"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.
Hot off a 4-1 victory in Game 1 of the Round One Best-of-3 series, Sporting Kansas City will host St. Louis City SC at 4 p.m. CT Sunday as the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs return to Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for Game 2 are available online at SeatGeek while supplies last.
Sunday's showdown between the Western Conference rivals will stream live on Apple TV in English and Spanish for MLS Season Pass subscribers. Radio broadcasts will also air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM with streams in the Sporting KC app in addition to a simulcast on SiriusXM FC.
With the streaking home side playing for series-clinching win in Game 2, we take a statistical look at the mega-matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Holding a 1-0 lead in the Round One Best-of-3 series, Sporting can advance to the Western Conference semifinals with a regulation or shootout win on Sunday. A St. Louis win on Sunday would force a decisive Game 3 at CityPark on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 5 p.m. CT.
- Sporting and St. Louis are squaring off in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time. Sporting have played 56 matches in 20 playoff appearances since 1996, while expansion side St. Louis made its playoff debut in Game 1 last Sunday.
- This marks the second time that teams from Kansas City and St. Louis have met in the playoffs across the five major men’s professional sports leagues (MLS, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) in the United States, following the 1985 World Series.
- The clubs have split the first four meetings this season with two wins apiece. Three of the previous four matchups have taken place at CityPark, where St. Louis prevailed 4-0 and 4-1 in the regular season before falling 4-1 in Game 1 of the Round One Best-of-3 series.
- The first meeting between the clubs at Children’s Mercy Park took place on Sept. 2 as Sporting prevailed 2-1, erasing an early deficit with a pair of Alan Pulido goals before halftime. Midfielder Erik Thommy tabbed secondary assists on both of Pulido’s goals.
- The four meetings between the clubs this season have produced 17 total goals, an average of 4.25 per game.
- Sporting forward Alan Pulido has two goals and two assists in four appearances against St. Louis this season, including two assists in last Sunday’s Game 1 road win.
- Sporting forward Daniel Salloi has one goal and three assists across each of the last three meetings against St. Louis, including a goal and an assist in last Sunday’s Game 1 road win.
- Sporting midfielder Gadi Kinda starred in last Sunday’s Game 1 road win with a goal and two assists, becoming the second visiting player to record three goal contributions in an MLS match at CityPark (RSL’s Diego Luna on June 21, 2023).
- Sporting defender Jake Davis tabbed the first primary assist of his MLS career in Sporting’s 2-1 victory over St. Louis on Sept. 2, setting up Pulido’s match-winner in the 44th minute.
- St. Louis midfielder Jared Stroud has one goal and three assists in four appearances against Sporting this season, accounting for four of his 10 MLS goal contributions.
- St. Louis midfielder Indiana Vassilev has two goals and an assist in four appearances against Sporting this season, accounting for three of his seven MLS goal contributions.
- St. Louis midfielder Eduard Lowen had one goal and three assists in St. Louis’ two regular season home wins over Sporting, scoring a goal on May 20 and tallying three assists on Sept. 30.
- St. Louis forward Sam Adeniran has scored in two of the last three meetings between the clubs, including the match held at Children’s Mercy Park on Sept. 2.
- St. Louis forward Joao Klauss scored St. Louis’ final two goals in their 4-1 win over Sporting on Sept. 30, the same game that Sporting’s Willy Agada bagged a late consolation goal.
- St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki has totaled 22 saves in four matches against Sporting, including six in all three home appearances at CityPark—the most saves he has made in a home appearance this year.
- St. Louis is 15-1-3 when scoring first this season in all competitions. Their only loss when scoring first was Sporting’s 2-1 comeback win on Sept. 2 at Children’s Mercy Park.
Sporting KC Historical & Playoff Stats
- Sporting’s seven major championships (two MLS Cups, four Open Cups and one Supporters Shield) are fourth most in MLS history behind LA Galaxy (12), D.C. United (12) and Seattle Sounders FC (8).
- Sporting are looking to become the third club in MLS history to win three MLS Cups alongside LA Galaxy (five) and D.C. United (four). Sporting are one of four remaining clubs in the 2023 playoff field with two MLS Cup titles (Columbus, Houston, Seattle).
- Sporting’s four major championships since 2012 are second most among American MLS clubs behind Seattle (5).
- Sporting are the only club to reach the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, MLS conference semifinals or Concacaf Champions League semifinals in each of the previous six seasons since 2017.
- A series win over St. Louis would see Sporting advance past two opponents in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since hoisting MLS Cup in 2013.
- A series win over St. Louis would give Sporting their fourth conference semifinal appearance since 2018, tied for the most in MLS. New York City FC (now eliminated) has four conference semifinal appearances since then, while Sporting, Philadelphia, Seattle and Real Salt Lake are all playing for their fourth trips to the conference semis during that six-season stretch.
- Sporting are tied for second in MLS history alongside FC Dallas and LA Galaxy with 20 playoff appearances, trailing only the New York Red Bulls (24).
