"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.
Sporting Kansas City will visit reigning MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew in the Leagues Cup Round of 32 at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday at Lower.com Field. The Knockout Stage match will stream live on Apple TV for MLS Season Pass subscribers and radio coverage will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB, La Grande 1340 AM and SiriusXM FC. Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, including the club's official watch party at No Other Pub in the KC Power & Light District. Food and drink specials will start at 5:30 p.m. with the first 25 fans in attendance receiving their first drink on the club.
Manager Peter Vermes' men have found their footing since the end of June, winning five of their last nine games and progressing to the knockout rounds of Leagues Cup. Awaiting them is a formidable Columbus side that boasts a potent attack, a stingy defense and a possession-oriented playing style that has yielded significant success over the last 18 months.
As anticipation builds toward Friday, we take a statistical look at the win-or-go-home battle in our newest edition of By The Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting and Columbus have never previously met in an international competition. Leagues Cup will be the fourth competition in which Sporting and Columbus square off (MLS regular season, MLS Cup Playoffs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup).
- The clubs last met on June 22 in Columbus. The Crew earned a commanding 4-0 home win behind a Cucho Hernandez hat trick and a second-half strike from Christian Ramirez.
- The result on June 22 was Sporting’s first lost to Columbus since August 2015. Kansas City went 2-0-3 against Columbus from 2016-2022.
- Sporting has just two losses in the last 13 regular season meetings between the clubs since October 2012, going 7-2-4 against the Crew during that stretch.
- Sporting has a 26-23-9 record in the 58-game regular season series, scoring 86 goals (1.48 per game) and conceding 88 (1.52 per game).
- No current Sporting players have scored against Columbus as members of Kansas City.
- Two current Sporting players have scored one regular season goal against Columbus: midfielder Memo Rodriguez (in 2020 as a member of Houston Dynamo FC) and forward Khiry Shelton (in 2016 as a member of New York City FC).
- Forward Christian Ramirez has one regular season goal against Sporting as a member of four different clubs—Minnesota United (2017), LAFC (2019), Houston Dynamo FC (2020) and Columbus (2024).
- Columbus forward Cucho Hernandez scored his third career MLS hat trick in the most recent meeting against Sporting on June 22. His first two MLS hat tricks came in September 2023 against Montreal and Chicago, respectively.
- Columbus forward Diego Rossi has five goal contributions (two goals, three assists) in seven regular season appearances against Sporting.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2024 MLS record: 6-14-6, 24 points (12th in West | 41 GF, 52 GA)
- 2024 away record (all competitions): 3-9-2 (17 GF, 27 GA)
- Last five matches (all competitions): 2-2-1 (W-L-T-W-L)
- Leagues Cup group stage: Won 2-1 vs. Chicago; Lost 1-2 vs. Toluca
- Sporting has advanced to the Leagues Cup knockout stage for the second straight season after finishing second in West Region Group 4.
- Sporting is looking to reach the Leagues Cup Round of 16 for the first time since the tournament expanded to its current format last summer. Last August, Sporting fell 4-1 to Toluca in the Round of 32.
- Sporting’s 1.58 goals per match during the 2024 regular season are the club’s fourth most since the Peter Vermes era began in 2009 (Sporting had more goals per match in 2018, 2020 and 2021).
- Sporting has scored 14 goals from set pieces this season in all competitions (10 in MLS, three in the Open Cup and one in Leagues Cup). That accounts for 26.9% of the club’s goal scoring (14 of 52).
- Sporting has fielded 23 different starting lineups in its last 23 matches across all competitions. Sporting has utilized 27 different starting lineups in 31 total matches this season.
- Forward Willy Agada leads Sporting with 11 goals this season in all competitions—nine in the MLS regular season, one in the Open Cup and one in Leagues Cup.
- Agada has six goals across his last six starts in all competitions since July 7.
- Forward Stephen Afrifa scored an equalizer in Monday’s 2-1 loss to Toluca in the Leagues Cup group stage finale. He is tied for the team lead with five goals this season in all competitions.
- Afrifa has goal contributions in each of Sporting’s first two Leagues Cup matches, having earned an assist in a 2-1 win over Chicago on July 28.
- Forward Johnny Russell assisted Afrifa’s goal on Monday and now has 50 assists in his Sporting career, fifth most in club history.
- Russell leads Sporting with seven assists this season in all competitions. He also ranks second on the team with 11 goal contributions in all competitions, behind only Willy Agada (14).
