he scored the game winner in SKC II's win over Whitecaps FC 2 last Sunday night at Swope Soccer Village.
Hines, a Sporting KC U-18 player, came off the bench in the 62nd minute and found his moment of brilliance 37 minutes later with his first professional goal to earn Sporting KC II their first win of the season.
With the two teams tied at 2-2 deep in second-half stoppage time, the 17-year-old corralled a pass from fellow Academy amateur Carter Derksen, cut back onto his left foot inside the box and fired a shot beyond the ‘Caps goalkeeper while fighting off contact from the defender to seal a 3-2 victory for his side.
