By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvCOL | June 23, 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.
Traffic Safety... By The Numbers - Visit the Drive to Zero Coalition for more information

50  The recurring interval of minutes someone was killed due to drunk driving in the U.S. in 2018.

A marquee Western Conference showdown beckons Wednesday as second-place Sporting Kansas City (5-3-2, 17 points) hosts the third-place Colorado Rapids (5-2-1, 16 points) at Children's Mercy Park. 

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. CT matchup are available at SeatGeek.com as the club inducts former captain and goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen into the Sporting Legends hall of honor. Additionally, SportingStyle locations inside the stadium will debut the new Negro Leagues Baseball Museum capsule collection and all vaccinated fans will enjoy 30% off merchandise purchases (some exclusions apply). Fans can also catch the action on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the new Bally Sports app as well as Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

As both clubs prepare to continue their pushes for first place in the West, we take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By the Numbers, presented by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Head-to-Head

• Sporting and Colorado have squared off 81 times in all competitions, making the Rapids the most frequent opponent in Kansas City history.
• Sporting holds a narrow advantage with 33 wins, 29 losses and 19 ties, including a 27-24-16 record in the regular season. 
• In 32 regular season home games against Colorado, Sporting are 21-6-5 all-time with 68 goals scored and 33 conceded.
• Sporting went 2-0-1 in three meetings against Colorado last season.
• The clubs last met on Oct. 24, 2020, when Alan Pulido, Gadi Kinda and Andreu Fontas were among the goal scorers in Sporting's 4-0 home win.
• Pulido scored in two of three appearances against Colorado last season, burying a penalty kick in a 3-2 victory on July 17 in the MLS is Back Tournament.
• Sporting went 6-0-5 against Colorado from 2009-2015, but the Rapids have gone 7-4-3 in the series since August 2015.

Colorado Rapids

• MLS record:5-2-1, 16 points
• MLS standings: 3rd in West
• MLS away record: 2-1-1 (4 GF, 2 GA)
• Last five matches: 4-1-0 (W-W-L-W-W)
• Last match: Won 2-0 at FC Cincinnati on June 19
• Colorado have won five of their last six matches after opening the season with a draw and a loss.
• Colorado rank third in MLS with 1.75 goals scored per game.
• Colorado have scored 12 goals in their last five matches, going 4-1-0 during that stretch.
• Colorado have won by multiple goals in three matches this season, tied for the most in MLS.
• Colorado have conceded just two goals in four road matches this season, posting a 2-1-1 record.
• Colorado lead MLS with eight first-half goals this season.
• Colorado rank third in MLS with a shot conversion rate of 13.7%.
• Forward Diego Rubio is tied for the MLS lead with three game-winning goals. He also ranks fourth in the league with five big chances created.
• Midfielder Jack Price is tied for third in MLS with four assists. He is also tied for eighth in the league with 20 chances created.
• Goalkeeper William Yarbrough ranks second in MLS with four shutouts. His current 237-minute shutout streak is the seventh-longest in MLS this season.
• Midfielder Kellyn Acosta ranks fourth in MLS with 17 tackles won.
• Seven Colorado players have started all eight matches this season: Rubio, Price, Yarbrough, midfielder Michael Barrios and defenders Danny Wilson, Keegan Rosenberry and Auston Trusty.
• Trusty ranks fifth in MLS with 44 clearances.
• Barrios (2 goals, 3 assists) and midfielder Cole Bassett (2 goals, 2 assists) are the two Colorado players with multiple goals and assists this season.

Sporting Kansas City

• MLS record:5-3-2, 17 points
• MLS standings: 2nd in West
• MLS home record: 3-0-2 (10 GF, 5 GA)
• Last five matches: 3-1-1 (W-W-W-T-L)
• Last match: Lost 1-2 at Portland Timbers on June 19
• Sporting lead MLS with 17 goals scored and rank fifth with 1.70 goals per game.
• Sporting lead MLS this season with 13 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 tied a club record by scoring in 20 straight regular season home matches dating back to Aug. 10, 2019.
• In 10 Sporting matches this season, the team that has scored first has won only twice.
• Sporting lead MLS in both shots per game (17.7) and chances created per game (12.4).
• Sporting lead MLS with 27 big chances this season.
• Sporting rank last in MLS with 9.5 fouls committed per game. Similarly, their 9.0 fouls suffered per game are second-fewest in the league.
• Sporting rank second in MLS in passing accuracy (84.8%) and fifth in average possession (55.3%).
• Sporting are one of two MLS teams (NYCFC) to have three players with at least three goals this season. Alan Pulido has five, Daniel Salloi has four and Gadi Kinda has three.
• Pulido (5 goals, 1 assist) and Salloi (4 goals, 2 assists) are tied for fourth in MLS with six combined goals and assists this season.
• Salloi leads MLS with 60 touches in the opponent's box, eight more than any other player.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia is 6-1-1 in his last eight regular season appearances dating back to Oct. 24, 2020.
• On June 12, forward Johnny Russell became the eighth player in Sporting history to record 25 goals and 25 assists in the regular season. He ranks third in MLS with six big chances created.
• Defender Andreu Fontas leads MLS in passes (779), passes completed (703) and touches (881).
• Defender Luis Martins is the only Sporting player to play all 900 minutes this season. He ranks second in MLS with 48 crosses from open play.
• In Saturday's loss at Portland, Jaylin Lindsey became the second defender in club history to score in back-to-back regular season road matches (Aurelien Collin).

Milestones and Miscellany

• Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia is one shy of his 200th start and appearance for the club in all competitions.

Recent #SKCvCOL meetings

• Regular season record vs. Colorado: 27-24-16
• All-competitions record vs. Colorado: 33-29-19

Team Stats (2021 regular season)

(Source: Opta; MLS rank in parenthesis)