Forward Johnny Russell scored a hat-trick and Sporting Kansas City tied its largest margin of victory in club history with a rampant 6-0 win over nine-man Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Friday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
Jimmy Medranda, Cristian Lobato and Yohan Croizet also got in on the scoring act for a dominant Sporting KC side (5-1-2, 17 points) that went seven points clear atop the Western Conference and pushed its unbeaten streak to seven matches. The Whitecaps (3-4-1, 10 points), who suffered their heaviest loss all-time, conceded three times within the first half-hour before midfielders Yordy Reina and Efrain Juarez received straight red cards for violent conduct during an altercation at the end of the first half.