Seattle, WA – After a hot start to the 2023 regular season, the Seattle Sounders seem to be cooling off a bit as the temperatures in the Pacific Northwest rise. With Sporting KC in town, the Sounders played down to the level of their opponent as they gave up two goals in the first half and couldn’t put together a comeback effort. KC came out of the opening whistle looking to strike, and were able to capitalize on two mistakes to give themselves a two-goal lead before the halftime mark. A penalty late into the match brought things down to the wire, but Seattle was unable to punch in the equalizer and instead dropped their third loss of the regular season to this point.
Seattle defender Jackson Ragen attempts to block a shot from Kansas City’s Johnny Russell (Photo by Paul Kahl)
Sloppy first half puts Seattle in a hole
Despite being a winless club that conceded four goals to Jordan Morris alone the last time that these two teams met, it could’ve easily been another blowout in favor of the Sounders. The match had a bad vibe to it from the beginning, as Sporting was able to rocket off a laser of an attempt on net as Seattle midfielder Albert Rusnak had the ball bounce off him to cause some visible pain. Just two minutes later, with the Kansas City pressure coming up the field, young Sounders player Reed Baker-Whiting was caught tracking a teammates man which allowed Sporting’s Erik Thommy to take advantage of the chaos and sneak a ball far bottom corner past Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Kansas City keep the fight going, and were able to do so before the halftime whistle was blown. In the 31st minute, Sporting’s passing buildup led them all around the Sounders before Alan Pulido was given a through ball just around Frei to double the Sporting lead. The Sounders defense had just been run around and sliced up like deli-cuts, and by the team that had sat at the bottom of the Western Conference. It’s a really tough result to try and stomach, especially considering the defensive strength and success that Seattle has had within the confines of Lumen Field until this point. If the Sounders really are going to continue atop both the MLS and Western Conference, this result cannot leak into any of the following matches that Seattle hosts here.
Sounders midfielder Nico Lodeiro buries the penalty to bring Seattle within one (Photo by Paul Kahl)
Trying to climb back
A penalty kick was drawn by Sounders forward Fredy Montero as he was taken down by a Kansas City defender on his way into the box, taking a hand to the face. However Sporting may have felt about the call didn’t matter, as the Sounders had penalty specialist Nico Lodeiro bury their first goal of the day from the spot that sparked a fiery attempt at a comeback. The biggest and closest chance that the club got was an Albert Rusnak cross into the box for Jordan Morris in the 71st minute, but the headed ball by Morris sailed just to the left of the goal. Morris tried to get a penalty call out of the referee but was unsuccessful, and it seemed as frustration may be getting to Seattle as they tried to claw back into this match that they were losing to an “inferior” opponent. Morris and teammate Alex Roldan both fired off semi-decently dangerous shots, but not enough to challenge Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia, and their comeback attempt fell short.
Fredy Montero just moments before he draws a penalty for the Sounders (Photo by Paul Kahl)
What’s next?
The Sounders will look to bounce back from this ugly loss, but they’ll have to do so in US Open Cup play as that’s what’s next up on the docket for the club. Seattle heads down to California to continue their US Open Cup run, battling the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, May 10th with a kickoff time of 7:30PM PST. The Sounders may lean into getting more first-team action in this contest considering that they’re further into the competition, and if they really are looking to collect this trophy as head coach Brian Schmetzer has said.
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