Sporting Kansas City (6-3-6, 5th place) will play host to the Colorado Rapids (2-5-9, 10th place) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Sporting KC is unbeaten in nine matches, 6-0-3, at Sporting Park this season and has won five straight games across all competition.
A win on Saturday would be the team’s 250th all-time regular season victory and would equal the longest home winning streak to start an MLS campaign in the team’s 20-year history.
In addition, a pre-game tailgate will be open to the first 2,000 fans with a Sprint device and a match ticket from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Sprint Plaza. The tailgate will feature free T-shirts, as well as complimentary food and drinks along with live music courtesy of The Magnetics.
Saturday’s match is part of Major League Soccer’s Heineken Rivalry Week and will be the first of three regular season meetings between the Western Conference clubs in 2015. Sporting KC has played the Colorado Rapids more than any other opponent (66 times in all competitions) since the inaugural MLS season in 1996.
Under Peter Vermes, Sporting KC is unbeaten in 10 straight MLS matches against Colorado dating back to 2009 with a 5-0-5 record (including postseason). In addition, Kansas City has not lost to the Rapids at home since September 2002, a run of 14 straight league games without defeat (10-0-4 including postseason).
Sporting Kansas City is the only MLS team to feature three players with five or more goals in 2015, while Gabriel Torres leads the Rapids with four goals to date. Benny Feilhaber has a goal or an assist in each of his last three matches and the World Cup veteran has scored in three of his past four outings against Colorado.
The Rapids will play their fourth match in a 12-day span on Saturday amidst a stretch of six games in 19 days for the club. Led by head coach Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado is coming off a 2-0 loss in Orlando on Wednesday that was briefly delayed due to lightning and now travels to Kansas City for a second time in 2015 after the May 16 match was postponed to Oct. 21 because of inclement weather.
Saturday’s match will air live on KMCI-TV 38. Radio broadcasts will be available for local listeners on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
A limited number of tickets are available and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or at the stadium box offices on game day.
The first 10,000 fans inside the gates will receive a Sporting KC cinch bag. Donations will be collected for foster care.