As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
For Sporting Kansas City, that good thing was a six-game road unbeaten streak that fell one game shy of tying the all-time club record.
Indeed, Manager Peter Vermes men' went a remarkable 4-0-2 over the course of six regular season away matches from July 4 to Aug. 21 before taking their first road loss in nearly 11 weeks at the hands of LAFC on Friday night.
LAFC surged ahead before halftime and added three more goals after midfielder Roger Espinoza was issued a red card and sent off in the 58th minute, reducing his team to 10 men in a frustrating encounter at Banc of California Stadium.
Sporting KC: Longest Road Unbeaten Runs
(MLS Regular Season, All-Time)
- 7 matches | 08/04/12 to 03/02/13 | 4-0-3 | 8 GF, 2 GA | 5 shutouts
- 6 matches | 07/04/21 to 08/21/21 | 4-0-2 | 11 GF, 2 GA | 4 shutouts
- 6 matches | 05/28/11 to 07/16/11 | 2-0-4 | 8 GF, 4 GA | 2 shutouts
- 6 matches | 06/05/04 to 07/17/04 | 4-0-2 | 10 GF, 5 GA | 2 shutouts
- 6 matches | 08/12/00 to 09/09/00 | 2-0-4 | 8 GF, 4 GA | 3 shutouts
- 6 matches | 04/08/00 to 05/27/00 | 3-0-3 | 9 GF, 2 GA | 3 shutouts
In this edition of Beyond the Box Score presented by Compass Minerals, it's also worth taking a look at the milestones reached by Sporting's two longest tenured players.
Milestones reached in LAFCvSKC (MLS Regular Season)
- Graham Zusi is now tied with Mo Johnston, Chris Klein and Josh Wolff for fourth in club history with 138 shots on goal.
- Roger Espinoza broke tie with Chris Klein for sixth place in club history with 313 shots.
Still occupying second place in the Western Conference, two points behind leaders Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting will return home to host Chicago Fire FC at 7:30 p.m. CT next Saturday, Sept. 11. Tickets for the cross-conference clash at Children's Mercy Park are available online at SeatGeek.com.
