Sporting Kansas City (18-8-8, 62 points) earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over LAFC (16-9-9, 57 points) on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park to finish first in the Western Conference and lock up a No. 1 seed in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Roger Espinoza fired Sporting KC ahead with a stunning goal in the 37th minute, but the hosts were reduced to 10 men on the hour mark when Seth Sinovic received a red card for a hand ball infraction inside the box. Carlos Vela buried the ensuing penalty kick to draw LAFC level, only for Daniel Salloi to strike back in the 79th minute to seal a thrilling win on Decision Day as the 2018 MLS regular season came to a dramatic end.