Sporting Kansas City–St. Louis City SC rivalry
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| Location | Midwestern United States |
|---|---|
| First meeting | May 20, 2023 MLS regular season St. Louis City SC 4–0 Sporting Kansas City |
| Latest meeting | April 20, 2024 MLS regular season St. Louis City SC 3–3 Sporting Kansas City |
| Next meeting | July 20, 2024 MLS regular season St. Louis City SC v. Sporting Kansas City |
| Statistics | |
| Most wins | Sporting Kansas City (3) |
| Top scorer | João Klauss (3 goals) |
| Largest victory | St. Louis City SC 4-0 Sporting Kansas City (May 20, 2023) |
  St. Louis City SC 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
The cities of St. Louis and Kansas City have a longstanding rivalry, being the two major metropolitan areas in the state of Missouri.[citation needed] 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. St. Louis's addition to MLS for the 2023 season created a new outlet for the inter-city rivalry.
Prior to the clubs' first meeting, a St. Louis fan podcast, the Soccer Capitol Podcast, drew attention on social media, sparking tension between St. Louis supporters and Sporting Kansas City staff. In a series of emails from Sporting Kansas City's front office, the club accused the Soccer Capitol Podcast of 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] The reaction from fans of both clubs created a debate over which city was "America's Soccer Capital."
St. Louis City won the clubs' first meeting at CityPark in May 2023. 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 (they played in Missouri from 1996 to 2007), in fact plays in Kansas City, Kansas, often referring to the club simply as "kansas"[7], intentionally failing to capitalize the proper noun.[citation needed]
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
Summary
- 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
| 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
- ^ "Preseason mailbag, Part 2: St. Louis-Sporting KC rivalry, Atlanta's teardown & more". mlssoccer. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Sporting KC, St. Louis City bring I-70 rivalry to MLS". FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV. October 13, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ "SKCvsSTL 09-02-2023". Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Hochman, Benjamin (April 18, 2024). "St. Louis' soccer rivalry is now next-level with Kansas City". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- ^ 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.