By the Numbers
Sporting KC has been one of the best defensive teams in MLS in recent seasons and Sunday's stats give an insight as to why.
The two central defenders, Matt Besler and Ike Opara, both had a higher percentage of duels won than any D.C. United field player. Opara won 9 of 11 of duels (81.8%) while Besler was successful in 10 of 13 (76.9%). Overall, Sporting KC won 60.9% of duels, second highest of the season.
The highest duels won percentage this season for Sporting KC was the first meeting between the two sides April 5th at Sporting Park (64.3%). Sporting KC has had at least 50% duels won in seven of 13 matches and averaging 52.2% per match.
The image to the right shows all of Besler and Opara's duels against D.C. United, who combined for 19 of 24 or a 79.2% success rate.
Go in-depth for Sporting Kansas City's 1-1 draw at D.C. United on Sunday afternoon at RFK Stadium with this match's Fast Facts.
- With the draw, Sporting Kansas City moves into sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference behind only the New York Red Bulls.
- Sporting KC is now 6-4-3 in 2013 and 3-2-2 on the road.
- Sporting Kansas City is 218-210-112 all-time and 74-133-64 all-time away from home.
- Sporting Kansas City's record against D.C. United moves to 19-18-10 all-time and 6-12-5 on the road in the series.
- Sporting Kansas City is unbeaten in their last six matches against D.C. United. Prior to Sunday’s draw, Sporting Kansas City had won their last five matches in the series.
- D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen earned his first point against Sporting KC and is now 0-5-1 all-time against the club.
- D.C. United (1-8-1) is winless since their home opener on March 9. With the draw, D.C. United breaks a seven-game losing streak, the longest in team history and seventh longest in MLS history.
- Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes made two changes to the starting lineup from last Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. Benny Feilhaber started the match in place of Oriol Rosell and Matt Besler was on for Aurelien Collin.
- Rosell and Collin missed the match due to yellow card accumulation. Sunday marked the first time that Rosell and Collin have not started during the 2013 season.
- Matt Besler and Ike Opara played their first competitive minutes together in central defense on Sunday.
- D.C. United made three changes to their starting XI from last weekend’s 2-1 loss at FC Dallas Stadium, including Bill Hamid returning in net to replace Joe Willis. Daniel Woolard started for James Riley and Taylor Kemp started in place of Raphael Augusto.
- Taylor Kemp made his professional debut on Sunday, playing the first 45 minutes of the match before being replaced by Chris Pontius for D.C. United.
- Chris Korb and Perry Kitchen have started all 11 games for D.C. United this season.
- Sporting Kansas City took the 1-0 lead on an own goal by D.C. United in the 60th minute of the match. It was the first own goal in a Sporting KC match in 2013.
- The goal came from a Graham Zusi corner kick and is the second goal Sporting KC has scored this season off a corner kick.
- All 15 of Sporting Kansas City’s goals in 2013 have come from inside the penalty area.
- D.C. United earned their first point of the season when conceding the first goal. Prior to Sunday, the team was 0-8-0 when allowing the game’s opening goal.
- D.C. United have given up 20 goals this season, most in MLS. Twelve of the 20 goals conceded have come at home, which is also a League high.
- D.C. United equalized five minute later on a goal from Kyle Porter assisted by Chris Pontius.
- The goal was the latest D.C. United has scored in a match this season. Five of the team’s six goals in 2013 have come at RFK Stadium.
- Sporting KC is 5-2-2 when wearing Sporting Blue and 5-1-3 versus the Eastern Conference in 2013.
- Jimmy Nielsen has appeared in 74 straight MLS matches, including postseason, for Sporting Kansas City, dating back to June 12, 2011. The streak covers a span of 6,660 straight minutes of MLS action.
- Jimmy Nielsen surpassed 10,000 minutes played with the club on Sunday (including playoffs). Nielsen becomes the second player on the active roster to surpass this milestone in a KC uniform.
- Seth Sinovic surpassed 7,000 regular season minutes played in his MLS career on Sunday.
- Sporting Kansas City outshot D.C. United 14-7. Sporting KC is 5-3-3 when outshooting an opponent this season.
