Seattle Sounders FC (9-2-5, 32 points) fell to Sporting Kansas City (9-3-3, 30 points) by a final score of 3-1 on Sunday evening. Fredy Montero bagged his 50th regular-season goal as a Sounder, the only Seattle player in club history to cross the 50-goal threshold in regular-season play. The crowd of 32,790 at Lumen Field was the largest attendance for a Sounders FC match since March 7 of 2020 when the pandemic began. Despite the loss, Seattle still has a narrow hold on the top of the Western Conference, leading Sporting by two points.
Montero’s goal came in the 51st minute, as the Colombian buried a loose ball inside Sporting’s area. Since re-signing with the Rave Green prior to the 2021 campaign, Montero now has three goals on the season.
Johnny Russell and Daniel Sallói provided first-half goals for the visitors, in the 31st and 42nd minutes respectively. Cameron Duke added Sporting’s third and final goal in the 72nd minute, giving Sporting its third consecutive victory over Sounders FC in the regular-season series between the two clubs.
After playing three matches over the past eight days, Seattle looks ahead to a full week of training before facing San Jose on Saturday, July 31 at Lumen Field. Kickoff for that contest is slated for 2:00 p.m. PT, marking the second matchup of the season against the Earthquakes. Seattle previously secured a 1-0 at San Jose on May 12.
MATCH NOTES
• Despite the loss, Seattle maintains a two-point lead on Sporting Kansas City atop the MLS Western Conference. Sounders FC has played 16 matches in 2021, while Sporting has a game in-hand after playing 15 matches thus far.
• Due to last season’s pandemic-related scheduling challenges, tonight’s match was the first meeting between Sounders FC and Sporting Kansas City since August of 2019. Seattle is now 9-8-4 all-time against Sporting in regular-season play, including a 5-3-3 record in the Emerald City.
• With tonight’s loss, Seattle’s home regular-season unbeaten streak ends at 14 matches. Going back to last season, Seattle had not previously lost at Lumen Field since September 20, 2020. The 14-match streak matched a club record that was set from March 16 through September 29 of 2013.
• With his goal in the 51st minute of play, Fredy Montero bagged his 50th MLS regular-season goal as a Sounder. Since re-signing with the Rave Green prior to the 2021 season, Montero now has three goals on the season. He previously played for Seattle from the club’s inaugural 2009 MLS season until 2013. He is the only Sounder to score 50 MLS regular-season goals.
• Montero’s goal further cements his all-time scoring lead for Seattle Sounders FC. Across all competitions, the Colombian forward has 63 total goals in Rave Green, six goals ahead of second-place Clint Dempsey. Montero’s frontline teammate Raul Ruidíaz is third on that list with 53 Sounders FC goals across all competitions.
• After fielding the youngest team in club history on July 22 at Austin, Head Coach Brian Schmetzer rotated his squad on Sunday evening, making six changes to his starting group from Thursday’s match. Homegrown Players Danny Leyva and Josh Atencio remained in the starting unit following the Austin game, where a league record five teenagers started a match together for the first time in league history.
• Just Seattle’s second loss of the season, tonight’s scoreline was the club’s largest margin of defeat in 2021. Sounders FC’s only other loss came last Sunday at Minnesota, a 1-0 defeat.
• Shane O’Neill made his return from injury on Sunday evening, making a substitute appearance for Danny Leyva in the 64th minute of play. O’Neill had missed the last three matches because of a left hip flexor strain.
• After fellow netminder Spencer Richey got the win on Thursday in Austin, Stefan Cleveland returned to Seattle’s goal tonight. In the absence of injured starter Stefan Frei, Cleveland is now 4-2-4 in goal over his previous ten matches. Sounders FC leads MLS with seven shutouts this season.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – Sporting Kansas City 3
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Venue: Lumen Field
Referee: Ramy Touchan
Assistants: Ian Anderson, Jeff Hosking
Fourth Official: Michael Radchuk
VAR: Hilario Grajeda
Attendance: 32,790
Weather: 81 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
SKC – Johnny Russell 31’
SKC – Daniel Sallói (Gadi Kinda, Khiry Shelton) 42’
SEA – Fredy Montero 51’
SKC – Cameron Duke (Graham Zusi, Johnny Russell) 72’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Danny Leyva (caution) 29’
SKC – Graham Zusi (caution) 80’
SEA – João Paulo (caution) 84’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Cleveland; Jimmy Medranda (Brad Smith 64’), Xavier Arreaga (Ethan Dobbelaere 74’), Yeimar, Abdoulaye Cissoko (Reed Baker-Whiting 34’), Kelyn Rowe; João Paulo, Danny Leyva (Shane O’Neill 64’), Josh Atencio; Raúl Ruidíaz, Fredy Montero
Substitutes not used: Spencer Richey, Andrew Thomas, Alex Villanueva, Obed Vargas
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 6
Fouls: 12
Offside: 1
Corner-kicks: 6
Saves: 1
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia; Andreu Fontas, Nicolas Isimat, Graham Zusi, Luis Martins; Roger Espinoza (Ilie Sanchez 64’), Gadi Kinda (Cameron Duke 70’), Remi Walter; Johnny Russell, Khiry Shelton, Daniel Sallói
Substitutes not used: John Pulskamp, Jaylin Lindsey, Roberto Puncec, Graham Smith, Kayden Pierre, Kaveh Rad, Wilson Harris
Total shots: 7
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 15
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 3
Saves: 5
