Dejan Joveljic Strikes, Stefan Cleveland Stands Tall as Sporting KC Hold Sounders to 1-1 Draw

Two minutes in, Sporting Kansas City looked like a team bracing for another long afternoon. Paul Rothrock had already slipped a left-footed finish inside the far post, the Western Conference's in-form side was in front, and Sporting Park had seen this movie before. Then Dejan Joveljic decided to change the ending.

Sporting Kansas City and the Seattle Sounders FC drew 1-1 on Saturday afternoon, with Joveljic equalizing in the 18th minute and new goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland making seven saves against his former club. For a Sporting side that, according to the AP, had been outscored 11-0 in three road losses across all competitions before Saturday, a point against the Sounders felt a lot bigger than one.

Rothrock Strikes Early

Seattle came out like a team that had not lost an MLS match since February. Rothrock's opener in the 2nd minute was unassisted and clinical, a finish from the left side of the box into the bottom right corner. The AP noted it was his fourth goal of the season, one shy of his career high, and the Sounders said it leads the team in both MLS play and all competitions, where he now has six.

Jesús Ferreira forced Cleveland into a save from outside the box in the 13th minute, and it looked like the Sounders might run away with it.

Turning Point: Joveljic Pounces

Instead, Sporting struck back in the 18th minute. By Sporting's account, Seattle captain Cristian Roldan misplayed a pass, Joveljic was already on the move, and his first-time finish from the edge of the area went through Andrew Thomas' legs. ESPN logged it as an unassisted right-footed shot from outside the box into the center of the goal.

Joveljic had a cheeky explanation afterward. "I just started early running and hoping that he's going to assist me and I was right," he said. "Unlucky for him, but I'm so happy because of it."

Sporting said the goal ended a long scoreless stretch for the club across all competitions and also snapped Seattle's 420-minute regular-season road shutout streak. It was Joveljic's fifth goal of the season, per the AP, and the club said he is now the only player in MLS with five or more regular-season goals in each of the past five seasons.

Cleveland Holds the Line

The rest of the afternoon was largely Seattle with the ball and Sporting with the bodies. Roldan headed over from a corner in the 29th minute and Jordan Morris headed wide in the 37th, before Cleveland saved a Morris header at the top of the goal in first-half stoppage time. Shapi Suleymanov answered for Sporting in the 34th minute, forcing Thomas into a save from distance.

The second half followed the same pattern. Cleveland stopped Morris in the 47th minute and Rothrock in the 52nd, the latter after Ethan Bartlow, per the club, cleared a Kalani Kossa-Rienzi header off the line. Capita nearly put Sporting ahead on a 65th-minute counter, latching onto a Joveljic through ball, but Thomas saved. Cleveland then made stops on Kossa-Rienzi in the 70th, Ferreira in the 80th and Osaze De Rosario in the 82nd.

Sporting's last real look fell to substitute Taylor Calheira, who had only just come on when Thomas got a hand to his left-footed shot in the 84th. Jackson Ragen headed over from a corner in stoppage time, and that was that.

Star Watch

Cleveland was the story in goal. The club said it was his Sporting debut and his first MLS appearance since July 2023, and he came up with seven saves against a Seattle team he used to play for. "His experience, his calmness, his decision making was good," head coach Raphael Wicky said.

Joveljic, the Sporting captain, delivered the goal and the attitude. "What a way to come back," he said. The AP counted it as his 23rd goal in 42 appearances for the club, and Sporting noted he now has three goals in his last four games against Seattle. For Seattle, Ferreira led the way with five shots, Morris added four, and Rothrock's goal kept him at the top of the team's scoring chart. Thomas made six saves of his own.

In Their Own Words

Wicky saw a team that refused to fold after a nightmare start. "The team didn't crumble. The team reacted and stayed in the game and then came back," he said. He also acknowledged the trade-off of sitting deep. "The downside from defending deep is that possibly the opponent has then a lot of crosses and has then a lot of shots," he said.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Seattle 65.5 percent, Sporting 34.5 percent.
• Shots: Seattle 26, Sporting 10.
• Shots on target: Seattle 9, Sporting 7.
• Saves: Cleveland 7, Thomas 6.
• Clearances: Sporting made 35 to Seattle's 13.

What It Means

Seattle moves to 6-2-1 with 20 points and stays unbeaten in seven straight league matches. The Sounders said they sat fourth in the Western Conference at the time of writing, and their five goals allowed are tied for the fewest in MLS. The AP noted Seattle missed a chance at its 100th regular-season road win since 2009. Brian Schmetzer's side now heads home for three matches in eight days, starting with San Diego FC on May 9.

Sporting moves to 1-2-7 with 5 points. The club said the result was its first point in seven games across all competitions, and Sporting is still without a home win this season, with three losses and two draws at Sporting Park. Next is a trip to the Portland Timbers on May 9.

Closing Take

Every underdog sports movie has the scene where the outgunned team simply refuses to go away. This was Sporting's version. Seattle took 26 shots and scored once, and a team that had looked lost for weeks dug in and found something. It is not a win, and Wicky knows his side cannot live this deep forever. But for one sunny afternoon in Kansas City, a draw against the West's in-form contender felt like real progress.

Stats from ESPN's match data and the AP recap via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by Sporting Kansas City (sportingkc.com). Match notes from Seattle Sounders FC (soundersfc.com).