Sounders can’t get out of their own way as Sporting KC collects first victory on season
By Charles Hamaker
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.
Pregame scenes prior to the Seattle Sounders loss to Sporting KC (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
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.
Seattle Sounders forward Fredy Montero (#12) drew the penalty that midfielder Nico Lodeiro (#10) went on to score (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
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.
The Seattle Sounders defensive unit failed to be clean out of the gate, allowing two disheartening goals in the first half (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Ugly result against the worst team in the West
Simply put, this is an embarrassing result for Seattle no matter how you slice it. The club had nearly all their top contributors ready to go in this match, and were obviously the better team on paper. Paper doesn’t always mean anything, though, as they were simply outplayed in this one by the visiting Sporting KC. While their beginning to the 2023 MLS regular season has mostly been a positive one, the club’s three losses are very interesting. The first one being an incredibly tight battle against FC Cincinnati in which Seattle could’ve had an equalizer if not for a foul in the buildup. Their second loss of the season was an ugly blowout loss to bitter rival Portland, even though the Sounders had net the first goal in the 65th minute. This loss to Kansas City, even if it was close, is frustrating considering Sporting’s run of play lately at Lumen Field and since Sporting sits at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Seattle has shown the type of juggernaut level play that we’re used to from this club, but disappointing efforts like this remind us of what we saw in the second half of last season when it seemed as though the team had a Concacaf Champions League hangover. That Sounders club failed to find any cohesion when they had offensive possession and saw numerous defensive lapses hurt them, leading to losses.
Quick notes
Despite today’s loss, Seattle remains in first place in the Western Conference. On 20 points, the Rave Green are one point ahead of St. Louis and two points ahead of Los Angeles FC. Sounders FC now prepares for a two-match week on the road, beginning with a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup clash at the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, May 10, followed by a trip to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, May 13.
In the all-time regular season series against Sporting KC, Seattle moves to 12-11-4, with a 6-6-2 mark at Lumen Field.
With Sporting’s opening goal in the fourth minute via Erik Thommy, Seattle conceded a goal at home for the first time in league play this afternoon.
Coming into today’s contest, Seattle had won four of its first five matches at home in 2023, keeping a clean sheet in all five matches, becoming just the third team in MLS history to open a season with five-straight home shutouts (Columbus in 2020 and New England in 2005).
Club captain Nicolás Lodeiro bagged his first goal of 2023 and his 57th strike as a Sounder in all competitions with his penalty-kick goal in the 66th minute of play. The Uruguayan is now tied with former teammate Clint Dempsey for fourth all-time in scoring for the Rave Green.
Lodeiro's goal also marked his 41st regular-season goal, breaking a tie with Obafemi Martins for fifth-most in club history.
With just nine goals allowed in 2023 through 11 matches, Seattle is now tied for fourth in MLS in fewest goals conceded.
Goalkeeper Stefan Frei is closing in on a major career milestone, making three saves today, pulling within one stop of tying Jon Busch for the fourth-most saves in MLS history (1,151). Frei has been an ironman for Sounders FC since joining the club in 2014, and recently he broke Osvaldo Alonso’s club record in the MLS era for career starts across all competitions. Frei still trails Alonso’s club record for all-competitions appearances (339). Frei is also tied for first in MLS in shutouts so far this season with six.
Joining the First Team via short-term agreement from Tacoma Defiance, fullback Cody Baker made his Major League Soccer debut on Sunday as a second-half substitute for Reed Baker-Whiting, who made his first start of the season at right-back.
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.