After more than a month at home — including FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ — the Seattle Sounders hit the road on Saturday to take on Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park with the intention of maintaining momentum (5:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360AM).
The Sounders performed well during the Club World Cup against some of the best teams on the planet and followed that up with a dominant win over Austin FC and a hard-fought draw against bona fide MLS Cup contender Columbus Crew SC. But now the focus turns away from the friendly confines of Lumen Field and toward a traditionally hostile environment in Kansas City.
“It’s always tough to go there, in the summer especially,” said Sounders forward Jordan Morris. “It’s gonna be hot, it’s gonna be humid…It’s always tough to go there and play. They started off the season a little bit rough, but they’ve turned things around. They have a lot of really good players.”
SKC made waves this past offseason by spending $4M to acquire Serbian international forward Dejan Joveljić from the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer’s first cash-for-player trade. Joveljić has been a consistent threat since he joined MLS in 2021 and he’s currently tied for third in the MLS Golden Boot race with 12 goals so far in his first season in Kansas City.
The Sounders will be especially familiar with Joveljić, as he scored an 85th-minute match-winner against Seattle in last year’s Western Conference Championship, sending the Galaxy back to MLS Cup where they ultimately earned their sixth league title.
“He’s a pretty good goalscorer,” said Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, who will start on Saturday while Stefan Frei recovers from a concussion he suffered late against the Crew last Sunday. “We know what he can do. He’s very much the [No.] 9 for them. We’ve played him a bunch, we know what he’s about. He’s got that quality. He’s a strong, physical player as well and all those are things we need to prepare for going into the weekend.”
Sunday will also mark a first for the Sounders, as they take on an SKC side without Head Coach Peter Vermes, who parted ways with the club earlier this year. Vermes, previously the league’s longest-tenured manager, had been at the helm in Kansas City since 2009, the Sounders’ inaugural season in Major League Soccer.
90's Night (vs. Colorado Rapids)
Get ready to take it back to the 90's with a $22 ticket and a vintage-style Sounders T-shirt—the ultimate way to rep your squad in true style. Don’t miss this blast from the past!
Kickoff at 7:00 p.m. PT on July 16.
In Vermes’ stead is Interim Manager Kerry Zavagnin, who has quietly started to right the ship after a slow start to the 2025 campaign. SKC currently sits 11th in the Western Conference with 23 points from 21 matches, but they have gone 6-5-4 since Zavagnin took over.
“We can’t take this game lightly because we know the challenge it’s going to bring,” said Morris. “They’re a very good team, they’re kind of climbing the table, so we have to be ready to match their intensity and withstand the first 10-15 minutes.
“We’ve found some ways to exploit them, so we feel like we can do that well if we play up to our potential.”
