"By The Numbers" is a season-long series sponsored by The Kansas Department of Transportation that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match.
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10,497 Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in the U.S. throughout 2016.
Sporting Kansas City (6-9-7, 25 points) will conclude a two-game road swing Sunday when they face Seattle Sounders FC (11-6-5, 38 points) at Century Link Field. Kickoff is slated for 9 p.m. CT with live coverage on FS1, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app, Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.
Six points below the playoff line with a dozen MLS matches still to play, Sporting enter the month of August looking to catch fire. The task will be far from easy on Sunday, however, as Seattle boasts a formidable home record and wields one of the better squads in the Western Conference. We take a statistical look at the contest in our newest edition of By The Numbers.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting have gone 5-2-3 in their last 10 regular season meetings against Seattle since May 2015.
- Before 2015, Sporting had just one win in their first nine regular season matches against the Sounders (1-7-1).
- In 19 regular season meetings, Sporting and Seattle have combined for more than three goals just four times. Three of those have come in each of the last three meetings, including a 3-2 home win for Sporting on May 26 that saw Johnny Russell erupt for a hat-trick.
- Including playoffs, eight of the 10 MLS meetings played between the teams at CenturyLink Field have produced a goal or less.
- Seattle forward Raul Ruidiaz has scored in each of his last two appearances against Sporting.
- The Sounders lead the regular season series with a 9-6-4 record, including a 5-2-2 mark at CenturyLink Field.
Seattle Sounders FC
- 2019 MLS record: 11-6-5 (38 points, 2nd in Western Conference)
- 2019 MLS home record: 8-1-2 (20 GF, 10 GA)
- Last MLS match: W 1-0 at Houston Dynamo on July 27
- Last 5 MLS matches: 3-2-0, 9 points (L-W-W-L-W)
- Seattle's eight home wins (8-1-2) are tied for the second-most in MLS.
- After opening the season with five wins and a draw, the Sounders have gone a pedestrian 6-6-4 in their last 16 matches.
- Seattle leads MLS with eight wins by a one-goal margin.
- Seattle has scored four goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, tied for the second-fewest in MLS.
- Seattle's three wins when allowing the first goal (3-5-2 record) are tied for the second-most in MLS.
- Seattle is a perfect 6-0-0 this season when leading at halftime.
- Midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro is tied for fourth in MLS with nine assists and leads MLS in both fouls suffered (71) and corner kicks (102).
- Forward Raul Ruidiaz leads Seattle with eight goals despite making just 12 MLS appearances this season.
- Goalkeeper Stefan Frei is one shy of the league lead with 11 wins and ranks third with seven shutouts.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2019 MLS record: 6-9-7, 25 points (10th in Western Conference)
- 2019 MLS away record: 2-5-4 (12 GF, 17 GA)
- Last MLS match: L 1-3 at New York City FC on July 26
- Last 5 MLS matches: 2-3-0, 6 points (L-W-W-L-L)
- Sporting sit six points below the seventh and final playoff spot in the West with 12 matches still to play.
- Sporting are tied for the MLS lead with five goals from the penalty spot.
- Sporting have already suffered more regular season defeats this year (nine) as they did in all of 2018 (eight)
- Midfielder Felipe Gutierrez leads Sporting with eight goals and ranks sixth in MLS with 39 tackles won.
- Sporting are one of two MLS clubs (LAFC) to have three players with at least seven goals. Gutierrez is joined by Krisztian Nemeth and Johnny Russell, who have scored seven each.
- Sporting are 4-2-1 with four shutouts when the back line of Matt Besler, Botond Barath, Graham Zusi and Seth Sinovic start in defense.
- Sporting are 0-8-3 this season when conceding the first goal of the match and 0-6-2 when trailing at halftime.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Johnny Russell is one shy of his 50th start for Sporting in all competitions.
Recent #SKCvSEA regular season meetings
- Regular season record vs. Seattle: 6-9-4 (21 GF, 20 GA)
- Regular season home record vs. Seattle: 2-5-2 (4 GF, 8 GA)
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
<strong>H/A</strong> |
<strong>Details</strong> |
05/17/2017 |
W 3-0 |
Home |
Gerso nets second-half hat-trick in span of 13 minutes |
08/12/2018 |
L 1-0 |
Away |
Clint Dempsey scores 36th-minute winner |
04/15/2018 |
T 2-2 |
Home |
Ilie Sanchez and Graham Zusi on target, but Seattle responds through Will Bruin and Cristian Roldan |
09/01/2018 |
L 1-3 |
Away |
Diego Rubio scores early, but Seattle responds through Raul Ruidiaz, Nicolas Lodeiro and an own goal |
05/26/2019 |
W 3-2 |
Home |
Johnny Russell hat-trick propels Sporting to victory despite strikes from Ruidiaz and Kelvin Leerdam |
Team stats (2019 regular season)
MLS rank in parenthesis
<strong>Category (per game)</strong> |
<strong>Sporting</strong> |
<strong>Seattle</strong> |
Goals scored |
1.50 (t-10th) |
1.50 (t-10th) |
Goals conceded |
1.77 (22nd) |
1.27 (6th) |
Shots |
14.6 (5th) |
12.1 (18th) |
Shots on goal |
5.2 (4th) |
4.2 (15th) |
Shooting accuracy |
45.4% (13th) |
46.5% (10th) |
Shot conversion rate |
10.3% (20th) |
12.4% (5th) |
Passing accuracy |
83.4% (5th) |
81.4% (9th) |
Possession |
54.9% (6th) |
49.6% (12th) |
Chances created |
10.0 (9th) |
91.1 (18th) |
Duels won |
48.1 (22nd) |
51.2 (12th) |
Tackles won |
9.1 (22nd) |
9.3 (20th) |
Interceptions |
8.8 (23rd) |
11.4 (4th) |
Clearances |
16.1 (17th) |
16.6 (15th) |
Fouls committed |
12.3 (8th) |
10.5 (22nd) |
Fouls suffered |
11.8 (11th) |
12.5 (4th) |
Shots faced |
12.5 (8th) |
13.9 (18th) |
