Alenis Vargas scored in the 85th minute as host Sporting Kansas City ended a seven-match skid by beating the Seattle Sounders 2-1 on Saturday.
Khiry Shelton fed a perfect pass to a streaking Vargas in the box. Vargas hesitated slightly, then fired it at Seattle keeper Stefan Frei, who could not control the ball and let it trickle past him.
Sporting KC (3-9-5, 14 points) won at home for just the second time this season.
Seattle (4-7-6, 18 points) had a chance to tie it in the seventh minute of stoppage time, but Alex Roldan’s free kick from just outside the box sailed high.
Sporting stayed on the attack early in the second half. They had the first nine corner kicks in the match, but none created much of a scoring opportunity.
Sporting lost striker Daniel Salloi midway through the second half with an apparent leg injury. He tried to spin at the top of the box but appeared to roll his right ankle.
The match turned in the 73rd minute when Seattle’s Reed Baker-Whiting received his second yellow card of the match, leaving Seattle down a man for the duration.
Sporting kept up the pressure until Vargas netted the game-winner.
Albert Rusnak almost put the visitors ahead in the 10th minute. Rusnak fed Raul Ruidiaz in the box, but Ruidiaz was surrounded by SKC defenders. He deflected it past those defenders back to Rusnak, who faced a one-on-one against SKC keeper Tim Melia. But Rusnak chipped it over the bar.
Two minutes later, Jordan Morris put Seattle up 1-0. Joao Paulo fed Morris, who raced past a stagnant Sporting back line. He slid it past Melia for an easy goal.
Sporting leveled it in the 19th minute. Alan Pulido tried to feed Memo Rodriguez, who ran past it. It was cleared by Seattle but only back to Johnny Russell, who fired it into the lower left-hand corner of the goal past Frei.
The goal seemed to inspire Sporting, who increased the attack, but the clubs went to the locker room tied at 1-1.
–Field Level Media
