From the top rope: Sounders deliver beatdown to Sporting KC

The Seattle Sounders hosted Sporting Kansas City and comfortably collected three points, winning 2-0 in the golden sunlight on Sunday at Lumen Field. Jackson Ragen and Paul Rothrock provided the goals in the 19th and 40th minutes of the first half, and only a saved penalty, a VAR intervention and a couple missed chances kept the scoreline even that close. The win vaulted the Sounders into fifth in the Western Conference, just two points out of second.

The game started in a back-and-forth rhythm. SKC had the first look as Erik Thommy forced a diving save from Stefan Frei, who palmed the ball away for a corner in the 2nd minute. Georgi Minoungou created some danger in the 13th minute following a lovely spell of possession for Seattle put him in space but his cross with Jordan Morris and Paul Rothrock running into the box was blocked by Melia. In the 16th minute Stefan Frei came out to punch or catch a corner and couldn’t reach it; the ball instead struck a Sounders defender and the ricochet hit off an SKC player and was bound for goal if not for a big clearance off of the line by Cristian Roldan.

The Sounders got their breakthrough on a corner of their own just three minutes later. Albert Rusnák sent in a spectacular corner kick that linked up with Morris, and his header was saved by Melia but not without giving up a rebound. Ragen was first to the rebound and hoofed the ball into the roof of the net to give Seattle the lead.

Seattle started stacking chances from there and appeared to have doubled the lead in the 24th minute with a Cristian Roldan goal rounding out a brilliant set piece routing with a header. The play was reviewed and called back as both Morris and Rothrock looked to be offside during the buildup to the goal.

Rothrock made good on his chances in the 40th minute, permanently giving them the 2-0 lead that had been wiped away earlier in the half. Rusnák played a particularly pleasing 1-2 with Cristian Roldan, then hit a cushioned header that Jordan Morris helped on its way to the back post where Rothrock ran onto it and pushed the Sounders further ahead.

Things seemed to be swinging even further in Seattle’s favor just a few minutes later when Obed Vargas drew a penalty for the Sounders. Rusnák took a blocked shot from inside the penalty area, and Vargas sprinted into the box attempting a first-time shot but was clipped on his way. Rusnák stepped up to the spot to take his third PK of the season. He was unable to beat Tim Melia, who dove to his right and blocked the shot before one of his defenders cleared the ball out for a corner.

The Sounders nearly let SKC back into the game deep in first-half stoppage. Alex Roldan initially made a good play to keep the ball from going out for a corner, then put on a couple moves to open some space in order to distribute out of the pressure, but tried one too many times and was dispossessed. Fortunately for the Sounders the ensuing shot was high and wide, and Frei wasn’t troubled.

Seattle weren’t satisfied there, and continued to push for more goals in the second half. All of Morris, the Roldans, Rothrock and Rusnák got involved as the side continued to create chances, as did Pedro de la Vega after subbing into the game in the 66th minute, but a third goal never came. The 2-0 scoreline held and the Sounders moved into 5th place on 46 points after 29 games. They’ll be back in action on Wednesday, September 18 when they host the San Jose Earthquakes.

Key moments

2 - Save! The Sounders give the ball away in midfield and SKC pass through the defense to get in behind, but Stef Frei makes a diving save to palm the ball away from goal and out for a corner.

13 - Cross! Georgi Minoungou gets the ball in some space after a really good spell of possession and hits a cross into the area. Tim Melia dives out to catch the cross with Jordan Morris and Paul Rothrock both making runs into dangerous spots.

16 - Goal line clearance! Frei comes out to punch and misses on a corner. The ball is headed off of an attacker and heads straight for goal, but Cristian Roldan makes a huge

19 - GOAL! Jackson Ragen smashes home a rebound on a corner kick! Albert Rusnák’s service finds Morris who puts a good header towards goal, and Tim Melia dives across to keep it out but gives up a rebound. Ragen is first to it and smashes it into the roof! 1-0 Sounders

22 - Miss! Paul Rothrock gets played in down the left wing by a big switch from Cristian Roldan. He beats Khiry Shelton around the corner and gets off a shot aimed for the far post, but it curls away and out for a goal kick.

