KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Diego Rossi scored late in the second half to offset a two-goal effort by Dejan Joveljić, rallying the Columbus Crew to a 2-2 draw with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.
Rossi found the net unassisted in the 82nd minute to help the Crew (0-1-1) earn a point on the road after falling 3-2 to the Portland Timbers in a season opener in Oregon.
Wessam Abou Ali scored in a second straight match, finding the net unassisted off a turnover in the 33rd minute to stake Columbus to a 1-0 lead that it carried into halftime.
Sporting KC (0-1-1) pulled even three minutes into the second half when Joveljić used assists from Jake Davis and Calvin Harris to score the club’s first goal of the season. Joveljić had 18 goals in 32 appearances last season after coming over from the 2024 MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy.
Joveljić gave Sporting KC a 2-1 lead with an unassisted goal in the 72nd minute.
Patrick Schulte stopped two shots in goal for the Crew — in their first season under Henrik Rydstrom after Wilfried Nancy left to coach in Scotland.
John Pulskamp totaled three saves for Sporting KC, which was coming off a 3-0 road loss to the San Jose Earthquakes to begin the season under first-year coach Raphael Wicky.
Sporting KC is 5-2-9 in home openers at Sporting Park and 16-4-11 in home openers all time.
Sporting KC has a 7-2-4 record in the last 13 matchups with the Crew and leads the all-time series 26-23-10, including a 14-9-5 mark at home.
Up next
Columbus: Hosts Chicago Fire on Saturday.
Sporting KC: Hosts San Diego FC on Saturday.
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