With the 2020 MLS season suspended until June 8, Sporting Kansas City's highly anticipated home match against defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC is on hold. Originally scheduled to meet Saturday at Children's Mercy Park, two of last decade's most successful clubs will renew their rivalry at a later date.
To mark what would have been a marquee Western Conference clash, however, Sporting fans can look back fondly on several memorable victories over the Sounders. Let's jump right into it.
Sporting 1-0 Seattle (April 11, 2009)
The inaugural battle between the clubs saw Seattle concede their first goal and suffer their first defeat in club history. Davy Arnaud decided the encounter in the 80th minute, unleashing from long range to stun a crowd of nearly 30,000 at CenturyLink Field in downtown Seattle.
Sporting 1-1 (3-2) Seattle (Aug. 8, 2012 | U.S. Open Cup Final)
One of the defining moments in Sporting Kansas City history came at the expense of the Sounders, who fell to Manager Peter Vermes' men on penalty kicks in the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Children's Mercy Park. Kei Kamara and Zach Scott traded late goals in regulation, but the game would finish tied at 1-1 after 120 minutes. Sporting goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen was the hero from that point forward.
Sporting 3-0 Seattle (July 24, 2016)
The Sounders staged a late-season turnaround en route to hoisting their first MLS Cup title, but not before taking a 3-0 thrashing at Children's Mercy Park on a sizzling hot summer afternoon at Children's Mercy Park. Dom Dwyer scored on either side of a brilliant Jacob Peterson strike to pace the hosts.
Sporting 3-0 Seattle (May 17, 2017)
The Gershow's coming-out party was staged on a Wednesday night at Children's Mercy Park, with first-year forward Gerso Fernandes bagging a hat-trick in 13 second-half minutes to sink the hapless Sounders.
Sporting 3-2 Seattle (May 26, 2019)
In both 2016 and 2019, Seattle overcame a pair of regular season losses against Sporting to claim an MLS Cup. Last May, Johnny Russell delivered one of the finest individual performances in recent club history by scoring all three goals in a 3-2 defeat of the Sounders.
Sporting 3-2 Seattle (Aug. 4, 2019)
Just over two months after beating Seattle at home, Sporting replicated the feat by the same scoreline at CenturyLink Field. The five-goal thriller saw Felipe Gutierrez strike twice in the first half before Erik Hurtado notched a scintillating game-winner with a superb solo run and finish.
