Recap: Sporting KC earns 2-1 comeback victory at Austin FC

Sporting Kansas City (3-8-2, 11 pts.) earned a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Austin FC (3-6-5, 14 pts.) at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night. In a match Sporting dominated from start to finish, second-half goals from substitutes Manu Garcia and Stephen Afrifa sealed the team’s first-ever win at Q2 Stadium in Austin.

Head coach Raphael Wicky stuck with the same starting XI that dismantled the LA Galaxy 3-1 on Wednesday, as midfielder Zorhan Bassong and forward Taylor Calheira retained their spots after making their first starts of the season midweek.

Sporting was the first to threaten in the 12^th minute when Calvin Harris, coming off a career game on Wednesday, drove away from his marker and fired a low strike toward the corner but Brad Stuver got down well to claw the ball away. Harris continued to attack the Austin backline and once again went close in the 23^rd minute, cutting in from the left wing before seeing his strike deflected narrowly wide of the post. Three minutes later, Capita Capemba met Jayden Reid’s cross and sent his volley wide of the target.

Sporting continued to dominate proceedings in the first half and once again went close when Bassong’s first-time volley from 25 yards flashed menacingly wide of goal with Stuver beaten. Lasse Berg Johnsen was the next to force a save from Stuver when his long-range free kick was pushed aside in the 41^st minute before Bassong’s strike from the ensuing corner flashed just over the bar.

Instead, it was Austin who took the lead completely against the run of play with their first chance of the game in first-half stoppage time when Mikkel Desler volleyed home a cross from Guilherme Biro to give the hosts a 1-0 halftime lead.

Sporting continued to control proceedings early in the second half and Harris again stung the palms of Stuver with a curling effort from inside the penalty area in the 50^th minute. Substitute Shapi Suleymanov was the next to threaten when he whipped a shot wide of the post from the edge of the area in the 67^th minute.

Three minutes later Harris almost found the equalizer when he slid to reach Berg Johnsen’s inch-perfect through ball but the Englishman couldn’t get enough on his shot and it was gathered by Stuver. Sporting then fashioned their best chance of the game in the 72^nd minute when Dejan Joveljic’s dummy allowed Suleymanov tom take aim from 12 yards but his shot was palmed away by Stuver.

Austin brought on star striker Brandon Vazquez in the second half and he immediately went close on a pair of occasions, first heading a corner wide before forcing Stefan Cleveland into a smart save in the 77^th minute.

Sporting pulled themselves level in the 79^th minute when substitute Garcia drove away from the Austin midfield and fed Suleymanov who in turn laid the ball off to Garcia to lash home for his first goal of the season.

Moments after Harris had hit the side-netting after rounding the goalkeeper, Sporting found the game-winner through another substitute in Afrifa. Picking up the ball in the left channel after more enterprising work from Garcia, the Canadian winger cut onto his right foot and slammed a sumptuous finish off the underside of the crossbar and in to seal a memorable 2-1 victory for his side.

Sporting returns home next weekend for the team’s final match before the FIFA World Cup break when the squad takes on Eastern Conference outfit Red Bull New York at Sporting Park on Saturday, May 23. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on Apple TV, while the game will be air on the radio on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM. Tickets are available via SeatGeek.com.

2026 MLS Regular Season | Game 13
Q2 Stadium | Austin, TX
Attendance: 20,738
Weather: 83 degrees and partly cloudy

Sporting Kansas City: Stefan Cleveland; Jake Davis (Justin Reynolds 64’), Ian James (Ethan Bartlow 83’), Wyatt Meyer, Jayden Reid; Capita Capemba (Shapi Suleymanov 46’), Lasse Berg Johnsen, Zorhan Bassong (Manu Garcia 63’), Calvin Harris; Taylor Calheira (Stephen Afrifa 75’), Dejan Joveljic (C)

Subs Not Used: John Pulskamp, Diego Borges, Jacob Bartlett, Cielo Tschantret

Austin FC: Brad Stuver; Mikkel Desler (CJ Fodrey 85’), Oleksandr Svatok, Jonathan Bell, Guilherme Biro; Facundo Torres (Brandon Vazquez 73’), Ilie Sanchez (C) (Dani Pereira 73’), Joseph Rosales, Owen Wolff (Jon Gallagher 60’); Myrto Uzuni, Christian Ramirez (Jayden Nelson 60’)

Subs Not Used: Damien Las, Mateja Djordjevic, Zan Kolmanic, Nicolas Dubersarsky

Scoring Summary:
ATX – Mikkel Desler 1 (Guilherme Biro 2, Owen Wolff 1) 46+
SKC – Manu Garcia 1 (Shapi Suleymanov 1) 79’
SKC – Stephen Afrifa 1 (Unassisted) 82’

Misconduct Summary:
SKC – Capita Capemba (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 28’
SKC – Jake Davis (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 47’
ATX – Oleksandr Svatok (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 57’
ATX – Ilie Sanchez (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 61’
SKC – Zorhan Bassong (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 63’
ATX – Jayden Nelson (Yellow Card; Delaying a Restart) 71’
ATX – CJ Fodrey (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 86’

Referee: Marcos DeOliveira
Assistant Referee: Justin Howard
Assistant Referee: Rhett Hammil
Fourth Official: Edson Carvajal
VAR: Geoff Gamble
AVAR: Jose Da Silva