- Russell has four career goal contributions in international tournaments for Sporting, tied for fourth most in club history. His three assists in international competitions are tied with Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi for second most in club history, one behind all-time leader Gary Glasgow.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia is the only player to start in each of Sporting’s last nine matches since June 29, playing every minute during that stretch.
- Sporting has a 5-10-4 away record in international competitions. The club’s last road win in an international tournament was a 2-0 decision against Toluca that sealed a 5-0 aggregate victory in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League Round of 16.
- Sporting is visiting the state of Ohio for a Leagues Cup match for the second straight year. The team opened its Leagues Cup 2023 campaign with a 3-3 draw at FC Cincinnati, falling 4-2 on penalty kicks.
- Sporting is visiting an MLS team in an international tournament for the fourth time after traveling to face FC Cincinnati in Leagues Cup 2023 (T 3-3), Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the 2016-17 Concacaf Champions League (L 0-3) and New England in the 2009 SuperLiga (T 1-1).
- Sporting’s best finishes in an international competition came in 2002 and 2019 when the club reached the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup and Concacaf Champions League, respectively.
Columbus Crew
- 2024 MLS record: 12-4-7, 43 points (3rd in East | 47 GF, 22 GA)
- 2024 home record (all competitions): 7-1-6 (25 GF, 10 GA)
- Last five matches (all competitions): 2-2-1 (W-W-W-T-L)
- Leagues Cup group stage: Bye to knockout stage
- Columbus advanced to the final of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, falling 3-0 to Pachuca on June 1. It was the Crew’s best finish in an international competition in club history.
- As the 2023 MLS Cup champion, Columbus earned a group stage bye to the Leagues Cup knockout stage. Columbus has not played a competitive match since falling 2-1 at Atlanta United FC on July 20.
- Columbus leads MLS with a +25 goal differential, scoring 47 goals and conceding 22 through 23 matches (12-4-7 record).
- Columbus ranks second in MLS with 2.04 goals scored per match in the regular season, behind only Inter Miami CF (2.24).
- Columbus’ 22 goals conceded are five fewer than any other MLS team. The Crew also leads MLS in lowest goals against average (0.96) and ranks third in shutouts (eight).
- Columbus has conceded just seven goals in 11 MLS home matches this season, the fewest home goals conceded in MLS.
- Nine of Columbus’ 12 MLS wins this season have come by multiple goals.
- In all competitions this season, Columbus is 12-1-4 when scoring first and 3-4-4 when conceding first.
- Columbus has faced 10.0 shots per match during the 2024 regular season, the fewest in MLS.
- Columbus leads MLS in average possession (60.3%) and passing accuracy (86.7%).
- Columbus leads MLS with 42.4 passes into the attacking third per match.
- Columbus is 9-2-1 in its last 12 MLS matches since May 15, outscoring foes 34-11 during that stretch.
- Columbus has received 26 yellow cards during the MLS season, 12 fewer than any other team.
- Columbus leads MLS in fouls suffered (348) and ranks last in the league in fouls committed (183).
- Columbus leads MLS in team save percentage (77.4%) with goalkeepers Patrick Schulte (19 matches), Nicholas Hagen (three matches) and Evan Bush (two matches) all making multiple MLS appearances this season.
- Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte leads MLS in goals against average (0.89) while ranking second in clean sheet percentage (36.8%) and third in shutouts (seven).
- Forward Cucho Hernandez is tied for fifth in MLS with 13 goals during the regular season. His six match-winning goals are also one shy of the league lead.
- Forward Diego Rossi is one of six players with at least nine goals and 10 assists during the 2024 regular season. He has a goal contribution in six of his last seven MLS matches since June 22.
- Midfielder Darlington Nagbe leads MLS in passing accuracy (95.8%). He led the league in this category every season from 2019-2022. He also ranks second in MLS this season in successful take-on percentage (78.6%).
- Defender Malte Amundsen ranks second in MLS in interceptions (42), while defender Sean Zawadzki ranks third in the league in aerial duel success rate (76.9%).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia has made 291 appearances for Sporting in all competitions, one shy of passing current assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin for sole possession of fourth most in club history.
- Forward Johnny Russell ranks third in club history with 66 goals in all competitions, one shy of tying Dom Dwyer for second on the all-time chart.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 99 goal contributions (59 goals, 40 assists) for Sporting in all competitions, fourth most in club history.
- Forward Alan Pulido has 35 goals for Sporting in all competitions, tied with Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi for ninth in club history and six behind Kei Kamara in eighth.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez is one shy of his 250th professional club appearance.
