The Seattle Sounders’ draw against Sporting KC this past weekend felt like a defeat. Even though Seattle dominated the ball with 66% possession, they failed to convert that control into enough dangerous opportunities to secure three points. Seattle fired off 26 shots, but only generated 1.6 expected goals. This high volume of low-quality chances highlights their struggle to break down Kansas City’s low block defense. SKC was able to produce a comparable level of expected goals (1.3) and seven shots on target while seeing significantly less of the ball.
This was the strongest game of the season for the Sounders in terms of field tilt. 78% of the game’s final-third attacking actions belonged to Seattle. The fact that Kansas City generated a comparable amount of expected goals from only 22% field tilt suggests a disappointing level Sounders attacking efficiency. In other words, although Seattle kept the ball in dangerous areas frequently, they failed to convert that pressure into enough high-quality chances.
According to our friends at American Soccer Analysis, 17 of Seattle’s 26 shots were placed in a “poor” shot-selection category. If you watch a recap you’ll see the Sounders had a hard time breaking down the Sporting KC’s low block and settled for a majority of contested shots that weren’t overly difficult for Stefan Cleveland to handle.
On a more positive note, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Jesús Ferreira had great performances for the second matchweek in a row. Ferreira created the most chances in the game (6), took 5 shots, and completed 7 passes into the final third. He was the focal point of the attack and had a few well struck shots from distance that would have changed the outcome of the game if not for the fingertips of former Sounder Stefan Cleveland.