- Sporting KC controlled 59% of the possession on Sunday and won 60% of the duels.
- Sporting Kansas City earned 12 corner kicks on Sunday, most in a single-match this season for the club.
- Graham Zusi took 11 of the 12 corner kicks. Zusi leads the League in corner kicks with 60.
- Zusi made 18 total crosses in the match, more than any other player on the field.
- Sporting Kansas City leads MLS in fouls suffered this season, but suffered a season-low nine fouls on Sunday.
- Sporting KC leads MLS all-time in shots with 7,374 and ranks first in MLS this season with 182 shots.
- Sporting Kansas City has allowed the fewest shots among all MLS teams this year with 109 shots against.
- Matt Besler returned to the starting lineup for the first time since April 27, 2013 after suffering a knee injury at training.
- Besler made 16 clearances in the match, more than any other player on the field and won seven of his nine aerial duels, also more than any other player in Sunday’s match.
- Besler and Seth Sinovic each had 76 touches in tonight’s match, tied for most of all players.
- D.C. United was without Young Designated Player Rafael due to concussion symptoms.
- The Boulevard Members Club at Sporting Park hosted a Watch Party for Sunday’s match. Sporting KC striker Soony Saad was in attendance to meet supporters.
Sporting Kansas City will face D.C. United for the 47th time MLS (regular season) on Sunday afternoon. It's the second of three meetings between the two sides in the 2013 regular season. The first match of 2013 was on April 5th at Sporting Park in which Sporting KC won 1-0 on an 89th minute winner from Claudio Bieler.
Sporting KC have won the last five consecutive matches in the head-to-head series including handing D.C. United their only regular season home loss in 2012.
MLS regular season Head To Head
Overall: 19-18-9
Home Matches: 13-6-5 (46 goals scored, 28 goals conceded)
Away Matches: 6-12-4 (25 goals scored, 33 goals conceded)
Team Leaders
| Sporting KC | Stat | D.C. United |
| Claudio Bieler 6 | GOALS | Lionard Pajoy 2 |
| Graham Zusi 4 | ASSISTS | Six players tied 1 |
| Claudio Bieler 32 | SHOTS | Dwayne De Rosario 21 |
| Aurelien Collin 26 | FOULS | Lionard Pajoy 16 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 22 | SAVES | Bill Hamid 25 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 0.75 | GAA | Bill Hamid 1.89 |
Season Stats
| Sporting KC | D.C. United | |
| Shots (on goal) | 168 (49) | 106 (34) |
| Fouls Committed (Suffered) | 186 (172) | 108 (137) |
| Duels Won (Avg) | 51.5% | 50.3% |
| Completed Passes (Avg) | 428 | 399 |
| Passing Accuracy (Avg) | 76.1% | 75.7% |
| Possession (Avg) | 55.9% | 51.2% |
Last 10 MLS regular season matches
| Date | Score | Result | Location |
| 09/07/2008 | 1-1 | T | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 07/04/2009 | 1-0 | L | RFK Stadium |
| 10/04/2009 | 2-2 | T | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 03/27/2010 | 4-0 | W | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 05/05/2010 | 2-1 | L | RFK Stadium |
| 08/21/2011 | 1-0 | W | Sporting Park |
| 10/22/2011 | 1-0 | W | RFK Stadium |
| 03/10/2012 | 1-0 | W | RFK Stadium |
| 08/11/2012 | 2-1 | W | Sporting Park |
| 04/05/2013 | 1-0 | W | Sporting Park |
Sunday's showdown between Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo was the latest in a rivalry that continues to blossom and like any good grudge game, the contest came with no shortage of tough tackles. Referee Chris Penso whistled Sporting Kansas City for 25 fouls in the match, most by a team in MLS this season and second most in club history, but might there have been a method to the madness?
Mapping out each of the 25 fouls committed by Manager Peter Vermes' squad shows no set pieces were conceded closer than 35 yards from Jimmy Nielsen's net. The closest (shown below) came in the 25th minute when Brad Davis' left-footed free kick was saved by Nielsen at the near post.
