Stefan Cleveland: Sporting KC have finally found its new No. 1

Stefan Cleveland hadn’t played a minute of an MLS match since 2023 before stepping into goal for Sporting Kansas City against the Seattle Sounders. The shot-stopper’s lack of game time didn’t show, however. Cleveland made seven saves, prevented 1.96 goals, and organized the Sporting KC defense like it hadn’t been all season. The back line looked far more confident, and that confidence allowed Sporting KC to apply pressure to Seattle at the other end of the pitch, racking up 10 total shots, their most in any single game this season.

Cleveland played one game, conceded one goal, and turned in a man-of-the-match performance. Not bad for a player who hadn’t played an MLS regular season match over two years.

One night changed the goalkeeper conversation

Signed in the offseason from Austin FC for $50,000 in 2026 GAM, Cleveland arrived in Kansas City with a mere 36 career first-team matches under his belt. That is the equivalent of just over one full MLS season. Despite being in his 10th season as a professional, Cleveland has played very little, but it didn’t show against the Sounders.

Now compare that to his rival for the first-team shirt, John Pulskamp. The previous Sporting KC No. 1 has played in 188 games for the club, conceding a whopping 169 goals, according to Transfermarkt. That’s an average of 0.9 goals per match. Decent, but having watched the last two seasons, it feels like far more goals were allowed by Pulskamp.

In one 90-minute performance against the Sounders, Cleveland proved to head coach Raphael Wicky and Sporting KC supporters that he should be first choice goalkeeper going forward. Pulskamp, on the other hand, conceded 25 goals in nine MLS matches — plus three against Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the U.S. Open Cup. He allowed an average of 2.8 goals per game in MLS. Under his watch, Sporting were on pace to set a single-season goals record in MLS. Of course, they still are, but maybe now, things will change.

In those nine fixtures, Pulskamp faced 51 shots, allowed 25 goals, and saved just 26. He had a 51% save rate. Sure, not all of the goals were his fault. Yet, there were several that came from poor positioning, late reactions, or simply dropping the ball. According to Fotmob, Pulskamp prevented just 2.18 goals. Meanwhile, his save percentage ranks him among the worst goalkeepers in similar leagues covered by Fotmob..

Experience matters between the posts

Pulskamp’s contract expires at the end of the 2026 season. His expiring contract once again shows the shortsighted thinking of the previous Sporting KC regime. That group allowed player after player to run down their contracts and leave without receiving a transfer fee or tradable asset.

How many millions were lost by Sporting KC due to a lack of foresight? Pulskamp can leave Sporting in the summer. Cleveland, on the other hand, is signed through 2027. At 31, he is in his prime as a goalkeeper, despite playing a limited number of games over the years as a second choice for the Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders, and Austin.

Yet, it is the sitting, watching, learning, and daily training sessions that often create the goalkeeper. Yes, in goalkeeping there are the greats who begin early, showing promise from an early age. There are the Manuel Neuers, Alisson Beckers, and Gianluigi Donnarummas of the world. But for every one of those players, there are goalkeepers who take time to develop.

Like a fine wine, a solid goalkeeper is developed over the years. It is why so many goalkeepers in Europe are sent on loan to gain experience playing for teams of various qualities and levels. The peak years for a goalkeeper are 28 to 32. It is also why we see good goalkeepers continue playing until their late 30s or early 40s. Sporting legends Jimmy Neilsen and Tim Melia both played into their late 30s.

Why does it take so long to reach that peak? It allows goalkeepers to learn the game, read the game, and develop the mental calmness to make the saves needed. For outfield players, the peak ages are 25 to 29, with the absolute prime generally believed to be 26 to 28.

Cleveland took the long road and Sporting KC may benefit

Now compare Cleveland to Pulskamp, who is just 25. Pulskamp spent his youth in California playing for U.S. Soccer development clubs before joining the LA Galaxy academy. In 2019, Sporting KC signed him to SKC II as a teenager. Less than a year later, Pulskamp earned his first professional contract; and in 2021, he made his professional debut.

Before Pulskamp had played his first-ever game with SKC II, Cleveland had already been a professional. It was a different route to pro soccer. Cleveland played at Dartmouth before transferring to Louisville. While at Dartmouth, an Ivy League school which tells us something about Cleveland, the goalie earned an engineering degree.

Like many goalkeepers around the globe, Cleveland then spent seasons as a professional on loan to lower-league clubs to gain experience. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was a chance to learn in different environments. He was never cuddled and earmarked as the next No. 1 for any MLS club. Rather, Cleveland was the backup wherever he went, except for 2021 when he made 15 appearances for the Sounders, conceding 17 goals, making 29 saves, and keeping three clean sheets.

Cleveland wasn’t an academy product. He was a player closer to dropping off MLS rosters and into the USL than becoming a starting No. 1 in most campaigns. Resilience is a trait needed for every goalkeeper, no matter if it is grassroots football or the Champions League. Cleveland showed it, continually making MLS rosters.

Sporting KC general manager David Lee saw something in Cleveland despite his limited playing time over the years. Let’s remember, he made just 36 first-team appearances before Sporting KC signed him.

Now perhaps Wicky will continue with Cleveland in goal.

Perhaps the veteran will lead Sporting KC to more points, a higher position in the standings, and actually make this season look like a rebuild.

Or the opposite.

Perhaps Cleveland plays the next Sporting game, concedes goal after goal, and everything goes back into the toilet.

Or maybe Pulskamp returns in goal to the groans of every Sporting KC fan who cares. And let’s just be brutally honest, from the feedback I get, a lot of fans are apathetic about this club. Not just because of what we’ve seen on the pitch, but because of the way the club has been run.

But that is a story for another time, because right now, Stefan Cleveland is the best signing Sporting KC made during the offseason rebuild. Interestingly, the majority of fans would have said the goalkeeper position wasn’t the one to change. Yet, it was.

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