"By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Sporting Kansas City will close the 2025 campaign by hosting Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park. The Fan Appreciation Night showdown is slated for 8 p.m. CT with tickets available on SeatGeek and numerous perks for fans attendance, including 50% off all adidas products, 50% off all scarves at SportingStyle, free popcorn on the Mazuma Plaza and discounts on value menu items at stadium concessions. The Western Conference clash will also be available to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
As Saturday's season finale approaches, we take a statistical look at the matchup in this edition of By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- The sides last met on May 31 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. Sporting prevailed 3-1 in comeback fashion behind a Dejan Joveljic brace and a late Santi Munoz strike after the hosts scored early through Sebastian Kowalczyk.
- The most recent meeting at Children’s Mercy Park took place on May 11, 2024. Houston prevailed 2-1 with goals from Hector Herrera and Ibrahim Aliyu, both of whom have since left the club, while Daniel Salloi scored for Sporting.
- Sporting is 5-1-3 in its last nine regular season meetings against Houston since May 2021.
- Sporting is 10-4-4 in its last 18 regular season meetings against Houston since June 2018.
- Sporting has a narrow lead in the all-time regular season series with a 15-14-16 record through 45 meetings, scoring 63 goals and conceding 61 goals.
- Sporting is 9-6-7 in 22 regular season home games against Houston, including an 8-3-6 record in 17 matches at Children’s Mercy Park.
- Sporting is 7-2-0 in its last nine regular season home games against Houston since June 2018. Sporting went winless in seven regular season home matches against Houston from 2012 to 2017 with one loss and six draws.
- Sporting has faced Houston 49 times in all competitions since 2011, more than any other opponent during that time (20-16-13 record).
- Sporting and Houston have met in six previous editions of the MLS Cup Playoffs, more than any other MLS opponent for both clubs. Houston advanced in five of the six meetings, with Sporting notably prevailing in the 2013 conference finals en route to winning MLS Cup.
- Sporting forward Daniel Salloi has seven goal contributions (three goals and four assists) in 17 regular season appearances against Houston.
- Sporting forward Dejan Joveljic has four goal contributions (three goals and one assist) in nine regular season appearances against Houston, including a brace in the most recent meeting on May 31.
- Sporting defender Khiry Shelton has four goal contributions (two goals and two assists) in 15 regular season appearances against Houston.
- Sporting forward Santi Munoz scored his first MLS goal and his first goal for the club in a 3-1 win at Houston on May 31.
- Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp has a 1-1-1 record and a 0.67 goals against average in three previous regular season starts against Houston.
- Houston forwards Sebastian Kowalczyk and Gabe Segal are the only Dynamo players who have scored against Sporting in the regular season.
- Houston defender Griffin Dorsey has two assists in five regular season appearances against Sporting.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2025 MLS record: 7-20-6, 27 points (14th in West | 46 GF, 70 GA)
- 2025 MLS away record: 4-8-4 (25 GF, 32 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 0-5-0, 0 points (L-L-L-L-L)
- Sporting has gained 14 points from losing positions (three wins and five draws) during the regular season, tied for fifth most in MLS.
- Sporting has scored 22 of 46 league goals after the 60th minute this season, a clip of 48%.
- Sporting is the only MLS team with a perfect record when leading at halftime this season (3-0-0).
- Sporting ranks second in MLS with 178 touches in the attacking third per game.
- Sporting ranks fifth in MLS with 25 touches in the attacking penalty area per game.
- Sporting ranks third in MLS with 18 progressive dribbles per game. Progressive dribbles are dribbles that advance the ball 10 yards closer to the opponent’s goal line or into the penalty area.
- Sporting ranks fourth in MLS with 5.7 dribbles into the box per game.
- With an average weighted age of 26.5, Sporting has the seventh youngest team in MLS this season based on playing time. The team had an average weighted age of 28.6 last season, which was the fourth oldest in MLS.
- Sporting has won seven penalty kicks this season after winning three penalties during the entire 2024 regular season. Sporting’s six penalty kick goals this season are sixth most in MLS.
- Sporting has utilized 34 different starting lineups in the club’s 35 matches this season across all competitions.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic is tied for fourth in MLS with 18 goals this season. Last week he was named Sporting’s team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.
- Joveljic’s 18 goals this season are tied with Preki (1996) for the second most in a single regular season in club history behind Dom Dwyer’s 22 goals in 2014.
- Joveljic’s 18 goals this season are tied with Preki (1996) for the most by a newcomer in club history.
- Joveljic has scored 39 MLS goals (including playoffs) since the start of 2024, third most in the league behind Lionel Messi and Denis Bouanga.
- Joveljic is the first player in MLS history with back-to-back 18-goal seasons (including playoffs) with different clubs. He scored 21 goals for the MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy in 2024, including six in the playoffs.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp, who earned team Defensive Player of the Year honors last week, ranks third in MLS with a career-high 114 saves.
- With seven goals and four assists this season, forward Daniel Salloi has eclipsed double-digit goal contributions for the fourth time in the last five MLS seasons since 2021.
- Salloi has 11 goal contributions this season, tied with Manu Garcia for second on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (20). Salloi also ranks second on the team in both goals (seven) and assists (four).
- Midfielder Manu Garcia leads the team in assists (nine) and key passes (41). His 11 total goal contributions (two goals, nine assists) are tied with Daniel Salloi for second most on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (20).
