"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.
With a 2-0-1 record in the team's last three games, Sporting Kansas City returns home to host Seattle Sounders FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The Retro Night clash at Children's Mercy Park will feature a variety of limited-edition merchandise and a 25-year celebration of the 2000 Kansas City Wizards team that won the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup double. Tickets are available online at SeatGeek with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV and Sports Radio 810 WHB.
Buoyed by in-form goalkeeper John Pulskamp and Designated Players Dejan Joveljic and Manu Garcia, Sporting earned a spirited 2-1 road win over the Colorado Rapids on the Fourth of July to climb within three points of playoff positioning in the Western Conference. Seattle, meanwhile, has a win and a draw in its last two MLS matches after emerging from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with three defeats on home turf.
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 Seattle have met 29 times in the MLS regular season since the Sounders entered MLS in 2009. Seattle holds a narrow advantage with a 13-12-4 record.
- Sporting has a 6-4-2 regular season record against Seattle at Children’s Mercy Park and notably beat the Sounders at the stadium in the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.
- The teams split the 2024 head-to-head series with one win each. Sporting won 2-1 last June at Children’s Mercy Park with goals from Johnny Russell and Alenis Vargas, both of whom have since left the club. Seattle prevailed 2-0 last September at Lumen Field with first-half goals from Jackson Ragen and Paul Rothrock.
- Sporting has won seven of the last 11 meetings between the clubs since 2019.
- The away team in the series has won six of the last 11 meetings since 2019.
- Sporting went 1-7-1 in its first nine MLS meetings with Seattle from 2009-2014. Since then, Sporting has an 11-6-3 record in the regular season series.
- Sporting and Seattle have gone 12 straight meetings without a draw. The most recent tie between the clubs was a 2-2 stalemate in April 2018 at Children’s Mercy Park.
- Since the Sounders entered MLS in 2009, Sporting and Seattle have met three times outside of the MLS regular season. Sporting beat Seattle in the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Children’s Mercy Park, while the Sounders earned home wins over Kansas City in the 2009 Open Cup quarterfinals and in the Western Conference knockout round of the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Seattle forward Jordan Morris has 11 goal contributions (eight goals and three assists) in 11 regular season appearances against Sporting.
- Seattle forward Jesus Ferreira has eight goal contributions (six goals and two assists) in 12 regular season appearances against Sporting, all as a member of FC Dallas.
- Seattle midfielder Cristian Roldan has six goal contributions (three goals, three assists) in 17 regular season appearances against Sporting.
- Seattle midfielder Albert Rusnak has four assists in 15 regular season appearances against Sporting.
- Seattle forward Danny Musovski has three goal contributions (two goals and one assist) in 207 regular season minutes played against Sporting.
- Sporting forward Mason Toye has two goals in six regular season appearances against Seattle, both as a member of CF Montreal.
- Sporting forward Dejan Joveljic scored the game-winning goal to lead LA Galaxy to a 1-0 victory over Seattle in the 2024 Western Conference Final last November. Joveljic has two goals in six MLS appearances against Seattle, including playoffs.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2025 MLS record: 6-10-5, 23 points (11th in West | 33 GF, 38 GA)
- 2025 MLS home record: 3-4-3 (17 GF, 20 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (L-L-W-T-W)
- Sporting earned a resolute 2-1 road win at the Colorado Rapids on July 4, scoring early in both halves through forward Dejan Joveljic and midfielder Erik Thommy. It was Kansas City’s first away win in Colorado since 2014, breaking an 11-game winless skid at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
- Sporting prevailed in Colorado despite conceding 4.63 expected goals—the most by a winning team in an MLS match this season—and being outshot 25-5.
- Sporting has a 2-0-1 record in its last three games since June 25. The team has secured seven points in a three-game span of a single regular season for the first time since June 2023.
- Sporting has come from behind to earn a result in five of its last nine matches since May 14, securing two wins and three ties in comeback fashion during that stretch.
- Kerry Zavagnin has a 6-5-4 record in 15 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 scored 27 goals in 15 matches since April 1, fifth most in MLS during that time.
- Sporting has scored multiple goals nine times in its last 15 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 earned five results in its last eight away matches (3-3-2 record) since the start of April after earning just two results in its previous 18 away matches (1-16-1 record) from April 2024 through March 2025.
- Sporting will play its next six games through Aug. 24 against teams with winning records, facing Seattle twice in addition to NYCFC, Vancouver, San Diego and Orlando.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp earned his third consecutive MLS Team of the Matchday selection on Monday after equaling an MLS career-high with eight saves and recording a game-winning assist in Sporting’s 2-1 road victory over the Colorado Rapids on July 4.
- Pulskamp is tied for the MLS lead with 75 saves. He has four or more saves in six of his last seven appearances since May 24.
- Pulskamp assisted Erik Thommy’s winning goal against Colorado and now has two assists this season. He is the first goalkeeper in club history with multiple assists in a single MLS season 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 21 MLS matches and in all 23 matches this season across all competitions.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic scored Sporting’s opening goal in the win over Colorado and now has a goal contribution in seven consecutive matches, the longest active streak in MLS and tied for the longest of any MLS player this season.
