"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 booking a spot in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final early last week, Sporting Kansas City will kick off September with a visit to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. The cross-conference clash at Red Bull Arena is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, ESPN 94.5 FM, La Grande 1340 AM and SiriusXM FC.
Manager Peter Vermes' men enter the stretch run of the regular season nine points below the playoff line. Though the mountain to climb is tall, the task remains achievable for a Sporting side that collected convincing shutout wins over Orlando City SC and Indy Eleven at the end of August. Awaiting Kansas City is a Red Bulls outfit that suffered its first home loss of the year last weekend.
With plenty to play for on Saturday, we take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By The Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- The regular season series between Sporting and New York is tied with 22 wins and 14 draws apiece through 58 meetings (75 goals for Sporting, 71 goals for New York).
- New York won the most recent meeting on July 3, 2022, prevailing 1-0 at Children’s Mercy Park on a second-half goal from Aaron Long.
- Sporting has won two of its last three road matches at New York since 2016. The Red Bulls last defeated Sporting at home on July 14, 2018.
- Forward Daniel Salloi scored the winning goal in Sporting’s most recent visit to Red Bull Arena on April 17, 2021, a 2-1 victory over New York to kick off the 2021 MLS campaign.
- Forward Johnny Russell has two goals in four regular season appearances against New York.
- No current Red Bulls player has scored an MLS goal against Sporting.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2024 MLS record: 7-14-6, 27 points (12th in West | 44 GF, 52 GA)
- 2024 MLS away record: 2-9-2 (15 GF, 26 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 3-1-1 (W-W-L-T-W)
- Sporting is 6-3-1 in the team’s last 10 matches across all competitions since July 7, including a 3-1-1 mark in the MLS regular season and wins in the quarterfinals (July 10) and semifinals (Aug. 27) of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- In Sporting’s 3-0 home win over Orlando City SC on Aug. 24, the team equaled its largest margin of victory in an MLS match since beating San Jose by a 3-0 scoreline on Aug. 26, 2023. Both matches were Sporting’s first MLS fixtures following the Leagues Cup break.
- Sporting ranks seventh in MLS this season in non-penalty goals scored (44).
- Sporting’s 1.63 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 won each of its last six matches in all competitions when scoring at least twice, dating back to June 29.
- Sporting has fielded 26 different starting lineups in its last 26 matches across all competitions. Sporting has utilized 30 different starting lineups in 34 total matches this season.
- Forward Johnny Russell has five goals and a team-best eight assists this season in all competitions. His 13 total goal contributions are second most on the team behind Willy Agada (11 goals, three assists).
- Russell scored the opening goal in Sporting’s 2-0 Open Cup semifinal win over Indy Eleven on Aug. 27. It was his 67th career goal for Sporting in all competitions, tying Dom Dwyer for second most in club history.
- Russell’s five goals this season in all competitions are tied for second most on the team alongside Alan Pulido (five goals, five assists), Erik Thommy (five goals, five assists) and Stephen Afrifa (five goals, three assists).
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez leads Sporting with six assists in MLS regular season play, while Pulido and Russell are tied for second with five apiece.
- Midfielder Jake Davis has four goal contributions in Sporting’s last two matches. He had a goal and an assist in a 3-0 MLS win over Orlando on Aug. 24 and two assists in a 2-0 Open Cup win over Indy Eleven on Aug. 27.
- Davis, who has three goals and five assists this season in all competitions, ranks fifth in MLS with 63 tackles.
- Forward Daniel Salloi scored his second goal of the season in a 3-0 home win over Orlando on Aug. 24. In doing so, he became the fourth player in Sporting history to eclipse 100 goal contributions for the club in all competitions (60 goals, 40 assists), trailing only Preki (181), Graham Zusi (125) and current teammate Johnny Russell (118).
- Midfielder Remi Walter has scored or assisted in three of Sporting’s previous five matches in all competitions, including the last two. His three MLS goals from outside the box are one shy of the league lead in 2024.
- Forward William 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. He also has a team-leading 14 total goal contributions in all competitions (three assists).
- Ten of Agada’s 11 goals this season have come at home. He has scored 20 goals in 32 home appearances at Children’s Mercy Park (including 21 starts) since debuting for the club in July 2022.
