Sporting Kansas City ended the first leg of the club’s 2017 preseason with a 2-1 defeat to the New England Revolution on Tuesday at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona.
Nansel Selbol — a 19-year-old product of the Sporting KC Academy — came off the bench to score Sporting KC’s first preseason goal in the 80th minute, but first-half strikes from Josh Smith and Kei Kamara paced New England to victory.
Manager Peter Vermes distributed minutes evenly for the second straight game, utilizing 24 players and handing preseason debuts to defender Matt Besler, midfielder Ilie Sanchez and forward Soony Saad.