The Seattle Sounders fell 1-0 in their Sunday afternoon road matchup against Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park, with a first-half strike from Willy Agada standing as the game’s only goal. The result eliminates Seattle from postseason contention.
The decisive goal came at back end of an end-to-end first half, when Agada toe-poked a ball in the box past Stefan Frei to put the hosts on top.
Needing all three points to keep their playoff hopes alive, Seattle pressed hard for an equalizer throughout the second half, but couldn’t quite find a lifeline as SKC took the 1-0 result.
Stefan Frei made nine saves throughout the 90 minutes to keep the Sounders within striking distance of Sporting.
Seattle will close out its 2022 league campaign with a Decision Day matchup against the San Jose Earthquakes (2:00 p.m. PT; FOX 13+, Prime Video, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS) at Lumen Field on October 9.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Streak ends
With the loss, Seatle's league-record streak of successfully qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs comes to an end. The club had qualified for 13 consecutive years since its MLS expansion season in 2009.
Frei shines
Seattle stayed in this game and had a fighting chance thanks to the theatrics of their veteran backstop, including several highlight-reel saves. His double-save in the first half that denied two separate SKC shots right on the doorstep was a thing of beauty in another sterling shift for one of the club’s most iconic players.
Silver lining
Many young players, including Danny Leyva, Josh Atencio, Ethan Dobbelaere and Obed Vargas, broke through with consistent First Team minutes this season, which should serve the club’s depth well moving forward. An offseason to simply get healthy and rest for veterans such as João Paulo and Raúl Ruidíaz will hopefully also serve to help the club hit the ground running come next preseason.
