Sporting KC

Sporting KC looks to extend home unbeaten streak vs. Sounders

Published May. 17, 2017 7:01 a.m. ET

Sporting Kansas City and Seattle will meet for the first time since the 2016 postseason.

Sporting Kansas City looks to extend a club-record 14-match home unbeaten streak as it hosts the reigning MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Sporting has the league's best defense, yielding only seven goals in 11 games (0.64 goals per game). Goalkeeper Tim Melia has recorded six clean sheets, two clear of anyone else in MLS. He is second in save percentage (.775) while recording the sixth-most saves (31) because the SKC defense is so stout. He has faced the 10th-most shots (40) this season.

Sporting KC (5-2-4) is coming off a 2-2 draw on the road against Orlando. Latif Blessing, in the first start of his MLS career, scored both goals for SKC.

"He did a great job coming in," Sporting coach Peter Vermes said of Blessing. "He's got a great nose for the ball. He was relentless."

Sporting Kansas City and Seattle will meet for the first time since the 2016 postseason. Seattle eliminated Sporting KC with a 1-0 home victory.

It was the second time in as many seasons Sporting's season ended in the first round of the postseason by the eventual champion.

While Sporting is tied for the top spot in the Western Conference, Seattle (2-4-4) has struggled so far in 2017.

The Sounders are coming off a 4-1 loss at Chicago. Coach Brian Schmetzer's squad sits ninth in the West, coincidentally the same position Seattle held after losing to Sporting KC 3-0 last July 24.

Following that loss, Seattle went on a 8-2-4 rally over the last 14 matches to get into the playoffs, a run that ended with a shootout victory over Toronto FC in the MLS Cup final.

Despite the rough start this season, Seattle sports a wealth of offensive talent. U.S. national team players Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris are joined by Nicolas Lodeiro, who was the catalyst to the Sounders' late-season surge.

They know they will have a challenge winning at Children's Mercy Park.

"If you look at them statistically at home, they're pretty (darn) good," Schmetzer said. "Good defensive squad. The challenge is to take our team, which has struggled to be consistent in front of goal, and manufacture goals against them. That'll be the key to the game."

Sporting forward Soony Saad is questionable with a sprained ankle.

Sounders left back Joevin Jones is tied for third in MLS with five assists but will serve a one-game suspension after picking up two yellow cards Saturday. Seattle defender Roman Torres is out with a strained hamstring, and Osvaldo Alonso is questionable due to quad tightness.

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