Uncategorized
Sporting KC falls at San Jose in Wicky’s debut
Wicky’s Wizards end up on wrong side of 3-0 scoreline
Sporting Kansas City started the 2026 season under new head coach Raphael Wicky on the road at San Jose. Both teams are still under construction, but veteran MLS coach Bruce Arena’s squad has a year under his tutelage, and it showed.
The match was fairly even through most of the first half. Sporting KC had more possession and completed passes, but San Jose was better on the counter and at creating shots.
Wicky’s Wizards….
Sporting KC started an inexperienced back line. Ian James was the only returning player from 2025, and at just 17 he only had 8 games under his belt. The team was already not deep, but injuries to Zorhan Bassong and Stephen Afrifa forced the club to sign Sporting KC II midfielders Shane Donovan and Zamir Loyo Reynaga to short-term agreements. Forward Taylor Calheira was just signed this week and also made the bench and was given a cameo appearance in stoppage time.
San Jose starters…
San Jose came out strong but Sporting Kansas City seemed to be growing into the game, generating possession, smart passing patterns, and looking very organized in the attack. The defense was not as solid-looking, but they were holding up, and it looked like the teams might make it to the half scoreless.
A turning point may have been when right back Justin Reynolds had to leave the game with an injury. Draft pick Kwaku Agyabeng made his debut for SKC as a replacement for Reynolds. Jake David moved to the right-back spot, and Agyabeng slid into midfield.
San Jose earned 15 corners in the match and took the lead on one of those in the 42nd minute. The ball was whipped on goal from Preston Judd’s header and was saved by John Pulskamp. The SKC keeper had to get low to make the save, leaving the ball in the box where Daniel Munie opportunistically poked it home.
Just three minutes later, Judd was able to earn his own goal after a Sporting KC giveaway in midfield. Niko Tsakiris drove towards the KC goal before slipping it to the left to Jamar Ricketts who quickly put it back across the goal to Judd. San Jose went to the locker room in a good mood after scoring twice in the last few minutes of the half.
Sporting tried to come out of the half and work their way back into the game, but in the 54th minute, San Jose scored their third goal. Munie secured his second with a header assisted by Beau Leroux.
Forty minutes were pretty good for Wicky’s Wizards but a lack of depth and injuries made it difficult for his SKC to get a result. Let us know below who you think played well or didn’t, and your overall thoughts on the match.
Juice Boxes and Post Game Stats: Loyo Reynaga Becomes SKCII’s Youngest Goal Scorer
Sporting KC II defeats Vancouver Whitecaps 2
Sporting KC dismantled in Vancouver 3-0
Sporting KC Injury Updates, Ownership Responds and World Cup Transit
Cup dreams and Balogun streaks: USMNT FIFA World Cup 2026 Tracker
Sporting KC fails at Colorado Springs
What is an Ideal Lineup for Sporting Kansas City?
Sporting KC Injury Updates, Ownership Responds and World Cup Transit
Sporting KC dismantled in Vancouver 3-0
The first half was pretty decent. Good ball and people movement and I could see some very good ideas that just didn’t quite come off from the offense. The defense looked fragile to ok. After Reynolds went down and Jake slide to RB, the defense really fell apart. It looked like the midfield left the defense high and dry because the late arriving person into the box was completely uncovered multiple times and this created several chances for San Jose. Things just got really disorganized on defense. This team is in desperate need of a veteran CB or a very good #6 to lead the defensive organization.
I did see some really good improvement from Bartlett and James from year to year. They both looked pretty good. Bartlett had some bad give aways which was unfortunate but in general, I liked what I saw from him. Davis had a very forgettable game which sucks because I like the way he plays. I thought Reid was decent and I liked him in the preseason games too. I’m not sold on Meyer…I’ll take James every day of the week and twice on Sunday though. After SKC brought on #20 (I don’t want to butcher his name), the midfield looked disjointed and it showed on the overall team play.
The effort was there though. I liked to see the hustle all the way to the final whistle…no one gave up. Last year, the team would have had their heads down and walking around the pitch by the 70th minute. The hope is still alive even though the result feels oh so familiar.
I think Lasse Berg Johnsen may be that #6 you are looking for.
And I thought Davis was quite good, until he had to go to right back. And even then, I’m not sure he was the problem. I thought him leaving that more forward position and Kwaku Agyabeng coming in was what broke the game. He was all over the field and Kwaku simply looked like he had never practiced filling in for that role.
