By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SJvSKC | Sept. 15, 2018

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series sponsored by The Kansas Department of Transportation, giving a statistical preview of every Sporting KC match.
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Sporting Kansas City (14-7-6, 48 points) continues its push to the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs with a visit to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at Avaya Stadium. The Western Conference clash will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO, with a Spanish radio broadcast airing on ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.

Manager Peter Vermes' men have claimed five shutout wins over their last six games and sit a point behind leaders FC Dallas in the West, while San Jose sits at the basement of the conference as the only MLS team already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Sporting KC has fared well on their recent travels to the state of California, but San Jose has proven to be a tough place for the club to find goals. We take a statistical look at the matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting KC is 4-0-2 in its last six meetings against San Jose in all competitions, including a 3-2 home win on March 17.
• Sporting KC is 1-0-1 in its last two visits to Avaya Stadium after going winless in 18 straight away games at San Jose from 2000-2015.
• Sporting KC is 4-0-2 with four shutouts in the state of California since the start of 2016, including 2-0 wins at LA Galaxy and LAFC this season.
• San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski has scored nine goals in 16 career regular season appearances vs. Sporting KC.
• Since September 2004, the home team in this fixture is 21-2-4 across all competitions.
• Sporting KC has scored just 21 goals in 28 all-time away games at San Jose in the regular season.
• Sporting KC has been shut out in six of their last eight regular season visits to San Jose dating back to 2009.

San Jose Earthquakes

• 2018 MLS record: 4-15-8, 20 points (12th in West)
• 2018 MLS home record: 2-6-5 (22 GF, 27 GA)
• Last MLS match: L 1-2 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sept. 1
• Last five MLS matches: 1-3-1, 4 points (LT-L-W-L)
• San Jose’s two home wins (2-6-5) are two fewer than any other team in MLS.
• San Jose has defeated just two teams this season, owning a pair of victories over both Minnesota United FC and Western Conference leaders FC Dallas.
• San Jose has become the first MLS team to be mathematically eliminated from 2018 playoff contention.
• San Jose has just one shutout in 27 games this season, coming in a 0-0 home draw with Real Salt Lake on July 28.
• San Jose is 2-13 in one-goal games this season. Their 13 one-goal defeats are the most in MLS.
• San Jose leads MLS with 13.4 fouls suffered per game.
• Forward Vako Qazaishvili ranks third in MLS with 102 shots.
• Attacking trio Danny Hoesen (10 goals), Vako Qazaishvili (9 goals) and Chris Wondolowski (8 goals) have combined for 24 of the club’s 41 MLS goals.
• Midfielder Anibal Godoy ranks fourth in MLS with 50 fouls committed, while midfielder Magnus Eriksson ranks second with 73 fouls suffered.

 Sporting KC

• 2018 MLS record: 14-7-6, 48 points (2nd in West)
• 2018 MLS away record: 5-5-3 (19 GF, 19 GA)
• Last MLS match: W 1-0 vs. Orlando City SC on Sept. 8
• Last five MLS matches: 4-1-0, 12 points (W-W-W-L-W)
• Sporting KC has scored 49 regular-season goals in 2018, third most in the Western Conference. The club hasn’t reached 50 regular-season goals since 2011.
• Sporting KC boasts a plus-16 goal differential, the best in the West and third-best in MLS.
• Sporting KC has five shutout wins over their last six MLS matches. They are the only MLS team with five shutout wins over a six-game span this season.
• Sporting KC leads MLS with 12 shutouts, one more than its 2017 regular-season total.
• Sporting KC owns a 5-5-3 away record this season. Their five away wins are as many as their total from 2016 and 2017 combined.
• Sporting KC is a perfect 7-0-0 when leading at halftime this season and 13-2-2 when scoring the first goal.
• Forward Diego Rubio has scored or assisted in a Sporting KC-record seven straight MLS matches. He leads MLS with 1.21 goals per 90 minutes.
• Forward Johnny Russell leads Sporting KC in goals and assists across all competitions with 10 each. He is also tied for the MLS lead with three penalties won.
• Forward Daniel Salloi leads MLS Homegrown Players with 16 combined goals (nine) and assists (seven) in 2018.
• Midfielder Ilie Sanchez leads MLS with 963 passes in the attacking half
• Midfielder Roger Espinoza leads the team with a career-high nine MLS assists.
• Defender Graham Zusi leads MLS defenders with 55 chances created and ranks second in the league in touches (2,444).
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia leads MLS with a career-high 12 shutouts.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting KC is one shy of its 400th away goal in MLS regular season history.

Recent #SJvSKC regular season meetings

• Regular season record vs. San Jose: 25-24-8 (68 GF, 69 GA)
• Regular season away record at San Jose: 5-16-7 (21 GF, 38 GA)

Team stats (2018 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta, as of Sept. 12)