"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 host New York City FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday as the visitors play at Children's Mercy Park for the first time since 2018. Tickets are available online at SeatGeek, including the Coca-Cola Family & Friends 4-Pack featuring four Price Chopper South Stand tickets, four 20-ounce Coca-Cola products and four hamburgers for only $100. The cross-conference clash will also be available to watch on Apple TV with an MLS Season Pass subscription.
A late rally last weekend wasn't enough for Sporting Kansas City to see its three-game unbeaten run end at the hands of Seattle Sounders FC. The schedule gets no easier from here as Kansas City now welcomes an upstart NYCFC side that earned a last-gasp win at Orlando City SC on Wednesday night.​​​​
With Saturday's battle just around the corner, we take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting and NYCFC are meeting for the first time since playing to a 0-0 draw on May 7, 2022, at Citi Field in Queens, New York.
- Sporting is hosting NYCFC at Children’s Mercy Park for the first time since falling 2-0 in Week 1 of the 2018 MLS regular season on March 4, 2018. Both teams had one current player feature in that match: forward Daniel Salloi came off the bench for Sporting, while midfielder Maxi Moralez started and scored the opening goal for NYCFC.
- Sporting has a 2-3-1 regular season record against NYCFC. Kansas City won each of the first two meetings in 2015 and 2016, while NYCFC has claimed three wins and a draw in the last four.
- Sporting has not beaten NYCFC since prevailing 3-1 at home on July 10, 2016.
- NYCFC is visiting Children’s Mercy Park for just the third time in the club’s 11-year history, having previously done so in 2016 (lost 3-1) and 2018 (won 2-0).
- Sporting and NYCFC met once annually from 2015 to 2019 but only once in five seasons from 2020-2024.
- Sporting forward Dejan Joveljic had one goal and one assist in his only previous appearance against NYCFC, helping the LA Galaxy to a 2-0 home win on June 19, 2024.
- Sporting forward Mason Toye scored a goal to help CF Montreal to a 2-1 home win over NYCFC on July 7, 2021. It was Montreal’s last home game played in Orlando, Florida, during the 2021 season prior to the team’s return to Canada in the aftermath of Covid.
- NYCFC midfielder Maxi Moralez scored a goal in his team’s 2-0 road win over Sporting to open the 2018 regular season on March 4, 2018.
- Sporting defender Khiry Shelton spent his first three seasons with NYCFC from 2015-2017, where he had six goals and 10 assists in 56 MLS appearances (including playoffs).
Sporting Kansas City
- 2025 MLS record: 6-11-5, 23 points (12th in West | 35 GF, 41 GA)
- 2025 MLS home record: 3-5-3 (19 GF, 23 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (L-W-T-W-L)
- Sporting’s three-game unbeaten run ended following a 3-2 home loss to Seattle Sounders FC on July 12. After falling behind 3-0 in the first half, Sporting reduced the deficit with second-half penalty kicks from Dejan Joveljic and Santiago Munoz.
- The match against Seattle saw Sporting deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation for the first time this season, having used a 4-3-3 setup in the team’s first 23 matches across all competitions.
- Five penalty kicks have been awarded across Sporting’s last two matches. Kansas City conceded two penalty kicks in a 2-1 road win over the Colorado Rapids on July 4 before earning two penalties and conceding one in the 3-2 loss to Seattle.
- Sporting has received eight goals from substitutes this season, third most in MLS behind San Diego (11) and San Jose (10).
- Sporting has scored multiple goals 10 times in its last 16 matches since the start of April after doing so just once in its previous 13 matches across all competitions dating back to 2024.
- Sporting has scored 29 goals in 16 matches since April 1, fourth most in the Western Conference during that time behind San Diego (36), San Jose (35) and Minnesota (30).
- Kerry Zavagnin has a 6-6-4 record in 16 matches as Sporting’s interim head coach since the start of April. Kansas City opened the 2025 regular season with five losses and one draw.
- Sporting has come from behind to earn a result in five of its last 10 matches since May 14, securing two wins and three ties in comeback fashion during that stretch.
- Sporting in the midst of playing six straight games against teams with winning records, facing Seattle twice in addition to NYCFC, Vancouver, San Diego and Orlando between July 12 and Aug. 24.
- Sporting has scored 17 of its 35 goals after the 60th minute this season, a clip of 49%.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic scored Sporting’s first goal against Seattle in the 3-2 loss on July 12. He has recorded a goal contribution in eight consecutive matches, the longest streak of any MLS player this season and tied for the second longest streak in club history. Johnny Russell scored or assisted in 10 straight MLS matches in 2021.
- Joveljic ranks fifth in MLS with 13 goals this season, including eight goals in his last eight appearances since May 14 as well as goals in each of his last four road matches.
- Joveljic has 34 MLS goals since the start of 2024, second most in the league behind Lionel Messi (37).
- Joveljic’s 13 goals are tied for the second most by a Kansas City newcomer in a single regular season. Preki had 18 goals in the club’s inaugural 1996 campaign.
- Forward Santiago Munoz scored Sporting’s second goal against Seattle in the 3-2 loss on July 12. He has recorded a goal contribution in four of his last seven MLS appearances, tallying three goals and one assist since May 31. All four of his goal contributions have come as a second-half substitute.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp earned three straight MLS Team of the Matchday selections in a stretch that saw Sporting secure two wins and one draw from June 25 to July 4.
