"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.
Two teams looking to jumpstart their 2024 campaigns will lock horns Saturday as Sporting Kansas City ventures west to face the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. Kickoff is slated for 9:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Sporting found their footing in a 4-0 rout of FC Tulsa on Tuesday, cementing a spot in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, and will aim to carry that momentum into Saturday's league fixture against a Portland side that excels in attack but struggles in defense. We take a statistical look at the contest in our newest edition of By The Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting leads the all-time regular season series with a 9-7-7 record, including a 4-6-2 road record at Providence Park.
- Sporting has lost four straight road meetings at Portland since 2019 after posting a 4-2-2 regular season record at Providence Park from 2011-2018.
- Sporting last won at Providence Park on April 15, 2017, prevailing 1-0 in the MLS regular season.
- Portland is 5-2-4 in the last 11 meetings between the clubs, including both legs of the 2018 Western Conference finals as the Timbers prevailed 3-2 on aggregate to reach MLS Cup.
- Neither team has enjoyed a winning streak of longer than two matches in the head-to-head series (including playoffs).
- The clubs last met on April 7 at Children’s Mercy Park, battling to a 3-3 draw. Sporting took a 3-0 lead behind a Willy Agada brace and a Dany Rosero goal, but Portland rallied in the second half with goals from Evander, Felipe Mora and Eric Miller.
- Sporting forward Willy Agada has four goals and one assist in three regular season appearances against Portland, including braces at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 21, 2022 and April 7, 2024.
- Sporting forward Daniel Salloi has six goal contributions (four goals, two assists) in 12 regular season appearances against Portland.
- Sporting forward Johnny Russell has two goals and one assist in seven regular season appearances against Portland.
- Sporting midfielder Erik Thommy has two goals in four regular season appearances against Portland.
- Sporting midfielder Felipe Hernandez has three goal contributions (one goal, two assists) in six regular season appearances against Portland, his most against any MLS opponent.
- Portland forward Felipe Mora has scored in each of his previous two regular season appearances against Sporting, in a 1-1 draw on Aug. 18, 2021 and a 3-3 draw on April 7, 2024.
- Portland forward Nathan Fogaca has scored two of his three career MLS goals against Sporting, both in a 7-2 home win on May 14, 2022.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2024 MLS record: 2-6-5, 11 points (13th in West | 21 GF, 24 GA)
- 2024 MLS away record: 1-3-2 (7 GF, 8 GA)
- Last five matches: 0-4-1 (T-L-L-L-L)
- Sporting set a season-high by scoring four goals in a 4-0 home win over FC Tulsa in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday at Children’s Mercy Park.
- Sporting has prevailed in 14 straight Open Cup home matches, posting a 13-0-1 record since 2015. The lone draw accounts for a shootout win following a 1-1 stalemate against the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2017 semifinals.
- Sporting has reached the Open Cup quarterfinals for the fifth time since 2015, the most of any team.
- Sporting ranks fifth in MLS with 1.62 non-penalty goals per game.
- Sporting ranks second in MLS with 0.92 first-half goals per game.
- Sporting leads MLS with six goals from outside the box and has taken 51% 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 third most in MLS.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has appeared in 65 straight regular season matches for Sporting since June 19, 2022, the fourth longest streak in club history (Chris Brown 80, Mark Chung 74, Davy Arnaud 67).
- Forward Johnny Russell scored the opening goal in Sporting’s 3-2 loss at Austin FC last Saturday, tying Dom Dwyer for second in club history with 57 regular season goals in his career.
- Forward Alan Pulido and midfielder Erik Thommy are tied for the Sporting lead with four goals this season in all competitions.
- Forward Stephen Afrifa tallied his first career goal and assist for Sporting in Tuesday’s 4-0 Open Cup win over FC Tulsa. It was his 11th appearance for Sporting in all competitions since joining the club out of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
- Forward Marinos Tzionis scored Sporting’s final goal in the Open Cup win over FC Tulsa on Tuesday. Four of his five career goals for Sporting—and five of his seven total goal contributions—have come in the Open Cup.
