The Sporting Kansas City locker room was quiet when Peter Vermes entered. He had planned a postgame speech inside CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Thursday — his final postgame delivery of the season — but after sensing the melancholy, he kept the words brief.
A day later, the sting has yet to subside.
Sporting Kansas City was bounced from the Western Conference playoffs in bitter fashion late Thursday, falling 1-0 to Seattle after forward Nelson Valdez scored the winning goal from a clear offside position in the 88th minute. It was an insult-to-injury moment, of sorts, for Sporting KC, which twice earlier in the match pleaded with referee Ismail Elfath to eject Seattle midfielder Osvaldo Alonso for dangerous tackles.