Sounders strike for three early goals, hold off Sporting KC

Albert Rusnak had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Sounders built a three-goal halftime lead and held on to defeat host Sporting Kansas City 3-2 on Saturday night.

Jordan Morris and Jesus Ferreira also scored for Seattle (9-6-6, 33 points), which extended its MLS unbeaten streak to three matches (2-0-1). Goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, filling in for the injured Stefan Frei (concussion), made seven saves.

Dejan Joveljic and Santiago Munoz scored on penalty kicks in the second half for Sporting K.C. (6-11-5, 23 points).

John Pulskamp made four stops for SKC, which had its three-match unbeaten streak (2-0-1) snapped.

Morris, making his first start since March 1 because of a pair of hamstring injuries, opened the scoring in the 15th minute. He sent a pass to Paul Rothrock on the left wing and sprinted toward the net, taking a cross and heading it into the upper left corner of the net from 5 yards out. It was Morris' 100th career goal contribution in MLS play (70 goals, 30 assists).

Rusnak nearly doubled the advantage in the 19th minute, but his 18-yard shot was cleared off the goal line by SKC defender Jansen Miller.

Rusnak did make it 2-0 in the 27th minute, converting a penalty kick after a video review determined Sporting's Daniel Salloi committed a handball in the 18-yard box. Rusnak put his kick into the right side of the net as Pulskamp lunged the wrong way.

The Sounders extended their lead to 3-0 on a counterattack deep in first-half stoppage time. Morris, Ferreira and Rusnak charged forward on a three-on-two rush. Ferreira and Rusnak executed a give-and-go in the penalty area, with Ferreira blasting a 7-yard shot past Pulskamp.

Joveljic drew a penalty kick in the 67th minute when he was tripped by Seattle's Danny Musovski just inside the top of the 18-yard box. It was the eighth consecutive match in which Joveljic had either a goal or an assist.

Joveljic nearly pulled the hosts within a goal in the 73rd minute, but his rebound attempt was cleared off the goal line by Sounders defender Alex Roldan after Salloi hit the right post.

Munoz was tripped in the penalty area in second-half stoppage time and converted the kick to make it 3-2.

--Field Level Media