"By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
After coming from behind to rescue a 2-2 draw in a pulsating derby match against St. Louis City SC on Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City will play for a second straight road result on Saturday by visiting expansion side San Diego FC for the first time. Kickoff at Snapdragon Stadium is slated for 9:30 p.m. CT with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and 103.7 FM.
Sporting overturned a two-goal deficit at midweek, striking in the second half through Tim Leibold and Dejan Joveljic, to extend St. Louis' winless drought to a club-record nine matches. In a busy slated of Wednesday action, San Diego vaulted to second place in the Western Conference and pushed its winning streak to three games with a convincing 2-0 home triumph against the Colorado Rapids.
As anticipation builds toward Saturday, we take a statistical look at the fixture in our newest edition of By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Saturday will mark the inaugural meeting between the clubs. The return fixture is scheduled for Aug. 9 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City.
- San Diego midfielder Anibal Godoy has four goal contributions (two goals, two assists) in 11 regular season appearances against Sporting, having previously played for the San Jose Earthquakes (2015-2019) and Nashville SC (2020-2024).
- San Diego winger Emmanuel Boating has three goal contributions (one goal, two assists) in 10 regular season appearances against Sporting, having previously played for the LA Galaxy (2016-2019), D.C. United (2019-2020), Columbus Crew (2020) and New England Revolution (2021-2024).
Sporting Kansas City
- 2025 MLS record: 3-8-2, 11 points (13th in West | 19 GF, 24 GA)
- 2025 MLS away record: 1-5-1 (10 GF, 13 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 2-2-1, 7 points (W-L-W-L-T)
- Sporting erased a two-goal halftime deficit to secure a 2-2 draw at rivals St. Louis City SC on Wednesday. Substitute Tim Leibold scored in the 71st minute and forward Dejan Joveljic equalized in the 77th minute.
- Prior to Wednesday’s game, Sporting had lost 24 straight regular season away matches when trailing by multiple goals in the 70th minute. The last time Sporting had rescued a road result when trailing by multiple goals in the 70th minute was more than a decade ago on April 25, 2015, in a 4-4 draw at Houston Dynamo FC.
- Entering the 2025 season, Sporting had lost 13 straight regular season matches when trailing by multiple goals at halftime. Sporting has come back to earn draws in both matches when trailing by multiple goals at halftime this year, including a 3-3 home draw against Minnesota United on March 15.
- Sporting had 1.76 expected goals on Wednesday—its second most in an away game this season—and finished with season-highs in shots (17) and shots inside the box (13).
- Sporting had 19 successful passes into the penalty area on Wednesday, its most in a game this season.
- Sporting has scored 13 goals in its last seven matches (1.86 per game) after scoring six goals in its first six matches this season.
- Sporting has been outscored 20-9 through the 60th minute while outscoring opponents 10-4 after the 60th minute this season.
- Sporting has scored multiple goals in four of its last seven matches since April 5 after scoring multiple goals just once during the club’s 13-match winless streak from September 2024 to March 2025.
- Sporting has utilized 14 different starting lineups in the club’s first 15 matches of the 2025 season in all competitions.
- Sporting ranks third in MLS in progressive dribbles per match (18.7) and sixth in progressive passes per match (44.9). Progressive dribbles and passes are dribbles and passes that advance the ball at least 10 yards closer to the opponent’s goal line or into the penalty area.
- Sporting has won three penalty kicks this season, tied for fourth most in MLS, after winning three penalties during the entire 2024 regular season.
- Sporting ranks second in MLS in touches in the attacking third per game (184).
- Forward Dejan Joveljic scored Sporting’s 77th-minute equalizer in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at St. Louis. It was his first away goal since June 2024 with the LA Galaxy and his team-leading sixth goal of the season. Three of Joveljic’s six goals this year have come against St. Louis after he had a brace in Sporting’s 2-0 home win over their rivals on April 5.
- Forward Shapi Suleymanov came off the bench to assist Joveljic’s equalizer with a free kick delivery. He is tied for the team lead with four assists this season while ranking fourth in MLS in dribbles into the penalty area (24) and seventh in progressive passes received (115).
- Defender Tim Leibold came off the bench to score Sporting’s opening goal on Wednesday. Sporting now has four goals from substitutes this season, second most in MLS.
- Forward Daniel Salloi assisted Leibold’s goal and now has seven goal contributions (four goals, three assists) this season, already matching his total from the 2024 regular season (two goals, five assists).
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp is the only Sporting player to start in all 13 MLS matches this season. He equaled a season-high with five saves in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at St. Louis, all of which came in the second half.
