Plenty of Donuts for Djordje Petrović
The New England Revolution’s Djordje Petrović has a tradition after every shutout he produces – he brings in donuts for the rest of the club to highlight the zero goals allowed. In his short MLS career, the Serbian international has brought in dozens of donuts with 11 shutouts in his first 29 regular season appearances.
If Petrović records a clean sheet on Saturday against Sporting Kansas City (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass), he would become the sixth goalkeeper in MLS history to record 12 shutouts in his first 30 games. Petrović has also been a force on penalty kicks, saving four in his career, joining Joe Cannon (four) and D.J. Countess (four) as the only other players to do so in their first 30 career games.
Will some historic donuts be consumed in New England after Matchday 9?
The most clean sheets in a player’s first 30 career MLS games:
Cristian Espinoza Spearheading Earthquakes’ Strong Start
The Earthquakes are off to one of their best starts to a season in the past decade, entering Matchday 9 at 4-2-2, while sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference. A key piece to their strong start is midfielder Cristian Espinoza, who is further cementing himself as a club legend.
Espinoza has five goals and two assists in 2023, including three crucial game-winning scores. For the Argentine, his play-making ability has vaulted him up San Jose’s all-time assist rankings, ranking third in club annals with 46. With his next assist, Espinoza will tie Ronald Cerritos (47) for the second-most in club history and he is only four behind Shea Salinas (50) for the most by a ‘Quake.
The most assists in San Jose Earthquakes history:
Can Kei Kamara Be the First to Score Against 27 Teams?
Chicago Fire FC forward Kei Kamara ranks highly across many historical leaderboards in MLS history, but on Sunday, he can stand atop one. In his 397-game career, Kamara has scored against 26 different opponents, tied with Ola Kamara for the most in league history. One he hasn’t scored against – Atlanta United, who the Fire will host on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass / FS1).
Kamara has only played in three matches (two starts) against Atlanta since the club entered the league in 2017, failing to hit the target across 196 minutes of action. As Kamara (142 career goals) chases Landon Donovan (145) for the second-most goals in MLS history, he will look to hit another record and keep Chicago’s strong form going.
The most opponents scored against in MLS history:
Seattle’s Nicolás Lodeiro Enters Weekend on Assist Streak
For Seattle in 2023, Jordan Morris leads MLS with eight goals and Léo Chú had a rare four-assist game, but midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro has been the quiet engine of the high-flying Sounders. Lodeiro is tied atop MLS with five assists and leads the club with 16 key passes.
Additionally, the Uruguayan has an assist in each of the last four matches, tied for the second-longest streak in Sounders history. With a helper against Minnesota United on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass), he would tie his own record of five-straight games with an assist, which he set from September 29, 2018 – March 2, 2019.
The longest assists streaks in Seattle Sounders history:
SKC’s Graham Zusi On Verge of Historic Milestone
One of the all-time MLS ironmen, Sporting Kansas City’s Graham Zusi has an opportunity to make league history on Saturday, as the club travels to take on the New England Revolution (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass). Zusi can become the fourth player in MLS history to appear in 350 matches for one team, joining Chris Wondolowski (376, San Jose Earthquakes), Nick Rimando (369, Real Salt Lake), and Kyle Beckerman (350, Real Salt Lake). Zusi has started all eight games for SKC in 2023.
The most games played with one club in MLS history:
