SDFC move to 3–0, takes down Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on the road

SDFC survives The Blue Hell and remains perfect to start the 2026 season, taking home all three points after a slim and hard-fought 1-0 road victory at Sporting Park against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.

After back-to-back Snapdragon Stadium wins and seven scored goals to start the 2026 MLS campaign, SDFC took its first road trip of the league season, visiting Sporting Kansas City for their matchday three battle.

Dating from last season, SDFC came into this matchup undefeated from their first two meetings against Kansas City, finishing with a draw and a victory. That victory came on the road in Sporting Park with SDFC taking the 2-0 win back in August of 2025. 

Now for Saturday night's game, the majority of the first half saw both teams maintaining their defensive shape and limiting transition play, resulting in few scoring chances for either squad.

But it was the final minutes plus added time to the first half that had the game open up for both sides, with SDFC striking first in the 39-minute as Anders Dreyer marked his second goal of the MLS season. 

Dreyer got his chance at the top of the penalty box, given too much time and space, he placed a left-footed curling shot around Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp, landing into the left side of the net for the 1-0 lead late in the first half. 

Only a few minutes later, midfielder Onni Valakari had an opportunity to double the SDFC advantage with an unmarked header inside the goal area, but this time Pulskamp won the battle and denied the second SDFC score to keep the match at the 1-0 scoreline heading into the halftime break. 

Into the second half, SDFC thought they got their second goal of the night with Amahl Pellegrino getting on the end of the scoring play in the 62-minute, but VAR and referee Malik Badawi would disallow the goal due to the shot coming off the forearm of Pellegrino.

There wasn’t much of an attacking threat for Sporting Kansas City until the 88-minute, when forward Taylor Calheira was left through on goal as 19-year-old SDFC goalkeeper Duran Ferree came to the Chrome & Azul’s rescue with a down-to-the-ground save to preserve the 1-0 goal advantage. 

SDFC had their own chance to seal the match in injury time, this time with Dreyer attempting a chip over Pulskamp, but the ball just clipped the left post and bounced wide of the goal in the 90+2 minute.

Immediately on the other end, Kansas City got their final chance of the night to salvage a point as forward Stephen Afrifa fired a shot across the goal, but it was Ferree again with his best save of the night to secure the three points and road victory.

A perfect start to the 2026 MLS season for SDFC, going three for three as they continue to stack their performances and lead the pack, sitting first in the Western Conference standings with nine points.

After their 1-0 road victory over Sporting Kansas City, SDFC head coach Mikey Varas spoke at the post-match press conference on the team’s performance and mentality, emphasising a mindset of continuous improvement.

“I think we had a really professional performance where we controlled large portions of the game, created a lot of big chances, so I think we have to be really happy about how we came, what kind of attitude we brought to come here and go after the game.”

“Of course, there’s still things to improve on, but there always is, and I think at the end of the day, we have to be proud of this kind of strong professional win on the road, and then, yeah, it’s just another step in the right direction, because we got a lot of games coming up.”

“We’re happy with where we are at right now, and we’re also looking to see how we can improve. And be ready for every moment that life throws at us.”

Through their first three MLS games, SDFC has yet to concede a goal, with Duran Ferree claiming his third straight clean sheet in his third-ever MLS start.  

“It's really important for us as a team to just keep moving forward,” SDFC goalkeeper Duran Ferree said following his clean sheet performance against Kansas City. “Keep making these good wins, get the points in and start building that up early in the season so that we can have momentum.”

It's a quick turnaround for SDFC, as they are back in Snapdragon Stadium on March 11, Wednesday night, for their Round of 16 first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, facing off against reigning back-to-back Liga MX champions Deportivo Toluca F.C., kicking off at 8:30 p.m.