League

Sporting and New England play to ninth 4-4 draw in MLS history

If you had the fortune of watching the wild 4-4 draw between Sporting Kansas City and New England in Week 9, you witnessed a special match.


This is how rare it was: Only eight other times has an MLS match finished 4-4 in league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.


Week 9 saw the Revolution jump out to surprising 1-0, 3-1 and 4-2 leads, only for Sporting KC to ultimately equalize with two goals inside the final 20 minutes. By then, the Revs were reduced to 10 men after Brandon Bye received his second yellow in the 55th minute. 


But as uncommon as they might be, the 4-4 draw has happened a bit more frequently in recent years. In fact, five of the nine occurrences have taken place in the last five years.


The last one? June 13, 2018 when D.C. United and Toronto FC combined for an 8-goal draw.


Sporting KC were already part of a 4-4 draw on April 25, 2015 (Sporting 4, Houston 4), while the Revs hosted one of their own on Sept. 7, 2011 (New England 4, Philadelphia 4).