- At 19 years and seven months, midfielder Jacob Bartlett is the second youngest player to start at least 10 MLS matches this season behind only Philadelphia Union defender Frankie Westfield (19 years, five months).
- Defender Jansen Miller has played every minute in each of Sporting’s last nine matches since March 22. He has recorded the fastest top speed of any Sporting player this season (21.35 mph).
- Midfielder Manu Garcia is tied for the team lead in assists (four) and leads the team in key passes (23), 12 more than any other Sporting player.
- Garcia ranks third in MLS in successful passes into the penalty area (32), fourth in successful passes into the final third (94), fourth in progressive passes (110), sixth in fouls suffered (28), seventh in goal-creating actions (eight) and ninth in successful through balls (six).
- Defender Logan Ndenbe ranks ninth in MLS in both tackles won (20) and progressive dribbling distance (1,410 yards). He has missed Sporting’s last two matches with an adductor injury.
San Diego FC
- 2025 MLS record: 7-4-2, 23 points (2nd in West | 25 GF, 16 GA)
- 2025 MLS home record: 4-1-2 (15 GF, 6 GA)
- Last Five MLS Matches: 3-2-0, 9 points (L-L-W-W-W)
- San Diego has won three straight matches since the start of May, outscoring opponents 9-1 during that stretch, to reach second place in the Western Conference.
- San Diego has scored seven unanswered goals in its last two home matches, a 5-0 win over FC Dallas on May 3 and a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday.
- San Diego has conceded one goal across its last three matches after conceding three goals in three consecutive games from April 12-26.
- San Diego ranks third in MLS in goals scored (25) and goal differential (+9).
- San Diego has a 4-1-2 home record at Snapdragon Stadium, outscoring opponents 15-6 and posting four shutouts in seven games.
- San Diego’s lone home loss was a 3-1 defeat to Real Salt Lake on April 26. The team has won three straight games since then.
- San Diego has outscored opponents 7-1 after the 75th minute this season. The team’s one goal allowed after the 75th minute is second fewest in MLS behind only the Columbus Crew (zero).
- Five of San Diego’s seven wins this season have come by multiple goals.
- San Diego has a perfect 6-0-0 record when scoring first and a 1-4-1 record when conceding first this season.
- Similarly, San Diego is 4-0-0 when leading at halftime and 0-3-1 when trailing at halftime this season.
- San Diego ranks second in MLS in both possession (56.0%) and passing accuracy (88.3%).
- San Diego has conceded seven goals from set pieces this season, second most in MLS.
- Forward Anders Dreyer leads San Diego in goals (six), total goal contributions (12) and key passes (37). He is the only MLS player with at least six goals and six assists this season.
- Dreyer leads MLS in total goal contributions (12) while ranking third in key passes (37), third in shot-creating actions (64), fourth in assists (six), fifth in non-penalty goals (six) and sixth in shots (40).
- Dreyer has scored a goal in three straight games and has six goal contributions (including three assists) during San Diego’s current three-game winning streak.
- Forward Chucky Lozano is second on the team in goals (four) and goal contributions (10). He has a team-best 5.23 expected goals and is tied for the team lead with six assists.
- Lozano is tied for fourth in MLS in assists (six) while ranking second in shots per 90 minutes (4.87).
- Defender Christopher McVey has played every minute of the 2025 MLS season. He ranks third in MLS in touches (1,107) and 10th in fouls committed (50).
- Midfielder Anibal Godoy ranks sixth in MLS in successful passes into the attacking third (91).
- Goalkeeper C.J. dos Santos ranks second in MLS in shutouts (five), fourth in save percentage (78.7%) and eighth in saves (44).
- Dreyer, McVey, dos Santos and midfielder Jeppe Tverskov have started all 13 MLS matches for San Diego this season. McVey and dos Santos have played all 1,170 minutes.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 40 regular season assists for Sporting, tied with former teammate Johnny Russell for sixth most in club history. With an assist in Sporting’s 2-2 draw at St. Louis City SC on Wednesday, Salloi became the third player in club history to hit 50 goals and 40 assists in the regular season alongside Preki (71 goals, 98 assists) and Johnny Russell (60 goals, 40 assists).
- Forward Stephen Afrifa is one shy of his 50th professional club appearance, having played 37 matches for Sporting and 12 matches for Sporting KC II.
- Defender Logan Ndenbe is 69 minutes shy of 5,000 minutes played for Sporting in all competitions.
- Goalkeeper John Pulskamp is tied for seventh in club history in both shutouts (eight) and wins (12) in the regular season.