24 - Goal called off. Cristian Roldan appeared to double the lead with a header off of a beautifully-played free kick, but the goal is called back after review due to an offside call.

35 - Save! SKC get a clean look at goal, but Frei gets down to his left to keep Erik Thommy’s shot out of the back of the net and holds onto the ball.

40 - GOAL! Paul Rothrock provides the finish after some intricate passing around the area leads to a cushioned header to the back post from Albert Rusnák. The header is pushed on by Morris, and Rothrock gets on the end of it and doesn’t miss this time as he puts it away calmly. 2-0 Sounders

43 - Penalty! Obed Rothrock runs into the box to strike the rebound from a Rusnák shot, but is clipped on his way in and the Sounders are awarded a penalty.

44 - Penalty saved! Rusnák takes the ensuing PK, but his shot is saved by Melia who dives to his right to block it. An SKC defender is first to the rebound and he sends it out for a corner.

45+7 - Miss. Alex Roldan initially makes a great play as he saves a ball from going out for a corner, then puts a couple of moves on players to avoid pressure in his own box but tries it one time too many and is dispossessed, but the resulting shot goes wide.

56 - Chance! Cristian Roldan pounces on a loose ball and drives out of Seattle’s half and into the final third before laying the ball off to Rothrock on the right wing. Rothrock hits a cross that just misses connecting with Morris and bounces out to Rusnák who has a shot from a tough angle and puts it out for a goal kick.

78 - Chance! Jordan Morris is played into space behind the defense by Cristian Roldan and waits until he can play the ball across to the back post for Rothrock, but it’s deflected out for a corner.

82 - Miss. Cristian Roldan finds Pedro de la Vega in space and he crosses the ball on the ground into the area. Some clever triangle passing leads to a Morris shot that doesn’t test Melia.

Quick thoughts

Paulie Primetime: Paul Rothrock, AKA Paulie Primetime, AKA P-Rock, scored his third goal of the season (sixth in all competitions), and was once again much more involved than just his goal throughout another fantastic performance. Rothrock also created two chances, took two shots on three touches in the box including his goal, had 2/4 successful dribbles, and 3/4 successful crosses. On the other side of the ball he won both tackles he attempted, had 2 interceptions, 8 recoveries, and won 5/10 ground duels. Paul Rothrock earned his chances with the first team through hard work, and has made good on them with intelligence, quality and skill that more people should have seen by now.

Sweet Stefan Frei: First and foremost, congratulations to Frei on taking sole possession of the second-place spot on the all-time MLS shutout records with his 113th league clean sheet in this game. He may have made an error on the play that forced Cristian Roldan to make a goal line clearance, but outside of that moment he was excellent and made multiple plays that preserved the shutout and kept Seattle in control. We’re lucky to have one of the league’s all-time greats guarding the net, and we should enjoy it for as long as he’s playing like it.

The Producers: Sporting Kansas City aren’t going to be making any claims of being one of the top teams in MLS right now, so this isn’t exactly a chance for guys like Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák to beat the “they only beat up bad teams” allegations. They still created plenty of danger, building on the performance against the Columbus Crew as they both got on the scoresheet. Both players were credited with assists (a primary for Morris and a secondary for Rusnák) on Rothrock’s goal. They may not quite be among the league’s absolute elite attacking talents, but both are undeniably talented players rounding into form at the most important part of the season.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

Georgi Minoungou – Georgi Minoungou didn’t end up with any shots taken or chances created, but he was a frequent pain in the ass of whichever SKC fullback he was lined up against. If he can keep building on his performances he’ll be a serious tool in Brian Schmetzer’s bag heading into the playoffs.