"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 expansion side San Diego FC for the first time on Saturday as the club's annual Sporting Salutes theme night returns to Children's Mercy Park. Kickoff is slated for 7:45 p.m. CT with tickets available via SeatGeek and live coverage on FS1, FOX Deportes, MLS Season Pass via Apple TV and Sports Radio 810 WHB.
San Diego has hit the ground running in its inagural MLS campaign, riding a high-powered attack to the top of the Western Conference table. Sporting, meanwhile, enters the final two months of the regular season with work to do and will view Saturday as an opportunity to springboard upward as the home stretch beckons.
With Saturday's contest fast approaching, 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 San Diego met for the first time on May 17, playing to a 0-0 draw at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
- The inaugural meeting between the clubs saw San Diego post a 10-2 advantage in shot attempts, including a 4-1 edge in shots on target, but Sporting goalkeeper John Pulskamp produced four saves as Kansas City secured its first and only road shutout of the season to date.
- The 0-0 stalemate between the clubs on May 17 has remained Sporting’s only goalless draw of 2025.
- Sporting forward Shapi Suleymanov accounted for both of his team’s shot attempts in the inaugural meeting between the clubs, including a long-range effort in the second half that rattled the woodwork.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2025 MLS record: 6-12-6, 24 points (13th in West | 36 GF, 45 GA)
- 2025 MLS home record: 3-5-4 (20 GF, 24 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 1-2-2, 5 points (T-W-L-T-L)
- Sporting in the midst of playing nine straight games against teams currently above the playoff line, facing Colorado and Seattle twice in addition to NYCFC, Vancouver, San Diego, Orlando and Austin between July 4 and Sept. 7.
- Sporting has a +8 goal differential after the 60th minute during the regular season, tied for the second best mark in MLS behind only San Diego (+12).
- Sporting has scored exactly half of its goals after the 60th minute this season (18 of 36). Sporting’s 18 goals after the 60th minute are third most in MLS behind only San Jose (22) and San Diego (19).
- Sporting has been outscored 35-18 through the 60th minute while outscoring opponents 18-10 after the 60th minute this season.
- Sporting has gained 11 points from losing positions (two wins and five draws) during the regular season, tied for seventh most in MLS.
- Sporting has scored multiple goals 10 times in its last 18 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 received eight goals from substitutes this season, third most in MLS behind San Diego (11) and San Jose (10).
- Sporting has won six penalty kicks this season after winning three penalties during the entire 2024 regular season.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic is tied for sixth in MLS with a team-leading 13 goals this season, including eight goals in his last 10 appearances since May 14.
- Joveljic recorded a goal contribution in eight consecutive MLS appearances from May 14 to July 12, the second longest streak of any MLS player this season and tied for the second longest streak in club history. His streak ended in Sporting’s 1-1 draw against New York City FC on July 19.
- Joveljic has 34 MLS goals (including playoffs) since the start of 2024, second most in the league behind Lionel Messi.
- 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.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp is tied for second in MLS with 83 saves.
- 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 24 MLS matches and in all 26 matches this season across all competitions.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has recorded six goals and four assists this season, hitting double-digit goal contributions for the fourth time in the last five MLS seasons since 2021.
- Salloi has 10 goal contributions this season, third most on the team behind Dejan Joveljic and Manu Garcia, after totaling seven goal contributions during the 2024 MLS campaign (two goals and five assists).
- Salloi ranks second on the team in both goals (six) and assists (four).
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is tied for eighth 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 seven MLS appearances after totaling four assists in his first 16 league games this season.
- Garcia ranks third in MLS in progressive passes (198), fourth in successful through balls (14), fifth in fouls suffered (46), fifth in successful passes into the penalty area (52) and sixth in successful passes into the final third (170).
- Forward Santiago Munoz has three goals and one assist this season, all of which have come as a second-half substitute.
- Forward Shapi Suleymanov is tied for second on the team with four assists. He ranks fifth in MLS in fouls suffered (46) and eighth in dribbles into the penalty area (37).
