Recap: Sporting KC picks up point with 1-1 draw at Seattle Sounders FC

CenturyLink Field | Seattle, WA
Attendance: 46,392
Weather: 71 degrees and mild
Video: Match Highlights

Sporting Kansas City: Jimmy Nielsen©; Chance Myers, Lawrence Olum, Aurelien Collin, Michael Harrington; Roger Espinoza, Michael Thomas, Peterson Joseph (Graham Zusi 50); Jacob Peterson (Kei Kamara 65), Teal Bunbury, Soony Saad (C.J. Sapong 86)

Subs not used: Eric Kronberg; Julio Cesar, Seth Sinovic, Konrad Warzycha

Seattle Sounders FC: Andrew Weber; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jeff Parke, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Alvaro Fernandez 81), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Andy Rose 72), Alex Caskey; Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 81)

Subs not used: Bryan Meredith, Servando Carrasco, Cordell Cato, Steve Zakuani

Misconduct Summary:

KC – Aurelien Collin (caution; reckless foul) 16
KC – Lawrence Olum (caution; reckless tackle) 48
KC – Jimmy Nielsen (caution; delaying a restart) 59
SEA – Zach Scott (caution; reckless foul) 89
SEA – Alvaro Fernandez (ejection; serious foul play) 91+

Scoring Summary:

KC – Jacob Peterson 1 (Aurelien Collin 1) 8
SEA – Patrick Ianni 1 (Mauro Rosales 3) 15

Sporting Kansas City earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday and remain unbeaten in their past six matches in all competition. Sporting KC opened the scoring early with a goal from Jacob Peterson in the 8th minute and Seattle equalized shortly after with a volley from Patrick Ianni. 

It was a night of many firsts, as Peterson notched his first goal for Sporting Kansas City, and Soony Saad, Peterson Joseph and Michael Thomas marked their first starts for the club while several starters were rested amidst a stretch of five games in 14 days.

The first half saw no lack of action and began at a frantic pace. Just eight minutes in, Sporting Kansas City notched the first goal of the match off of a half-volley from Peterson. His long throw-in from the right sideline was scuffled around Seattle’s box until Aurelien Collin won the aerial battle and directed it back to Peterson, who took one touch and volleyed the ball into the upper 90 of the left side of the goal. 

The goal, the earliest ever scored in the series, was Peterson’s first since joining the club in the offseason and is the 10th of his career, while Collin collected his first MLS assist on the play.

Seattle responded four minutes later when Freddy Montero took advantage of a poor pass from Roger Espinoza, intercepted and shot, but was deflected off of the right post. 

The Sounders FC equalized in the 15th minute with the earliest goal conceded by Sporting Kansas City and scored by Seattle this season. Mauro Rosales sent a free kick from the right, connecting with Ianni’s outstretched right leg for the acrobatic scissors kick from inside the area.

Sporting KC was a hair away from notching a second goal four minutes later when Roger Espinoza, in his 100th appearance for the club, made a run down the right flank, slipped in a through ball to Soony Saad, who shot with his left foot, hitting the crossbar. 

In the 29th minute, Eddie Johnson put Jimmy Nielsen to work when he slipped behind Kansas City’s backline and chipped the ball, shooting just wide of the goal. 

Sporting KC continued to pressure in the 33rd minute with a lofted free kick from Espinoza, won by Collin, but his header went narrowly over the goal.

Five minutes later, Alex Caskey, looking for his first goal in MLS play, took a driving shot from 18 yards out but was deflected by Jimmy Nielsen. 

Just a minute later, Johnson and Rosales showed the strength of their tandem when Johnson slipped a ball from the left to Rosales, who shot just wide of the far right post. 

Collin remained calm under pressure in the 45th minute when Osvaldo Alonso played in a great cross to Rosales but Collin smartly dispossessed the Argentine and muscled the ball out of play. 

The tempo refused to let up in the second half as Seattle searched for their first win in six MLS matches. In the 58th minute, Rosales, centered in Sporting’s box, tapped out to Montero on the left who went one-on-one with Nielsen but couldn’t get a clean shot off under pressure and sent it out for a goal kick.

Seattle continued to pose a threat four minutes later when Caskey slipped behind Sporting’s backline and fired the ball across the goal, catching Nielsen off his line, but missing wide of the far right post. 

Sounders FC goalkeeper Andrews Weber, making his first start for the club, made his finest save of the match in the 71st minute when an errant header from Johnson nearly put the visitors ahead. Facing his former club for the first time since his breakout MLS season in 2007, Johnson inadvertently deflected a corner from Zusi with his head, forcing Weber to make a diving stop on the goalline. 

The final 20 minutes had no shortage of back and forth action with opportunities for both sides. The 76th minute saw a corner from Zusi bounce dangerously around the box until it was finally cleared.

Neither team appeared content with a draw, as Sporting KC inserted Kei Kamara and C.J. Sapong, and the pressure continued to mount for the final minutes of the game despite tired legs.

Lawrence Olum was a hero in the 88th minute for Sporting KC when he cleared a driving shot from Montero that caught Nielsen off guard and ricocheted off of the far right post.

The Sounders FC were reduced to ten men in the first minute of stoppage time as second-half substitute Alvaro Fernandez was sent off for a late tackle from behind on Espinoza near midfield. The card was one of five shown by referee Jair Marrufo in the physical contest.

