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An intriguing Western Conference battle awaits on Saturday as Sporting Kansas City hosts the high-flying San Jose Earthquakes at Children's Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, and a limited number of tickets are available via SeatGeek.com.
San Jose (2-0-0, 6 points) approaches the contest on the heels of two straight home wins to begin the 2017 campaign. Sporting Kansas City (0-0-2, 2 points) has yet to enter the victory column, but boasts an impressive home record against the Quakes and a gaudy shutout streak that dates back to last season. We take a statistical look at the matchup in our By The Numbers preview...
Head-to-head
- Sporting KC has won 11 of its last 12 home meetings against San Jose dating back to September 2004, including nine of 10 in MLS competition.
- Sporting KC won two of three meetings in 2016, including a 2-1 road victory in September and a 2-0 home win on Decision Day last October.
- The 2-1 result last September was Sporting KC's first victory in San Jose since August 2000, ending an 18-game MLS winless run (including playoffs).
- Since September 2004, the home team in this fixture is 19-2-2 across all competitions.
- Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber had a goal and three assists in his final two appearances against San Jose last season.
- San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski has scored eight goals in 13 career regular season appearances vs. Sporting KC.
- Sporting KC's Dom Dwyerand Kevin Ellis scored in the 2-1 win at San Jose last season.
San Jose Earthquakes
- 2017 MLS record: 2-0-0, 6 points (3rd in West)
- 2017 MLS road record: 0-0-0 (0 GF, 0 GA)
- 2016 MLS road record: 1-9-7 (14 GF, 28 GA)
- San Jose has won just one of its last 19 road matches dating back to September 2015 (1-11-7). The Earthquakes have also failed to score in six of their last 13 road games.
- San Jose has outshot opponents 39-9 through Week 2. Their 39 shot attempts lead MLS, while their nine shots faced are second fewest in the league.
- San Jose leads MLS with 26 total chances created and 20 chances created from the run of play.
- San Jose opened 2017 with a 1-0 win over Montreal before reversing a two-goal deficit to beat Vancouver 3-2, scoring all three of their goals after Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted received a first-half red card.
- Midfielder Anibal Godoy has scored both of San Jose's game-winning goals this season. He also leads MLS in passes completed (173) and duels won (26) while ranking third with six chances created. Since acquiring Godoy in August 2015, San Jose is 15-8-12 when he plays and 1-8-5 when he doesn't.
- Forward Chris Wondolowski has reached double-digit goals in seven straight regular seasons, an all-time MLS record.
- San Jose takes a four-year playoff drought into 2017, tied with Chicago for the longest active drought in MLS.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2017 MLS record: 0-0-2, 2 points (6th in West)
- 2017 MLS home record: 0-0-1 (0 GF, 0 GA)
- Sporting KC is 7-0-3 with six shutouts in its last 10 MLS home matches dating back to June 2016.
- Sporting KC has opened the season with consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2012.
- Sporting KC is riding a four-game regular season shutout streak dating back to 2016, tied for the third longest in club history.
- Sporting KC has failed to score in its first two matches for the first time since 1999.
- Sporting KC is second in MLS with 29 shot attempts and 64.9 percent average possession.
- Midfielder Ilie is third in MLS with 153 successful passes.
- Defender Ike Opara leads Sporting KC in tackles won (5), duels won (18) and aerial duels won (8).
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Dom Dwyer is one shy of his 100th career start in the MLS regular season.
- Sporting KC has the opportunity to open a season with three consecutive clean sheets for the first time ever.
- The last three MLS Cup champions (LA Galaxy, Portland and Seattle) have failed to win the opening two matches of their title-winning seasons.
Team stats (2017 regular season)
MLS rank in parenthesis (source: Opta)
<strong>Category (per game)</strong> |
<strong>Sporting KC</strong> |
<strong>San Jose</strong> |
Goals scored |
0 (t-19th) |
4 (t-4th) |
Goals conceded |
0 (t-1st) |
2 (t-10th) |
Shots |
29 (t-2nd) |
39 (1st) |
Shots on goal |
7 (t-12th) |
11 (t-5th) |
Passing accuracy |
82.1 (6th) |
83.0 (4th) |
Possession |
64.9 (2nd) |
65.2 (1st) |
Duels won |
114 (9th) |
113 (11th) |
Tackles won |
17 (20th) |
28 (t-8th) |
Interceptions |
24 (t-15th) |
33 (5th) |
Fouls committed |
29 (t-6th) |
23 (t-14th) |
Shots faced |
15 (t-4th) |
9 (2nd) |
Recent #SKCvSJ meetings
- Regular season record vs. San Jose: 23-24-7 (63 GF, 66 GA)
- Regular season home record vs. San Jose: 18-8-1 (42 GF, 28 GA)
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
<strong>H/A</strong> |
<strong>Details</strong> |
03/22/2014 |
W 1-0 |
H |
Dom Dwyer nets PK in 57th minute |
08/19/2015 |
L 0-5 |
H |
Chris Wondolowski (2), Cordell Cato (2) and Anibal Godoy score |
10/16/2015 |
L 0-1 |
A |
Wondolowski and Shea Salinas assist Godoy in 47th minute |
04/24/2016 |
L 0-1 |
A |
Wondolowski converts PK in 59th minute |
09/24/2016 |
W 2-1 |
A |
Dwyer and Ellis score to give KC first win in San Jose since 2000 |
10/23/2016 |
W 2-0 |
H |
Feilhaber and Zusi score on Decision Day to seal playoff spot |
