Sporting KC Hosts Minnesota on Saturday

Sports stats



Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Hosts Minnesota on Saturday

September 20, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City will host Minnesota United FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park. The Western Conference clash kicks off an exciting week of must-watch matches for Sporting ahead of the U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday and a showdown with St. Louis next weekend.

Tickets for SKCvMIN are available fee free on SeatGeek and all in attendance will enjoy a special halftime light show presented by match title night partner UMB. The club will also continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in stadium on Saturday. SportingStyle will carry the Hispanic Heritage pre-match top, which will be worn by players during warm-ups, and fans can purchase the Hispanic Heritage track jacket and sandals online. In addition, 24-ounce cans of Corona Extra and Modelo Especial will be $2 off at Children's Mercy Park concessions.

The match-up with Minnesota will be available to watch on Apple TV for MLS Season Pass subscribers with Nate Bukaty on the call. Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, including a watch party at No Other Pub in the KC Power & Light District, and radio coverage will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM with live streams available in the Sporting KC App.

Sporting is coming off a 4-1 win on Wednesday in which Alan Pulido and Erik Thommy each struck twice to become the first SKC players with multiple goals in the same MLS match since 2019. Pulido has five goal contributions in his last five MLS matches and is second on the team with eight goals in all competitions while Thommy is one behind with seven goals on the season after becoming the first SKC player since 2007 to bag a brace off the bench in a regular season match.

Wednesday's win extended Sporting's home unbeaten run to five straight MLS matches (4-0-1) and improved SKC's record against American opposition to 7-0-1 in the team's last eight home matches.

Sporting and Minnesota have met 24 times in all competitions since the Loons joined MLS in 2017 -- most of any opponent for either side -- and Sporting is a perfect 9-0-0 in regular season home matches against the Loons. Club captain Johnny Russell has 16 goal contributions (six goals, 10 assists) in 17 regular season appearances against Minnesota, his most against any MLS opponent, and his six goals lead all players in the regular season series.

This year, Minnesota won both previous meetings at Allianz Field with a 2-1 victory on April 27 and a 3-1 result on June 1 to bookend a seven-game regular season losing streak for SKC. The Loons will now go for the season sweep on Saturday knowing a win would eliminate Sporting Kansas City from playoff contention and boost their own odds of returning to the postseason after falling three points shy a year ago.

Notably, the visitors have more away points (20) than home points (19) during the 2024 season and Minnesota will arrive in Kansas City riding the momentum of a three-game road unbeaten run in MLS play that includes back-to-back away wins under first-year head coach Eric Ramsay.

Most recently, Minnesota fell 2-1 to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday as Kelvin Yeboah -- one of eight summer signings for the team, including Designated Player Joaquin Pereyra -- scored his fourth goal in four appearances. The Loons' attack features the dangerous duo of Robin Lod, whose 12 assists are second most in a single season in club history, and Bongokuhle Hlongwane, whose 10 goals are third most in a single season in club history.

Prior to MINvSKC, Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United's Special Olympics Unified Teams will play at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children's Mercy Victory Field inside Swope Soccer Village (6310 Lewis Rd.) in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is free and open to the public as the squads square off in the second of two exchange games this season.

Children's Mercy Victory Field in Swope Soccer Village will also host a MLS NEXT Pro match-up between Sporting Kansas City II and MNUFC2 at 5 p.m. CT on Sunday. Tickets are available online via SeatGeek and the Frontier Division match-up will be available to watch on MLSNEXTPro.com.

Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FC

2024 MLS Regular Season | Match 31

Saturday, Sept. 21 | 7:30 p.m. CT (7:40 kickoff)

Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas

Broadcast Schedule:

Apple TV | MLS Season Pass

English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB

Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM

Check out the Sporting Kansas City Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

Major League Soccer Stories from September 20, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Sporting Kansas City Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central