Los Angeles Galaxy - Seattle Sounders Football Club

Winner	Score	Game Coverage
FC Dallas	W, 4-2	Game Coverage
Earthquakes	W, 4-0	Game Coverage
Sporting KC	W, 1-0	Game Coverage
Union	D, 2-2	Game Coverage
Rapids	W, 1-0	Game Coverage

Game Location

Winner

Score

Game Coverage

FC Dallas

W, 4-2

Game Coverage

Earthquakes

W, 4-0

Game Coverage

Sporting KC

W, 1-0

Game Coverage

Union

D, 2-2

Game Coverage

Rapids

W, 1-0

Game Coverage

MEN OF THE MATCH

Sounders FC and Galaxy Battle to 1-1 Draw

By Matt Gaschk
Sounders FC Insider

The Sounders FC is committed to an attacking, exciting style of play. The LA Galaxy, meanwhile, are an opportunistic team that are content to play to a draw.

Those two differing styles collided on Sunday afternoon and the Sounders had to settle for a 1-1 draw with a Mother’s Day crowd of 29,025 at Qwest Field.

Sebastien Le Toux scored his first MLS goal in the 22nd minute, but the Galaxy bounced back to tie the game, then took the air out of the ball. A second-half red card to James Riley in a melee in the midfield could have sealed the tie for LA. Seattle continued to press forward over the final 33 minutes, but couldn’t regain the lead and had to settle for the draw.

“It’s unfortunate. I take full responsibility. Obviously people have their different interpretations, but I’m disappointed that I let my team play (a man down) for 30 minutes when we let two points slip away,” Riley said. “On Mother’s Day you want to have a better result and I’m sure my next phone call to my mom she’ll have something to say.”

On a day when head coach Sigi Schmid found several calls and non-calls questionable, Riley’s ejection – the second for the Sounders in the last two games – epitomized his feelings on the game.

“I’m very proud of our team from the standpoint of playing a man down and still trying to go for the win, whereas, the opponent was a man up and they were very content to tie the game take it to 90 minutes,” Schmid said. “I’m very disappointed in the ejection and I’m disappointed in the refereeing.”

On the play, Gregg Berhalter was called for a foul 30 yards out just right of the 18-yard box. He held onto the ball as Seattle tried to set up for the free kick and as Riley tried to pull it away Berhalter stumbled to the ground. At that point, Mike Magee grabbed Riley by the back of the neck and as Riley shoved away from him, Magee fell to the ground.

“I never have intent to strike any player with my hands. He gave me a yellow and told me to back off, so I do,” Riley said. “Then it gets changed and I have to suck it up and take it on the chin.”

It was a frustrating game from the opening kick, as the Sounders continued an aggressive style of play while the Galaxy were content with a conservative mindset.

In the 22nd minute, Steve Zakuani played a ball forward to Nate Jaqua near the top of the box. Jaqua cut in front of LA goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and touched the ball off to Le Toux coming up the left side. With an open net in front of him, Le Toux calmly took a touch before shooting into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“It came wide and some space opened up so I made a through run. Steve played a good ball through and I saw Seba off to the left and Ricketts coming hard,” Jaqua said. “I was able to knock it off to him and Seba was able to put it in.”

Even scoring his first goal didn’t change Le Toux’s outlook on the tie.

“My only operative is to win games. If I score or I don’t score I want to win and take the three points,” he said. “It was nice for me to score my first goal in the MLS, but we didn’t win the game so there’s a bit of frustration.”

LA evened the score in the 35th minute when Magee drove in a cross from just outside the box on the left side. Alan Gordon got his head on it and flicked it to Kasey Keller’s left for the goal, evening the tally at 1-1.

“Their whole playing style all season has been to keep themselves close and in games and snag a goal here and there,” Schmid said. “They got a good cross and a good finish on a ball that we lost coming off the back that we probably shouldn’t have lost where we did.”

In the 45th minute, Seattle had an opportunity to recapture the lead when a ball was played to Jaqua in the box. He was dragged down from behind by Dema Kovalenko, but there was no call, leaving the Galaxy on the counter attack. Brad Evans was called for a foul on the play and was issued a yellow card after objecting to the no-call on the other end.

“When you’re playing a team like that that’s what you’re going to get. You’re going to get some shots here and there, but if you get denied those opportunities it’s going to be a long afternoon,” Schmid said.

In the second half, Seattle was aggressive, continuing to push forward, even while playing a man down, but the Galaxy used stall tactics to frustrate the Sounders and preserve the draw, their sixth of the season.

“After a red card it was a hard game, but I think we made it even. Unfortunately it’s a draw and we would have liked to have won the game,” Ljungberg said.

Seattle moves to 4-2-2 (14 points) while LA is 1-1-6 (9 points). Seattle’s next game is Saturday on the road against FC Dallas. Kickoff is set for 6:30.

