John Pulskamp managed three stops on Saturday evening and Sporting Kansas City was able to save a 0-0 draw at San Diego FC, holding one of the most powerful MLS offenses out of the match sheet.
The San Diego FC (7-4-3, 24 points) generated major advantages in time of possession (61 to 39%) and shots (10-2) but could not convert one or the other category to a goal which would have kept them in second place in the western classification. Instead, they fell in third row, a point behind Minnesota.
This is partly due to Pulskamp, which provided critical stops which allowed Sporting KC (3-8-3, 12 points) to publish its third white sheet. He denied Jeppe TVerskov on a header in time to finish the first half, then stopped Anders Dreyer’s left foot attempt in the box in the 67th minute.
Pulskamp also obtained the help of his teammate Manu Garcia, who bailed out in the 60th minute by eliminating a loose ball directly in front of the net.
While Pulskamp had work, the CJ Dos Santos de San Diego had barely introduced itself to produce its second consecutive clean sheet, making a first half backup. Since he conceded three goals in three consecutive games – all defeats – San Diego has only crunched by going 3-0-1 in the last four games.
The prematch scenarios concerned the capacity of the two teams to mark. San Diego entered the match with the third goals in MLS at 25, while Sporting KC has considerably increased its production under the acting coach Kerry Zavagnin, scoring 13 goals in seven matches.
But neither of the two teams could buzz the defense of the other in the first half, although San Diego certainly had the best opportunity to do so. Hirving Lozano was repressed by Pulskamp in the 13th minute on the biggest of these chances.
The only KC shot on the frame occurred in the 16th minute, but Dos Santos denied Shapi Suleymanov. San Diego took advantage of a great advantage in possession and a shooting attempt, but could not collect and the teams went to half-time during a 0-0 draw.
– Field level media
