Photo by Peter Aiken / USA Today Sports Images

By SKYLAR ROLSTAD

On a team with 11 different scorers over the course of 2015, Paulo Nagamura still looked the least likely to power Sporting KC to a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“[It was] definitely a special moment in my career because of the comeback that we had,” Nagamura said. “It was a special day that I will never forget.”

At the age of 32, Nagamura has taken more of a leadership role among Sporting’s ranks this season, With the long-term injury of Roger Espinoza, he was called upon to play 90 minutes in Saturday’s match. He is 15th on the team in games played in 2015 with 11 and has accumulated 652 minutes on the year.

But his equalizing and game winning goal in stoppage time put Nagamura front and center on Saturday night. It was his first ever multi-goal game, and a valuable one since Sporting KC now sits three points behind the lead in the Western Conference.

As for his decrease in minutes this season, Nagamura believed his trust in coach Peter Vermes lead to his success on the field.

“He’s a team-first guy and he’s got a winning mentality,” Vermes said. “He’s a really good player, all those things are givens. He’s just a winner.”

Sporting KC captain Matt Besler echoed Vermes’s words.

“[Nagamura]’s a warrior, he’s a winner,” Besler said. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from that guy.”

With Pedro Morales’s free kick goal in the 75th minute to make it 3-1 in favor of the Whitecaps, Sporting looked like the losing team. It was Nagamura’s handball that drew the free kick.

“I didn’t feel more pressure [because of the handball] but I felt disappointed that I let the team down,” Nagamura said. “That gave me extra motivation and extra belief to come back.”