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Sporting Kansas City puts a bow on back-to-back road matches with a rivalry reunion with the Houston Dynamo on Saturday at PNC Stadium in Houston. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT with three hours of coverage provided by 38 The Spot.
These two long-time foes have already met twice this season, once in regular season play and once in the Open Cup Round of 16, both at Children's Mercy Park. Sporting has two wins over the Dynamo in those duels, bettering them 1-0 in the 2022 home opener on March 5, on a Remi Walter 60th-minute goal. The Kansas City side followed that up with a 2-1 in the Open Cup thanks to a second half Johnny Russell brace.
Here is a statistical preview of Sporting Kansas City vs. the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting have won three straight meetings against Houston in all competitions.
- Sporting last visited PNC Stadium on May 12, 2021, taking a 1-0 loss despite outshooting Houston 16-5 (and 15-2 in the second half).
- Sporting has faced Houston 41 times in all competitions since 2011, more than any other opponent, and posted an 18-13-10 record during that stretch.
- The all-time regular season series is dead even through 39 meetings with both teams going 13-13-13 with 54 goals apiece.
- Sporting are 8-3-1 in their last 12 regular season meetings against Houston dating back to 2018.
- Sporting forward Johnny Russell has seven goals and three assists in 12 appearances against Houston in all competitions since 2018.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2022 MLS record: 8-15-6, 30 points (12th in Western Conference)
- 2022 MLS road record: 2-9-4 (16 GF, 35 GA)
- 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: Lost to Real Salt Lake in Western Conference Semifinals
- All-time Honors: Two MLS Cups (2000, 2013), four Open Cups (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017), one Supporters' Shield (2000)
- Sporting are 3-1-1 since the start of August with a winning percentage of 70%, the best clip in the Western Conference and fourth-best in MLS behind only Philadelphia, Montreal and Orlando.
- Sporting are averaging 2.8 goals since the start of August, second most in MLS during that time.
- Sporting have led in each of their last five regular season matches, during which time they have trailed for a total of only 64 minutes.
- Last month, Sporting became the first team in MLS history to score three first-half goals in three consecutive regular season matches, doing so against the LA Galaxy (4-2 win on Aug. 6), Austin FC (4-3 loss on Aug. 13) and Portland Timbers (4-1 win on Aug. 21).
- Ten of Sporting’s 23 regular season assists have come from Sporting KC Academy products.
- Sporting are 7-3-2 when scoring first and 1-12-2 when conceding first this season. Similarly, Sporting are 4-2-1 when leading at halftime and 0-8-3 when down at halftime.
- Forward Johnny Russell scored Sporting’s equalizer in a 2-2 draw at the LA Galaxy on Sunday, moving to third in club history with 53 career goals in all competitions and surpassing 10 goals in all competitions for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Russell has become the first player in Sporting history to score six goals in five straight regular seasons.
- Last month, forward Willy Agada became the third player in Sporting history to bag five goals in his first five MLS appearances for the club (Miklos Molnar in 2000, Felipe Gutierrez in 2018). He has five goals in his last five appearances.
- Forward Daniel Salloi scored the lone goal in Sporting’s 1-0 victory over San Jose on Aug. 27, tying the all-time club record with his 13th career game-winning goal in the regular season. He ranks second on the team this season with six regular season goals and eight goals in all competitions.
- Midfielder Felipe Hernandez leads Sporting with four assists in all competitions and has appeared in all 33 competitive matches this season, adding four goals. He also leads the team with 29 interceptions in the regular season.
- Midfielder Remi Walter is the only Sporting player to start in all 29 MLS matches this year and ranks seventh among MLS field players in minutes played (2,543).
Houston Dynamo
- 2022 MLS record: 8-16-5, 29 points (14th in Western Conference)
- 2022 MLS home record: 5-5-4 (20 GF, 18 GA)
- 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: N/A
- All-time Honors: Two MLS Cups (2006, 2007), one US Open Cup (2018)
- Houston are 2-9-2 in their last 13 regular season matches since June 29, posting zero shutouts during that time span.
- Houston’s 16 losses are the most in the Western Conference and the second most in MLS (8-16-5 record).
- Houston’s five home wins (5-5-4 record) are the fewest in the Western Conference.
- Houston have recorded 12 losses by a single goal, the second most in MLS behind Seattle’s 13.
- Houston has an MLS-high seven losses when scoring first. Their 6-7-0 record when scoring first is the worst in the league.
- Houston’s 21 points dropped from winning positions are third most in MLS.
- Houston are 3-4-0 when leading at halftime and 0-8-2 when trailing at halftime.
- Forward Sebastian Ferreira leads Houston with 10 goals in the regular season. He has scored three goals in his last five matches, including his last two appearances at PNC Stadium.
- Forward Fafa Picault has been flagged offside 22 times, one off the MLS lead.
- Defender Adam Lundqvist leads Houston with five assists and ranks 10th in MLS with 43 tackles won.
- Attacking midfielder Darwin Quintero leads Houston with 50 chances created, good for 17th in MLS. He has seven goals and four assists this year and 38 goals and 36 assists in the regular season since 2018.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Daniel Salloi’s 37 regular season goals are eighth most in club history, one shy of tying Kei Kamara in seventh and two shy of tying Chris Klein in sixth.
- Midfielder Roger Espinoza has 42 regular season assists for Sporting, one shy of tying Benny Feilhaber for fourth most in club history.
