SEATTLE, WASH. - Returning to the XBOX Pitch at CenturyLink Field for the first time in nearly a month, Seattle Sounders FC (6-3-2, 20 points) secured a draw against Western Conference opponent Sporting Kansas City (4-2-6, 18 points) on Saturday night in front of 40,653 fans. With the draw, Seattle moves into second position in the MLS Western Conference following Vancouver's loss in Colorado tonight. The Rave Green trail conference-leading FC Dallas by a sole point, with Sounders FC holding a game in-hand over the Hoops. Seattle is now 7-1-2 all-time against Sporting Kansas City in MLS play, including a nine-match unbeaten streak, with the Rave Green holding a 3-1-2 record at CenturyLink Field.
Sounders FC created a number of scoring chances throughout the evening, culminating in some key opportunities down the stretch, including a Brad Evans bicycle kick inside Sporting's 18-yard-box that found the feet of Chad Barrett. The Sounders FC forward put his shot on-target, only for Sporting netminder Tim Melia to come up with the stop. Sporting countered with a chance of its own in second-half stoppage-time, as midfielder Benny Feilhaber smashed a right-footed attempted toward Seattle's goal. Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei made a diving save to preserve the draw, and with tonight's result Frei is now tied for the league lead in clean-sheets after his sixth shutout of the campaign. Frei continues to lead Major League Soccer in saves (44).
Returning to action in just four days, Sounders FC next welcomes the Colorado Rapids to CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, May 27 (7:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM). The Rave Green round-out their three-match home-stand on Sunday, May 31 against the New York Red Bulls on the XBOX Pitch (2:00 p.m. PT / ESPN2, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 - Sporting Kansas City 0
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Venue: XBOX Pitch at CenturyLink Field
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Eduardo Mariscal
Fourth Official: Drew Fischer
Attendance: 40,653
Weather: Cloudy and 62 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
None
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SKC - Soni Mustivar (caution) 81'
SKC - Kevin Ellis (caution) 81'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans - C, Chad Marshall, Dylan Remick; Marco Pappa (Cristian Roldan 73'), Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Lamar Neagle (Andy Rose 64'), Clint Dempsey, Chad Barrett (Darwin Jones 84')
Substitutes not used: Troy Perkins, Micheal Azira, Leo Gonzalez, Zach Scott
Total shots: 10 (Barrett/Neagle, 3)
Shots on goal: 1 (Barrett, 1)
Fouls: 6 (Alonso, 2)
Offside: 4 (Barrett, 3)
Corner-kicks: 2 (Pappa/Pineda, 1)
Saves: 3 (Frei, 3)
Sporting Kansas City - Tim Melia, Jalil Anibaba, Matt Besler - C, Kevin Ellis, Amadou Dia; Servando Carrasco (Graham Zusi 77'), Krisztian Nemeth, Benny Feilhaber, Soni Mustivar, Jacob Peterson (Connor Hallisey 56'); Jimmy Medranda (Saad Abdul-Salaam 58')
Substitutes not used: Luis Marin, Paulo Nagumara, James Rogers
Total shots: 9 (Feilhaber/Nemeth, 3)
Shots on goal: 3 (Peterson, 2)
Fouls: 11 (Feilhaber, 3)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 3 (Zusi, 2)
Saves: 1 (Melia, 1)
MATCH NOTES
- Seattle Sounders FC improves to 6-3-2 on the season and is unbeaten in five of its past six matches.
- With 20 points, Sounders FC is now tied for second place in the Western Conference with Vancouver Whitecaps FC, despite having two games in-hand. Seattle has one game in-hand on FC Dallas, who sits at the top of the conference table with 21 points. Sounders FC leads the conference with an average of 1.82 points-per-match.
- Seattle is now 7-1-2 all-time against Sporting Kansas City in MLS play, including a nine-match unbeaten streak, with a 3-1-2 record at CenturyLink Field.
- For the seventh time in 10 regular season meetings, Seattle and Sporting were tied 0-0 at halftime. All 10 of their head-to-head matchups have been decided by one goal or fewer.
- Seattle's two corner kicks is the fewest single-game mark for the club during the 2015 campaign.
- Stefan Frei recorded his sixth shutout of the season, which ties him for first league-wide with Vancouver's David Ousted. Frei continues to hold the mark for most saves in MLS (44).
- Sounders FC has recorded two scoreless draws in the same season for the first time since 2012.