In fact, Houston managed only two shots on goal through the game's first 90 minutes and both came from free kick opportunities. The Dynamo - historically a dangerous team on dead ball situations with Davis serving pin-point deliveries -- were stifled in the run of play and Sporting KC did well to limit the effectiveness of their restarts in large part by pushing the proximity of those free kicks further up the field.
Ironically, the foul-friendly approach is a tactic often used to stymie Sporting KC who lead all MLS teams in fouls suffered this season. Either way, the rivalry will write its next chapter in two weeks' time when Sporting Park hosts the rematch on May 26 live on national TV.
"When we play each other, it is always a battle," Vermes said. "These two teams are always battling each other. It’s every roll of the ball."
Go in-depth for Sporting Kansas City's 1-0 win the Houston Dynamo on Sunday night at BBVA Compass Stadium with this match's Fast Facts.
- With the win, Sporting Kansas City moves into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference with the Houston Dynamo and the Montreal Impact.
- Sporting KC is now 6-4-2 in 2013 and 3-2-1 on the road. The team’s three away wins are tied for the most in MLS this season and the team’s .583 winninge percentage on the road is second best in MLS in 2013.
- Sporting Kansas City is 218-210-111 all-time and 74-133-63 all-time away from home.
- Sporting Kansas City's record against the Houston Dynamo moves to 4-6-6 all-time and 2-3-3 on the road in the series.
- Sporting Kansas City beat the Houston Dynamo in Houston for the first time since April 8, 2006. Since then, Sporting KC was 0-5-3 at Houston in MLS competition (including playoffs) entering Sunday’s match.
- The win hands the Houston Dynamo the club’s first loss at BBVA Compass Stadium since it’s opening a year ago today.
- The win also snapped a 36-game undefeated streak at home for the Dynamo in all competition, with 26 victories and 10 draws over that span.
- Houston’s 30-game home unbeaten streak in MLS regular season competition is the longest in MLS history.
- Sporting KC started the same starting lineup from their 4-0 victory over Chivas USA, making four changes to the lineup they started in their midweek loss against the Seattle Sounders. Claudio Bieler replaced C.J. Sapong, Paulo Nagamura replaced Benny Feilhaber, Seth Sinovic was in for Josh Gardner and Mechack Jerome was on for Chance Myers.
- The Houston Dynamo made one change to their starting lineup from their midweek victory over D.C. United, replacing Giles Barnes with Ricardo Clark.
- Ricardo Clark’s six fouls suffered on Sunday was a season high for a Houston player and most by a Houston player all-time in the series.
- Aurelien Collin notched the game-winning goal for Sporting Kansas City, heading in a long throw-in from Seth Sinovic.
- The goal was Sporting KC’s fourth scored by a header this season. All 14 of the team’s goals in 2013 have come from shots inside the penalty area.
- The goal is Collin’s second of the season and ninth of his career. Of Collin’s nine career MLS goals, six have been game-winners.
- Sporting KC is 8-0-1 when Collin scores.
- Seth Sinovic earned his first point of the year with the assist. The assist was the third of his career and first since May 19, 2012.
- The Sporting KC goal came on the team’s only shot on goal of the second half.
- Sporting Kansas City is 5-0-0 when leading in the 75th minute.
- Sporting Kansas City is 4-0-2 when allowing 0 goals and 3-1-0 when scoring one goal.
- Sporting KC is 5-2-1 when wearing Sporting Blue and 5-1-2 versus the Eastern Conference in 2013.
- In 35 minutes of action, Kei Kamara led all players in the match with eight aerial duels won. Kamara and Collin won a combined 15 of 15 aerial duels on Sunday.
- Kamara made his 100th regular season appearance in a KC uniform on Sunday. Kamara played for the Dynamo in 2008 and 2009.
- Jimmy Nielsen earned the 39th shutout of his career, most in club history, and seventh in 2013, most among all MLS goalkeepers this year.
- Nielsen’s six victories this year are tied for most in MLS.