I think this is a fair take. I actually thought Jake moving to RB and Kwaku coming into the midfield is exactly what made the midfield disjointed. I really think Jake is one of the few people trying offensively creative things. If Berg is a really good #6, I can get pretty excited about Manu and Jake as duel attacking 8s. Now, add a couple of really good wingers and boom…bob’s your uncle. (plus, other positions of need…naturally)
It felt like the 1st 40 mins of the match was decent. They felt more organized than I was expecting. I would say half the starters won’t be starters once the build really is more “complete”.
i personally thought Bartlett looked rough. To me he looked super rusty and unsure of himself. I kept feeling like we would lose the ball if he touched it. Also, I think we should give Cleveland a chance at keeper. I have wondered for a while if John P. Is not good at navigating his defensive line. Part of the job of a keeper is coaching from the back. I wonder if he’s any good at tha part of keeping.
even tho we lost I am looking forward to the rebuild. Rapha… looks like he has ideas and structure that he is trying to implement with a very incomplete team.
anyway… here is to SKC 3.0
I have to admire the consistency. As I see it, this loss is on the ownership and the general manager. They did not use the off-season to build a proper team that is ready for opening day. Instead, they are grabbing up all of the scraps at the last possible moment.
I think -7 is a new record. Excellent.
Its hard to believe we were terrible last year and this off-season they went backwards. Their talent is closer to Tulsa fc than to MLS. Maybe we can sign players next off-season.
We still have time to add players in this window and more in the summer window.
It’s so MLS to start their season overlapping with the last weekend of Olympics. Hype? What hype?
I thought MLS did a terrible job promoting the start of the season. Apple TV had basically no content besides a couple signing videos between MLS Cup and the opener.
It’s a WORLD CUP YEAR!! Take advantage MLS!
It’s so bizarre to me how badly the league has been run the last few years.
Honestly, beyond the thread that connects me through SKC, I find myself caring less and less about the league.
Don Garber has been exceptionally poor over the last few years. One of the biggest problems for the league has been the lack of media coverage. SKC and the Current get a little bit of local news coverage – but not a ton. ESPN barely covers global soccer let alone MLS. The Athletic has some good stuff, but again isn’t particularly good for individual teams. Instead of promoting the league and trying to get more eyeballs on the product, Garber seems to be… coasting along but somehow making it worse? It’s weird.
I just can’t get my head around how MLS looked at the media landscape, where most outlets can’t be bothered to cover it decently (including The Athletic), and said “you know what, let’s cut most of our in-house coverage too” rather than “hey, let’s double down and do it ourselves”.
I somewhat agree with you. It reminds me of Hockey, I wish I knew more about hockey. The only reason I know much right now is because of the Olympics and the story behind the USA team. Outside of that I couldn’t tell you about hockey.
Soccer seems to be such a niche (even tho it is not) market. I have a theory that USA needs to have a homegrown player that wows like a Steph Curry, Lebron James, Caitlin Clark, Bo Jackson and so on… That is willing to stay in the MLS and light up the world here… I don’t think the national media will cover as much until that happens. For instance Google news doesn’t hardly share anything about MLS. They will share about premier league every now and then. But not MLS. Also, if MLS could get entertaining Pundits that would help too. You look at Shaq, Kenny, Barkley and Ernie (Inside the NBA) = Hilarious content and I don’t even follow Basketball but I will check in to see what they have to say… Or you see Kate, Thierry, Micah, Caragher (UCL) = Hilarious content and I check in to see what they have to say.
I think USA Soccer needs some of those things to help bolster more eyes to the sport. It is a shame that none of the National news tends to follow the league.
I did find it odd that we didn’t start a week later. Why start MLS season at the start of the Olympics?
I’m not sure hockey/NHL is a good comparison for MLS. Yeah, the NHL gets less attention than NFL/MLB/NBA, but it’s way ahead of MLS. NHL has good local media coverage in most markets. Outlets like The Athletic have robust league coverage with lots of content, and though they’ve cut some beat writers, the ones they have are really good (including for the Blues if you want to follow a local-ish team).
Here’s my take: who should be more concerned with their 3-0 loss? Us or Miami?
Sorry, that’s the best I can do right now.