- Sporting are making their 11th playoff appearance since 2011, third most in MLS during that time behind only the New York Red Bulls (13) and Seattle Sounders FC (12).
- Sporting are 11-1-3 in 15 playoff matches played in the state of Missouri.
- Sporting are 16-6-5 at home in the MLS Cup Playoffs, including a 6-4-3 record at Children’s Mercy Park.
- Sporting have won all five penalty shootouts at Children’s Mercy Park, including three in the MLS Cup Playoffs (2013 MLS Cup, 2020 First Round, 2023 Wild Card).
Sporting Kansas City
- 2023 MLS regular season record: 12-14-8, 44 points (8th in West | 48 GF, 51 GA)
- 2023 MLS regular season home record: 9-6-2 (30 GF, 21 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 3-1-1 (L-W-W-T-W)
- In last Sunday’s 4-1 win over St. Louis in Game 1, Sporting tied a club record with four goals in a playoff match (W 4-1 vs. LA Galaxy in 2002, W 4-2 vs. Real Salt Lake in 2018). Sporting also set a club postseason record with six assists.
- Sporting’s four goals in Game 1 were tied for the second most by a visiting team in the history of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Prior to last Sunday’s 4-1 win over St. Louis, Sporting had never scored more than two goals in a road playoff match.
- In last Sunday’s victory, Sporting had four different goal scorers in a playoff match (Logan Ndenbe, Remi Walter, Gadi Kinda and Daniel Salloi) for the second time ever (2002 vs. LA Galaxy).
- Sporting scored three goals in the first half last Sunday after going almost 20 years (Nov. 4, 2003) without a first-half goal in a road playoff match, ending a run of 15 consecutive away games without a first-half goal.
- Last Sunday’s result gave Sporting their third road playoff win in club history (second in regulation) and their first since 2011.
- Sporting were the only MLS team to win Game 1 in the Round One Best-of-3 series. Sporting scored as many goals (four) as the other seven away teams scored in their respective Game 1 losses combined.
- Sporting have scored three or more goals in back-to-back MLS road matches for the sixth time in club history (1996, 2005, 2007, 2018, 2021, 2023). The team earned a 3-2 win at Real Salt Lake in its regular season road finale on Oct. 7.
- Last Sunday, Sporting became the first MLS team this season to score three goals from outside the box in the same match.
- Sporting’s 11 shots on target last Sunday were second most in a playoff match in club history, most by an away team in a 90-minute playoff match in MLS history, and most in a playoff match by any MLS team since October 2019.
- Sporting are unbeaten in four MLS matches, tied for their longest run of the year (May 28 to June 10).
- Sporting had 42.5% possession last Sunday (sixth lowest total in 2023) while St. Louis had 57.5% possession (second highest total in 2023). Sporting are now 4-0-3 in matches with less than 45% possession, while St. Louis are 1-5-1 in matches with at least 50% possession.
- In last Sunday’s 4-1 win over St. Louis, midfielder Gadi Kinda became the first player in club history to have three goal contributions in an MLS playoff match (one goal, two assists).
- Kinda was one of three players to score his first career playoff goal last Sunday alongside Logan Ndenbe and Remi Walter. Ndenbe’s strike was his first career goal in 94 appearances as a professional player.
- Kinda and forward Alan Pulido had two assists each in Game 1. Prior to last Sunday, only three players in Sporting history had multiple assists in a playoff match (Felipe Gutierrez in 2018, Roger Espinoza in 2020, Daniel Salloi in 2021).
- With a goal and an assist last Sunday, forward Daniel Salloi now has seven career goal contributions in the MLS Cup Playoffs, second most on the current roster behind Graham Zusi (eight) and tied with Chris Klein for third most in club history behind only Preki (12) and Zusi.
- With two assists last Sunday, Pulido had the second multi-assist game of his MLS career after assisting twice in Sporting’s 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake in the MLS is Back Tournament on July 22, 2020.
- With two goal contributions apiece last Sunday, Salloi (nine goals, 11 assists) and Pulido (15 goals, five assists) are tied for the team lead with 20 goal contributions this season in all competitions.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia has won all seven penalty shootouts in his professional career, including a perfect 5-0 record with Sporting.
- Melia is 9-3-1 in his last 13 MLS starts since May 13 after opening the year with a 0-4-1 record.
- Forward Johnny Russell has scored four goals in his last four MLS appearances (including playoffs).
- Defender Jake Davis has started each of Sporting’s last 24 matches across all competitions, the longest active streak on the team.
- Since breaking into the starting lineup on April 29, Davis ranks second among MLS defenders with 40 tackles won (including playoffs).
- Sporting are 8-1-2 in MLS when the center back pairing of Andreu Fontas and Dany Rosero start together at home this season (1-5-1 in the team’s other seven home matches).
- Sporting are 7-1-1 in MLS when the backline of Jake Davis, Dany Rosero, Andreu Fontas and Logan Ndenbe start together at home this season (2-5-2 in the team’s other nine home matches).
