Five Things is a weekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights the top storylines, players to watch and matchday programming ahead of each game throughout the season.
Two of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer will put their respective winning streaks on the line Saturday as second-place Sporting Kansas City (13-6-6, 45 points) visits sixth-place Seattle Sounders FC (11-9-5, 38 points) at CenturyLink Field in downtown Seattle. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT with live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, UniMas, ESPN 94.5 FM/1510 AM and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM. The Western Conference clash will also stream live on Twitter at @UnivisionSports.
With both sides enjoying their best runs of form this year, Saturday's contest gives Sporting KC and Seattle the opportunity to make history — and an emphatic statement to the rest of the league. The plot runs thick with compelling storylines heading into this particular fixture, so let's jump into five of them in the space below.
(Full disclosure: with utmost respect to U.S. Soccer legend Clint Dempsey, the Seattle forward's retirement is not among our five things to know. Nevertheless, we give a big #ThankYouDeuce to one of the greatest American players ever.)
1. Fantastic Four
Houston, LAFC, Portland and Minnesota fell victim to a rampant Sporting KC during the month of August. Manager Peter Vermes’ men won each game in shutout fashion, outscoring their opponents 8-0, and in the process entered the league history books.
Sporting KC is just the sixth MLS team to post four consecutive shutout wins in a single regular season. On Saturday, they have the chance to become the very first to notch five straight clean sheet victories. It’ll be a tall task against a confident Seattle side that will have the backing of 40,000 fans, but the possibility can’t be ruled out given how solid Sporting KC was throughout August.
Even if Vermes’ side doesn’t keep a clean sheet, they still have a shot at a fifth straight league win. That would be Kansas City’s second-longest winning streak in a single regular season.
2. Seventh Heaven
If any one team has been even better than Sporting KC over the last several weeks, it is undoubtedly Seattle. The two-time defending Western Conference champions have rattled off seven straight wins, tying the MLS single-season record in the non-shootout era (2000-present). Head coach Brian Schmetzer’s side will now look to break the record they share with the stingy Sporting KC outfit that won its first seven league games of 2012.
The Sounders are 8-0-2 since the start of July, keeping five clean sheets while outscoring the opposition 19-5 during the unbeaten run. Talismanic midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro amassed five goals and five assists across July and August, while goalkeeper Stefan Frei, center back Chad Marshall and gritty captain Osvaldo Alonso comprise the spine of a team that has been increasingly hard to break down.
3. Wild, Wild West
Just a month ago, Seattle sat five points below the playoff line and Sporting KC was nine points behind first-place FC Dallas in the Western Conference table. Fast-forward to now, and both teams have significantly boosted their stock in the playoff picture.
With FC Dallas falling to last-place San Jose in a 4-3 thriller on Wednesday, Sporting KC can take first place with a win or a draw on Saturday. A victory would put them in sole possession of first, while a tie would give Sporting KC the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of greater goal difference.
Seattle, meanwhile, holds the sixth and final playoff spot going into Week 27. They are level on 38 points with seventh-place LA Galaxy, owning the wins tiebreaker, and sit two points adrift of Portland and three points behind Real Salt Lake. Hovering a point behind Seattle in eighth place is Vancouver. Needless to say, Seattle’s postseason forecast is far from comfortable, even with their seven straight wins.
4. Tenacious D
Saturday’s contest pits the two best defensive sides in the Western Conference. Seattle has conceded just 26 goals in 25 games — tied with the New York Red Bulls for the fewest in MLS — while Sporting KC has allowed 30, and none in their last four matches.
The aforementioned Marshall and his new center back partner Kim Kee-Hee have steadied Seattle’s ship throughout the summer, giving arguably their best performance in last Sunday’s 1-0 win at rivals Portland Timbers. Sporting KC, on the other hand, has found continuity with holding midfielder Ilie Sanchez shielding a patented back four of Graham Zusi, Ike Opara, Matt Besler and Seth Sinovic.
Given both teams’ defensive form and recent history between the clubs, goals could be at a premium on Saturday. In 17 regular season meetings all-time, Sporting KC and Seattle have combined for more than three goals just twice, including their 2-2 draw at Children’s Mercy Park on April 15.
5. Real Keepers
Closely related to the fourth item in this post, two of the league’s best goalkeepers are set to square off. Sporting KC gloveman and reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Tim Melia leads the league with 11 shutouts, becoming the eighth keeper in MLS history to record double-digit shutouts in back-to-back seasons. Melia has relished his battles with Seattle, going 4-1-2 against the Sounders in the regular season with five shutouts and a 0.43 goals against average.
Standing on the opposite side of Melia will be Seattle’s Stefan Frei. His 0.96 goals against average and 78.2 save percentage rank first in MLS among keepers with at least three games played. Frei has six shutouts and a 1.20 goals against average in 15 regular season meetings against Sporting KC.
