The Seattle Sounders will host Sporting Kansas City on Thursday at CenturyLink Field (7 p.m. PT; FS1, UniMas, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM) in a Knockout Round game of the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about the match.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field.
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be telecast on FS1 and UniMas. You can find a full list of Sounders FC Pub Partners here.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The game will air on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 7-4-3 all time against Sporting KC, but have not defeated SKC since 2014. Sporting is 2-2-3 all time at CenturyLink Field including a 1-0 win in the 2016 season opener. The two teams have never met in the postseason.
LAST MEETING: Sporting KC won 3-0 on July 24 in Kansas City behind a Dom Dwyer brace and a Jacob Peterson goal. That was the last match before the Sounders and longtime head coach Sigi Schmid parted ways and Brian Schmetzer was promoted interim head coach.
PLAYOFF STREAKS ALIVE: The Sounders and SKC each won on Decision Day to book their eighth and sixth consecutive postseason trips, respectively. The teams are two of only six in MLS history to earn at least six straight playoff berths. SKC have lost each of the past two years in the Knockout Round, while the Sounders have never failed to reach the conference semifinals, winning in the Knockout Round in 2013 and 2015.
SCHMETZER SUCCESS: Since Schmetzer took the reins, Seattle has gone 8-4-2 and catapulted from ninth place in the Western Conference to hosting a playoff match, a remarkable turnaround from a team that had just 20 points from its opening 20 matches.
IVANSCHITZ UNLIKELY: Sounders midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz exited against the Houston Dynamo two weeks ago with a right knee sprain and has missed the last two matches. Schmetzer said last week that Ivanschitz would probably be unavailable for Seattle’s Knockout Round match.
KNOCKED OUT ROUND: Sporting Kansas City will be playing in its third consecutive Knockout Round away match and has come up short in each of the past two seasons. SKC memorably fell to the eventual MLS Cup winners Portland Timbers last year when Saad Abdul-Salaam improbably hit both posts during a penalty kick shootout.
ROAD WOES: Sporting Kansas City only has three road wins this season, its lowest output since 2008.
DWYER SITUATION: Forward Dwyer spearheads Sporting’s offense and has 16 goals this season, which is tied for fifth in MLS. He has four goals in his last six matches dating back to Sept. 9.
THE 200 CLUB: Sporting Kansas City defender and U.S. international Matt Besler recorded his 200th regular season MLS appearance in SKC’s win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Decision Day. He has three goals, 11 assists and has logged over 17,000 minutes in his eight-year career.
DAVIS DONE: MLS veteran and Sporting KC midfielder Brad Davis announced on Sunday his intention to retire at the end of the 2016 season. He’s played for five MLS teams over 15 years and is top 10 in league history in corner kicks (1st), assists (3rd), games played (4th), games started (tied-8th) and minutes played (10th). Davis, 34, is a two-time MLS Cup champion, a six-time All-Star, an MLS Best XI (2011) and MVP runner-up (2011).
