"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 conclude a busy stretch of five matches in 15 days by visiting regional rivals Minnesota United FC on Saturday. Fans can catch the action live from Allianz Field at 7:30 p.m. CT on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Desperate to bounce back into the win column as the calendar turns to June, Sporting will lock horns with a Minnesota side that has enjoyed its best 14-game start to a season in club history. We take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By The Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting and Minnesota have met 23 times in all competitions since the Loons joined MLS in 2017, the most of any opponent for both teams. Sporting has a 12-7-4 record in the all-time series.
- Sporting leads the all-time regular season series against Minnesota with an 11-5-4 record, including a perfect 9-0-0 record at home and a 2-4-4 road record at Allianz Field.
- Sporting has outscored Minnesota 35-17 in the regular season series, including a 19-10 margin in the first half and a 16-7 margin in the second half.
- Sporting and Minnesota last met on April 27 at Allianz Field. The hosts won 2-1 behind first-half goals from Michael Boxall and Tani Oluwaseyi with Robin Lod and Joseph Rosales recording two assists each. Sporting grabbed a goal back before halftime through Alan Pulido.
- Sporting had won its previous four regular season meetings against Minnesota from September 2022 to October 2023, outscoring the Loons 11-2 during that stretch.
- Sporting forward Johnny Russell has five goals and 10 assists in 16 regular season appearances against Minnesota. His 15 goal contributions against the Loons are his most versus any MLS opponent in the regular season.
- Sporting forward Khiry Shelton has four goals and one assist in 12 regular season appearances against Minnesota. His four goals against the Loons are his most versus any MLS opponent.
- Sporting forward Daniel Salloi has three goals and five assists in 16 regular season appearances against Minnesota, including three assists in the last two meetings between the clubs.
- Sporting forward Willy Agada has two goals in two regular season appearances against Minnesota, scoring a brace in a 4-1 home victory on Sept 17, 2022.
- Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia has a 10-4-2 regular season record against Minnesota, including seven shutouts.
- Minnesota defender Michael Boxall has scored in each of the last two meetings between the clubs.
- Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair has a 1-5-1 regular season record against Sporting with zero shutouts and a 2.0 goals against average. He was Minnesota’s keeper in the lone playoff meeting between the sides, a 3-0 Minnesota victory in the Western Conference Semifinals at Children’s Mercy Park on Dec. 3, 2020.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2024 MLS record: 2-8-5, 11 points (14th in West | 23 GF, 28 GA)
- 2024 MLS away record: 1-4-2 (8 GF, 10 GA)
- Last five matches: 0-5-0 (L-L-L-L-L)
- Sporting has fielded nine different starting lineups in the club’s last nine matches across all competitions. Sporting has utilized 13 different starting lineups in 17 total matches this season.
- Sporting ranks sixth in MLS with 1.53 non-penalty goals per game.
- Sporting ranks fourth in MLS with 0.80 first-half goals per game.
- Sporting leads MLS with seven goals from outside the box and has taken 50% of its shot attempts from outside the box, the highest percentage in MLS.
- Sporting has scored seven goals off set pieces this season, tied for the fourth most in MLS.
- Forward Marinos Tzionis scored his first MLS goal and his third goal of the season in all competitions in Wednesday’s 2-1 home loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Tzionis scored in each of Sporting’s three midweek matches during the month of May, including Open Cup wins over Union Omaha and FC Tulsa.
- Tzionis led Sporting with three goals in all competitions during the month of May, accounting for half of his six career goals with the club.
- Forward Khiry Shelton, deployed as a right back on Wednesday, tallied his first assist of the season in the match against Vancouver.
- Forward Alenis Vargas earned his first career start for Sporting on Wednesday. At 20 years old, he became the youngest Sporting player to start an MLS match since Kayden Pierre started as a 19-year-old on Sept. 17, 2022.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez scored his first goal for Sporting in last weekend’s 2-1 loss at Portland.
- Rodriguez leads Sporting with four assists this season and missed Wednesday’s match against Vancouver due to caution accumulation.
- Forward Alan Pulido and midfielder Erik Thommy are tied for the Sporting lead with four goals this season in all competitions.
Minnesota United FC
- 2024 MLS record: 7-3-4, 25 points (4th in West | 24 GF, 19 GA)
- 2024 MLS home record: 3-1-3 (11 GF, 8 GA)
- Last five matches: 2-1-2 (W-T-W-T-L)
- Minnesota’s 25 points (7-3-4 record) are their most through 14 matches of a regular season in club history. The Loons occupy fourth place in the Western Conference, five points behind leaders Real Salt Lake with two games in hand.
- Minnesota fell 2-0 at LAFC on Wednesday, snapping a six-game unbeaten streak that began on April 21 and yielded four wins and two draws.
- Minnesota scored multiple goals in all six matches during its unbeaten run from April 21 to May 25.
- Minnesota is 5-0-2 when scoring first and 2-3-2 when conceding first this season. Similarly, the Loons are 5-0-2 when leading at halftime and 1-3-1 when trailing at halftime.
- Minnesota has used 25 players during the 2024 regular season, tied for third most in MLS.
- Minnesota leads MLS with 12.1 interceptions per game.
- Midfielder Robin Lod is tied for second in MLS with 10 assists and leads Minnesota with 14 total goal contributions, adding four goals.
- Lod ranks second in MLS in primary assists per 90 minutes (0.78), expected assists per 90 minutes (0.42) and through balls (12) while placing third in goal-creating actions per 90 minutes (1.07).
- Forward Tani Oluwaseyi leads Minnesota in goals (six), while midfielder Joseph Rosales ranks second on the team in assists (seven).
- Oluwaseyi has nine total goal contributions in 540 minutes of regular season action, averaging a goal or an assist every 60 minutes.
- Rosales is the only MLS player with two red cards this season and leads MLS with 32 interceptions.
- Defender Michael Boxall ranks second in MLS in clearances (77), while defender DJ Taylor ranks fourth in the league in interceptions (29).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Johnny Russell has 57 regular season goals for Sporting, one shy of passing Dom Dwyer for second most in club history.
- Forward Alan Pulido is tied for ninth in Sporting history with 31 regular season goals alongside Benny Feilhaber, Mo Johnston and Graham Zusi.
- Forward Daniel Salloi is one shy of 100 career goal contributions for Sporting in all competitions (59 goals and 40 assists). Three players in club history have eclipsed 100 career goal contributions in all competitions: Preki (185), Graham Zusi (125) and Johnny Russell (107).