- At 19 years and 306 days (as of Aug. 9), midfielder Jacob Bartlett is the youngest player to start at least 20 MLS matches this season.
- Defender Jansen Miller has played the most regular season minutes (1,845) of any 2025 MLS SuperDraft selection this year. He has played every minute in each of Sporting’s last 20 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.
San Diego FC
- 2025 MLS record: 14-7-4, 46 points (1st in West | 48 GF, 32 GA)
- 2025 MLS away record: 7-4-0 (24 GF, 19 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (L-W-L-T-W)
- San Diego occupies first place in the Western Conference with 46 points and a 14-7-4 record through 25 MLS matches.
- San Diego ranks second in MLS in goals (48), goals per game (1.92) and goal differential (+16).
- San Diego is looking to become the second expansion team in three seasons to finish atop the Western Conference regular season standings, following St. Louis City SC in 2023.
- San Diego is set to play its eighth competitive match in 29 days on Saturday. This stretch included three home games against LIGA MX opposition in Leagues Cup 2025 from July 29 to Aug. 5.
- San Diego was eliminated from Leagues Cup after posting one win and two losses during the league phase of the competition. Narrow losses to Pachuca and Tigres last week were followed by a 2-0 victory over Mazatlan on Tuesday that saw Onni Valakari bag a second-half brace.
- San Diego has played each of its last six competitive matches at home. The team last hit the road on July 12, posting a 2-1 win at Chicago.
- San Diego has won four straight road matches since the start of June, outscoring opponents 14-8 during that stretch.
- San Diego’s last four road matches have produced 22 total goals, a clip of 5.5 per game.
- Three of San Diego’s four victories during their road winning streak have come in the Central Time Zone, including triumphs over Minnesota (June 14), Dallas (June 28) and Chicago (July 12).
- San Diego has a 7-4-0 regular season road record, including 24 goals scored and 19 goals conceded. The team’s seven road wins are tied for second most in MLS.
- San Diego ranks third in MLS in road goals (24) and goals per road game (2.18).
- San Diego has scored 14 goals after the 75th minute during the regular season, the most in MLS.
- San Diego has outscored opponents 14-5 after the 75th minute during the regular season. The team’s +9 goal differential during that interval is the best in MLS.
- San Diego has outscored opponents 19-7 after the 60th minute during the regular season. The team’s +12 goal differential during that interval is the best in MLS.
- San Diego’s seven goals conceded after the 60th minute are the fewest in MLS during that interval.
- San Diego leads MLS with 27 goals in the second half, an average of 1.08 per game.
- San Diego is 11-1-0 when scoring the first goal and 3-6-2 when conceding the first goal during the regular season.
- San Diego is 6-0-0 when leading at halftime and 1-5-2 when trailing at halftime during the regular season.
- San Diego ranks second in MLS in both average possession (57.4%) and passing accuracy (88.4%).
- San Diego ranks second in MLS in distance covered per game (119.5km).
- Attacking midfielder Anders Dreyer leads MLS with 16 assists, four more than any other player, and is tied for the league lead with 27 total goal contributions.
- Dreyer has scored a team-best 11 goals and is the only San Diego player to start in all 25 MLS matches this season.
- Dreyer leads MLS in successful through balls (17) while ranking second in goal-creating actions (21), sixth in key passes (64) and 10th in successful passes into the penalty area (47).
- Forward Chucky Lozano ranks second on the team in goals (seven) and third in assists (eight).
- Midfielder Jeppe Tverskov ranks second on the team in appearances (24), starts (24), minutes (2,144) and assists (nine). He also leads MLS in interceptions (50) and touches (2,299).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Sporting is one shy of 350 home wins in all competitions in club history.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic is two shy of 100 goals scored in his professional club career.
- Defender Andrew Brody is one shy of his 100th career start in the MLS regular season.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez is one shy of his 50th appearance for Sporting in all competitions.
- 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.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has scored 66 career goals for Sporting in all competitions, fourth most in club history and one shy of tying both Dom Dwyer and Johnny Russell for second on the all-time chart.