- Nielsen’s 0.99 career goals against average is the best in MLS history among goalkeepers with a minimum of 4,000 minutes played.
- Sporting Kansas City’s 0.75 goals against average is the best in MLS in 2013.
- Tally Hall’s shutout streak ended on Sunday at 298 minutes, the third longest streak by a goalkeeper in MLS this season.
- Sunday's temperature was 82 degrees at kickoff, the hottest temperature for a Sporting KC game in 2013.
- Aurelien Collin and Oriol Rosell will miss the next Sunday’s match against D.C. United at RFK Stadium due to yellow card accumulation.
- Jimmy Nielsen has appeared in 73 straight MLS matches, including postseason, for Sporting Kansas City, dating back to June 12, 2011. The streak covers a span of 6,570 straight minutes of MLS action.
- Oriol Rosell committed four fouls on Sunday, a single-game career high for the midfielder.
- Sporting Kansas City has handed MLS opponents their first loss at a new stadium at six different stadiums: BBVA Compass Stadium, BMO Field, Qwest Field, Rio Tinto Stadium, Robertson Stadium and Spartan Stadium.
- Ike Opara logged 13 clearances on Sunday, leading all players in the category.
- Mechack Jerome led all players on Sunay with 12 duels won.
- Peterson Joseph was credited with three key passes on Sunday, most among all players on the field.
- Peterson Joseph’s five fouls committed on Wednesday were a single-game career high.
- Sporting Kansas City was whistled for 25 fouls on Sunday, a single-game high for the club this season and most by a team in MLS this season.
- Sporting Kansas City leads MLS in fouls suffered this season, but suffered a season-low 10 fouls on Sunday.
- The team’s 15 fouls in the second half were the most by an MLS team in a half this season.
- Sporting Kansas City outshot the Houston Dynamo 11-10. Sporting KC is 5-3-2 when outshooting an opponent this season.
- Sporting KC leads MLS all-time in shots with 7,360 and ranks second in MLS this season with 168 shots.
- Sporting Kansas City has allowed the second fewest shots among all MLS teams this year with 102 shots against.
- Matt Besler missed Sunday’s match due to injury.
- Sporting Kansas City faces the Houston Dynamo again on May 26 at Sporting Park.
Sporting Kansas City will face the Houston Dynamo for the 16th time in MLS (regular season) on Sunday evening. This is the first of three regular season meetings between the two sides in 2013.
All-Time Head To Head
Overall: 3-6-6
Home Matches: 2-3-3 (10 goals scored, 9 goals conceded)
Away Matches: 1-3-3 (7 goals scored, 12 goals conceded)
Team Leaders
| Sporting KC | Stat | Houston Dynamo |
| Claudio Bieler 6 | GOALS | Barnes/Bruin 4 |
| Graham Zusi 4 | ASSISTS | Davis/Bruin/Sarkodie 3 |
| Claudio Bieler 29 | SHOTS | Giles Barnes 29 |
| Aurelien Collin 23 | FOULS | Bobby Boswell 13 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 19 | SAVES | Tally Hall 23 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 0.82 | GAA | Tally Hally 0.90 |
Season Stats
| Sporting KC | Houston Dynamo | |
| Shots (on goal) | 157 (46) | 123 (45) |
| Fouls Committed (Suffered) | 161 (162) | 114 (96) |
| Duels Won (Avg) | 51.2% | 50.0% |
| Completed Passes (Avg) | 438 | 386 |
| Passing Accuracy (Avg) | 77.4% | 73.5% |
| Possession (Avg) | 56.9% | 49.4% |
Last 10 MLS Regular Season Meetings
| Date | Score | Result | Location |
| 09/07/2008 | 3-1 | L | Robertson Stadium |
| 07/04/2009 | 1-0 | L | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 10/04/2009 | 1-1 | T | Robertson Stadium |
| 05/01/2010 | 3-0 | L | Robertson Stadium |
| 09/22/2010 | 4-3 | W | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 07/16/2011 | 1-1 | T | Robertson Stadium |
| 09/10/2011 | 3-0 | W | Sporting Park |
| 07/07/2012 | 0-0 | T | Sporting Park |
| 07/18/2012 | 2-1 | L | BBVA Compass Stadium |
| 09/14/2012 | 1-1 | T | Sporting Park |
Go in-depth for Sporting Kansas City's 1-0 loss against the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday at Sporting Park with this match's Fast Facts.
