By The Numbers: Sporting KC at Seattle Sounders FC - May 23, 2015

Just 72 hours after putting four goals past New England in Kansas City, Sporting KC is in the Pacific Northwest to face reigning Supporters Shield champion Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field. The match will kick off at 9 p.m. CT Saturday with three hours of television coverage on KMCI 38 The Spot and SKCTV beginning at 8:30 p.m. CT.

Manager Peter Vermes will go for his 100th win in all competitions against a Seattle side he has never defeated in the regular season (0-7-1). Indeed, Sporting KC is winless in eight straight league games against Seattle, the longest such streak versus any team in club history, and will look to snap a recurring trend of losing late to Sigi Schmid's side. We examine the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...

Head-to-head

• Sporting KC is 1-7-1 all-time against Seattle in the regular season with the lone victory coming in the teams' first meeting on April 11, 2009, at CenturyLink Field.
• Sporting KC's eight-game regular season winless run against Seattle is the longest versus any team in club history.
• In seven meetings since 2010, Seattle has scored five game-winning goals in second half stoppage time.
• Three of Sporting KC's last four trips to Seattle have resulted in 1-0 defeats, with all three goals conceded in second half stoppage time.
• Neither team has won by more than one goal in all nine regular season meetings. In those nine games, the clubs have combined for more than three goals just once (10/17/09).
• Eight of Seattle's 12 goals scored against Sporting KC have come after the 75th minute.
• Jacob Peterson is the only player on Sporting KC's current roster to score an MLS goal against Seattle. He scored in the eighth minute of a 1-1 draw on June 20, 2012.
• Clint Dempsey has three goals and two assists in 10 regular season appearances against Kansas City, all as a member of New England from 2004-2006.

Sporting KC

• SKC is tied for second with 1.55 goals scored per game (17 total) and leads MLS with 1.72 assists per game (19 total).
• SKC leads MLS with six assists from set pieces and 34 chances created from set pieces.
• SKC has conceded 9.9 shots per game, fewest in MLS, but ranks 16th with 1.36 goals conceded per game.
• SKC has scored four or more goals twice in a four-game span for the fourth time in team history and the first time since 2003 (via Paul Carr, ESPN).
• SKC has already won twice this season when allowing two goals (April 5 and May 20). The team won two such games in the previous three seasons combined (via Paul Carr, ESPN).
• Benny Feilhaber leads MLS with seven assists and ranks third with 30 chances created. He is second among midfielders with 67 duels won.
• Dom Dwyer is tied for the MLS lead with 35 fouls won.
• All five of Krisztian Nemeth's shots on target this season have resulted in goals. His five-point performance on Wednesday (2 goals, 1 assist) was the highest of any MLS player this season.
• Jalil Anibaba is one of two MLS defenders with at least one goal and two assists this season (Omar Gonzalez).

Seattle Sounders FC

• Seattle leads MLS with a plus-eight goal differential, ranking tied for first in both goals scored (17) and fewest goals allowed (9).
• Seattle's 10.1 shots per game rank 18th league-wide, but their 5.3 shots on target rank second. The club leads MLS with a 52 percent shooting accuracy. 
• Despite allowing 15.5 shots per game (most in MLS), Seattle has conceded just 0.90 goals per game, tied for second fewest in the league.
• Clint Dempsey has recorded a goal or an assist in all eight appearances of 2015 and owns a streak of 10 straight matches dating back to last season. This is the longest streak in MLS since 1998 and tied for the fourth longest in league history. He can tie the record on Saturday.
• Dempsey is tied for the MLS lead with seven goals, while Obafemi Martins is one behind with six.
• Dempsey is tied for 2nd in MLS with five assists alongside teammate Marco Pappa and two other players.
• Among players with at least 200 minutes, Seattle has the top three MLS forwards in goals per 90 minutes (Dempsey 0.90, Martins 0.90, Chad Barrett 0.75).
• Among players with at least 500 minues, Osvaldo Alonso leads MLS with a passing accuracy of 92.1 percent.
• Stefan Frei leads MLS with 41 saves and ranks 2nd with an 82.0 save percentage.

Milestones and miscellany

• Manager Peter Vermes is one shy of 100 wins at Sporting KC in all competitions. He has a 99-70-55 record since taking over in August 2009.
• Dom Dwyer is one shy of his 50th regular season start for Sporting KC.
• On Saturday, Krisztian Nemeth can become just the second player in MLS history to score goals in each of his first six shots on target (Chivas USA defender Claudio Suarez, 2006-07).

Team stats (2015 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (stats as of May 21, 2015)

Recent #SEAvSKC meetings

• All-time regular season record vs. Seattle: 1-7-1
• At CenturyLink Field: 1-3-1 (2 GF, 4 GA)