- Midfielder Felipe Hernandez scored two goals in the Open Cup win over FC Tulsa on Tuesday. It was his second career brace for Sporting after he struck twice in a 2022 Open Cup quarterfinal win over Union Omaha. Hernandez has scored four of his eight career goals for Sporting in the Open Cup.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez tallied an assist last Saturday at Austin FC and leads Sporting with four assists this season. Rodriguez ranks eighth in MLS with 0.46 assists per 90 minutes.
- Defender Jake Davis scored his second career MLS goal last Saturday at Austin FC. Both of his goals have come from outside the box, the first of which in a 3-1 road win at Toronto FC on March 30. Davis ranks sixth in MLS in blocks (22) and eighth in tackles (36) this season.
- Defender Dany Rosero has scored five of Sporting’s eight headed goals since the start of 2023, all coming off set pieces.
- Forward Willy Agada is third on the team with three goals this season, ranking sixth in MLS in expected goals per 90 minutes (0.71), seventh shots on target per 90 minutes (1.67) and eighth in shots per 90 minutes (4.06).
- With a 4-0 win over Tulsa on Tuesday, goalkeeper John Pulskamp moved his career Open Cup record to 6-1-1, including four shutouts and a 0.56 goals against average.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia saved a penalty kick in last Saturday’s match against Austin. His 16 saved penalties since 2015 are most in the MLS regular season during that time.
- Melia has a .579 goals conceded percentage on penalties in the regular season (22 of 38), the lowest in MLS history among keepers with at least 20 penalties faced.
Portland Timbers
- 2024 MLS record: 3-7-4, 13 points (11th in West | 26 GF, 29 GA)
- 2024 MLS home record: 2-2-2 (14 GF, 12 GA)
- Last five matches: 1-4-0 (L-L-L-W-L)
- Portland is 1-7-3 in its last 11 MLS matches after opening the season 2-0-1. The Timbers went 0-6-3 from March 16 to May 12 before winning 4-2 over San Jose on May 15.
- Portland has yet to keep a clean sheet in 14 MLS matches this season. The Timbers are one of two MLS teams without a shutout in 2024 alongside San Jose.
- Portland has conceded multiple goals in 10 straight MLS matches since March 23.
- Portland’s 29 goals conceded are third most in MLS (2.07 per match). Their nine goals conceded from set pieces are tied for most in the league.
- Portland’s 26 goals scored are third most in MLS, trailing only Miami (33) and Real Salt Lake (27). The Timbers also rank third in MLS with 30 assists.
- Portland matches have produced 55 total goals this season, tied for the most in MLS (3.93 per game).
- Portland has scored five goals in the first 15 minutes and eight goals in the first 30 minutes of matches this season, both the most in MLS.
- Portland’s eight goals scored after the 75th minute are one shy of the MLS lead, trailing only Miami and Real Salt Lake.
- Portland has a 1-5-4 record in games decided by one goal or fewer.
- Forward Felipe Mora leads Portland in goals (six), forward Santiago Moreno leads the team in assists (six), and midfielder Evander leads the team in total goal contributions (10 with five goals and five assists).
- Mora has scored six goals on just 12 shot attempts this season, nine of which have been on target. He ranks sixth in MLS in both goals per 90 minutes (0.90) and non-penalty goals per 90 minutes (0.75).
- Moreno ranks fifth in MLS in successful take-ons (31) and 10th in passes into the penalty area (27).
- Forward Jonathan Rodriguez, who has five goals and two assists this season, ranks third in MLS with 11 offsides.
- Defender Juan Mosquera is the only Portland player to start in all 14 MLS matches this season. Midfielder Cristhian Paredes and winger Dairon Asprilla are the other two Portland players to appear in all 14 MLS matches this year.
- Midfielder Diego Chara has made 380 regular season appearances for Portland since the club’s inaugural campaign in 2011. He holds the record for most regular season appearances with one MLS club.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia is 61 minutes shy of 25,000 minutes played for Sporting in all competitions.
- 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.
- Defender Andreu Fontas is 61 minutes shy of 10,000 regular season minutes played for Sporting.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez is one shy of his 100th MLS regular season start.
