Sporting Kansas City (4-6-7, 11th place) concluded a five-game road trip in the month of June with a 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake (7-8-2, 8th place) at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday. Liberian international Sam Johnson's first-half brace lifted the hosts to their third straight home win as both teams - who met in last year's Western Conference Semifinals -- reach the halfway-point of the regular season on the outside of the playoff race.
With the game time temperature at 89 degrees and playing at 4,500 feet above sea level, Sporting opened on the front foot with Daniel Salloi firing the game's first shot just 45 seconds after the opening whistle.