- Garcia, who was named Sporting’s Newcomer of the Year last week, ranks eighth in MLS in successful through balls (14), 10th in progressive passes (213), 11th in successful passes into the final third (188) and 12th in successful passes into the penalty area (57). He has missed seven of Sporting’s last 10 matches with a quad injury and has not started since July 19.
- Forward Shapi Suleymanov is tied for second on the team with four assists. He ranks fifth in MLS in both dribbles into the penalty area (56) and sixth in fouls suffered (61).
- Forward Mason Toye has three goals and two assists in 499 minutes this season, averaging one goal contribution every 100 minutes.
- Defender Jansen Miller has played the most regular season minutes (2,215) of any 2025 MLS SuperDraft selection this season. Miller has started in 24 of 28 MLS appearances during his first professional season.
- Midfielder Jacob Bartlett is the youngest player to appear in at least 29 MLS matches this season (20 years and 11 days as of Oct. 18). Bartlett, who has started in 22 of 29 MLS appearances during his first professional campaign, will be the youngest MLS player to hit 30 regular season appearances in 2025 if he plays on Saturday.
- Midfielder Erik Thommy has eight goal contributions (four goals, four assists) this season, fourth most on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (20), Manu Garcia (11) and Daniel Salloi (11).
Houston Dynamo FC
- 2025 MLS record: 9-15-9, 36 points (12th in West | 43 GF, 56 GA)
- 2025 MLS away record: 4-6-6 (23 GF, 26 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 1-3-1, 4 points (T-L-W-L-L)
- After reaching the MLS Cup Playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, Houston has been eliminated from playoff contention in 2025. Houston failed to reach the postseason for five straight years from 2018-2022.
- Houston has earned results in 10 of 16 away matches this season, posting a 4-6-6 record on the road.
- Houston enters Saturday on a two-game road losing streak, the team’s longest of the season.
- Houston has a goal differential of -13 this season, the third worst in club history behind 2014 (-19) and 2021 (-18).
- Houston has suffered nine home losses this season, tied for the most in MLS. Houston went 5-9-3 at Shell Energy Stadium during the regular season and 5-12-3 at home in all competitions.
- Houston has conceded 56 goals this season, the fourth most in a regular season in club history and three shy of equaling most in club history from 2019.
- Houston leads MLS with 14.6 fouls committed per game.
- Houston has scored 24 of its 43 goals this season during the final 15 minutes of each half, a clip of 56%.
- Houston has been outscored by a combined 22-8 in the first 15 minutes of each half this season.
- Houston ranks sixth in MLS with 12 goals from set pieces this season.
- Houston ranks sixth in MLS in successful crosses from open play (75) and 10th in successful balls played into the box from open play (102).
- Houston is 8-3-4 when scoring the first goal and 1-12-3 when conceding the first goal this season.
- Houston is 5-2-4 when leading at halftime and 0-9-2 when trailing at halftime this season.
- Forward Ezequiel Ponce leads MLS with 70 fouls committed. He also has a team-leading 10 goals this season on 14.2 expected goals. No other Houston player has more than 5.3 expected goals.
- Midfielder Jack McGlynn leads Houston in both assists (eight) and total goal contributions (14). He also has 89 key passes, fifth most in MLS and more than twice as many as any other Houston player.
- Midfielder Artur leads Houston in appearances (32), starts (31) and minutes (2,766) this season.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Dejan Joveljic has scored 18 goals this year, tied for the second most in a single regular season in club history behind Dom Dwyer’s 22 goals in 2014. With 18 goals and two assists in 2025, he has become the 10th player in club history to hit 20 total goal contributions in a single regular season alongside Preki (four times), Digital Takawira (1996), Josh Wolff (2005), Eddie Johnson (2007), Graham Zusi (2012), Dom Dwyer (2014), Benny Feilhaber (2015, 2016), Johnny Russell (2018, 2021) and Daniel Salloi (2021).
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is one shy of 50 assists in his professional club career. He is also one assist shy of becoming the eighth player in club history to hit double-digit assists in a single regular season alongside Preki (seven times), Matt McKeon (2000), Josh Wolff (2005), Graham Zusi (2012), Benny Feilhaber (2015, 2016), Johnny Russell (2018) and Erik Thommy (2023).
- Defender Andrew Brody is one shy of his 100th career start in the MLS regular season.
- Defender Robert Volorder is seven minutes shy of 5,000 regular season minutes played for Sporting.
- Defender Tim Leibold is 49 minutes shy of 5,000 minutes played for Sporting in all competitions.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp ranks seventh in club history with nine shutouts in the regular season, one shy of Mike Ammann in sixth.
- Pulskamp has 114 saves this season, fourth most by a goalkeeper in a single regular season in club history. Tony Meola had 129 saves in 2000 and 121 saves in 2003, while Kevin Hartman had 117 saves in 2008.
- With 33 regular season starts this year, Pulskamp is in contention to be the fifth player in club history to play every minute in a 34-game regular season alongside Jimmy Nielsen (2012-2013), Tim Melia (2018), Ilie Sanchez (2018) and Graham Zusi (2018).
- Forward Daniel Salloi has scored 67 career goals for Sporting in all competitions, tied with Dom Dwyer and Johnny Russell for second most in club history.
- Salloi is one shy of his 200th career start in MLS competitions (regular season, playoffs and MLS is Back).
