SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders will host Sporting Kansas City in the Western Conference Knockout Round of the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs on Thursday. In a poetic way, it couldn’t be anyone else.
The nadir of Seattle’s 2016 season came on July 24. The club produced its most lifeless performance in recent memory and left 3-0 losers, distraught and utterly dismantled. That capped a start to the season that saw the Sounders earn just 20 points from 20 matches.
The organization parted ways with longtime head coach Sigi Schmid and appointed assistant Brian Schmetzer as interim head coach.