Pulskamp has Proved Himself as an MLS Starter

For the Glory KC is back with the 134th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City went on the road and picked up a massive three points in a statistically defiant weekend. It was their first win in Houston since October 3, 2020. They had been 0-3-3 in their prior six visits in all competitions. The victory also broke a 19-game winless streak when they gave up the first goal in a game. Adding to all of that, Kerry Zavagnin has now been in charge for 10 games and has led his team to an appropriate 4-3-3 record. KZ is now responsible for 15 of the team’s 16 points in 2025 and Sporting KC find themselves just four points south of a playoff spot.

A big part of this successful run under Zavagnin is the emergence of John Pulskamp as a quality starter in Major League Soccer. Despite getting beat by another goal of the week candidate, he absolutely stood on his head for stretches of the game against the Houston Dynamo. He actually had a career high eight saves, including perhaps the save of the night when he shut down Griffin Dorsey one on one.

Pulskamp with ANOTHER huge save! His defense is not helping him out. #SportingKC #HOUvSKC

— Chad Smith (@chadcsmith.bsky.social) 2025-06-01T01:20:33.149Z

Going into the season, it felt like a big risk to have three very young goalkeepers. There had been an expectation all offseason that a veteran goalkeeper would be added to a group that was 23, 22 and 17-years-of-age coming into the season. And it is not as if there haven’t been growing pains. Sporting KC have allowed 28 goals in league play, but by no means has the defense helped out Pulskamp for large stretches. Personally, it feels like John has saved many shots he shouldn’t save, which is supported by him being in the 95th percentile of post-shot expected goals per shot on target. Elite numbers.

Elsewhere on the podcast, Sheena and I discuss the comeback by SKC, including a brace from Dejan Joveljic, Santiago Munoz’s first goal with Sporting KC, Zorhan Bassong’s delightful free kick and header, both of which led to goals and many other moments from the game.

However, even with the win, I can’t help but bring up the terrible officiating from referee Jair Marrufo. He has a dicey history refereeing Sporting KC games and that didn’t change on Saturday. He had numerous questionable calls, which I break down. Perhaps the biggest questionable moment was a miss by Marrufo and the VAR when a handball went uncalled in the box. It wasn’t as egregious as the error that may have eliminated SKC from the 2023 playoffs (also against Houston), but it seemed to be a clear handball. The lack of camera angles is an indictment on MLS too.

Seemingly clear handball after a long delay is not called… #SportingKC #HOUvSKC

— KC Soccer Journal (@kcsoccerjournal.bsky.social) 2025-06-01T01:23:41.147Z

— KC Soccer Journal (@kcsoccerjournal.bsky.social) 2025-06-01T01:23:54.747Z

We also catch up on several other Sporting KC stories, including:

• Robert Voloder’s clavicle surgery
• Dany Rosero also popping up injured
• Gianluca Busio perhaps being on the move
• and more SKC II losing

The KC Current had the week off, but they made plenty of news. Chris and Angie Long bought their second soccer team when the club announced the purchase of HB Køge Women in Denmark. Between that and the potential start of a second division in NWSL with the KC Current II, it shows real ambition on the part of the Longs. Lo LaBonta also made her debut with the US Women’s National Team, Michelle Cooper started that same game and added an assist and Mary Long and Katie Scott scored for the US U-20 women to qualify for the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

In another big move, the KC Current announced the Teal Rising Cup to be played during the summer break. But it’s not all good news, as Nichelle Prince got injured during her call-up with the Canadian National Team.

In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:

• St. Louis City firing their coach (and immediately winning)
• US U-20 Men’s World Cup Draw and learning about New Caledonia
• Mexico to co-host 2031 Women’s World Cup

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

• Sporting KC win big on the road – 7:09
• SKC Round-up – 39:30
• KC Current have a big bye week – 47:02
• Digital Crawl – 58:32

Upcoming Games

• USWNT vs. Jamaica, Tuesday, June 3rd at 7:00PM CDT
• KC Current at NJ/NY Gotham, Saturday, June 7th at 12:00PM
• SKC II at Houston Dynamo 2, Saturday, June 7th at 7:00PM
• Sporting KC at LAFC, Sunday, June 8th at 8:00PM

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they’ll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

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