Sporting Kansas City finishes 6-1-2 against the Western Conference this season and will now travel across the country for their match at the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at PPL Park. The match will air live on KSMO-TV at 6:00 p.m. CT.

FAST FACTS:

• With the tie, Sporting Kansas City’s record moves to 9-3-2 in 2012 and 3-2-2 on the road this season. 
• With the tie, Sporting Kansas City leads MLS in points per game with 2.07 on 29 points in 14 matches.
• Jacob Peterson scored his first goal for Sporting KC in his second straight start. He now has points in two straight matches after getting an assist vs. Toronto FC in his first start. It was the 10th goal of his career and first since Oct. 10, 2010. 
• Aurelien Collin earned his first career assist in the MLS on Peterson’s goal.
• Peterson’s goal from just inside the 18 and was the farthest of the season for Sporting KC. 
• Peterson’s goal in the 8th minute was the earliest goal allowed by Seattle this season. 
• Patrick Ianni scored his first goal of the 2012 MLS season and third of his career. He now has two goals in six games played against Sporting KC, which ties him for the most among Seattle players.
• Ianni’s goal in the 15th minute was the earliest allowed by Sporting KC this season. 
• Peterson’s and Ianni’s goals were the earliest two ever scored in the all-time series between SKC and Sounders FC.
• Mauro Rosales assisted Ianni’s goal off of a free kick for his third of the season. It’s his second assist in three games played against Sporting KC, which ties him for the most of any Sounders FC player. 
• Aurelien Collin picked up his fourth yellow card of the season. He could be suspended one match for caution accumulation if he receives a fifth yellow card in the team’s upcoming matches. 
• Lawrence Olum was given his second yellow card of the season and second in three matches. 
• Seattle Soudners FC second-half substitute Alvaro Fernandez picked up a red card in stoppage time, the first of his MLS career. 
• Fernandez’s red card was the second against Sporting KC this season and the first since the Sporting Kansas City home opener on March 17.
• Sporting Kansas City maintained 50.7% of the possession in tonight’s match.
• Sporting Kansas City leads MLS in corner kicks this season with 93. 
• Sporting Kansas City has now scored first in 11 of 14 games this season. Sporting KC is 8-1-2 when scoring first.
• The tie marked Peter Vermes’ first point when coaching against the Sounders FC. 
• Roger Espinoza played in his 100th regular season game for Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday. 
• Peterson Joseph started his first career MLS match on Wednesday and played in the fourth game of his MLS career. 
• Michael Thomas made his MLS debut on Wednesday. He was the 19th overall pick (by San Jose) in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. 
• Soony Saad started the first game of his MLS career in Wednesday’s match. It was the second game he’s played this season. 
• Jacob Peterson started his second straight match on Wednesday since joining Sporting Kansas City. He has played in 10 games this year since Sporting KC acquired him in the offseason. 
• Eric Kronberg returned to the lineup as a substitute for the first time since 2011. He was out with a lower back strain which forced him to miss action since the start of the season. 
• Eddie Johnson played against Kansas City for the first time on Wednesday since leaving the team to sign with Fulham of the English Premier League in 2007. He played for Kansas City from 2006-2007 and won MLS Comeback Player of the Year in 2007. 
• Steve Zakuani returned to the Sounders FC lineup as a substitute for the first time since Apr. 22, 2011 when he broke his leg. 
• Sporting Kansas City defender Chance Myers is the only field player to have played every MLS minute this season for Sporting Kansas City.
• Sporting Kansas City captain and goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen has also played every MLS minute in net for Sporting Kansas City in 2012.
• Sporting Kansas City winger Bobby Convey missed his third straight MLS match with a left calf strain. 
• Sporting Kansas City defender and 2011 MLS All-Star Matt Besler missed his second straight MLS match due to injury. 
• Seattle set a single-season high as a team for offside calls with seven (previous high was five). It also marked the second most offside calls by a Sporting KC opponent this season. 
• Eddie Johnson recorded four offside calls which are the most for any Sounders FC player this season. 
• Wednesday’s match for Sporting KC against Sounders FC is the second of their current stretch of seven games in 22 days. 
• The tie broke Sporting KC’s five-game losing streak against Seattle.
• Seattle continued their streak of six MLS matches without a win and three straight home MLS matches without a win. 
• Sporting KC has not lost in six straight matches in all competitions. 
• Sporting KC has not won on the road since April 18 against Vancouver. 
• Sporting Kansas City’s all-time record moves to 203-202-102 and 66-129-59 on the road in the team’s 17-year history.
• Sporting Kansas City is 33-25-20 all-time in the month of June.
• Sporting Kansas City is 4-1-1 when scoring one goal and 3-1-1 when allowing one goal. 
• Sporting Kansas City is 1-1-1 on turf this season. 
• Sporting Kansas City is 1-5-1 against the Seattle Sounders FC all-time. 
• Sporting Kansas City is 8-2-2 when wearing Sporting Blue.
• Sporting Kansas City played their final Western Conference opponent of the 2012 regluar season and went 6-1-2 against Western Conference opponents.
• Tonight’s attendance was 46,932 – the largest crowd of the season for Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field.

QUOTES:

Post-game reaction from tonight’s match between Sporting Kansas City and the Seattle Sounders FC will be available on SportingKC.com, including comments from players and managers.