Sporting Kansas City defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-1 on Sunday night at Lumen Field.
Sporting KC took a 2-0 lead into halftime behind goals from Johnny Russell and Dániel Sallói. Russell opened the scoring in the 31st minute on a free kick effort from right outside the 18-yard box that rattled off the far post and in. Sallói scored his ninth of the season in the 42nd on a counterattack that he finished first time past Stefan Cleveland.
The Sounders halved the deficit in the 51st minute when Fredy Montero one-timed a deflection past Tim Melia. Raúl Ruidíaz nearly equalized four minutes later when his chipped shot was deflected by Melia and off the post.
SKC added a third in the 72nd minute when Cameron Duke volleyed home a cross from Graham Zusi.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Montero fifty
Montero became the first Sounders player to reach half a century goals in the regular season and pushed his advantage over Ruidíaz to six. The Sounders’ all-time leading goalscorer looked lively all match, and he even had a bicycle kick in the first half that was just pushed wide by Melia.
Still atop the West
The Sounders fell to No. 2 in the Supporters’ Shield standings after the New England Revolution’s win over CF Montreal, but they maintain their lead atop the West. Seattle sits on 32 points from 16 matches, but Sporting is now just two points behind with a match in hand.
Back at home
The Sounders return to Lumen Field next Saturday with a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes (2 p.m. PT; JOEtv, Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM | TICKETS). Seattle already defeated the ‘Quakes 1-0 in San Jose on May 12.
