Peter Vermes of Sporting Kansas City will hit a major milestone on Sunday, coaching in his 500th regular season match as the head coach of a single MLS team—an unprecedented achievement in league history. Despite the milestone, Vermes isn’t dwelling on it as Sporting KC (7-14-7, 28 points) prepares for their game against Seattle, sitting eight points behind the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. After a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls last Saturday, where Sporting KC allowed the equalizer in the 89th minute despite a goal from Alan Pulido, Vermes said, “We really should have had three points last week. Nothing is over until it’s over, but we have to keep getting points.”
The Seattle Sounders (12-9-7, 43 points), currently fifth in the West, recently earned a 4-0 win over a shorthanded Columbus team, with Albert Rusnak netting his first professional hat trick. Columbus was down to ten men after goalkeeper Abraham Romero got a red card late in the first half, and with two other goalies away on international duty, they had to use an outfield player in goal. Rusnak took full advantage, scoring a free kick just before halftime and adding two more goals in the second half. “I felt a bit more pressure taking the free kick with an outfield player in goal,” Rusnak admitted. “It wasn’t fair for him to be in goal, but it was their only option.”
The Sounders have been in strong form lately, going 8-2-1 in their last 11 league matches since a 2-1 loss to Kansas City on June 8, where SKC’s Alenis Vargas scored the winning goal in the 85th minute while Seattle was down a man due to Reed Baker-Whiting’s red card in the 73rd minute. Seattle’s match on Sunday will kick off a three-game homestand. “We can go on a bit of a run here,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. “That would boost everybody’s morale, and that’s what I’m hoping for.”
