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Just three days removed from a 3-0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC, first-place Sporting Kansas City (6-2-4, 22 points) ventures north of the border to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC (4-5-1, 13 points) at BC Place. The Western Conference tilt will kick off at 6 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, ESPN 99.3 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
Manager Peter Vermes' men have lost just one of 10 regular season meetings with the Whitecaps, who finally return to BC place after a four-game road trip. We take a statistical look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...
Head-to-head
- Sporting KC is 6-1-3 all-time against Vancouver, including a 2-1-2 record away from home.
- Sporting KC is 4-0-1 in its last five meetings with Vancouver, outscoring the Whitecaps 10-5 during that stretch.
- Sporting KC notched two wins and a draw in the 2016 series, earning a pair of 2-0 wins at Children's Mercy Park and a 1-1 draw at BC Place.
- Vancouver's lone win in the series came on Aug. 10, 2014, a 2-0 result at BC Place.
- Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer has three goals in his last four regular season appearances against Vancouver.
- Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia owns a 3-0-0 regular season record against Vancouver.
- Vancouver defender Brek Shea has one goal and five assists in six regular season appearances against Sporting KC.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- 2017 MLS record: 4-5-1, 13 points (6th in West)
- 2017 MLS home record: 2-1-1 (6 GF, 5 GA)
- Last five games: 3-2-0, 9 points (W-L-W-W-L)
- Last MLS match: L 2-1 at Houston Dynamo on May 12
- Vancouver has won two of its last three matches and returns home Saturday after a four-game road trip. The club hasn't played at BC Place since April 14.
- Vancouver is last in MLS with a shooting accuracy of 35.2 percent and second-to-last with 3.2 shots on target per game.
- Vancouver's 43.3 percent average possession ranks 20th in MLS.
- Vancouver has faced 14.5 shots per game, second-most in MLS.
- Defender Kendall Waston is tied for second in MLS with 67 clearances, including a league-best 44 headed clearances, and tied for third with 11 blocks.
Sporting KC
- 2017 MLS record: 6-2-4, 22 points (1st in West)
- 2017 MLS road record: 1-2-3 (3 GF, 5 GA)
- Last five games: 3-1-1, 10 points (W-W-L-T-W)
- Last MLS match: W 3-0 vs. Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday
- Sporting KC is 26-8-11 all-time against Canadian clubs in the MLS regular season (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver). This includes a solid 10-5-8 record on Canadian soil.
- Sporting KC leads MLS with seven shoutouts and boasts a league-low 0.58 goals against average.
- Sporting KC ranks second with 13.8 shots per game while allowing just 8.9 shots per game, the fewest in MLS.
- Sporting KC leads MLS with 107 chances created from open play through 12 games.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia leads MLS with an 83.7 save percentage, according to Opta.
- Midfielder Benny Feilhaber is second in MLS with 3.1 chances created per game (minimum two games played).
- Forward Dom Dwyer is tied for second in MLS with 18 shots on target.
- Forward Gerso ranks third in MLS in with 66 touches in the opponent's box and fifth in shooting accuracy (69.2%) among players with at least 20 shot attempts.
- Midfielder Ilie leads MLS with 888 passes and ranks sixth with 76 duels won.
- Graham Zusi leads MLS defenders with 21 chances created, eight more than any other defender.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Dom Dwyer is one shy of his 125th regular season appearance for Sporting KC.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia is one shy of equaling his single-season career-high of eight shutouts.
Team stats (2017 regular season)
MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)
<strong>Category (per game)</strong> |
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<b>Vancouver</b> |
Goals scored |
1.33 (14th) |
1.30 (t-15th) |
Goals conceded |
0.58 (1st) |
1.60 (t-16th) |
Shots |
13.8 (2nd) |
11.4 (16th) |
Shots on goal |
5.2 (3rd) |
3.2 (21st) |
Shooting accuracy |
49.6 (7th) |
35.2 (22nd) |
Passing accuracy |
82.0 (2nd) |
73.6 (19th) |
Possession |
56.6 (3rd) |
43.3 (20th) |
Duels won |
51.0 (t-9th) |
50.7 (11th) |
Tackles won |
12.2 (20th) |
12.8 (16th) |
Interceptions |
12.5 (18th) |
12.9 (13th) |
Fouls committed |
10.6 (20th) |
12.1 (14th) |
Fouls suffered |
12.1 (8th) |
12.6 (6th) |
Shots faced |
8.9 (1st) |
14.5 (21st) |
Recent #VANvSKC meetings (regular season)
- Regular season record vs. Vancouver: 6-1-3 (19 GF, 13 GA)
- Regular season road record at Vancouver: 2-1-2 (8 GF, 7 GA)
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
<strong>Home/Away</strong> |
<strong>Details</strong> |
07/12/2015 |
W 1-0 |
A |
Kevin Ellis scores in 52nd minute;<br>
Soni Mustivar makes 20 interceptions |
08/15/2015 |
W 4-3 |
H |
Sporting KC scores in 81st, 87th and 94th<br>
minutes to notch epic comeback |
03/12/2016 |
W 2-1 |
H |
Dom Dwyer notches first-half brace;<br>
Pedro Morales bags penalty kick |
04/27/2016 |
T 1-1 |
A |
Christian Bolanos scores opener in 14th;<br>
Diego Rubio equalizes in 27th |
08/20/2016 |
W 2-0 |
H |
Benny Feilhaber records goal and assist |