- Pulskamp is tied for second in MLS with 78 saves. He has made four or more saves in six of his last eight MLS appearances since May 24.
- Pulskamp has two assists during the 2025 regular season. He is the first goalkeeper in club history with multiple assists in a single MLS campaign and joins Tony Meola as the only goalkeepers with multiple regular season assists for Kansas City all-time.
- Pulskamp is the only Sporting player to start in all 22 MLS matches and in all 24 matches this season across all competitions.
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is tied for sixth in MLS with nine assists and leads Sporting with 38 key passes, more than double the amount of any other Kansas City player. His 11 total goal contributions (two goals, nine assists) are second most on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (15).
- Garcia has five assists in his last six MLS appearances after totaling four assists in his first 16 league games this season.
- Garcia ranks second in MLS in progressive passes (191), third in successful passes into the penalty area (51), fourth in successful passes into the final third (160), fifth in fouls suffered (45) and fifth in successful through balls (12).
- Forward Daniel Salloi has nine goal contributions (five goals, four assists) this season, third most on the team behind Joveljic and Garcia, after totaling just seven goal contributions during the 2024 MLS campaign (two goals, five assists).
- Salloi ranks second on the team in both goals (five) and assists (four).
- Forward Shapi Suleymanov is tied for second on the team with four assists. He ranks sixth in MLS in fouls suffered (44) and seventh in dribbles into the penalty area (35).
- At 19 years and 285 days (as of July 19), midfielder Jacob Bartlett is the youngest player to start at least 18 MLS matches this season. He started 16 straight matches from March 29 to July 4 before missing Sporting’s loss to Seattle due to caution accumulation.
- Defender Jansen Miller has played the most regular season minutes (1,665) of any 2025 MLS SuperDraft selection this year. He has played every minute in each of Sporting’s last 17 games since March 22.
- Defender Ian James earned his first career start for Sporting in a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake on June 28. At 17 years and 22 days, he became the youngest defender to start an MLS match and the second youngest player to start an MLS match in club history.
New York City FC
- 2025 MLS record: 10-8-4, 34 points (7th in East | 29 GF, 25 GA)
- 2025 MLS away record: 2-5-4 (10 GF, 15 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 3-2-0, 9 points (W-L-W-L-W)
- NYCFC earned a late 2-1 win at Orlando City SC on Wednesday for the team’s second road victory of the season. After falling behind in the 36th minute, the visitors equalized on an 87th-minute own goal and surged ahead on a 91st-minute tally from forward Alonso Martinez.
- NYCFC occupies seventh place in the Eastern Conference, five points above the playoff line with 12 regular season matches still to play.
- NYCFC has scored 22 of its 29 goals in the second half this season, a clip of 76%. NYCFC has outscored opponents 22-12 after halftime.
- NYCFC has scored seven first-half goals this season, the fewest in MLS.
- NYCFC has scored 12 goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half this season, most in MLS.
- NYCFC is tied for fifth in MLS with a 1.14 goals against average, conceding 25 goals in 22 matches.
- NYCFC is the only MLS team with at least five one-goal wins and five one-goal losses this season. Fifteen of the team’s 22 matches have been decided by one goal or fewer.
- NYCFC is 7-1-0 when scoring first and 3-7-2 when conceding first this season.
- NYCFC is 4-0-0 when leading at halftime and 2-5-1 when trailing at halftime this season. NYCFC’s two wins when trailing at halftime are tied for the most in MLS.
- Forward Alonso Martinez is tied for the team lead with nine goals this season and is tied for second in MLS with five game-winning goals, including a 91st-minute strike in NYCFC’s 2-1 road win at Orlando on Wednesday. Martinez has bagged the match-winner in five of the team’s 10 league victories this season.
- Martinez ranks second in MLS in expected goals per 90 minutes (0.73) and third in total expected goals (12.6).
- Forward Hannes Wolf is tied for the NYCFC lead with nine goals and has a team-best 13 total goal contributions, adding four assists. Wolff has appeared in 56 consecutive regular season matches since joining NYCFC ahead of the 2024 campaign.
- Wolf ranks fifth in MLS in both multi-goal games (three) and dribbles into the penalty area (38). He also ranks second in the league in progressive passes received (222).
- Midfielder Maxi Moralez leads the team with five assists and has started in all 22 MLS matches this season. The 38-year-old Argentine has amassed 34 goals and 85 assists in 223 MLS appearances across nine seasons with NYCFC (including playoffs).
- Moralez ranks third in MLS in successful passes into the penalty area (51), fifth in successful passes into the final third (157) and sixth in progressive passes (151).
- Defender Justin Haak joins Moralez as the only two NYCFC players to start in all 22 MLS matches this season. Haak leads the team with 1,930 minutes played, 139 more than Moralez, and ranks second in MLS in blocks (40).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Sporting is one victory shy of 300 home wins in all competitions in club history.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez is one shy of his 200th MLS regular season appearance.
- Forward Mason Toye is one shy of his 150th professional club appearance.
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is one shy of 50 assists in his professional club career.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp is tied for sixth in club history with 15 regular season wins, one shy of passing Mike Ammann on the all-time charts.
- Midfielder Nemanja Radoja is 34 minutes shy of 5,000 minutes played in MLS competitions (regular season and playoffs combined).
