Beyond the Box Score: Sporting KC stays hot at home, exorcises Seattle demons

After their MLS Cup title defense fell short last season, it was time for Sporting Kansas City to identify areas that could use improvement in 2015.

Among them was the team’s home form. Peter Vermes’ men won six of 17 home matches in 2014 (6-5-6) and actually claimed more road points (25) than they did in the friendly confines of Sporting Park (24). The 2015 campaign started similarly as the club dropped points in three of its first four games at Sporting Park, albeit avoiding defeat in the process.

Since then, Sporting KC has turned the narrative on its head.

The last four contests in Kansas City have seen the home side collect four wins, three clean sheets and outscore their opponents 10-2. The latest victory—a 1-0 result over Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday—marked the second time that Sporting KC has won four consecutive MLS home games in a single regular season at Sporting Park, first doing so in 2012. No other team has a longer home winning streak this season.

Take a look at the MLS standings, and Sporting KC’s 5-0-3 home mark is best in the league. The New England Revolution are the only other club with an unbeaten home record (3-0-5) through Week 14, while only D.C. United have more home wins—six from 10 home games played (6-1-3). Sporting KC also boasts the league's best home goal differential at plus-9.

BEST MLS HOME RECORDS IN 2015

SPORTING KC AT HOME: LAST FOUR GAMES

Saturday’s home triumph may have been Sporting KC’s sweetest of the season. It not only moved the team within two points of first-place Seattle and Vancouver, but it snapped a nine-game winless run against the Sounders in MLS, the longest such skid against any opponent in club history. Kansas City’s 1-0 win at Century Link Field on April 11, 2009—the first ever league match between the teams—was followed by seven losses and two draws to Sigi Schmid’s side, several of which delivered late-game heartbreak.

Moreover, Sporting KC entered Saturday with an 0-4-0 home record against Seattle and hadn’t put a goal past the Sounders in MLS competition since June 20, 2012. But an 84th-minute penalty kick from MLS All-Star candidate Benny Feilhaber gave KC their first ever home win over Seattle and snapped a run of 435 minutes in the regular season series without a goal, the club’s longest scoreless streak against any opponent all-time.

LONGEST WINLESS STREAKS AGAINST SINGLE OPPONENT IN KC HISTORY

LONGEST SCORELESS STREAKS AGAINST SINGLE OPPONENT IN KC HISTORY

“It’s nice to beat these guys because in the past there have been some calls that haven’t gone our way, some plays haven’t gone our way,” captain Matt Besler said after the match. “They were sitting in first place. It’s a six-point game and we took care of business at home.”

Besler was also quick to laud the performance of Tim Melia, who is off to an impressive statistical start as Sporting KC's No. 1 goalkeeper.

Melia, yet another MLS All-Star candidate, made a career-high six saves en route to his fourth clean sheet since taking the starting role at the beginning of May. Melia leads MLS with a 0.50 goals against average and boasts a 4-0-2 record, becoming the first goalkeeper in KC history to go unbeaten in his first six league appearances.

“Tim probably had to make more saves in this game than he had to in the past couple of games,” Besler said. “Tonight was Tim’s night to really step up, and he did.”

Sporting KC’s current run of form bodes well for a team continuing to cope with absences through injury and international duty. Their seven-game unbeaten run is the longest in MLS this season, and their league-low two losses are the second-fewest through 14 games in team history.

“Obviously we have a lot of injuries right now and a bunch of games in a short time, so the fact that we’re getting results in the fashion that we are is really going to be huge for the rest of the season when we’re at full strength,” Melia said.