SKC strive to extend dominant run vs. Minnesota

Sporting Kansas City, unbeaten in their past four regular-season road matches, will try to keep that streak alive on Saturday night when they face old rival Minnesota United in Saint Paul, Minn.

Sporting KC (2-2-5, 11 points) have dominated the series in recent years, winning each of the past four meetings by a combined score of 11-2. The teams last met on Decision Day on Oct. 21, 2023, with SKC scoring a 3-1 victory behind a brace by Johnny Russell, two assists by Daniel Salloi and a goal by Remi Walter.

"We've played quite a few road games and done fairly well, and the objective is to do the same thing again (Saturday)," SKC head coach Peter Vermes said.

Sporting KC come in off a disappointing 3-3 home draw with rival St. Louis City SC last Saturday. Erik Thommy, who leads the team with four goals, including three in the past two matches, gave SKC a 3-2 lead in the 77th minute. But Vermes' squad couldn't close out the win, allowing a goal in the second minute of stoppage time.

"Frustration again," Russell said. "It's the same old story of recent games, especially the home games. We have dropped too many points from winning positions."

SKC enter the weekend in 10th place in the Western Conference but are tied for third in scoring with 17 goals and have scored two or more goals in six straight matches. The team has never scored multiple goals in seven consecutive regular-season matches.

"Last year at the same time we had scored just three goals," Vermes said. "The good thing is that they're coming by committee. It's not just one person, which is a good thing."

Minnesota (4-2-2, 14 points), which is in fifth place in the West, has surprisingly struggled at home lately, winning just five of its 21 home matches (5-5-11) since the start of the 2023 season.

The Loons, who are an MLS-best 4-0-0 when leading at halftime, come in off an impressive 3-0 victory at Charlotte FC on Sunday, ending a three-match winless drought (0-2-1). Tani Oluwaseyi and Robin Lod each scored their team-leading third goals of the season in the win and Dayne St. Clair picked up his second shutout.

"It was a really big win," Minnesota coach Eric Ramsay said. "They take loads of credit in that sense because it's a really tough place to go and you really need to show some personality and character if you're going to win there, and they did."