Sporting Kansas City (12-6-3, 39 points) clinched the Western Conference’s top seed in the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs on Sunday night, posting a 2-0 road victory over Real Salt Lake (5-10-7, 22 points) at snowy Rio Tinto Stadium as the MLS regular season concluded on MLS Decision Day 2020 presented by AT&T.
Forwards Khiry Shelton and Erik Hurtado both scored their fifth goals of the campaign and goalkeeper Tim Melia tabbed his third consecutive shutout, leading Sporting Kansas City to their first MLS away win at Rio Tinto Stadium since 2013. The club’s coldest regular season match on record completed Sporting’s jump from 11th place in the West last year to first place in 2020—the largest single-season improvement in the 25-year history of MLS.