Sporting Kansas City got their first win of the season on Sunday at Lumen Field, defeating the first-place Seattle Sounders FC 2-1 with two first-half goals from Erik Thommy and Alan Pulido.

With goals from Thommy (in the fourth minute) and Pulido (off a Thommy assist) at the 4 minute and 30 minute marks, respectively, Sporting were able to take three satisfying points back to Kansas City while handing the Sounders their first home loss of the 2023 season. Midway through the second half, Seattle pulled one back when Lodeiro scored on a penalty kick, but Sporting were able to hang on for their fourth regular season victory in five trips to Lumen Field going back to 2019.

Sporting dominated all play early on, and in the 31st minute, they added their second goal to their lead. Thommy, who had scored the game-tying goal, swiveled on his defender 30 yards out and sent a wonderful through pass into the path of Pulido, who had to struggle to keep the ball out of the net as Frei came from his line. The Mexican striker finished confidently, sliding a ball low over the Seattle goalkeeper and into the net for a 2-0 lead.

After struggling for the first 60 minutes, the Sounders found some success when Ndenbe was called for a foul on replacement Fredy Montero inside the area, earning a penalty kick. Lodeiro stepped up to take the subsequent penalty kick and buried the ensuing effort into the left corner, spoiling Sporting's chances of a shutout.

On the other end, Sporting had a golden opportunity to extend their advantage to two goals in the fifth minute of stoppage time, but Frei made a stunning save. Russell delivered a pinpoint diagonal pass to late-game replacement Roger Espinoza, who had acres of open space to exploit on the counterattack. The veteran midfielder chested the ball down, dribbled past Cody Baker, and shot on goal from 15 yards out, but Frei made a diving save to hold the score at 2-1.

[Photography by Alejandro Sanchez]