By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvATX | June 12, 2021

"By The Numbers" is a season-long series presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
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9,466  The number of unbuckled passengers killed in a vehicle crash in the United States in 2019.

The lone MLS match of the weekend will unfold Saturday at 2 p.m. CT when high-flying Sporting Kansas City (5-2-1, 16 points) hosts expansion club Austin FC (2-4-1, 7 points) at Children’s Mercy Park. Tickets for the Western Conference clash are available at SeatGeek.com as Sporting looks to jump atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with a fourth successive win.

Saturday’s showdown will air live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus and Bally Sports Midwest Plus in addition to streaming on BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app, with three hours of programming set to begin at 1:30 p.m. CT. Listeners can also catch the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

With first place on the line for Manager Peter Vermes’ men, we take a statistical look at the matchup in our newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Head-to-Head

• The inaugural meeting between the clubs saw Sporting earn a 2-1 comeback win on May 9 at Children's Mercy Park.
• In the first meeting, Sporting erased an early deficit as Ilie Sanchez equalized in the 82nd minute and Gadi Kinda scored a 90th-minute winner. It marked the seventh time in club history that Sporting had come from behind after the 80th minute to win a regular season match.
• Forward Jon Gallagher scored Austin's goal in their 2-1 loss to Sporting, assisted by midfielder Jared Stroud.
• In the first meeting, captain Johnny Russell created eight scoring chances—the most by a Sporting player in a regular season match since Opta began tracking the statistic in 2010.
• In the first meeting, Sporting had eight big scoring chances per Opta—the club's most ever in an MLS regular season match.

Austin FC

• MLS record:3-2-2, 11 points
• MLS standings: 4th in West
• MLS away record: 0-2-1 (3 GF, 6 GA)
• Last five matches: 2-1-2 (T-T-W-L-W)
• Last match: Won 2-1 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC on May 22
• Austin ranks second-to-last in MLS with 0.71 goals per game.
• Austin is currently amidst a 353-minute scoreless streak that spans four matches, the second-longest by an MLS team this season (Chicago, 383 minutes).
• Austin's last goal came in the seventh minute of a 2-1 loss to Sporting on May 9.
• Austin will play their last of eight straight regular season matches on the road this weekend before opening the new Q2 Stadium by hosting the San Jose Earthquakes on June 19.
• Austin's 17.9 shots faced per game are the second-most in MLS.
• Austin have yet to concede in the first 30 minutes of a match this season.
• Austin have conceded four of their eight goals after the 75th minute, the second-most in MLS.
• Austin ranks third in MLS with 83.9% passing accuracy.
• Goalkeeper Brad Stuver ranks third in MLS with 29 saves.
• Forward Cecilio Dominguez and midfielder Diego Fagundez have accounted for four of Austin's five goals, scoring twice each.
• Five different players have recorded assists on Austin's five goals. Jared Stroud has two, while Zan Kolmanic, Jon Gallagher, Rodney Redes and Danny Hoesen have one each.
• Defender Zan Kolmanic leads Austin with 10 chances created
• Midfielder Alex Ring ranks fifth in MLS with 16 tackles won and also leads Austin in duels won (45), passes (445) and passes completed (373).

Sporting Kansas City

• MLS record:5-2-1, 16 points
• MLS standings: 2nd in West
• MLS home record: 3-0-1 (9 GF, 4 GA)
• Last five matches: 4-1-0 (W-L-W-W-W)
• Last match: Won 3-2 vs. Houston Dynamo FC on May 29
• Sporting lead MLS with 15 goals scored and 1.88 goals per game.
• Sporting lead MLS this season with 12 points and four wins from losing positions. No other club has more than four points and one win from losing positions in 2021.
• Sporting have scored three goals in three straight regular season matches for the first time in club history.
• Sporting have won three straight matches and will look for their first four-game winning streak in the regular season since August 2018.
• Sporting have scored in 19 straight regular season home matches dating back to Aug. 10, 2019, one shy of tying the club record.
• Sporting lead MLS with 19 big chances this season.
• Sporting rank last in MLS with 9.6 fouls committed per game.
• Sporting are the only MLS team to have three players with at least three goals this season. Alan Pulido has five, while Gadi Kinda and Daniel Salloi have three apiece. Pulido is set to miss Saturday's match while on international duty with Mexico.
• Forward Daniel Salloi has three goals and two assists in eight appearances this season after recording one goal and one assist in the previous two seasons combined. He ranks second in MLS in both expected goals (3.68) and touches in the opponent's box (44).
• In a 3-2 win over Houston on May 29, midfielder Gianluca Busio became the youngest MLS player to score a direct free kick since the dawn of the Opta era in 2010 (19 years, 1 day).
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has won six straight regular season matches dating back to October 2020, the second-most in club history during the non-shootout era (since 2000).
• Defender Andreu Fontas leads MLS in passes (576) and passes completed (511) while ranking third in touches (657).
• Defender Luis Martins is the only Sporting player to play all 720 minutes this season. He ranks fourth in MLS with 36 crosses from open play.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Defender Graham Zusi is one shy of his 349th appearance for Sporting in all competitions, which would pass Matt Besler for the most in club history.
• Manager Peter Vermes will coach his 450th match for Sporting in all competitions on Saturday.
• Sporting is one shy of its 150th MLS sellout at Children’s Mercy Park (regular season and playoffs).
• Sporting has 327 regular season wins all-time, one shy of tying FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls for second-most in MLS history.

Team Stats (2021 regular season)

(Source: Opta; MLS rank in parenthesis)