Kevin Kelsy delivered a standout performance with two goals and two assists, leading the Portland Timbers to a dominant 6-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night at Providence Park.
Kelsy’s third and fourth goals of the season powered the Timbers (4-6-1, 13 points) to their first six-goal victory in MLS club history. The only previous time Portland scored six was in a 7-2 win against the same Kansas City side on May 14, 2022, during a regular-season home match.
Kristoffer Velde, Ariel Lassiter, and Cole Bassett each contributed a goal and an assist, while the Timbers also benefited from an own goal, building a commanding 4-0 lead by the 26th minute. David Da Costa provided two assists as Portland secured their third win in five home matches and third victory in the last five games overall. An own goal by Sporting Kansas City completed the scoring.
Goalkeeper James Pantemis recorded his first clean sheet of the season with three saves.
Sporting Kansas City (1-8-2, 5 points) conceded at least three goals for the seventh time this season, extending their winless run to seven league matches under first-year head coach Raphael Wicky (six losses, one draw). During that stretch, they have been outscored 25-4, and overall in the 2026 regular season, they have a goal differential of 32-8 against. Looking further back, Kansas City has won only twice in their last 24 league games, a streak that began with a 3-2 home loss to Seattle on July 12, 2025.
The scoring opened with Velde’s powerful strike in the sixth minute. Kelsy added his first goal in the 15th minute, finishing a slick attack through the right side of Kansas City’s defense. After combining with Bassett and Da Costa, he latched onto Da Costa’s clever backheel and drove a low shot past goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland.
Bassett’s 22nd-minute goal marked his first MLS strike for his new club, with his previous 31 goals coming over seven seasons with the Colorado Rapids. After an own goal made it 4-0 by the 26th minute, Lassiter scored directly from a free kick in the 71st minute to make it 5-0. He then provided the cross for Kelsy’s second goal in the 74th minute, a sliding first-time finish at the back post.
