"By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
After opening the 2025 campaign with a narrow first-leg loss to Inter Miami CF in the Concacaf Champions Cup on Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City will venture south to kick off the club's 30th MLS season against Austin FC on Saturday. The Western Conference clash is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT with live broadcasts in English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Just three days removed from a frigid midweek battle versus Lionel Messi and Miami at Children's Mercy Park, Sporting will now prepare for an MLS Week 1 encounter against a new-look Austin FC side at Q2 Stadium in the Texas capital. Just as Sporting has bolstered its roster with acquisitions such as the Designated Player duo of Manu Garcia and Dejan Joveljic, Austin has secured the services of multiple high-profile newcomers including Brandon Vazquez, Myrto Uzuni and Ilie Sanchez.
Early-season results in a league as parity-driven as MLS will always be unpredictable, but Saturday's contest will give both teams an opportunity to generate early momentum after missing the postseason in 2024. As excitement builds toward this compelling curtain raiser in the heart of Texas, we take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting has a 3-5-1 all-time record against Austin. All nine meetings between the clubs have come in the MLS regular season.
- Sporting has lost all four road matches at Austin since 2021, scoring seven goals and conceding 12.
- Austin has scored two or more goals in its previous four home matches against Sporting at Q2 Stadium.
- Austin has won five of the last seven meetings in the series, including a 3-2 victory when the clubs last met at Q2 Stadium on May 18, 2024. Winger Jader Obrian paced the Austin win with two goals in the first half, while Sporting defender Jake Davis bagged a brilliant long-range goal after halftime.
- Sporting won the most recent meeting between the clubs by a 2-0 scoreline on June 29, 2024. Defender Tim Leibold scored in the first half and forward Stephen Afrifa scored in the 69th minute as Sporting earned its first shutout against Austin in nine meetings.
- In nine previous meetings, Austin has outscored Sporting 17-16 yet been outshot 152-94.
- Austin forward Diego Rubio, who played for Sporting from 2016-2018, has four goals in 12 regular season appearances against his former club.
- Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver has started in each of the club’s first nine matches against Sporting, posting a 5-3-1 record with one shutout and a 1.78 goals against average.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2024 MLS record: 8-19-7, 31 points (13th in West | 51 GF, 66 GA)
- 2024 MLS away record: 2-12-3 (18 GF, 34 GA)
- 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs: Did not qualify
- Sporting opened the 2025 campaign on Wednesday with a 1-0 home loss to Inter Miami CF in the first leg of Round One in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
- Sporting limited Miami to 0.42 expected goals and one shot on target in Wednesday’s match, which resulted in the winning strike from Lionel Messi.
- Wednesday’s match at Children’s Mercy Park was played at a temperature of 5 degrees, the coldest in club history.
- Wednesday’s match was also the earliest competitive fixture in club history, beating a record that previously stood at Feb. 21 in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League.
- Newly acquired Designated Player Dejan Joveljic earned his Sporting debut with a start in Wednesday’s match. He had 21 goals and eight assists last season in all competition, including a league-best six goals in the MLS Cup Playoffs as he helped LA win MLS Cup.
- Newly acquired Designated Player Manu Garcia earned his Sporting debut as a second-half substitute on Wednesday. Garcia recorded 61 goal contributions (21 goals, 40 assists) in 290 club appearances across Europe before moving to Kansas City.
- Newly acquired forward Shapi Suleymanov signed for Sporting earlier this month in a transfer from Aris Thessaloniki alongside Garcia. He has recorded 101 goal contributions (55 goals, 46 assists) in 323 club appearances across Europe.
- Newly signed Homegrown midfielder Jacob Barlett made his club debut with a 90-minute performance on Wednesday against Miami. The 19-year-old Kansas City native has become the first player to rise from Sporting’s Center of Excellence (pre-Academy) to Academy to Sporting KC II to the first team.
Austin FC
- 2024 MLS record: 11-14-9, 42 points (10th in West | 39 GF, 48 GA)
- 2024 MLS home record: 7-5-5 (27 GF, 25 GA)
- 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs: Did not qualify
- Austin scored 39 goals (1.15 per game) during the 2024 regular season, the fewest in the Western Conference and third fewest in MLS.
- Austin ranked last in MLS during the 2024 regular season in shots per game (10.3) and shots on goal per game (3.4).
- Austin had a -9 goal differential last season (39 GF, 48 GA) but outscored opponents 12-5 after the 75th minute.
- Austin won just two of its last eight home matches of the 2024 regular season, including a 3-2 comeback win over the Colorado Rapids on Decision Day. Austin finished the season 7-5-5 at home.
- Austin went unbeaten (7-0-4) when scoring the first goal during the 2024 regular season. The team was 4-14-3 when conceding the first goal.
- Winger Jader Obrian led Austin during the 2024 regular season in goals (seven) and total goal contributions (11). Obrian appeared in all 34 MLS matches last year while earning 30 starts.
- Goalkeeper Brad Stuver has started in 80 consecutive regular season matches for Austin since July 30, 2022, a streak that began with a 2-0 road win against Sporting at Children’s Mercy Park. He led MLS with 143 saves during the 2024 regular season, 16 more than any other goalkeeper, while placing fifth in shutouts (eight).
- Newly acquired forward Brandon Vazquez scored 14 goals in 49 matches for LIGA MX side CF Monterrey during the 2024 calendar year. Vazquez has 35 goals and 19 assists 144 MLS regular season appearances with Atlanta (2017-2019) and Cincinnati (2020-2023).
- Newly acquired forward Myrto Uzuni has scored 126 goals in his professional club career, including 49 goals in 106 appearances with Spanish side Granada from 2022-2025.
- Midfield newcomer Ilie Sanchez played his first five MLS seasons at Sporting from 2017-2021, recording 11 goals and 13 assists in 171 appearances for Kansas City across all competitions.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 84 goal contributions for Sporting (47 goals, 37 assists) in the regular season, tied with Chris Klein for fourth most in club history.
- Defender Dany Rosero is one shy of his 50th regular season appearance for Sporting.
- Midfielder Jake Davis is one shy of his 50th regular season start for Sporting.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic is one shy of 50 total goal contributions (34 goals, 15 assists) in the MLS regular season.
