The statistics suggest Sporting KC will feel the impact of Soni Mustivar’s absence

The locker room was quiet Saturday, the typical aftermath of a Sporting Kansas City defeat inside Children’s Mercy Park. In the east corner of the room, midfielder Soni Mustivar slowly packed his belongings, slipped on a suit coat and walked toward the exit.

Before he pushed open the set of double doors, a teammate stopped to wish him good luck in his next adventure — Copa America Centenario.

Mustivar was called up to represent Haiti in Copa America, a premier tournament that begins next month in the United States. Sporting KC captain Matt Besler and winger Graham Zusi will play for the U.S. men’s national team during the tournament.

All three departures — which will cover a minimum of two matches over three weeks — come at an imperfect time for a Sporting KC club in need of a jolt.

But while Besler and Zusi appear to be the headliners — each of them Sporting KC veterans and former World Cup participants — Mustivar’s might qualify as the biggest absence.

Why? The record. Over the past two seasons, Sporting KC is just 2-9-4 with Mustivar out of the lineup.

“He covers a lot of ground. He has relentless energy on the field,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “He breaks up a lot of plays, and I think he is a really good screen for the back (line).”

His teammates echo that sentiment. Last August, as midfielder Benny Feilhaber charged his way toward a career-best season that earned him a third-place finish in the league’s most valuable player voting, he declared Mustivar the team’s MVP.

Mustivar has never scored in 28 MLS starts. He has only two assists.

Instead, the value is primarily twofold — his ability to link the offense to the defense and to cover a vast amount of space on the field. He often leads the club in ground coverage.

“It’s definitely an important position for us,” Vermes said. “He has to sense where the danger is and cover for a guy who might have pushed himself forward or be out of position for whatever reason. He has to be conscious of everything else going on around him.”

The numbers suggest Mustivar does an extraordinary job of carrying out those duties. Since his arrival in 2015, Sporting KC is 17-9-7 in matches in which he makes an appearance. In 2015 alone, the club was 13-5-7 in such games, which would have equated to the best points-per-match output in the league. But it was just 1-6-2 without him.

Mustivar, Besler and Zusi will miss Sporting Kansas City’s home match Friday against D.C. United, along with Thursday’s trip to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy. If their countries advance out of group play in Copa America, those absences would be extended.

In the interim, Sporting KC will likely turn to Lawrence Olum, whom the club re-acquired in the offseason, to fill in for Mustivar.

“I think you always want the full complement of your roster, but we’re going to put out a competitive group with the guys we have, and they’re going to give us a chance to win,” Vermes said. “You don’t have time to worry about who’s not here.”

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This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 5:56 PM with the headline "The statistics suggest Sporting KC will feel the impact of Soni Mustivar’s absence."