SEATTLE — Anytime a team near the top of the table faces one near the bottom, the specter of the “trap game” is summoned. In the buildup to Sunday’s game against Sporting KC, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer and various players were asked about it repeatedly. To a man, they all said they were well aware of Sporting KC’s quality despite the fact that they were coming into the match as the league’s last winless team and having scored just three goals in 10 games.
The Sounders came into the game 17 points ahead of last-place Kansas City, but there were some reasons to be worried.