A 10-man Seattle Sounders FC 2 team fell into an early hole and never dug out in their road matchup with Reno 1868 FC on Saturday evening, eventually falling 6-0 after conceding four times in the first half and twice in the second.
Reno forward Dane Kelly, the USL’s all-time leading goalscorer, tallied a first-half hat trick in a seven-minute span for Reno, with two of his goals coming on penalty kicks. It was the second straight hat trick for the prolific striker, who has more than 50 goals to his name since the start of his USL career with the Charleston Battery in 2011.
Rodrigue Ele received two yellow cards in quick succession and was ejected in the 34th minute.
Lindo Mfeka added another tally for the hosts on a strike he blasted past Sounders goalkeeper Bryan Meredith to bump the scoreline to 4-0 as the contest headed to halftime.
Seth Casiple bagged Reno’s fifth of the evening just after the start of the second half, striking a well-taken first-time volley past Meredith off a long pass. Former Sounder Jimmy Ockford then rounded out the scoring in second-half stoppage time to seal the 6-0 final.
S2 had a couple of chances to find the scoresheet in the early going for what could have been game-changing tallies, but neither found the back of the net, most notably on an early strike from midfielder Zach Mathers, who put a rocket shot just wide of the goal.
The road blowout was disappointing for S2 coming off a positive result in their last match, a scoreless road draw against Western Conference-leading San Antonio FC. It also put an end to a three-match unbeaten streak.
The squad will return home to attempt to get back on track with a matchup against Sacramento Republic FC at Starfire Sports Complex on May 28.
