By The Numbers presented by KDOT: #SKCvSEA

"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

1 in 4   The number of fatal motor vehicle crashes in which teen drivers had alcohol in their system.

Be safe and designated sober driver - Download the zTrip App

A mouthwatering Western Conference clash is on tap Wednesday as Sporting Kansas City (5-2-4, 19 points) puts its club-record 14-game home unbeaten streak on the line against defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC (2-4-4, 10 points) at Children's Mercy Park. The highly anticipated Retro Night match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

Sporting Kansas City has the opportunity to move atop the Western Conference standings with a victory, while the Sounders will hope to snap a three-game winless skid that has the reigning champs on the wrong side of the red line. It should be noted that Wednesday's fixture is a rematch of the 2016 Western Conference Knockout Round battle, where Seattle prevailed by the slimmest and most controversial of margins. We offer a statistical look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...

Head-to-head

• Since the start of 2015, Sporting KC is 3-0-2 against Seattle in the regular season with four shutouts. This includes a 1-0 road victory and a 3-0 home win in 2016.
• Before 2015, Sporting KC had just one win in its first nine regular season meetings with Seattle (1-7-1).
• Prior to Sporting KC's 3-0 win last July, the first 13 MLS meetings between the clubs had been decided by a goal or less.
• In 14 regular season meetings, Sporting KC and Seattle have combined for more than three goals just once, when the Sounders won 3-2 at Kansas City in October 2009.
• Five of the last seven regular season meetings have produced a goal or less.
• In the regular season series, Seattle has scored eight of its 13 goals against Sporting KC after the 75th minute. In 10 games between 2010 and 2014, Seattle stunned Kansas City with five game-winning goals in second-half stoppage time.
• In four MLS appearances vs. Seattle, Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia is 3-0-1 with zero goals allowed.
• Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer has three goals in five regular season appearances vs. Seattle, including a brace in the 3-0 victory last July.
• The clubs last met in the 2016 Western Conference Knockout Round at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, when the Sounders emerged 1-0 victors thanks to an 88th-minute header from Nelson Valdez.

Seattle Sounders FC

• 2017 MLS record: 2-4-4, 10 points (9th in West)
• 2017 MLS road record: 1-3-2 (9 GF, 11 GA)
• Last five games: 1-3-1, 4 points (L-W-D-L-L)
• Last MLS match: L 4-1 at Chicago Fire on Saturday
• Seattle leads MLS in shots per game (15) but just 18th in shots on target per game (4.0).
• Seattle leads MLS in passing accuracy (83.3%) while ranking third in average possession (58.1%).
• Seattle's 8.9 fouls committed per game are the fewest in MLS, while their 13.6 fouls suffered per game are second-most in the league.
• Defender Joevin Jones, suspended for Wednesday's game in Kansas City, is tied for third in MLS with five assists.
• Forward Clint Dempsey is second in MLS with 42 shot attempts, but his 32.6 percent shooting accuracy is second-worst among players with at least 20 shots.
• Midfielder Cristian Roldan is third in MLS in duels won (80) and second in tackles won (28).
• Midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro has scored (3) or assisted (4) in seven of Seattle's 16 goals this season. He ranks sixth in MLS with 25 chances created.
• Dempsey and Lodeiro have hit the woodwork four times each in 2017, more than any other MLS player.

 Sporting KC

• 2017 MLS record: 5-2-4, 19 points (2nd in West)
• 2017 MLS home record: 4-0-1 (10 GF, 2 GA)
• Last five games: 2-2-1, 7 points (L-W-W-L-T)
• Last MLS match: T 2-2 at Orlando City SC on Saturday
• Sporting KC is in the midst of a club-record 14-game home unbeaten streak in the MLS regular season, the longest active run in MLS. The streak includes 11 wins, three draws and eight shutouts.
• Sporting KC leads MLS with six shoutouts and boasts a league-low 0.64 goals against average.
• Sporting KC ranks second with 14 shots per game while allowing just 8.8 shots per game, the fewest in MLS.
• Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is second in MLS with 2.89 chances created per game (minimum two games played).
• Forward Dom Dwyer is tied for second in MLS with 17 shots on target. He leads the league in fouls committed (26) and ranks third in fouls suffered (28).
• Forward Gerso ranks fourth in MLS in touches in the opponent's box (57) and shooting accuracy (70%) among players with at least 20 shot attempts.
• Midfielder Ilie is third in MLS with 806 passes and ranks seventh with 73 duels won.
• Graham Zusi leads MLS defenders with 20 chances created, seven more than any other defender.

Milestones and Miscellany

• Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is one shy of his 50th career assist in the MLS regular season.
• Defender Ike Opara is one shy of his 50th regular season start for Sporting KC.
• Goalkeeper Tim Melia has 22 regular season shutouts for Sporting KC, one shy of passing Kevin Hartman and Bo Oshoniyi for sole possession of third place in club history.
• Midfielder Soni Mustivar is four shy of 5,000 minutes played for Sporting KC in all competitions.

Team stats (2017 regular season)

MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)

Recent #SKCvSEA meetings

• Regular season record vs. Seattle: 4-7-3 (12 GF, 13 GA)
• Regular season home record vs. Seattle: 2-4-1 (9 GF, 9 GA)

*Western Conference Knockout Round