KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Gerso Fernandes scored three second-half goals in 13 minutes, Tim Melia had his seventh shutout and Sporting Kansas City beat the Seattle Sounders 3-0 on Wednesday night for sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.
Kansas City (6-2-4) is undefeated in 15 straight home games. Seattle (2-5-4) lost its third straight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2ijjIrJ8rg
Fernandes is the first Sporting KC player with a hat trick since Birahim Diop in 2010. In the 56th minute, Fernandes had a deflected corner kick fall to his feet and he slotted it inside the near post. Two minutes later, Fernandes one-touched a shot off the post and he put it home after blocking a clearance attempt. In the 69th, Graham Zusi found space along the edge of the 18-yard box and found an open Fernandes at the penalty spot.
Melia kept it scoreless in the first half with two quality saves just before halftime. He stayed low to kick away Alvaro Fernandez’s breakaway shot in the 45th and on the ensuing corner kick, Melia dove to his left to deny Cristian Roldan’s shot from distance.
Photo credit – Nick Tre. Smith /The Kansas City Star via AP / Kansas City, KS