- With the loss, Sporting Kansas City falls to third in the Eastern Conference.
- Sporting KC is now 5-4-2 in 2013 and 3-2-1 at home.
- Sporting Kansas City is 217-210-111 all-time and 144-77-48 all-time at home.
- Sporting Kansas City's record against the Seattle Sounders moves to 1-6-1 all-time and 0-4-0 at home in the series.
- Sporting Kansas City beat the Sounders in the two clubs' first ever meeting and has not won a match since (seven straight matches without a victory).
- Sporting KC made three changes to their starting lineup for Wednesday after their 4-0 triumph over Chivas USA on Sunday. Josh Gardner started in place of Seth Sinovic, Chance Myers started for Mechack Jerome and C.J. Sapong for Claudio Bieler.
- The Seattle Sounders made four changes to their starting lineup from last weekend's 2-2 draw against the Philadelphia Union. Zach Scott came on for DeAndre Yedlin, Mario Roberto Martinez for Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso for Alex Caskey and David Estrada for Lamar Neagle.
- Sporting Kansas City allowed only two shots on goal on Wednesday. Seattle’s two shots on goal on Wednesday was a season low.
- Kei Kamara made his first appearance for Sporting Kansas City during the 2013 season, re-joining the team late Sunday night after being on loan with Norwich City in the Barclays Premier League.
- Since 2009, Seattle Sounders FC game-winning goals against Sporting KC have come in the 76th minute (2009), 92+ minute (2010), 78th minute (2010), 93+ minute (2011), 92+ minute (2011) and 94+ minute (2013).
- Of Seattle’s 11 goals scored all-time in the series, seven have come after the 76th minute. Seattle’s 11 goals in the series have come from 11 different players.
- Prior to Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City was 4-0-0 when leading in the 75th minute.
- Wednesday's temperature was 75 degrees at kickoff, the hottest temperature for a Sporting KC game in 2013.
- Wednesday marked Josh Gardner’s first start since joining Sporting Kansas City. The start was his first in MLS since April 4, 2012.
- Sporting Kansas City players Seth Sinovic, Paulo Nagamura and Claudio Bieler did not start for the first time during the 2013 season on Wednesday. Sinovic and Bieler entered the match as second-half substitutes.
- Seattle has fielded 12 different lineups in 12 matches in all competition this year.
- Seattle is unbeaten in 35-straight games when scoring first.
- Seattle boasts a five-game unbeaten streak in all competition.
- Attendance at Wednesday’s match was 18,602, marking 22 consecutive sellouts at Sporting Park.
- Ike Opara led all players on the field on Wednesday with 11 clearances and 11 interceptions. No other player had more than six in either category. Opara also led all players with eight aerial duels won on Wednesday.
- Oriol Rosell was credited with 15 possessions gained on Wednesday, most amongst all players.
- Jimmy Nielsen has appeared in 72 straight MLS matches, including postseason, for Sporting Kansas City, dating back to June 12, 2011. The streak covers a span of 6,480 straight minutes of MLS action.
- Seattle Sounders FC backup goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was dismissed for foul or abusive language in the 24th minute of the match. Wednesday was the third straight match between Seattle and Sporting KC with a player ejected or dismissed.
- Aurelien Collin committed six fouls in Wednesday’s match, tying his single-game career high. The six fouls committed is a season-high for a Sporting Kansas City player.
- Collin also committed six fouls in his last match against the Seattle Sounders FC on June 20, 2012.
- C.J. Sapong suffered four fouls on Wednesday, the most by a Kansas City player in the all-time series.
- Peterson Joseph’s four fouls committed on Wednesday was a single-game career high.
- Sporting Kansas City outshot the Seattle Sounders 11-9. Sporting KC is 4-3-2 when outshooting an opponent this season.