Play by Play

Time	Event	Description
Pregame		Welcome to SoundersFC.com and Happy Mothers Day! Gates have opened and supporters are starting to take their seats.
Pregame		Sounders FC starting lineup: Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall, Nathan Sturgis, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Freddie Ljungberg, Steve Zakuani, Nate Jaqua, Sebastien Le Toux. Reserves: Chris Eylander, Taylor Graham, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Zach Scott, Stephen King, Sanna Nyassi. LA Galaxy starting lineup: Donovan Ricketts, Tony Sanneh, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant, Stefani Miglioranzi, Jovan Kirovski, Dema Kovalenko, Mike Magee, Alan Gordon, Landon Donovan. Reserves: Josh Saunders, Chris Klein, Eddie Lewis, Edson Buddle, AJ DeLaGarza, Bryan Jordan, Josh Tudela.
Pregame		Seattle Pacific University's women's soccer team was honored before the game and 2008 NCAA Division II player of the year Meredith Teague was presented with the Golden Scarf.
Kickoff		The Sounders are defending the south goal, and Seattle takes the opening kick at 12:06.
1		Jhon Kennedy Hurtado went down early after taking a bump from an LA player. It was well over a minute after the restart that the referee let him back onto the field.
4		Freddie Ljunberg sent in a corner kick from the right side. Seattle couldn't generate anything from the initial kick, but maintained possession.
5		Nate Jaquaa is fouled 30 yards out on the right side of teh penalty box. Freddie Ljungberg takes the kick, but Seattle is called offsides.
7		Freddie Ljungberg leads Sebastien Le Toux with a pass up the midfield, but is hammered from behind and LA is called for the foul.
8		Landon Donovan takes a corner kick from teh right side ... the ball ends up at the feet of Mike Magee for a shto from 20 yards out, but he is off the mark for a goal kick.
9		Sebastien Le Toux pressures LA's defense into a turnover in their own end as Donovan Rickets sends an errant pass over the touchline.
11		Osvaldo Alonso leads Sebastien Le Toux up the right side of the box with a great ball, but Le Toux's cross to the middle is played clear by LA.
12		Nathan Sturgis takes a corner kick from the left side, but LA clears it.
15		Tyrone Marshall is called for a foul on Landon Donovan 35 yards out. Donovan takes teh free kick, and Seattle prevents the initial offering. The ball eventually lands at Donovan's feet at the top of the 18, but his shot goes wide right for a goal kick.
18		Sebastien Le Toux is called offside on a run from just outside the 18.
19		Landon Donovan takes a cross from the right side, but Kasey Keller jumps to grab it out of the air for the stop.
21		Freddie Ljungberg playes a ball into the box to Nate Jaqua, but LA's defense sucks in and prevents the cross.
22		Sebastien Le Toux scores his first MLS goal. Steve Zakuani plays the ball past LA's defense to Nate Jaqua, who chips a pass past Donovan Rickets to Le Toux in front of the open net. Zakuani and Jaqua both pick up assists on the play. Sounders FC 1, Galaxy 0.
23		Seattle gets another quick opportunity, but LA clears away their corner kick from the left side.
25		Nate Jaqua flicks a header toward teh net off a pass from Osvaldo Alonso, but it falls wide for a goal kick.
27		Freddie Ljungberg plays a ball forward for Nate Jaqua, but Donovan Ricketts comes out to grab it.
28		Steve Zakuani splits the LA defense and shoots from 22 yards out, the blistering shot popped off the chest of Donovan Ricketts, but he recovered before Seattle could pick up the rebound.
29		Stefani Miglioranzi is called for a foul when he takes down Nate Jaqua in the midfield.
30		Alan Gordon tries to run through Freddie Ljungberg in the midfield and Ljungberg is called for a foul, much to hsi dismay.
32		Alan Gordon takes down Freddie Ljungberg amidst a triple-team in the midfield. After initially waving play clear, the referee issued a yellow card to Gordon.
34		Landon Donovan makes a run up the middle, but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado stops him dead in his tracks for the turnover.
36		Alan Gordon flicks a header past Kasey Keller into the right side of the net. Mike Magee sent in the cross form the left side. Sounders FC 1, LA Galaxy 1. That was Keller's first goal allowed at Qwest Field.
37		Alan Gordon heads another ball in the box, but Osvaldo Alonso heads it clear for a corner kick. Landon Donovan takes the kick and Seattle plays it out for another corner. The second one is played over the touchline for an LA throw from 25 yards out.
43		Landon Donovan takes out Nathan Sturgis along the left sideline for a foul.
45		Nate Jaqua is hammered inside the box with no call. Going the other way, Brad Evans is issued a yellow card for nudging Landon Donovan.
47+		After two minutes of stoppage time, the referee blows the halftime whistle. