By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #RSLvSKC | Western Conference Semifinal Leg One

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series sponsored by The Kansas Department of Transportation, giving a statistical preview of every Sporting KC match.
Traffic Safety... By The Numbers - Visit the Drive to Zero Coalition for more information

20,817   Lives lost from alcohol-impaired driving in the U.S. from 2015-2016.

A fierce rivalry will rear its head yet again in the Western Conference Semifinals of the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. Top-seeded Sporting Kansas City and No. 6 seed Real Salt Lake are set to meet Sunday at 9 p.m. CT in the first leg of the conference semis at Rio Tinto Stadium, airing live on FS1, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports GO, ESPN 94.5 FM and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.

Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake have already squared off three times this season, both claiming a win and a draw, but Sunday's showdown in Utah—followed by the decisive second leg next Sunday at Children's Mercy Park— will raise the stakes to a level this rivalry hasn't seen since the 2013 MLS Cup. Both sides have reasons to feel confident heading into the conference semifinals, but only one will emerge victorious. Without further ado, let's take a statistical look at the playoff matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting KC is 1-6-5 in its last 12 regular season meetings with RSL since 2014.
• Sunday marks the fourth meeting between Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake this season.
  • Sporting KC eliminated RSL from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-0 fourth-round win on June 6 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
  • In regular season action, Sporting KC took a 4-2 road loss on July 4 before battling RSL to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 30 at Children's Mercy Park.
• Since October 2016, five of the last seven meetings between the clubs in all competitions have been played at Rio Tinto Stadium.
• Sporting KC has a 3-8-3 road record in the regular-season series, including a six-game winless run at Rio Tinto Stadium in MLS play (0-4-2).
• Sporting KC has not won an MLS match at Rio Tinto Stadium since prevailing 2-1 on July 20, 2013, when Opara scored a 97th-minute game-winner.
• The sides also met in the 2013 MLS Cup at Children’s Mercy Park, an epic encounter played amidst freezing conditions that saw Sporting KC prevail 7-6 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw through regulation and extra time.
• Sporting KC defender Ike Opara has scored in three straight regular season appearances against RSL.
• Sporting KC forward Johnny Russell has a goal and three assists in three games against RSL this season.
• RSL forward Corey Baird has scored in two straight regular season appearances against Sporting KC.

Real Salt Lake

• 2018 MLS record: 14-13-7, 49 points (6th in West)
• 2018 MLS home record: 11-2-4 (38 GF, 24 GA)
• Knockout Round: W 3-2 at LAFC on Thursday
• Last five MLS matches: 2-2-1 (T-L-W-L-W)
• All-time playoff record: 8-8-7 (31 GF, 26 GA)
• All-time playoff home record: 5-2-2 (12 GF, 5 GA)
• Best playoff finish: MLS Cup Champions (2009)
• In Thursday's Knockout Round, RSL were outshot 21-4 but prevailed 3-2 over LAFC, handing the expansion club just its second home loss of the season.
• RSL are 11-1-4 in their last 16 MLS home matches at Rio Tinto Stadium.
• RSL were one of two MLS teams to have five players with at least seven regular season goals: Damir Kreilach (12), Albert Rusnak (10), Corey Baird (8), Joao Plata (8) and Jefferson Savarino (7).
• Midfielder Damir Kreilach, who scored twice in RSL's 3-2 win over LAFC, leads the side with 14 MLS goals this season (including playoffs).
• Midfielder Albert Rusnak ranked ninth in MLS with 76 chances created during the regular season.
• Defender Justen Glad ranked second in MLS in interceptions (92) and 10th in clearances (130) during the regular season.
• RSL lead MLS in shooting accuracy (54.0%) and rank third in average possession (55.0%).
• RSL have allowed 31 of their 58 regular season goals after the 60th minute, the second-most conceded over the final half-hour in MLS.

 Sporting KC

• 2018 MLS record:18-8-8, 62 points (1st in West)
• 2018 MLS away record: 8-6-3 (31 GF, 23 GA)
• Knockout Round: Bye
• Last five MLS matches: 3-0-2 (T-T-W-W-W)
• All-time playoff record: 17-20-9 (59 GF, 61 GA)
• All-time playoff away record: 2-17-5 (21 GF, 43 GA)
• Best playoff finish: MLS Cup Champions (2000, 2013)
• Sporting KC has set regular-season club records for goals (65), away goals (31), goal difference (+25), assists (69) and shots (583) while amassing 18 wins and 62 points, both the second-best totals in team history.
• Sporting KC are 2-17-5 away from home in the playoffs, with their lone wins coming in 1996 and 2011. The club is 0-5-2 in its last seven playoff road games.
• Sporting KC has outscored opponents 17-6 over the final 15 minutes of regular season matches, the best margin in MLS.
• Sporting KC is 10-0-0 this season when leading at halftime.
• Sporting KC lead MLS in shots per game (17.2) and chances created per game (13.6) while ranking second in passing accuracy (83.8%) and possession (57.1%).
• Forward Daniel Salloi leads all MLS Homegrown Players this season with 20 combined goals (13) and assists (7). He also tied a club record with six game-winning goals in the regular season.
• Forward Johnny Russell is the fourth player in Sporting KC history to hit double-digit goals (10) and assists (10) in a single regular season.
• Sporting KC are 9-1-3 this season when Russell, Salloi and forward Khiry Shelton start together.
• Midfielder Ilie Sanchez and defender Graham Zusi were two of four MLS field players to play every minute of the regular season (34 games, 3,060 minutes).
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza has reached MLS career-highs with three goals and nine assists.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia finished second in MLS with a career-high 13 shutouts. He has saved an MLS-best six penalty kicks since the start of 2017, two more than any other keeper.

Recent #RSLvSKC meetings (all competitions)

• Regular season record vs. RSL 9-11-8 (35 GF, 37 GA)
• All competitions record vs. RSL: 11-12-9 (42 GF, 41 GA)

Team stats (2018 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)