Pulido powers Sporting KC to 4-1 victory over Austin
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Alan Pulido scored a goal in each half and added an assist as Sporting Kansas City rolled to a 4-1 victory over Austin FC on Saturday night.
Pulido staked Sporting KC (5-8-5) to a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal in the 19th minute.
Robert Castellanos gave Sporting KC a two-goal lead just two minutes into the second half when he took passes from Pulido and Erik Thommy and scored for the first time this season.
Pulido found the net for a second time 10 minutes later to push the advantage to 3-0. Tim Leibold and Robert Voloder notched assists on Pulido’s fourth goal of the campaign.
Sebastián Driussi got Austin (5-8-4) on the scoreboard in the 61st minute, using an assist from Gyasi Zardes to score for a fourth time this season.
Khiry Shelton netted his first goal of the season for Sporting KC, scoring unassisted in the 89th minute to complete the scoring.
Kendall McIntosh had one save in his sixth straight start for Sporting KC. Brad Stuver saved two shots for Austin.
Sporting KC improves to 5-1-2 in its last eight matches. The 17 points earned are the most in the Western Conference over that span. The club has won four straight at home after a 0-3-1 start.
Austin has lost 10 of its last 13 road matches, including the playoffs. The club has conceded multiple goals in 11 of those 13 matches. Austin had won three straight against Sporting KC. Austin has never won four straight against a single opponent. Austin leads the series 3-2-1.
Sporting KC will host Los Angeles FC on Saturday. Austin is idle.
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