2. HEADING TO THE REIGNING CHAMPS
Sporting Kansas City is back on the road this weekend with a trip east to take on reigning MLS Cup champions the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field on Saturday night. The match marks Sporting’s first visit to Columbus since the summer of 2019 and the club’s first-ever game at Lower.com Field which opened in 2021.
Sporting and Columbus last met on April 23, 2022 in a rainy, weather-delayed match at Children’s Mercy Park. Despite getting more than three-quarters of the game in, the match was stopped due to inclement weather with 15 minutes remaining and the score locked at 0-0. After a 47-minute delay, the two sides saw out the remainder of the game to claim a share of the spoils.
In Sporting’s last visit to Columbus – almost five years ago to the day on June 23, 2019 – the visitors grabbed a 1-0 victory and returned to Kansas City with all three points. Following a scoreless first half, Gerso Fernandes set up Felipe Gutierrez to head home the only goal of the game early in the second half and Sporting saw off the Crew’s advances for the remainder of the match.
Sporting leads the all-time series with Columbus 26-22-9, including a 12-13-5 mark on the road in Columbus. Sporting is unbeaten in their last five against the Crew (2-0-3) since a 3-2 loss at Historic Crew Stadium on Aug. 22, 2015.