- Joveljic is tied for fourth in MLS with 12 goals this season, including seven goals in his last seven appearances since May 14 as well as goals in each of his last four road matches.
- Joveljic has 33 MLS goals since the start of 2024, second most in the league during that time behind Lionel Messi.
- Joveljic’s 12 goals are tied with Miklos Molnar for third most by a Kansas City newcomer in a single regular season, trailing only Preki (18 goals) and Digital Takawira (13 goals) in the club’s inaugural 1996 campaign.
- Midfielder Erik Thommy had one goal and one assist in Sporting’s win over Colorado, earning MLS Team of the Matchday honors for the second straight week. It was his sixth career MLS match with a goal and an assist.
- Thommy has three goal contributions (two goals, one assist) in his last two matches and has eight goal contributions (four goals, four assists) for the season, fourth most on the team behind Dejan Joveljic (14), Manu Garcia (11) and Daniel Salloi (nine).
- Thommy has scored goals in back-to-back MLS matches for the second time in his career, having first done so in April 2024.
- Defender Ian James earned his first MLS start and his first club 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.
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is tied for third in MLS with nine assists and leads Sporting with 34 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 (14).
- Garcia has five assists across his last five MLS appearances after totaling four assists in his first 16 league games this season.
- Garcia ranks second in MLS in progressive passes (182), fourth in fouls suffered (45), fourth in successful passes into the penalty area (48), fourth in successful passes into the final third (153) and sixth in successful through balls (11).
- Forward Santiago Munoz has a goal contribution in three of his last six MLS appearances (two goals, one assist) since May 31. All three of his goal contributions have come as a second-half substitute.
- 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 both fouls suffered (43) and dribbles into the penalty area (35).
- At 19 years and 278 days (as of July 12), midfielder Jacob Bartlett is the youngest player to start at least 18 MLS matches this season. He has started in 16 straight matches for Sporting since March 29 but will serve a one-game suspension on Saturday for yellow card accumulation.
- Defender Jansen Miller has played the most regular season minutes (1,575) of any 2025 MLS SuperDraft selection this year. He has played every minute in each of Sporting’s last 16 games since March 22.
- Sporting is unbeaten in five straight matches in which midfielder Zorhan Bassong has played the full 90 minutes, earning two wins and three draws since May 14.
Seattle Sounders FC
- 2025 MLS record: 8-6-6, 30 points (5th in West | 28 GF, 26 GA)
- 2025 MLS away record: 2-5-3 (7 GF, 17 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (W-L-L-W-T)
- Seattle has played each of its last 10 matches across all competitions in the Pacific Northwest, including eight at home during that stretch dating back to May 14.
- Seattle has played each of its last 11 matches across all competitions in the Pacific time zone. The Sounders last played outside of the Pacific time zone by visiting Houston Dynamo FC on May 10.
- Seattle has a 3-6-2 record in its last 11 matches across all competitions, including three home defeats in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup against formidable opponents Botafogo, Atletico Madrid and European champions Paris-St. Germain.
- Seattle has scored two goals from set pieces this season, tied for the fewest in MLS according to Impect.
- Seattle has conceded 1.31 expected goals per game this season, third fewest in MLS.
- Seattle ranks fourth in MLS in average possession (53.3%) and seventh in passing accuracy (86.0%).
- Seattle has a 2-5-3 road record this season, scoring seven goals and conceding 17 in 10 away matches.
- Seattle has scored one goal in the first 15 minutes of matches this season, the fewest in MLS.
- Seattle is 7-0-3 when scoring the first goal and 1-6-2 when conceding the first goal this season.
- Seattle is 3-0-1 when leading at halftime and 0-5-1 when trailing at halftime this season.
- Seattle has played 27 matches in all competitions this season, including participation in the MLS regular season, Concacaf Champions Cup and Club World Cup. Seattle will also compete in the Leagues Cup with three group stage matches at home against Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna and Tijuana from July 31 to Aug. 6.
- Seattle is one of three MLS clubs alongside Inter Miami CF and LAFC to compete in four different competitions prior to the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs (MLS regular season, Concacaf Champions Cup, Club World Cup and Leagues Cup).
- Midfielder Albert Rusnak ranks sixth in MLS in key passes (53) and eighth in crosses (107). He leads Seattle with seven goals during the regular season and nine goals in all competitions.
- Midfielder Cristian Roldan ranks second in MLS in passes into the final third (162), fourth in progressive passes (159), fifth in tackles (50) and eighth in touches (1,483).
- Defender Yeimar led MLS in interceptions for four straight regular seasons from 2021-2024.
- Forward Danny Musovski ranks seventh in MLS with 0.68 expected goals per 90 minutes. He is second on the team with six goals during the regular season.
- Winger Paul Rothrock ranks ninth in MLS in progressive passes received (158).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Sporting is one victory shy of 300 home wins in all competitions in club history.
- Defender Khiry Shelton is one shy of his 100th career regular season start for Sporting.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp is one shy of his 50th career regular season start for Sporting.
- Defender Andrew Brody is one shy of his 250th professional club appearance.
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is one shy of 50 assists in his professional club career.
