NOTE: Sporting's July 17 home match against Austin FC will now be played on June 12.
Arguably the most exciting day of the MLS offseason has arrived.
At long last, Sporting Kansas City released its 2021 MLS regular season schedule on Wednesday, allowing players, coaches and fans alike to map out what promises to be a bigger and brighter year ahead.
Certain fixtures may pop out as particularly enticing, but notable stats and storylines surround all 34 games on the docket. We blaze through every match in our rapid-fire rundown below—each in a maximum of 140 characters.
But before we dive in, take note: Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members will have access to an exclusive pre-sale from March 26-30 for tickets to the club’s first four regular season home matches and will receive more information from their Membership Service Executives. Tickets to Sporting’s first four home matches will then go on sale to the general public via SeatGeek.com on Wednesday, March 31.
<strong>DATE</strong> |
<strong>OPPONENT</strong> |
<strong>FAST FACT</strong> |
Saturday, April 17 |
at New York Red Bulls |
With an MLS-record 14 season-opening wins, SKC has never visited RBNY in Week 1. It's the latest regular season start date in team history. |
<b>Friday, April 23</b> |
<strong>ORLANDO CITY SC</strong> |
Sporting are 15-3-7 all-time in MLS home openers, including just one loss in 10 curtain raisers at Children's Mercy Park. |
Saturday, May 1 |
at Real Salt Lake |
Sporting's road win over RSL last November clinched first place in the West and snapped SKC's seven-game winless run at Rio Tinto Stadium. |
<strong>Sunday, May 9</strong> |
<strong>AUSTIN FC</strong> |
This will be a reunion for Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff, assistant Davy Arnaud and defender Matt Besler, all of whom were legendary Sporting players. |
Wednesday, May 12 |
at Houston Dynamo FC |
Three of Sporting striker Alan Pulido's six regular season goals last year came against Houston. |
<strong>Sunday, May 16</strong> |
<strong>VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC</strong> |
Sporting are unbeaten in six straight MLS meetings against Vancouver, going 4-0-2 and outscoring the Whitecaps 17-3. |
Saturday, May 22 |
at San Jose Earthquakes |
San Jose conceded a league-high 51 goals in 23 regular season matches last year. |
<strong>Saturday, May 29</strong> |
<strong>HOUSTON DYNAMO FC</strong> |
Sporting's two home meetings against Houston last season produced a total of 11 goals, including a 4-0 win on March 7, 2020. |
Saturday, June 19 |
at Portland Timbers |
Sporting has shut out Portland in eight of the last 12 regular season meetings between the clubs, going 5-2-5 during that stretch. |
<strong>Wednesday, June 23</strong> |
<strong>COLORADO RAPIDS</strong> |
Sporting and Colorado have squared off 81 times in all competitions, making the Rapids the most frequent opponent in Kansas City history. |
<strong>Saturday, June 26</strong> |
<strong>LAFC</strong> |
Since joining the league in 2018, LAFC have scored 200 goals. That's 41 more than any other team. |
Sunday, July 4 |
at LA Galaxy |
The Galaxy hosted an MLS home game on every Fourth of July from 1996-2019 before the streak was snapped last summer. |
<strong>Saturday, July 17</strong> |
<strong>AUSTIN FC</strong> |
This fixture marks the start of a busy stretch that will see Sporting play 22 league matches in the space of 17 weeks. |
<strong>Wednesday, July 21</strong> |
<strong>SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES</strong> |
Since August 2004, Sporting have gone 13-1-2 in 16 home matches against San Jose in all competitions. |
Sunday, July 25 |
at Seattle Sounders FC |
Sporting have gone 6-2-3 in their last 11 regular season meetings against Seattle since May 2015, including a pair of 3-2 victories in 2019. |
<strong>Saturday, July 31</strong> |
<strong>FC DALLAS</strong> |
Sporting are 0-4-1 in their last five meetings with Dallas since the start of 2019, including two losses and a tie at Children's Mercy Park. |
Wednesday, Aug. 4 |
at LAFC |
LAFC have lost just four regular season home matches over the last three years, including a 2-0 defeat to SKC in August 2018. |
Saturday, Aug. 7 |
at Colorado Rapids |
Over the last three regular seasons, Sporting are 9-3-1 during the month of August. |
Saturday, Aug. 14 |
at FC Dallas |
FC Dallas are 60-9-28 in regular season home games since 2015. Their nine home losses are the fewest of any team that was in MLS in 2015. |
<strong>Wednesday, Aug. 18</strong> |
<strong>PORTLAND TIMBERS</strong> |
Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia has posted five shutouts in eight regular season appearances against Portland since 2015. |
Saturday, Aug. 21 |
at Minnesota United FC |
This Rivalry Week match is the first of two ESPN broadcasts between Sporting and Minnesota at Allianz Field, the other coming on Halloween. |
<strong>Saturday, Aug. 28</strong> |
<strong>COLORADO RAPIDS</strong> |
Dating back to June 2019, Colorado leads the Western Conference with 30 regular season goals scored away from home. |
Friday, Sept. 3 |
at LAFC |
LAFC have scored 108 goals in 45 regular season home matches since 2018, a remarkable clip of 2.4 per game. |
<strong>Saturday, Sept. 11</strong> |
<strong>CHICAGO FIRE FC</strong> |
Sporting are 6-0-2 in their last eight home matches against Chicago, including wins in four straight meetings at Children's Mercy Park. |
<strong>Wednesday, Sept. 15</strong> |
<strong>MINNESOTA UNITED FC</strong> |
In all competitions, Sporting owned a perfect 6-0-0 home record against Minnesota before falling to the Loons in the 2020 playoffs. |
<strong>Sunday, Sept. 26</strong> |
<strong>SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC</strong> |
Sporting and Seattle have combined to win eight major championships (four apiece) over the last nine seasons, including three MLS Cups and four U.S. Open Cups. |
Wednesday, Sept. 29 |
at FC Dallas |
Sporting's 16 regular season road wins since the start of 2018 are tied for the second-most in MLS (16-18-9 record). |
<strong>Sunday, Oct. 3</strong> |
<strong>HOUSTON DYNAMO</strong> |
This game will come exactly one year after Sporting earned a 2-1 road win over Houston in which Alan Pulido scored twice. |
Sunday, Oct. 17 |
at Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
Sporting have won three straight MLS road matches at Vancouver, scoring at least three goals on each occasion. |
Saturday, Oct. 23 |
at Seattle Sounders FC |
Seattle have appeared in four of the last five MLS Cups, winning the title in 2016 and 2019 and |
<strong>Wednesday, Oct. 27</strong> |
<strong>LA GALAXY</strong> |
The Galaxy have won just once in their last 12 regular season visits to Kansas City dating back to 2008. |
Sunday, Oct. 31 |
at Minnesota United FC |
Sporting have never before played an MLS match on Halloween. |
Wednesday, Nov. 3 |
at Austin FC |
Sporting's inaugural visit to the new Austin FC Stadium will come in the penultimate round of the regular season. |
<strong>Sunday, Nov. 7</strong> |
<strong>REAL SALT LAKE</strong> |
Sporting will host Decision Day for the first time since 2018 as six Western Conference matches kick off concurrently at 5 p.m. CT. |
