6 Takeaways from Sporting KC vs San Diego FC

Sporting Kansas City hosted San Diego FC at Sporting Park on Saturday night, falling just short against the Western Conference leaders despite two promising opportunities in the dying minutes of the game. Sporting KC showed promise for the future.

Here are the six major takeaways from the game.

1. Sporting KC looked dangerous on transition with little Possession 

SKC came out willing to let San Diego control possession. And at first, it looked like the SKC strategy was going to pay off. There was a great opportunity in transition where Jake Davis delivered a ball into the box, where Dejan Joveljic was just unable to apply the finishing touch, before being called offside. Then 10 minutes later, another great opportunity, but a San Diego defender denied Dejan. Those were their two best opportunities of the first half; they also created two dangerous opportunities at the end of the game, but both Taylor Calhaira and Stephen Afrifa were denied by San Diego FC goalkeeper Duran Ferree.

ALMOST! Calhaira nearly opened his account #SportingKC #SKCvSD

— Chad Smith (@chadcsmith.bsky.social) 2026-03-08T03:27:07.982Z

At the end of the game, San Diego had over 60 percent of possession, but this shows the evolution of Sporting KC with Raphael Wicky. It showed that Sporting KC no longer needs to be the team to control the possession column to be in a game, as SKC was just a few inches away from leveling the game at several points. 

Afrifa nearly leveled it late. SKC ultimately fall 1-0 to San Diego. #SportingKC #SKCvSD

— Chad Smith (@chadcsmith.bsky.social) 2026-03-08T03:36:48.105Z

2. Formation Changes Were Fluid and Disciplined (4-3-3, 5-3-2, 6-3-1, 3-4-3?) 

From the first kick, SKC showed they were in a system created to change depending on the game’s phase. In soccer, many consider four phases: attacking, defending, transitioning to attack, and transitioning to defense. In the defensive phase of the game, we often saw SKC in what looked to be a 5-3-2 but also a 6-3-1, as Jake Davis was often in a Right Wing-back position creating a back five with Miller, Bartlow, and Meyers playing as center backs. We also saw Harris, Bartlett, or at one point in the second half Dejan recover and play as a sixth defender whether it was on the outside or center of the defense.  

Onto transitioning to attack, SKC often showed 4-3-3, as Jake being in the wing back would either naturally slide to the middle and Shapi would pop outside back to the wing in transition creating the more natural look of a 4-3-3 that The Blue Hell is used to seeing. Sporting also showed an ability to keep their shape of a 5-3-2 having Shapi play more centrally under Dejan almost. 

When in the attack we saw a side of Jake Davis new to the fan base with him making runs into the box. But in the final third, SKC was in a 3-5-2, Reid would get high and help in the attack here, along with Bartlett, leaving the three natural center-backs on the pitch to clean up the mess.   

When transitioning back to defense, Kansas City would retreat to that more 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 shape. This did lead to some promising attacks from San Diego as SKC numbers got caught too high in the attack leaving numbers for San Diego. 

The real takeaway from this point is that it shows the new generation that the Blue Hell is entering, where they are no longer confined to one shape, no matter who is available. As Wicky showed his ability to adapt his team system to the players he had available, rather than adapting them to a single system. While SKC was shut out and lost, it was a positive as SKC showed fight and some might say there were unlucky to walk away without collecting a point as they created dangerous opportunities and were disciplined defensively. 

3. Dreyer 39th minute goal 

Yes, I know Anders Dreyer plays for San Diego, but in the 39th minute of the game was the turning point; up to this point, SKC seemed to be the more dangerous side. First, Dreyer showed the quality of a finisher he is, placing his shot off his 2nd touch perfectly in the corner. Here, the takeaway for SKC is that they survived the rest of the half without imploding defensively and losing their identity and then came out in the 2nd half and stayed true to themselves. They didn’t bend or give in to how San Diego wanted them to play, which would have forced them into playing panicked. Showing the growth from game one to game three, we have seen that this team can fight adversity when needed, which is a good sign from a team on paper that is young in their careers. 

4. Pulskamp saves day 

Last week John Pulskamp showed some woes and heroic in the same game. As a coach, media, or fan you are still looking to see if he can put a full 90 minutes of quality soccer together and that just what Pulskamp did, making several big saves, from the kick save in the first half, to the much-needed save off his chest, arm area in the 2nd half.

Massive save by Pulskamp to keep the lead at one! #SportingKC #SKCvSD

— KC Soccer Journal (@kcsoccerjournal.bsky.social) 2026-03-08T02:23:47.662Z

We also saw his fight on a corner kick in the 2nd half when he knocked the ball out of the air onto the floor into a dangerous area, but made sure he was the first player to pounce on it. The takeaway is that John Pulskamp continues to show why he is an everyday starter and one of the best young goalkeepers in the MLS. 

5. Jake Davis was everywhere 

Jake Davis' heatmap from #SportingKC vs. San Diego. The guy is popping up everywhere. (from fotmob)

— Chad Smith (@chadcsmith.bsky.social) 2026-03-09T21:16:28.062Z

Davis was flying all over the pitch, playing different roles all at the same time. He was initially what looked to be a right wing-back that would tuck inside at time, but then he was also running the flank and making runs into the 18-yard box. While also embracing his inner Roger Espinoza at times. Takeaway 5 is that with the signing of Lasse Berg Johnson, who will start in the midfield, is that Wicky will have to find a way to keep Davis in the lineup, now where that will be is above my pay grade (which is $0). But you cannot replace heart on the field, and Davis has that for days, and uses it to provide a spark on the field for SKC.   

6. Donovan Debut 

Shane Donovan made his debut on Saturday night for SKC. While he only had a couple of touches, it showed the trust Wicky had in him. As it is not every day that you see an 18-year-old make his debut in the final ten minutes when your team needs just a goal to go even to get a result. Wicky is not afraid to reward young players when performing in training, and it will be interesting to see Donovan and other young talent more in the future.