- Sporting Kansas City was without Paulo Nagamura on Wednesday due to suspension.
- The Seattle Sounders were without Lamar Neagle and DeAndre Yedlin on Wednesday. Both players were suspended for red cards received on Saturday against Philadelphia.
- Sigi Schmid earned his 174th win on Wednesday, most all-time among MLS coaches.
- Sporting KC leads MLS all-time in shots with 7,349.
- Joseph Serati was the Victory Suite honoree at Wednesday's match.
- Matt Besler missed Wednesday’s match due to injury.
- Graham Zusi started the 75th regular season match of his career on Wednesday and surpassed 7,000 regular season minutes played
Sporting Kansas City will face the Seattle Sounders for the eighth time in MLS (regular season) on Wednesday evening. This is the only regular season meeting between the two sides in 2013.
Sporting KC won the first meeting between the two teams back in 2009 and the most recent meeting on August 8, 2012 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final. In the last MLS regular season meeting, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at CenturyLink Field on June 20, 2012.
All-Time Head To Head
Overall: 1-5-1
Home Matches: 0-3-0 (4 goals scored, 7 goals conceded)
Away Matches: 1-2-1 (2 goals scored, 3 goals conceded)
Team Leaders
| Sporting KC | Stat | Seattle Sounders |
| Claudio Bieler 6 | GOALS | Eddie Johnson 2 |
| Graham Zusi 4 | ASSISTS | Mauro Rosales 2 |
| Claudio Bieler 28 | SHOTS | Eddie Johnson 13 |
| Aurelien Collin 17 | FOULS | DeAndre Yedlin 13 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 18 | SAVES | Michael Gspurning 20 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 0.80 | GAA | Michael Gspurning 1.00 |
Season Stats
| Sporting KC | Seattle Sounders | |
| Shots (on goal) | 146 (43) | 79 (23) |
| Fouls Committed (Suffered) | 146 (151) | 91 (85) |
| Duels Won (Avg) | 51.7% | 50.9% |
| Completed Passes (Avg) | 435 | 428 |
| Passing Accuracy (Avg) | 77.3% | 78.0% |
| Possession (Avg) | 56.8% | 52.7% |
MLS Regular Season Meetings
| Date | Score | Result | Location |
| 04/11/2009 | 1-0 | W | Qwest Field |
| 10/17/2009 | 3-2 | L | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 04/17/2010 | 1-0 | L | Qwest Field |
| 10/09/2010 | 2-1 | L | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 05/21/2011 | 1-0 | L | Qwest Field |
| 08/06/2011 | 2-1 | L | Sporting Park |
| 06/20/2012 | 1-1 | T | CenturyLink Field |
Go in-depth in Sporting Kansas City's 4-0 win against Chivas USA on Sunday at Sporting Park with this week's Fast Facts below.
- With the win, Sporting Kansas City moves into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with the New York Red Bulls and the Montreal Impact.
- Sporting KC is now 5-3-2 in 2013 and 3-1-1 at home.
- Sporting Kansas City is 217-209-111 all-time and 144-76-48 all-time at home.
- Sporting Kansas City's record against Chivas USA moves to 8-4-4 all-time and 5-1-2 at home in the series.
- Sporting Kansas City is unbeaten in the last five matches against Chivas USA .
- After starting the same lineup in the five previous matches, Sporting KC made three changes to their starting lineup on Sunday. Mechack Jerome started in place of Chance Myers, Ike Opara started for Matt Besler and Jacob Peterson came on for C.J. Sapong.
- Sunday's victory marked back-to-back games witha multi-goal game from one player for Sporting Kansas City.
- With the shutout, Jimmy Nielsen now has six shutouts this season, most in MLS this year.
- Nielsen broke the club's all-time shutout record previously held by Tony Meola with Sunday's shutout. Nielsen now has 38 shutouts in MLS.
- Sporting Kansas City allowed no shots on goal on Sunday for only the eighth time in club history and second time this season.
- Claudio Bieler notched the first goal for Sporting Kansas City in the 41st minute of the match.
- Graham Zusi added his fourth assist of the year on the play tying Real Salt Lake's Joao Plata for first place in the League for assists.
