Sporting Kansas City may have fallen short in the MLS Cup Playoffs, but not before the club brought home another major trophy in 2015. The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship highlighted a fifth consecutive winning campaign that saw the team, its coach and its players reach new heights.We provide a numerical recap of 2015 with our final edition of By The Numbers...
1 - Only one Major League Soccer team — Sporting Kansas City — has won three major trophies since 2012.
2 -Benny Feilhaber was one of two MLS players (Sebastian Giovinco) to reach double digits in goals (10) and assists (15) in the regular season.
3 - Sporting KC won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the third time in club history with a penalty shootout victory over the Philadelphia Union on Sept. 30.
4 -Kevin Ellis scored four regular season goals, the most by an MLS defender in 2015 and the most by a defender in a single regular season during the Opta era (2011-present). Ellis scored a fifth goal in the Western Conference Knockout Round.
5 - Sporting KC advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a fifth straight season, tying the longest streak in club history (2000-2004).
6 - Soni Mustivar led MLS with more than six interceptions per 90 minutes played in the regular season.
7 -Matt Besler has climbed to seventh in Sporting KC history in career appearances (219), starts and minutes played (19,205) across all competitions.
8 -Peter Vermes has climbed to eighth in MLS history with 90 regular season coaching wins. He began the year in 14th place with 76.
9 -Tim Melia recorded nine shutouts across all competitions, including seven in his first 11 appearances.
10 - For the 10th time in MLS history, three players from the same team reached double-digit goals in the same regular season. Dom Dwyer (12), Krisztian Nemeth (10) and Benny Feilhaber (10) became the first Kansas City trio to ever accomplish the feat.
11 -Matt Besler and Graham Zusi moved into a tie for 11th place in club history with their 12th career postseason appearances last Thursday.
12 - Sporting KC led MLS with 12 assists from set plays during the regular season.
13 -Peter Vermes has a 13-4-2 career coaching record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
14 - Sporting KC won 14 home games across all competitions (14-2-5), tying the club record.
15 -Tim Melia won 15 games across all competitions, compiling a 15-8-6 record during a breakout season that saw him make six appearances on the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week.
16 - Sporting Club announced last month that 2016 will be the inaugural season for the Swope Park Rangers, a new professional soccer team that will play at Swope Soccer Village in the United Soccer League (USL).
17 - At 17 years of age, Erik Palmer-Brown became the youngest player in club history to play a regular season home game in March.
18 - Sporting KC have won at least 18 games in all competitions every year since 2011.
19 -Graham Zusi has climbed to second in club history with 19 game-winning assists in the regular season, four shy of Preki’s all-time record.
20 -Benny Feilhaber set a club record with 20 assists in all competitions.
21 - Sporting KC players combined for 21 international appearances at the senior team level in 2015 (Marcel de Jong 8, Krisztian Nemeth 6, Graham Zusi 4, Matt Besler 3).
22 - At 22 years of age, Jon Kempin became the youngest goalkeeper in Kansas City history to appear in a playoff game, making three saves in the penalty shootout against Portland.
23 -Krisztian Nemeth notched 23 combined goals (16) and assists (7), the most by a Sporting KC newcomer since the inaugural 1996 season.
26 - Sporting KC led MLS with more than 26 interceptions per game during the regular season.
27 -Kevin Ellis set a career-high with 27 regular season appearances, the most by a homegrown player in club history.
28 - Twenty-eight different players started a regular season match for Sporting KC, tied for the most among all MLS teams.
30 - Sporting KC’s three rookie draft selections — Saad Abdul-Salam, Amadou Dia and Connor Hallisey — combined for 30 MLS starts (including playoffs), more than any other team.
32 -Benny Feilhaber notched 32 combined goals (12) and assists (20), the second most in club history behind Preki in 1996.
34 -Dom Dwyer’s 34 regular season goals since 2014 are the most over a two-year span in team history.
36 -Benny Feilhaber started 36 matches in all competitions for the second straight year, making his 72 starts since 2014 the most on the team.
38 -Matt Besler started a career-high 38 matches for Sporting KC across all competitions, the most on the team.
42 - Sporting KC scored 42 home goals in all competitions, the second most in club history behind the inaugural 1996 campaign.
45 -Dom Dwyer’s 45 career goals in all competitions are fourth most in Sporting KC history. In addition, his 0.45 career goals per game (regular season) top the club’s all-time chart.
48 - Sporting KC scored 48 regular season goals for the second straight year.
49 -Graham Zusi is tied for fourth in MLS with 49 assists since 2011 (including postseason).
50 - In last Thursday’s penalty shootout loss at Portland, Graham Zusi recorded the 50th MLS assist of his Sporting KC career (including postseason), taking sole possession of second place in club history.
56 - Sporting KC’s three rookie draft selections — Saad Abdul-Salam, Amadou Dia and Connor Hallisey — combined for 56 regular season appearances, setting a new club record for games played by first-year draft picks.
64 - Sporting KC scored 64 goals across all competitions, the second most in team history behind the inaugural 1996 campaign.
70 - Sporting Park has sold out 70 straight MLS matches dating back to 2012.
