KANSAS CITY (May 13, 2026) – The LA Galaxy (4‑5‑4, 16 points) fell 3-1 to Western Conference adversaries Sporting Kansas City (2-8-2, 8 points) at Sporting Park on Wednesday night. Sporting Kansas City jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead and added another in the second half to secure the points on the night. Gabriel Pec pulled one back late for the Galaxy with a long-range goal to extend LA’s scoring streak to an MLS-best 22 consecutive matches.
Goalscoring Plays
SKC – Capita Capemba (Calvin Harris), 33rd minute: Sporting Kansas City countered down the left, as Harris got in behind and squared for Capita, who slid in to finish.
SKC – Dejan Joveljić (Calvin Harris), 45+4th minute: After a long ball over the top, Harris set up Joveljić, who chipped the keeper to double the host’s lead.
SKC – Calvin Harris (Manu García), 70th minute: García received the ball and broke a tackle before hitting a through ball into Harris, who finished low from the right into the bottom-left corner.
LA – Gabriel Pec (Justin Haak), 89th minute: Haak found Pec on the right wing, where the Brazilian cut inside and curled a strike into the top-left corner from outside the box, pulling one back for the Galaxy.
Postgame Notes
- LA Galaxy midfielder Erik Thommy made his return to Sporting Park as a second-half substitute tonight, facing his former side for the first time in Kansas City since joining the Galaxy this past offseason. Thommy recorded 19 goals and 10 assists in 101 matches in over three years with KC.
- Galaxy forward Matheus Nascimento returned to the pitch as a second-half substitute tonight after missing the previous nine matches due to an injury he suffered in mid-March.
- The Galaxy extended their scoring streak to 22 consecutive matches with Gabriel Pec's left-footed curler, the longest active scoring streak in MLS.
- Defender Julián Aude (ankle) and forward João Klauss (foot) were unavailable for selection in tonight’s match due to injury. Prior to the match, Klauss was officially placed on the club’s Injury List and will miss the next six matches. He will be re-eligible for selection on August 1 against FC Dallas.
Next Up
The LA Galaxy close out their three-game road swing on Saturday, May 16 in Seattle as they take on Sounders FC at Lumen Field (6:15 p.m. PT, FS1/Apple TV).
Match Information
Match: LA Galaxy at Sporting Kansas City
Date: May 13, 2026
Venue: Sporting Park; Kansas City, Kansas
Weather: Clear and 75°F
Scoring Summary
|
1
|
2
|
F
|
Sporting KC
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
LA Galaxy
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
SKC: Capita Capemba (Calvin Harris), 33’
SKC: Dejan Joveljić (Calvin Harris), 45+4’
SKC – Calvin Harris (Manu García), 70
LA: Gabriel Pec (Justin Haak), 89’
Lineups
LA Galaxy: GK JT Marcinkowski; D John Nelson, D Emiro Garcés (Justin Haak, 64’), D Jakob Glesnes, D Mauricio Cuevas (Miki Yamane, 65’); M Lucas Sanabria (Erik Thommy, 64’), M Edwin Cerrillo, M Marco Reus (Matheus Nascimento, 77’); F Harbor Miller (Elijah Wynder, 46’), F Gabriel Pec, F Joseph Paintsil
Substitutes not used: Novak Mićović, Maya Yoshida, Isaiah Parente, Ruben Ramos Jr.
Sporting Kansas City: GK Stefan Cleveland; D Jayden Reid, D Ian James, D Wyatt Meyer, D Jake Davis (Justin Reynolds, 81’); M Lasse Berg Johnsen, M Zorhan Bassong (Jacob Bartlett, 61’); F Capita (Stephen Afrifa, 46’), F Dejan Joveljic (Shapi Suleymanov, 90+2’), F Taylor Calheira (Manu García, 62’), F Calvin Harris
Substitutes not used: John Pulskamp, Cielo Tschantret, Ethan Bartlow, Diego Borges
Stats Summary
|
SKC
|
LA
|
Shots
|
15
|
17
|
Shots on Goal
|
9
|
7
|
Saves
|
6
|
6
|
Corner Kicks
|
4
|
8
|
Fouls
|
19
|
6
|
Offsides
|
3
|
2
|
Possession
|
43.2%
|
56.8%
|
Misconduct Summary
SKC: Zorhan Bassong (caution) 41’
LA: Mauricio Cuevas (caution) 49’
LA: Gabriel Pec (caution) 79’
Officials
Referee: Ricardo Montero Araya
Assistant Referees: Nick Uranga, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Drew Klemp
VAR: Guido Gonzales, Jr.
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA Galaxy Postgame Quotes
LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney
On not losing the momentum the team has been building:
“We'll see how much momentum we lost because really it will be determined by how we respond to this game in the grand scheme of things if we can get back on track. We certainly lost some momentum tonight. The level at which I felt like we've been competing and playing the last few games wasn't the level that we matched tonight. And so hopefully now we get a little bit of a quick wake-up call and say we've got to shake out of it, and we've got to show up because we've got a tough game here in a couple days, and we want to finish this first part of the season as strong as possible.”
On the strategy behind the halftime substitution:
“I wanted to get Joe [Paintsil] out wide and move Marco into the nine [position]. Nasci wasn't ready for enough minutes yet. So, we knew we would get him on [the field] down the stretch. But I wanted to get Joe in a wide position and see if he could get running towards the goal a little bit more, faced up, going one-on-one. I thought he had his best actions through the second half when he was in those wide positions. He had set up a number of good chances we probably could have and should have scored on. And then allow Marco to come off and help the midfield a little bit. Getting Elijah in there made us just a little more durable in the midfield in some of the competitive moments. So, I was just trying to change the control of midfield a little bit but also get Joe in a position where he was attacking from the outside in and facing their back line more often.”
LA Galaxy Midfielder Erik Thommy
On returning to Kansas City and facing his old team:
“It's always good to be back. A lot of friends over there, a lot of good people working for the club [and the] organization. Yeah, I mean, obviously, if the result would have been different, then I would have been much more happy than I am now, but when it comes to the people, I'm very glad and happy that I'm back.”
On playing alongside Gabriel Pec:
“When it comes to Pec, Joe and even Marco everybody knows that these players can always be dangerous over 90 minutes and it doesn't matter if they cannot find the right execution in the first 60 minutes, they're going to always be dangerous. We [have] played several games now together, and [Pec] is really important for us. Really important because mentality wise, he's fresh for 90 minutes and he wants to help the team where he can. Obviously, he scored today again. Obviously it was not enough for the team, but personally, I hope that he continues to perform like that, continues to help us with the goals, assists, and also the way he plays, and needs to stay healthy as well, because if he's fit, he can help us.”
On his fitness levels after returning from injury:
“Every training session is really important for me. Every game, every minute. I think I could play 20 minutes against Atlanta [and] today a little bit more. In between, we haven't had a lot of training sessions, so every day it's important for me. I feel much better and hopefully next game will be more [minutes]. When it comes to the minutes, right now I feel pretty good and hope to help the team wherever I can, wherever the coach is going to put me.”
