Logan Ndenbe entered the 2023 MLS playoffs without a professional goal. He’d played 48 games for Sporting Kansas City, and dozens more in Belgium and France. As a left back who literally never scores, he was an unlikely hero — and his team, SKC, which opened the season without a win for two-and-a-half months, was once an unlikely playoff disruptor.
But this is Major League Soccer, the pinnacle of randomness.
So of course Sporting KC dumped St. Louis City FC, the Western Conference champs, out of those playoffs on Sunday.
The West’s No. 8 seed knocked off the top seed in straight sets, with wins on consecutive weekends, and with six total goals — including two from Ndenbe.
For much of the past eight months, St. Louis had enjoyed a dreamy, record-breaking inaugural season. Its fans invariably packed CityPark. Its unheralded players roared to the top of the table and never looked back, clinching the No. 1 seed with weeks to spare.
But then, in Round 1 of the league’s bloated playoffs, it succumbed to a classic MLS fate.
Only one top seed even reached MLS Cup between 2012 and 2021. The two conference winners, on average, won just over one postseason game per year. St. Louis, in 2023, won zero.
It got a three-game series, and therefore a second chance after SKC’s 4-1 upset last Sunday. But it couldn’t take that chance. Ndenbe tucked away a classy goal just before halftime to give Kansas City a lead. Daniel Salloi made it 2-0 midway through the second half.
St. Louis pulled one goal back, but not two. And the MLS newbies crashed out.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
