Second-half substitute Roger Espinoza scored a pivotal goal on Wednesday night as Sporting Kansas City (11-6-3, 36 points) clinched a berth in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs following a 1-0 road victory over FC Cincinnati (4-13-4, 16 points) at Nippert Stadium.
The result guarantees Sporting Kansas City a top-eight finish in the Western Conference and vaults the club back into first place with two scheduled matches remaining in the regular season. Espinoza’s decisive strike, coupled with two saves from history-making goalkeeper Tim Melia, helped Sporting eclipse their regular season win total from 2019 and improved the team’s record to 5-1-1 during the month of October.