Sporting KC Game Notes | April 9, 2022 vs. Nashville SC | SportingKC.com/Game-Notes #SKCvNSH: HEAD-TO-HEAD
#SKCvNSH: BY THE NUMBERS
Sporting Kansas City (2-4-0, 6 pts.) returns home this weekend to take on Nashville SC (2-2-1, 7 pts.) on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park - where Sporting is a perfect 2-0-0 so far this season. Sporting and Nashville have only met once before, with Nashville visiting Children’s Mercy Park during their expansion season in 2020. In front of a limited-capacity crowd in Kansas City due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sporting came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory on Oct. 11, 2020. Walker Zimmerman headed Nashville into a first half lead before Johnny Russell set up Gerso Fernandes to equalize early in the second half. Late on, Erik Hurtado scored a stunning volley from the edge of the area off Amadou Dia’s long ball, giving Sporting all three points. Nashville are playing their first eight games of the 2022 campaign on the road as construction continues on brand new GEODIS Park - set to receive its grand-opening on May 1 when Nashville hosts the Philadelphia Union. Sporting endured a 10-game road schedule to open the 2011 season before opening Children’s Mercy Park on June 9, 2011. Sporting went 1-6-3 across those 10 games, but rallied with a 17 home games across their final 24 games of the season - finishing first in the Eastern Conference with a 13-9-12 record. Nashville also faced a Sporting KC team before their time in MLS, namely Sporting Kansas City II, in the USL Championship in 2019. Nashville won both games that year, cruising to a 5-1 win at home in May - with current Sporting KC Homegrown player Felipe Hernandez scoring the lone goal for SKC II - before earning a 2-0 victory at Children’s Mercy Park in August.
Sporting KC Team Notes • Sporting have recorded shutouts in their first two regular season home matches for the first time since 2013, when they had clean sheets in their first three home games en route to MLS Cup. • With a 2-0-0 record at Children’s Mercy Park, Sporting are one of just two MLS teams with a perfect home record during the 2022 season alongside Real Salt Lake (2-0-0). Nashville has yet to play at home. • Sporting lead MLS in possessions won in the midfield third (193) while ranking third in possessions won in the attacking third (38). • Sporting lead MLS in successful passes in the attacking third (610). • Sporting have outshot opponents 71-57 through six matches, but they are even with their opponents in shots on target at 20 apiece. • Sporting ranks second-to-last in MLS in shot conversion rate (5.63%) and big chances created (five).
Date
Sporting KC Player Notes • Midfielder Remi Walter leads MLS field players in recoveries (63) and tops the league in distance covered (43.4 miles). • Defender Andreu Fontas leads MLS in passes (499), successful passes (440) and touches (573) while ranking 10th in clearances (26). • Defender Graham Zusi ranks second in MLS in touches (555), second in passes (389), third in distance covered (39.9 miles), sixth in distance covered at high speed (2.51 miles) and fifth in recoveries in the defensive third (26). • Midfielder Roger Espinoza ranks second in MLS with nine possessions won in the attacking third. • Since the start of 2021, forward Daniel Salloi ranks second in MLS with 15 goals from open play during the regular season. • Forward Johnny Russell has scored nine goals in his last eight regular season home appearances at Children’s Mercy Park. Since joining MLS in 2018, he ranks third in the league with 72 combined goals (41) and assists (31) in the regular season.
#SKCvNSH: Recent Meetings (SKC leads 1-0-0 in regular season)
10/11/2020
Score
KC 2 vs NSH 1
Result Details W
Gerso and Hurtado score as SKC comes back to win at home
Nashville SC Team Notes • Since the start of 2021, Nashville is tied for the MLS lead with 15 shutouts in the regular season. • Since the start of 2021, Nashville is tied for the MLS lead with a plus-21 goal differential in the regular season (59 GF, 38 GA). • Nashville ranks second-to-last with 49 shot attempts through five matches, however they are even with their opponents with 17 shots on target apiece. • Nashville rank second in MLS in clearances (26.2 per game) and fifth in interceptions (12.2 per game). • Nashville have hit the post three times this season, tied for the most in MLS. • Nashville rank last in MLS with 79 touches in the opponent’s box.
#SKCvNSH: PLAYER HISTORY • •
Winger Johnny Russell has one assist against Nashville, setting up Gerso Fernandes’ goal in the 2-1 home win on Oct. 11, 2020. Goalkeeper Tim Melia is 1-0-0 against Nashville SC with a 1.00 goals against average following the 2-1 home win on Oct. 11, 2020.
Nashville SC Player Notes • Midfielder Hany Mukhtar is tied for second in MLS with three assists. The 2021 MLS MVP finalist had 19 goals and 12 assists in 34 league appearances last season (including playoffs). • Defender Walker Zimmerman ranks sixth in MLS in clearances (30), fifth in possessions won in the defensive third (26). Zimmerman was the 2021 MLS Defender of the Year after anchoring a Nashville defense that led MLS with a 0.97 goals against average last season. • Midfielder Randall Leal had eight goals and nine assists last season but has just one assists through five games this year.
#SKCvNSH: PLAYER/COACH CONNECTIONS • • •
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Nashville General Manager Mike Jacobs worked at Sporting KC as an assistant technical director from 2015-2017. Nashville Chief Scout Chance Myers played for Sporting KC from 2008-2016, recording four goals and 19 assists in 175 appearances across all competitions. Nashville forward Teal Bunbury was drafted by Sporting KC in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft and went on to tally 24 goals and eight assists across 105 appearances for the club in all competitions before being traded to New England ahead of the 2014 season. Nashville forward C.J. Sapong was drafted by Sporting KC in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft and recorded 27 goals and 12 assists in 143 games for the club in all competitions from 2011-2014. Defender Graham Zusi played alongside Nashville’s Dax McCarty, C.J. Sapong and Walker Zimmerman on the U.S. National Team from 2012-2017. Defender Kortne Ford was teammates with Nashville’s Eric Miller at the Colorado Rapids from 2017-2018, while Miller also played with Sporting left back Ben Sweat at New York City FC in 2019. Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh was teammates with Nashville winger Alex Muyl and midfielder Sean Davis at the New York Red Bulls in 2020. Sporting KC Academy product Felipe Hernandez grew up in Nashville, Tennessee before moving to Kansas City to join the SKC Academy in 2014. Goalkeeper John Pulskamp was in the LA Galaxy Academy from 2017-2019 while Nashville center back Dave Romney was a member of the first team and Nashville forward Ethan Zubak was on the reserve team. Sporting KC Goalkeeper Coach Alec Dufty was the goalkeeper coach at Toronto FC II in 2015 when Nashville left back Daniel Lovitz was playing for the first team. Nashville’s Head Athletic Trainer Jake Brownback is a Kansas City native and was an Assistant Athletic Trainer for Sporting KC from 2012-2019.
NOTEWORTHY MILESTONES • • •
Forward Daniel Salloi is one shy of his 100th start for Sporting in all competitions. Forward Johnny Russell is 23 minutes shy of 10,000 minutes played for Sporting in all competitions. Sporting are two shy of 700 home goals scored in the club’s regular season history.
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