Sporting Kansas City (No. 8) begin their Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs journey Wednesday evening, hosting the San Jose Earthquakes (No. 9) in the Western Conference's single-elimination Wild Card match (9:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
But to Sporting, the feeling of a playoff game is nothing new.
After going winless in their first 10 games this season (0W-7L-3D), they confronted playoff-level desperation each matchday. And with an all-decisive 3-1 Decision Day win over Minnesota United FC, they're the West's best team since May – leading the conference in points (41), wins (12) and goals scored (45) over the span.
"We've had to scratch, bite, claw to get our way back into where we're at, and I think there's a level of hardness with the group," sporting director and manager Peter Vermes said Tuesday before playoff soccer returns to Children's Mercy Park.
"As a group, we're not all of a sudden thinking we're something special. Because we're not. ... We're the same team that we believe in ourselves all along, and then the final piece to that is that there's a humble confidence within the group."
There is certainly good reason for Sporting to feel confident. They found their form after Leagues Cup, winning six of their final 10 matches to close out the season. Maybe their final place in the table doesn't quite tell the whole story.
"I think most people would probably see us as an underdog\]. We did scrape in," admitted forward and club captain [Johnny Russell.
"It's well documented how we started the year, but the fact that we've been able to scrap and claw our way back into the season and make the playoffs, we're going into the playoffs in good form. ... We're not a team that a lot of teams are going to look forward to playing."
This midweek turnaround won't be easy. Sporting welcome a San Jose side that spent 2023 ahead of them in the table, something Vermes pointed to as "a level of consistency within their team and I have a lot of respect for that." And while SKC boast a star attacker in Alan Pulido (14g/3a), the Quakes respond with Cristian Espinoza (13g/13a).
Mentally, though, Sporting won't require much to get ready.
"These games are easier than normal to get your team ready," said Russell. "If you can't get yourself excited, if you can't get motivated for playoff games, there's not really much I can do to help you. The whole buzz around playing in the postseason is all the motivation anyone needs. It's not really down to me to say anything to get anyone hyped up at this point. I think everyone's already there."
As one of the more experienced sides in MLS, Kansas City know it might not be pretty. They're able to muddy things up with the best of them, and under Vermes they've never been afraid to sacrifice style for substance.
They know what's at stake, with the winner entering a Round One Best-of-3 series vs. No. 1-seed St. Louis CITY SC that begins Oct. 29 at CITYPARK. This season, SKC went 1W-2L-0D against their new Midwest rival.
"I think that makes it more exciting. There's no second chances," grinned Russell. "You have to put it right on the night or you're gone."
"This is a final. I look at this as being a final," added Vermes. "The responsibility isn't to entertain; the responsibility is to win. If you win, I think everybody thinks you entertained them. Usually it feels pretty good afterwards for everybody if you win."
