Four days after conjuring a remarkable 4-3 comeback victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Sporting Kansas City is back in action Wednesday as the San Jose Earthquakes visit Sporting Park. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and tickets remain available via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL. KMCI-TV 38 The Spot and SKCTV will provide live telecasts, while local listeners can catch the action on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
Western Conference foes from 1996-2004, Sporting Kansas City and San Jose become more frequent acquaintances again in 2015. The Earthquakes are on a four-game road losing streak in MLS and have lost on each of their previous 10 visits to Kansas City in all competitions dating back to 2004. We take a closer look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...
Head-to-head
- Sporting KC and San Jose are set for their 50th all-time regular season meeting on Wednesday, having split the series 21-21-7 since 1996.
- The sides last met in March 2014 when a Dom Dwyer penalty kick gave Sporting KC a 1-0 win at Sporting Park.
- Sporting KC has a perfect 3-0-0 record at Sporing Park against San Jose, including the club's first ever win at the stadium in June 2011.
- Sporting KC has won 10 straight home games against San Jose dating back to 2004 (8-0-0 in regular season), outscoring the Earthquakes 19-4 with seven clean sheets during that stretch.
- San Jose hasn't won in Kansas City since Aug. 14, 2004, when Landon Donovan scored twice in a 2-0 result at Arrowhead Stadium.
- The home side in the Kansas City-San Jose series is unbeaten in 18 straight meetings across all competitions dating back to August 2004 (16-0-2 record).
- Chris Wondolowski has five goals in eight regular season appearances against Sporting KC, most recently scoring in the fixture during a 1-0 win in August 2013 at Buck Shaw Stadium.
- Of the previous 49 regular season matches between the clubs, 36 were played from 1996-2004 when they met four times a year in the West.
Sporting KC
- 2015 MLS record: 11-4-7, 40 points (3rd in West)
- 2015 MLS home record: 8-0-4 (23 GF, 10 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 3-1-1, 10 points (W-L-T-W-W)
- SKC is third in the Western Conference with 40 points but leads MLS with 1.82 points per game.
- SKC is second in MLS with 1.68 goals per game and has reached the four-goal mark on four separate occasions this season.
- SKC leads MLS with 14 headed goals, five more than any other team. In nine of the previous 10 MLS seasons, the team that finished with the most headed goals went on to win the Supporters' Shield and/or MLS Cup.
- SKC has lost just once in four MLS matches when trailing at halftime this season (2-1-1).
- Benny Feilhaber has scored or assisted in 13 of Sporting KC's previous 14 games.
- Kevin Ellis and Dom Dwyer, both listed at 5-foot-9, are tied for third in MLS with three headed goals. Ellis' three goals are tied for the lead among MLS defenders.
- Sporting KC is 5-4-1 when conceding the first goal across all competitions this season. The team had four victories in that category in the previous two seasons combined.
San Jose Earthquakes
- 2015 MLS record: 8-10-5, 29 points (8th in West)
- 2015 MLS road record: 3-8-2 (14 GF, 23 GA)
- Last five MLS matches: 1-3-1, 4 points (L-L-T-L-W)
- San Jose snapped a seven-game winless run (0-6-1) in all competitions with a 1-0 league win over the Colorado Rapids last Friday.
- Since joining San Jose in late June, Quincy Amarikwa has four goals in six games and has now scored or assisted on San Jose's last five goals.
- Matias Perez Garcia has six assists in his last 11 MLS matches and is tied for the league lead with four game-winning assists.
- Perez Garcia leads MLS with 64 fouls suffered. He ranks second with 27 chances created from set plays and fourth with 52 total chances created.
- David Bingham ranks second in MLS with 80 saves and tied for fourth with six shutouts.
- Chris Wondolowski has scored 95 regular season goals since 2010, the most by any player over a six-year span in MLS history. His nine goals in 2015 lead the team and rank eighth in MLS.
- San Jose ranks last in MLS in average possession (45.7%), passing accuracy (74.0%) and successful passes per game (261).
- Since 2000, San Jose is 108-4-23 when leading at halftime.
Milestones and miscellany
- Sporting KC is currently riding a club-record 16-game home unbeaten streak in all competitions. The team is also unbeaten in 12 straight MLS home matches (8-0-4), also an all-time best.
- Matt Besler is one shy of his 200th career start for Sporting KC in all competitions.
- Dom Dwyer is tied with Kei Kamara for fifth in club history with 41 goals across all competitions.
Team stats (2015 regular season)
MLS rank in parenthesis (Opta stats as of Aug. 18, 2015)
<strong>Category (per game)</strong> |
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<b>San Jose</b> |
Goals scored |
1.68 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
1.04 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-18</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Goals conceded |
1.14 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(7th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
1.26 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-10th)</span> |
Shots |
12.5 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">h)</span> |
11.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(16</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Shooting accuracy |
41.5% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(17</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
42.6% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(16th)</span> |
Assists |
1.91 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
0.91 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(t-17th)</span> |
Chances created |
10.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(6th)</span> |
8.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(16</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Crosses/corners |
16.5 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(17</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">h</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
20.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(8th)</span> |
Fouls committed |
14.3 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">st)</span> |
13.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(11th</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
Fouls suffered |
11.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(18th)</span> |
12.9 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(th)</span> |
Successful passes |
278 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(18</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
261 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(20</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Passing accuracy |
74.1% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(18</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
74.0% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(20th)</span> |
Possession |
49.7% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
45.7% <span style="font-size: 10px;">(20</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Tackles won |
18.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">)</span> |
15.3 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(10th)</span> |
Duels won |
57.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(2nd)</span> |
53.8 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(4</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Interceptions |
26.2 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
17.1 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(14th)</span> |
Shots faced |
9.7 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(1st)</span> |
12.4 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(12th)</span> |
Saves |
2.8 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(11</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
3.5 <span style="font-size: 10px;">(4</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">th)</span> |
Recent #SKCvSJ regular season meetings
- Regular season record vs. San Jose: 21-21-7 (59 GF, 58 GA)
- Regular season home record: 17-7-1 (3-0-0 at Sporting Park)
<strong>Date</strong> |
<b>Result</b> |
<strong>Location<br><span style="font-size:10px;">(Scorers)</span></strong> |
6/17/11 |
W 1-0 |
Sporting Park<br><span style="font-size:10px;">(Sapong 31)</span> |
10/1/11 |
T 1-1 |
Buch Shaw Stadium<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(Bunbury 85 -- Wondolowski 85)</span> |
5/27/12 |
W 2-1 |
Sporting Park<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(Sapong 5, Kamara 39 -- Dawkins 72)</span> |
8/18/13 |
L 0-1 |
Buch Shaw Stadium<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(Wondolowski 55)</span> |
3/22/14 |
W 1-0 |
Sporting Park<br><span style="font-size: 10px;">(Dwyer 57)</span> |
