Sounders Drubbed in Kansas City

The Sounders couldn’t overcome the heat and the loss of Osvaldo Alonso and fell to Sporting Kansas City 3-0 in the worst showing of 2016.

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The Sounders continued to dig themselves deeper into the MLS Western Conference standings by dropping an extremely disheartening and disappointing match against Sporting Kansas City. On Hall of Fame Day for one Ken Griffey Jr., the Sounders turned in their worst outing of the year for coach Sigi Schmid, who’s beginning to feel his seat warm as his team continues to swirl in the drain.

In 100-degree heat and missing key midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, the Sounders needed a result on the road yesterday to keep their playoff hopes alive. Alas, they didn’t have the legs or the wind to keep up with Sporting Kansas City. The Sounders could only manage one shot on goal all game, an 88th-minute attempt by Joevin Jones that sailed about six yards wide of the goal.

SKC’s Dom Dwyer struck twice and Jacob Peterson snuck a goal in during first half stoppage time to bury the Sounders in the heat. SKC won the possession battle 65-35% and kept constant pressure on the Sounders’ defensive line, which has normally been solid all year. Stephan Frei made two excellent saves early in the match to keep the contest from getting out of hand early. But SKC broke through in the 21st minute with Dwyer’s first goal–a header from a Roger Espinoza cross.

Next: Why the Griffey Legacy Will Live On

I’ve been writing it for weeks, but this time the Sounders are truly up against the ropes. However, due Portland’s loss to the LA Galaxy and a tie between Real Salt Lake and the San Jose Earthquakes, the Sounders are still mathematically in the playoff hunt. They’ll need to put together some goals and points in the coming weeks to still have any shot of making the MLS playoffs at this point. But you knew that.

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