- Zusi moves into sole possession of fifth place on the club's all-time chart for assists with 27.
- The assist is his third game-winning assist of the year, which ties him for the League lead. The assist is the 12th career game-winning assist for Zusi.
- Bieler's game-winning goal was his third on the year, tied for most in MLS.
- Bieler added a second goal in the 57th minute of the match on a penalty kick. The PK marks the first for Sporting KC on the year. Bieler moves into a tie for the League lead for goals with LA Galaxy's Mike Magee and Philadelphia's Jack McInerney (6).
- Bieler is the second player in KC history to score two goals against Chivas USA in one match along with Omar Bravo.
- Bieler's four shots on goal is a personal MLS single-game career high.
- Bieler becomes the 13th player in the League to have a multi-goal game this season.
- Graham Zusi gave Sporting KC the 3-0 lead in the 65th minute on a cross from Josh Gardner. The goal was Zusi's third of the year and 14th of his MLS career.
- Sporting KC surpassed the 750-goal mark in club history on Sunday. Graham Zusi scored the 750th all-time goal for the club.
- Paulo Nagamura also earned an assist on Zusi's goal, his 16th career assist and first of 2013. Nagamura now has at least a point in all nine of his seasons playing in MLS.
- Sunday marked Gardner's debut in a Sporting Kansas City uniform after joining Sporting KC in the offseason. The assist is Gardner's first of the 2013 season and sixth in his MLS career. The assist is his first since August 13, 2011.
- Sunday marked Gardner's 50th regular season game played in his MLS career.
- C.J. Sapong scored Sporting KC's fourth goal of the match, his first goal of the year and 15th of his career.
- C.J. Sapong has goals in three of four all-time matches against Chivas USA. His three goals are most among active KC players against Chivas USA.
- Sunday marked C.J. Sapong's 75th regular season game played and he surpassed 5,000 minutes played in the regular season in his MLS career.
- Mechack Jerome and Oriol Rosell each earned as assist on Sapong's goal.Jerome's assist marks his first point in MLS and Rosell's assist marks his first career assist in MLS.
- Ike Opara is 8-0-3 in his last 11 MLS regular season starts. The last time a team lost a regular season game with him in the starting lineup was April 16, 2011.
- The midfield trio of Oriol Rosell, Paulo Nagamura and Peterson Joseph started a match together for the first time on Sunday.
- Jacob Peterson and Peterson Joseph made their first starts of the 2013 season.
- Sporting Kansas City scored four goals on Sunday, the most goals the club's scored in one match since a 4-1 victory over Toronto FC at Sporting Park on July 23, 2011. The victory was the largest margin of victory for Sporting KC since March 27, 2010 against D.C. United and the largest ever margin of victory at Sporting Park since its inauguration.
- Dan Kennedy received a red card in the 54th minute of the match for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity. The red card is the first of the year by a Sporting KC opponent.
- Patrick McLain made his MLS debut replacing Dan Kennedy after the red card.
- Jimmy Nielsen has appeared in 71 straight MLS matches, including postseason, for Sporting Kansas City, dating back to June 12, 2011. The streak covers a span of 6,390 straight minutes of MLS action.
- Sporting Kansas City outshot Chivas USA 17-3. Sporting KC is 4-2-2 when outshooting an opponent this season.
- Sporting KC's 14 goals this year are second most in the East and third most in MLS this season.
- Sporting Kansas City's +6 goal differential is second best in MLS this year.
- Sunday marks the first time Chivas USA have not had a shot on goal this season.
- Sunday marks the fewest fouls committed by Chivas USA in a match this season with 11.
- Sporting Kansas City's nine goals at home are the most in MLS this year.
- Nielsen's five wins are the most in MLS this year.
- Zusi leads MLS with 43 corner kicks this year.
- Sporting Kansas City's 83 shots against is second fewest in MLS this year.
- Sporting KC has 32 straight wins when scoring four or more goals in a match.
- Nielsen's 1.00 all-time goals against average is lowest among goalkeepers with a minimum of 4,000 minutes played.
