Sporting Kansas City–St. Louis City SC rivalry

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Sporting Kansas City
St. Louis City SC
LocationMidwestern United States
First meetingMay 20, 2023
MLS regular season
St. Louis City SC 4–0 Sporting Kansas City
Latest meetingApril 20, 2024
MLS regular season
St. Louis City SC 3–3 Sporting Kansas City
Next meetingJuly 20, 2024
MLS regular season
St. Louis City SC v. Sporting Kansas City
Statistics
Most winsSporting Kansas City
(3)
Top scorerJoão Klauss
(3 goals)
Largest victorySt. Louis City SC 4-0 Sporting Kansas City
(May 20, 2023)
Sporting Kansas City–St. Louis City SC rivalry is located in Missouri
St. Louis City SC
St. Louis City SC
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City
Location of the two teams' stadiums in Missouri & Kansas

the Sporting Kansas City–St. Louis City SC rivalry, is a soccer rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs Sporting Kansas City and St. Louis City SC.

Background[edit]

The cities of St. Louis and Kansas City have had a longstanding rivalry, being the two major metropolitan areas in the state of Missouri. Prior to St Louis City SC's addition to MLS, this inter-city rivalry was only realized in sport through the I-70 Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals.

Sporting KC began the rivalry with St. Louis City SC, starting with the St. Louis's entrance into the league in the 2023 season. Prior to the first meeting, a St Louis fan podcast, the Soccer Capitol Podcast, became the center of attention and heightening tensions between supporters. A series of emails from Sporting Kansas City's front office arrived in the inbox of the podcast's Gmail account. The club believed the Soccer Capitol Podcast was infringing on the trademark “The Soccer Capital of America,” which was registered to Kansas Training Partners LLC, an affiliate company of Sporting Kansas City.[1][2][3][failed verification]

St. Louis City won the first meeting at CityPark in May 2023, but Sporting KC won the second meeting at Children's Mercy Park in September of that year.[4] The two teams played in their first postseason matchup in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs,[5] with Sporting Kansas City (the #8 seed) upsetting the #1 seeded St. Louis in a best-of-three series.[6]

Supporters, players, and staff of St Louis City SC have lightheartedly made a point to constantly reference the fact that Sporting Kansas City, despite previously claiming to represent the state of Missouri in MLS, in fact plays in Kansas City, Kansas, often referring to the club simply as "kansas".[7]

Supporters and media have yet to come to an consensus on a name for this rivalry, with suggestions including:

  • Soccer Capital Derby - A reference to the trademark dispute between Sporting Kansas City and the Soccer Capital Podcast, as well as both franchise's claim to their home city being "The Soccer Capital of America".[8]
  • I-70 Derby - A reference to the I-70 Series of Major League Baseball, and the Interstate highway connecting the two cities.
  • The Darbecue - A reference to barbeque culture of both St. Louis and Kansas City.[7]
  • Heartland Derby[8]
  • Cease & Desist Derby - Another reference to the trademark dispute.[8]

Results[edit]

Summary[edit]

As of April 21, 2024
Matches STL wins Draws SKC wins STL goals SKC goals
MLS regular season 4 2 1 1 12 6
MLS Cup Playoffs 2 0 0 2 2 6
Total 6 2 1 3 14 12

Matches[edit]

Season Date Competition Stadium Home team Result Away team Attendance Series Ref
2023 May 20 MLS CityPark St. Louis City SC 4–0 Sporting Kansas City 22,423 STL 1-0-0 [1]
September 2 MLS Children's Mercy Park Sporting Kansas City 2–1 St. Louis City SC 21,650 Tied 1-1-0 [2]
September 30 MLS CityPark St. Louis City SC 4–1 Sporting Kansas City 22,423 STL 2-1-0 [3]
October 30 MLS Cup Playoffs CityPark St. Louis City SC 4–1 Sporting Kansas City 22,423 Tied 2-2-0 [4]
November 5 MLS Cup Playoffs Children's Mercy Park Sporting Kansas City 2–1 St. Louis City SC 21,650 SKC 2-3-0 [5]
2024 April 20 MLS Children's Mercy Park Sporting Kansas City 3-3 St. Louis City SC 21,650 SKC 2-3-1 [6]
July 20 MLS Children's Mercy Park Sporting Kansas City St. Louis City SC
September 28 MLS CityPark St. Louis City SC Sporting Kansas City

References[edit]

  1. ^ mlssoccer. "Preseason mailbag, Part 2: St. Louis-Sporting KC rivalry, Atlanta's teardown & more | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  2. ^ City, Sporting Kansas. "MLS to bolster longtime rivalry between Kansas City and St. Louis". Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "Sporting KC, St. Louis City bring I-70 rivalry to MLS". FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. October 13, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  4. ^ City, Sporting Kansas. "SKCvsSTL 09-02-2023". Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Butler, Dylan (October 26, 2023). "Sporting KC book rivalry date with St. Louis CITY: "This is crazy"". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Headlee, Peyton (November 5, 2023). "Sporting KC upsets number one seed St. Louis City SC in MLS Cup Playoffs". kmbc.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Hochman, Benjamin (April 18, 2024). "St. Louis' soccer rivalry is now next-level with Kansas City". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Sporting KC vs. St. Louis City SC: 'Soccer capitals' to meet in inaugural 'Heartland Derby'". KSHB 41 Kansas City News. May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
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