Dejan Joveljic scored on both sides of halftime, Santiago Munoz struck late and goalkeeper John Pulskamp had an MLS career-high eight saves as Sporting Kansas City (4-8-4, 16 points) battled from behind to earn a resolute 3-1 road win over Houston Dynamo FC (5-7-5, 20 points) on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium.
After Sebastian Kowalczyk fired Houston ahead early, Joveljic equalized in first-half stoppage time and gave his side a 2-1 lead with an acrobatic side volley on 52 minutes. Munoz then relieved Joveljic as a 79th-minute substitute and opened his MLS scoring account nine minutes later, sealing a superb victory in a stadium where Kansas City had not won since Oct. 3, 2020.
Saturday’s result extends Sporting’s unbeaten run to four matches and moves the team within four points of playoff positioning ahead of a trip to LAFC (6-4-5, 23 points) next Sunday, June 8, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The Western Conference clash is slated for 8 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin fielded a lineup that featured four changes from Sporting’s 3-3 home draw against the New England Revolution last weekend. Joaquin Fernandez, who turned 29 years old on Saturday, deputized for the injured Robert Voloder in central defense and was flanked by outside backs Khiry Shelton and Logan Ndenbe, who replaced Andrew Brody and Tim Leibold, respectively. Further up the field, captain Erik Thommy started on the right wing in place of Shapi Suleymanov.
Houston entered the night with a 3-0-1 record in its previous four games and began brightly in a game played amidst 85-degree temperatures and customary Houston humidity. Dynamo right back Griffin Dorsey conjured a pair of dangerous chances inside three minutes, teeing up pinpoint crosses for Kowalczyk and striker Ezequiel Ponce, but the in-form Pulskamp produced brilliant reflex saves on both occasions to keep the affair scoreless.
Pulskamp was summoned once more in the ninth minute, diving left to parry aside a 25-yard drive from Houston midfielder Jack McGlynn, before making a similar save to thwart Ponce at the half-hour juncture. However, the Dynamo were rewarded for their energetic start by drawing first blood in the 13th minute, Kowalczyk gathering a pass from Ondrej Lingr and unleashing a sublime curler into the far right corner from 20 yards.
The hosts almost doubled their advantage in the 38th minute when Ponce flicked a clever backheel pass into the path of Dorsey, but his shot near the penalty spot was smothered by a sprawling Pulskamp.
Undeterred, Sporting settled into the game and restored parity on the stroke of intermission. Shelton’s attempted cross from the right flank was deflected to Joveljic at the top of the box. The Serbian international took a settling touch onto his left foot and slotted a sensational finish into the left corner from 17 yards, extending his MLS scoring streak to three consecutive appearances. Joveljic’s three-game scoring run is his longest in the MLS regular season since the start of 2024 when he plied his trade for the LA Galaxy.
Sporting’s duo of Designated Players connected two minutes after the restart when Spanish playmaker Manu Garcia whipped a teasing cross into the box for Joveljic, whose first-time effort was cast away by Houston goalkeeper and former Galaxy teammate Jonathan Bond. At the opposite end, Dorsey remained active and forced Pulskamp into another save with a speculative shot near the top of the box.
The visitors grabbed their go-ahead goal in the 52nd minute, converting on a set piece. Zorhan Bassong’s left-footed delivery was met by center back Jansen Miller, whose leaping header rattled the crossbar. On hand for the rebound was Joveljic, who steered an exquisite side volley into the right corner for his team-leading ninth goal of the season, tied for eighth most in MLS. Joveljic, who six days earlier became a father with the birth of his daughter, now has 50 career MLS goals (including playoffs), his second brace of the campaign and his first two-goal road performance in MLS play since August 2021.
Houston committed numbers forward in a bid to level the score, with Ponce seeing a close-range shot smothered by Miller and Fernandez and Pulskamp swallowing a 20-yard dipper from McGlynn near the 69-minute mark. Midfield substitute Junior Urso then spurned a decent look by placing a header high and wide from 10 yards before Felipe Andrade nodded one off target from a corner kick. The Dynamo’s frustrations were compounded in the final 10 minutes when Dorsey misfired from a tight angle and Ponce’s backheel attempt skipped wide of the near post.
Zavagnin’s side added icing to the cake with two minutes remaining. Homegrown forward Daniel Salloi galloped forward down the left side, held up possession and picked out an unmarked Munoz, whose first-time strike was nipped by an outstretched Bond but nestled into the right corner to give Sporting an unassailable 3-1 cushion. It was Munoz’ first goal since joining the team on loan from LIGA MX outfit Santos Laguna in April and his first tally since scoring for Santos in league play on Sept. 1, 2024. Sporting has now scored five goals from substitutes this season, third most in MLS, while Salloi has equaled a team-high with four assists on the year and has 41 assists in his regular season career, breaking a tie with Johnny Russell for sixth most on Kansas City’s all-time charts. Bassong was credited with a secondary assist on the goal and now has assists in consecutive matches for the first time in his MLS career.
By the time Jair Marrufo blew his full-time whistle, Sporting had secured its first comeback win since June 8, 2024, in a 2-1 home result against Seattle Sounders FC. Pulskamp’s eight saves, meanwhile, were the most by a Kansas City keeper in an MLS match since Tim Melia produced the same total in a 2-0 home triumph over Minnesota United FC on Aug. 25, 2018.
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 16
Shell Energy Stadium | Houston, Texas
Attendance: 17,852
Weather: 85 degrees and mostly cloudy
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
Sporting Kansas City (4-8-4, 16 points) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Houston Dynamo FC (5-7-5, 20 points) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton (Andrew Brody 46'), Jansen Miller, Joaquin Fernandez, Logan Ndenbe (Tim Leibold 63'); Jacob Bartlett, Manu Garcia (Memo Rodriguez 90'), Zorhan Bassong; Erik Thommy (C) (Shapi Suleymanov 63'), Dejan Joveljic (Santiago Munoz 79'), Daniel Salloi
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Ian James, Stephen Afrifa, Mason Toye
Houston Dynamo FC: Jonathan Bond; Griffin Dorsey, Femi Awodesu, Pablo Ortiz (Franco Escobar 81'), Felipe Andrade; Artur (C) (Lawrence Ennali 82'), Brooklyn Raines (Junior Urso 53'); Sebastian Kowalczyk (Duane Holmes 79'), Ondrej Lingr (Amine Bassi 53'), Jack McGlynn; Ezequiel Ponce
Subs Not Used: Jimmy Maurer, Ethan Bartlow, Nico Lodeiro, Gabe Segal
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Sebastian Kowalczyk 1 (Ondrej Lingr 2) 13'
SKC -- Dejan Joveljic 8 (unassisted) 45+3'
SKC -- Dejan Joveljic 9 (unassisted) 52'
SKC -- Santiago Munoz 1 (Daniel Salloi 4, Zorhan Bassong 2) 88'
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Brooklyn Raines (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 45+1'
SKC -- Zorhan Bassong (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 76'
SKC -- Daniel Salloi (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 82'
HOU -- Griffin Dorsey (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 84'
HOU -- Felipe Andrade (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 86'
STAT | SKC | HOU |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 12 | 22 |
Shots on Goal | 6 | 9 |
Saves | 8 | 3 |
Fouls | 8 | 14 |
Offsides | 0 | 0 |
Corner Kicks | 7 | 6 |
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistant Referee: Adam Garner
Assistant Referee: Chris Wattam
Fourth Official: Cristian Campo Hernandez
VAR: Sorin Stoica
AVAR: Jose Da Silva