- Peter Vermes notched his 50th win on Sunday which ties him with Ron Newman for second most in club history and puts him 20th all-time among MLS managers.
- Vermes has the best winning percentage among managers in club history (.550).
- Sporting KC leads MLS all-time in shots with 7,338.
- Sporting Kansas City is 3-0-0 when leading at the half and 4-1-0 when scoring first.
- Kacey Ellwein was the Victory Suite honoree at Sunday's match.
- Erik Palmer-Brown started for the U.S. Under-15 Boys' National Team in all four matches at the Tournament Delle Nazioni, falling 2-1 in the semifinals against Croatia on Saturday.
- Orlando City SC earned a 7-2 victory over Antigua Barracuda FC on Saturday. Sporting KC on-loan forward Dom Dwyer scored a hat trick in the match.
- Deffenbaugh Industries was Sunday's match sponsor.
- Attendance at Sunday's match was 18,811 marking the 21st consecutive sellout for an MLS home match (including playoffs).
- Sporting Kansas City unveiled the 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game logo at halftime on Sunday.
- Matt Besler and Chance Myers missed Sunday's match due to injury.
- Sporting Park hosted Jewish Heritage Day on Sunday, with local rabbis delivering the match ball pre-game and kosher hot dogs available in stadium.
- With Mechack Jerome on the field, Sporting KC has allowed no goals and only one shot on goal in 272 minutes this season. The lone shot on goal came from 40 yards out and was saved by Jimmy Nielsen in the team's home opener on March 16 against the Chicago Fire. In that time, Jerome has recorded two shots on goal himself.
- Similarly, Sporting KC has not allowed a goal or shot on goal in Ike Opara's two starts this season.
- Kevin Ellis was in the gameday 18 for first time since August 4, 2012.
Sporting Kansas City will face Chivas USA for the 16th time MLS (regular season) on Sunday afternoon. This is the only regular season meeting between the two sides in 2013.
Sporting KC is currently on a four match unbeaten streak against Chivas USA with three wins and one draw. The teams last met in 2012 at the Home Depot Center on April 1st with Sporting KC getting a 1-0 victory.
All-Time Head To Head
Overall: 7-4-4
Home Matches: 4-1-2 (13 goals scored, 9 goals conceded)
Away Matches: 3-3-2 (10 goals scored, 10 goals conceded)
Team Leaders
| Sporting KC | Stat | Chivas USA |
| Claudio Bieler 4 | GOALS | Juan Agudelo 2 |
| Feilhaber/Zusi 3 | ASSISTS | Jorge Villafana 3 |
| Claudio Bieler 8 | SHOTS | Tristan Bowen 13 |
| Aurelien Collin 16 | FOULS | Bobby Burling 16 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 18 | SAVES | Dan Kennedy 36 |
| Jimmy Nielsen 0.89 | GAA | Dan Kennedy 1.29 |
Season Stats
| Sporting KC | Chivas USA | |
| Shots (on goal) | 129 (36) | 87 (30) |
| Fouls Committed (Suffered) | 134 (140) | 133 (102) |
| Duels Won (Avg) | 51.9% | 44.7% |
| Completed Passes (Avg) | 431 | 312 |
| Passing Accuracy (Avg) | 76.6% | 68.6% |
| Possession (Avg) | 56.0% | 47.3% |
Last 10 Regular Season Meetings
| Date | Score | Result | Location |
| 09/22/2007 | 1-2 | L | The Home Depot Center |
| 08/09/2008 | 3-2 | W | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 09/27/2008 | 2-1 | L | The Home Depot Center |
| 05/23/2009 | 1-1 | T | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 10/10/2009 | 2-0 | L | The Home Depot Center |
| 07/10/2010 | 2-0 | L | CommunityAmerica Ballpark |
| 09/19/2010 | 2-0 | W | The Home Depot Center |
| 03/19/2011 | 3-2 | W | The Home Depot Center |
| 07/09/2011 | 1-1 | T | Sporting Park |
| 04/01/2012 | 1-0 | W | The Home Depot Center |