Major League Soccer’s road warriors left it late again. But for the second time in four days, they left hostile territory with all three points in the bag.
Benny Feilhaber’s 93rd-minute stunner Wednesday night in Columbus sent Peter Vermes’ men to the top of the Eastern Conference standings and extended the club’s road winning streak to four games.
Since MLS introduced draws in 2000, Sporting KC had never previously notched four consecutive away victories in a single season. In fact, MLS teams have pulled off road winning streaks of at least four games only seven other times during the last 15 seasons.
The team’s recent rampage away from home is a microcosm of the last three and a half seasons. Sporting KC leads MLS with 26 away wins and a .549 road winning percentage in the regular season dating back to the beginning of 2011.
MLS regular season road records since 2011
<strong>Club</strong> |
<strong>Record</strong> |
<strong>Winning percentage</strong> |
Sporting KC |
26-20-15 |
.549 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
23-19-18 |
.533 |
LA Galaxy |
19-22-18 |
.475 |
Real Salt Lake |
20-25-16 |
.459 |
New York Red Bulls |
15-23-24 |
.435 |
Though Sporting KC will have their attention firmly on the LA Galaxy this Saturday at Sporting Park, a historic opportunity presents itself when the club visits Toronto FC on July 26. With a victory at BMO Field, Sporting KC could become the fourth team in MLS history to post five consecutive regular season road wins in the same year. New York first accomplished this feat with five straight in 2000 before the San Jose Earthquakes set the active record of six straight in 2005. Seattle Sounders FC reached five in a row in 2011.
Longest MLS regular season road winning streaks since 2000
<strong>Consecutive wins</strong> |
<strong>Club</strong> |
<strong>Date</strong> |
6 |
San Jose Earthquakes |
July 20 to Oct. 15, 2005 |
5 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
Aug. 6 to Oct. 22, 2011 |
5 |
New York Red Bulls |
June 3 to July 15, 2000 |
<em><strong>4</strong></em> |
<em><strong>Sporting KC</strong></em> |
<em><strong>June 6 to July 16, 2014 (active)</strong></em> |
4 |
LA Galaxy |
May 5 to May 29, 2010 |
4 |
New England Revolution |
April 24 to June 21, 2008 |
4 |
Chicago Fire |
April 12 to May 25, 2008 |
4 |
D.C. United |
Aug. 5 to Sept. 1, 2007 |
With a 6-4-0 away record in 2014, Sporting KC would have to win three of their final seven road tilts to tie the single year MLS record. LA Galaxy (2010), Sounders FC (2011) and San Jose (2012) all earned nine regular season road wins.