St. Louis
- 2023 MLS regular season record: 17-12-5, 56 points (1st in West | 62 GF, 45 GA)
- 2023 MLS regular season away record: 6-8-3 (21 GF, 28 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 2-3-0 (W-W-L-L-L)
- St. Louis conceded four goals to Sporting in Game 1 last Sunday, tied for their most in a match this season in all competitions.
- St. Louis has lost three straight MLS matches for the first time this season. The team last won on Sept. 30, earning a 4-1 home victory over Sporting.
- During its three-game losing streak, St. Louis has conceded nine goals while scoring just one.
- St. Louis is the first MLS expansion team to finish atop the conference regular season standings in league history.
- St. Louis finished third in MLS with 17 regular season wins, three more than any other Western Conference team and the most ever by an expansion team in the non-shootout era.
- St. Louis led the Western Conference with 62 regular season goals, an average of 1.82 goals per match.
- St. Louis ranked third in MLS during the regular season with a plus-17 goal differential (62 goals scored, 45 goals conceded). The club’s plus-24 goal differential at home (41 GF, 17 GA) was also third best in the league.
- St. Louis finished the regular season with 11 home wins, tied with Houston for the most in the Western Conference (11-4-2 home record).
- St. Louis led the Western Conference in shot conversion rate (13.5%) during the regular season while ranking fifth in MLS in shots on target per game (5.1).
- St. Louis finished the regular season ranking second in both goals (six) and shots (26) from fast breaks as well as total fast breaks (31).
- St. Louis is 15-1-3 when scoring first this season in all competitions. Their only loss when scoring first was Sporting’s 2-1 comeback win on Sept. 2 at Children’s Mercy Park.
- In all competitions, St. Louis is 11-0-1 when leading at halftime this season and 0-7-1 when trailing at halftime.
- In MLS matches, St. Louis has conceded 29 of its 49 goals after the 60th minute (59.2%). The team has a +16 goal differential in the first 60 minutes and a -2 goal differential after the 60th minute (including playoffs).
- According to Opta, St. Louis outperformed its expected goal differential by 25.48 goals during the regular season, the largest such margin in MLS and at least 10 goals more than any other team.
- According to Opta, St. Louis outperformed its expected goal total by 19.12 during the regular season, the most in MLS (62 goals, 42.88 expected goals).
- In all competitions this season, St. Louis has scored 57 goals in its 18 wins at an average of 3.17 goals per game. The team has scored just 13 goals in the 21 games it has failed to win (16 losses, five draws) at a clip of 0.62 per game.
- St. Louis finished the regular season with five draws, tied for the fewest in MLS.
- During the regular season, St. Louis ranked last in MLS in average possession (44.0%) and passes per game (352) while ranking second-to-last in successful passes per game (259) and passing accuracy (74.3%).
- St. Louis ranked second in MLS with 14.2 fouls committed per match during the regular season. The team’s discrepancy between fouls committed (481) and fouls suffered (356) was the largest in MLS (125) by a margin of 28 fouls.
- Forward Joao Klauss is tied for the team lead with 10 goals in all competitions despite missing almost half the season due to injury. Klauss has 14 goal contributions (10 goals, four assists) with starts in 15 of 20 total appearances.
- Forward and Kansas City native Niko Gioacchini is tied for the team lead with 10 goals in all competitions.
- Midfielder Eduard Lowen leads St. Louis in both assists (14) and total goal contributions (20) during the MLS campaign. His 14 assists during the regular season were tied for fourth most in MLS.
- During the regular season, Goalkeeper Roman Burki ranked second in MLS in both wins (17) and saves (123).
- Defender Tim Parker has a career-high five goals in 30 MLS matches this season (including playoffs) after scoring just four goals in his first 228 MLS appearances from 2015-2022.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Sporting are two shy of 50 home goals scored in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Manager Peter Vermes is tied with Bob Bradley for third in MLS history with 11 playoff appearances as a head coach. His 18 combined MLS playoff appearances as a player and coach are most in league history.
- Midfielder Remi Walter is one shy of his 100th appearance for Sporting in MLS competitions.
- Defender Logan Ndenbe is one shy of his 50th appearance for Sporting in all competitions.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia boasts a perfect 7-0 record in penalty shootouts during his professional career, including a 5-0 mark at Sporting.
- Forward Daniel Salloi is tied for fifth in club history with 93 goal contributions (57 goals, 36 assists) in all competitions, one shy of passing Benny Feilhaber for sole possession of fifth place.
- Midfielder Roger Espinoza is tied with Matt McKeon for fifth in club history with 19 games played in the MLS Cup Playoffs, one shy of tying Graham Zusi and Preki for third.
- Defender Graham Zusi is tied for third in club history with 20 playoff appearances, one shy of passing Preki for sole possession of third place behind Kerry Zavagnin and Nick Garcia (23 games each).
