On the back of a Dom Dwyer brace, Sporting Kansas City thrashed the Seattle Sounders at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas on Sunday. Dwyer's goals, which came on both sides of a tally from Jacob Peterson, were more than enough to give the home side a comprehensive 3-0 victory. 

What was at stake?

Seattle entered the game in desperate need of three points; they had dropped their previous two games in all competitions, falling 3-1 on the road at the Portland Timbers in league play and then crashing out of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 4-2 dismantling at the hands of the LA Galaxy. At the start of the day, the Sounders sat 10 points out of a playoff spot, and just one off the bottom of the Western Conference table.

Meanwhile, Sporting entered in a far better position; though on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, they knew that a victory would take them up to fourth place in the West. On Sunday afternoon, the "Missouri Azzuri" played like this was an important match in the fate of the West. The Rave Green did not. 

Sporting in the ascendency early

As they so often do, SKC got off to a terrific start in front of a raucous home crowd. They were doing a good job of spreading the play around, and Benny Feilhaber and Roger Espinoza were in their element, dictating play. A gallop upfield from Feilhaber created the game's first chance in the sixth minute. The man who cannot get a call-up from Jurgen Klinsmann carried the ball through midfield before sending a pass out wide to Peterson. Feilhaber's flick took a deflection and set Peterson in on goal. However, he was forced to shoot from a difficult angle, and Stefan Frei was up to the task of keeping the game scoreless. 

Though Peterson was denied, Frei was unable to stop Dwyer from opening the scoring in the 21st minute. A lovely piece of combination play between Feilhaber, Jimmy Medranda, Graham Zusi and Espinoza saw the Honduran clip a terrific cross into the box. It found the unmarked head of Dwyer, who had the simplest of finishes to make the game 1-0. 

Roger Espinoza was superb on Sunday. (Photo credit: Orlin Wagner/AP)
Roger Espinoza was superb on Sunday. (Photo credit: Orlin Wagner/AP)

The home team didn't rest on their laurels, and really should have found themselves 2-0 up at the break. In first half stoppage time, a terrible giveaway from Herculez Gomez set Connor Hallisey, who had replaced the injured Zusi, in on goal. The substitute was all alone with just Frei to beat, but once again the goalkeeper stood tall. 

Yet, he was powerless to prevent Peterson from sending the Cauldron into raptures just two minutes later. A barnstorming run from Saad Abdul-Salaam down the right wing created chaos in the Seattle box, and Peterson found himself all alone about 15 yards from goal. The right back made no mistake and picked him out with a perfect pass before Peterson shaped his body perfectly to whip a shot into the top corner.

More of the same in the second period

Dwyer seemed a man on a mission to get his second goal of the match in the second period. In the 61st minute, he picked the ball up 30 yards from goal before charging at the Sounders box. He managed to create enough space for a shot and looked to have Frei beaten. However, the Swiss netminder was having almost as good of a day as Dwyer was and managed to keep his shot out. 

The Seattle defense continued its shambolic performance throughout the second period. They had played considerable roles in conceding the first two goals and almost gave away another in the 63rd minute when Tony Alfaro played an aimless pass that was picked off by Espinoza. He set Peterson in behind, who in turn picked out a gorgeous cross for Hallisey. However, it was not his day, and his half-volley bounced just wide of Frei's left-hand post. 

In the 67th minute, Peterson had an incredible chance to score his second goal of the day. The Sounders had committed too many numbers forward in search of an equalizer and left him all alone on the right wing. The winger was set in on Frei 1v1, but could only pull his shot wide. 

Sporting finally got their third goal to seal the match in the 79th minute after a dreadful back pass from Zach Scott was pounced on by Dwyer. The striker picked up the ball 20 yards out from goal, collected himself, and fired past Frei to clinch the three points. 

What does this mean?

The Sounders are left scratching their heads once again. This slump, which has spanned the entirety of the season, has seen them garner just 20 points from 20 matches. They sit ninth in the Western Conference, just one point above the last place Houston Dynamo and 10 points behind the Vancouver Whitecaps in sixth place. Meanwhile, Sporting move up to fourth in the West on 31 points, and look very likely to make the playoffs come the fall. 

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About the author
Liam McMahon
American sports journalist based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin who has been affiliated with VAVEL for more than a year. Co-editor of the soccer section at VAVEL USA and international football writer at VAVEL UK.