By the Numbers presented by Compass Minerals

By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvCOL

Saad Abdul Salaam - Sporting KC vs Colorado Rapids - October 21, 2015
By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvCOL -

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Sporting Kansas City (4-1-0, 12 points) and the Colorado Rapids (2-2-1, 7 points) square off Wednesday at Children's Mercy Park on the 20th anniversary of their inaugural MLS match in 1996. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT with three hours of live television coverage on 38 The Spot and SKCTV beginning at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets for the commemorative match are available via Ticketmaster.com.
Wednesday marks the 70th meeting between Sporting KC and Colorado in all competitions, making the Rapids the most frequent opponent in Kansas City history. We take a statistical look at the Western Conference tilt in our By The Numbers preview...

Head-to-head


  • Sporting KC held an 11-game unbeaten streak against the Rapids between 2009-2015, but the Rapids won each of the last two fixtures last year, including a 2-0 result at Children's Mercy Park on Oct. 21.
  • Sporting KC owns an 18-4-5 regular season record against the Rapids and has just one loss in their last 16 home fixtures against Colorado in all competitions (11-1-4 record).
  • The last time the teams met in October, Colorado snapped a 15-game winless run in Kansas City dating back to 2002.
  • Sporting KC and Colorado met on two other occasions in 2015, with SKC earning a 2-0 home win on June 27 and the Rapids winning 2-1 in Colorado on Aug. 29.
  • Sporting KC leads the all-time series 29-24-16 (all competitions), including a 23-19-13 mark in the regular season.
  • Graham Zusi has three goals and four assists in 12 MLS matches against Colorado (including playoffs).
  • Benny Feilhaber has scored three goals in eight regular season appearances against Colorado.
  • Colorado goalkeeper Zac MacMath is 5-3-2 vs. Sporting KC in the regular season, including a 3-0-1 record in his last four games at Children's Mercy Park.


Colorado Rapids


  • 2016 MLS record: 2-2-1, 7 points (6th in West)
  • 2016 MLS road record: 0-2-1 (1 GF, 3 GA)
  • Colorado has allowed three goals, tied with SKC for fewest in MLS, but also ranks last with just three goals scored.
  • In each of Colorado's five games in 2016, neither team has scored more than one goal.
  • Colorado's 36 regular season goals since the start of 2015 are 11 fewer than any other team.
  • Colorado leads MLS with 14 yellow cards but is one of eight teams yet to receive a red card.
  • Marco Pappa has scored (one) or assisted (two) in all three Colorado goals this season.


Sporting Kansas City


  • 2016 MLS record: 4-1-0, 12 points (1st in West)
  • 2016 MLS home record: 2-1-0 (4 GF, 3 GA)
  • SKC's three goals allowed are tied for their second fewest through five games in club history (allowed one through five games in 2012).
  • SKC (4-1-0) is off to its third best five-game start in club history, behind the Open Cup-winning 2012 campaign (5-0-0) and the MLS Cup-winning 2000 season (4-0-1).
  • Tim Melia leads MLS in wins (four), shutouts (three), save percentage (87.5), and goals against average (0.60).
  • Dom Dwyer is one of five MLS players with at least three goals and two assists (Joao Plata, Will Bruin, Ignacio Piatti, Sebastian Giovinco).
  • Dwyer and Graham Zusi lead MLS with two game-winning assists each. No other player has more than one.
  • If Benny Feilhaber scores on Wednesday, it will be the first time in his MLS career that he has scored in three straight games.


Milestones and Miscellany


  • Wednesday's game marks the 20th anniversary of Kansas City's inaugural match, a 3-0 win over Colorado on April 13, 1996, at Arrowhead Stadium.
  • Dom Dwyer has 39 regular season goals, one shy of passing Chris Klein for sole possession of fourth place in club history.
  • Graham Zusi has 24 game-winning assists in MLS (including playoffs), one shy of passing Preki for sole possession of first place in club history.


Team stats (2016 regular season)


MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)

<strong>Category (per game)</strong>
<strong>Sporting KC</strong>
<b>Colorado</b>
Goals scored
1.4&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-6th)</span>
0.6&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-19th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span>
Goals conceded
0.6&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-1st</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span>
0.6&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-1st)</span>
Shots
10.4&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(18</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">h)</span>
15.4&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(6th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span>
Passing accuracy
78.8%&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(6th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span>
76.6%&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(9th)</span>
Possession
54.2%&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(5</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span>
52.0%&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(7</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span>
Tackles
17.6&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(18th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span>
22.0&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(7th)</span>
Interceptions
16.6&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(19th)</span>
20.4&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(10th)</span>
Fouls committed
<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">12.6&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px; font-size: 10px;">(12th)</span>
<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">17.0&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px; font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span>
Shots faced
13.0&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(10th)</span>
11.4&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10px;">(4th)</span>

Recent #SKCvCOL regular season


  • Regular season record vs. Colorado: 23-19-13
  • Regular season home record vs. Colorado: 18-4-5 (57 GF, 27 GA)
<strong>Date</strong>
<strong>Result</strong>
<strong>Stadium</strong>
<strong>Details</strong>
03/29/2014
W 3-2
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Zusi tallies goal and 2 assists; Feilhaber and Dwyer score
06/27/2014
W 2-0
Children's Mercy Park
Myers assists Nemeth; Feilhaber cross leads to own goal
08/29/2015
L 1-2
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Dwyer opens scoring; Kevin Doyle wins it in 76th minute
10/21/2015
L 0-2
Children's Mercy Park
Dillon Powers and Marcelo Sarvas score late