- Agada ranks third in MLS in both non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes (0.72) and expected goals per 90 minutes (0.77). He also ranks sixth in total shots per 90 minutes (4.51) and seventh in total expected goals (11.5).
- Defender Dany Rosero has scored in each of Sporting’s last two Open Cup matches—a 2-1 quarterfinal win over FC Dallas on July 10 and a 2-0 semifinal win over Indy Eleven on Aug. 27.
- Rosero has scored seven goals for Sporting in all competitions since joining the club in early 2023, all headers.
New York Red Bulls
- 2024 MLS record: 10-5-12, 42 points (4th in East | 43 GF, 34 GA)
- 2024 MLS home record: 7-1-5 (25 GF, 12 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 1-1-3 (T-T-W-T-L)
- New York’s one home loss this season is tied for the fewest in MLS (7-1-5). The defeat came in a 2-0 setback to the Philadelphia Union last Saturday. It was New York’s first non-shootout home loss in any competition since Sept. 30, 2023, snapping a run of 17 straight home matches without one.
- New York’s 2-0 home loss to Philadelphia on Aug. 31 snapped a nine-game MLS unbeaten run that began on June 15.
- New York has won just two of its last 11 MLS matches, posting a 2-2-7 record since June 8. Their seven draws since the start of June and their 12 total ties this season are both most in MLS.
- New York’s five MLS defeats this season are third fewest in MLS, behind only Inter Miami CF and Columbus Crew (four each).
- New York is 3-0-1 in matches immediately following losses during the 2024 regular season. The team has yet to lose consecutive matches this season.
- New York leads MLS with 11 goals on counter attacks during the regular season.
- New York is tied for second in MLS with 10 goals from outside the box during the regular season.
- New York has an expected goal differential of 12.3, the third best in MLS (43.8 expected goals, 31.5 expected goals conceded).
- New York has conceded 12 goals in 13 home matches this season, the second fewest in the Eastern Conference.
- New York has conceded 10 goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches, tied for the most in MLS and 29.4% of their 34 goals conceded this season.
- New York has faced 10.7 shots per match this season, the fewest in MLS.
- New York has conceded 1.26 goals per match this season, the fifth fewest in MLS.
- During the 2024 regular season, New York is 8-1-4 when scoring first and 2-4-4 when conceding first. The team is 7-1-4 when leading at halftime and 0-2-3 when trailing at halftime.
- Forward Lewis Morgan leads New York with 12 goals in the regular season. Forward Elias Manoel and midfielder Emil Forsberg are tied for second on the team with six goals each.
- Forward Dante Vanzeir leads New York with nine assists in the regular season. No other Red Bulls player has more than four. Vanzeir ranks eighth in MLS with 0.44 primary assists per 90 minutes.
- Defender Jon Tolkin leads New York with 37 key passes this season despite having zero assists.
- Defender Dylan Nealis ranks fourth in MLS in aerial duels won (66), fifth in aerial duel success (74.2%), and sixth in successful take-on percentage (72.7%).
- Defender Sean Nealis, who is one of four MLS players with two red cards this season, ranks fifth in the league in aerial duels won (62).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Manager Peter Vermes earned his 250th coaching win in all competitions following a 2-0 Open Cup semifinal victory over Indy Eleven on Aug. 27. He has a 250-205-138 record as Sporting’s manager since taking the helm in 2009.
- Forward Johnny Russell is tied for second in club history with 67 goals in all competitions, one shy of passing Dom Dwyer for sole possession of second place.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 100 goal contributions (60 goals, 40 assists) for Sporting in all competitions, fourth most in club history behind only Preki (181), Graham Zusi (125) and Johnny Russell (118).
- 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.
- Forward William Agada is tied with teammate Alan Pulido for fifth in club history with six multi-goal games in the regular season, one shy of a tie for third.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez is one shy of his 250th professional club appearance.
- Forward Khiry Shelton is one shy of his 200th career appearance in MLS competitions.
- Defender Logan Ndenbe is one shy of his 100th professional club appearance.
- Defender Dany Rosero is one shy of his 50th MLS appearance for Sporting (including playoffs).
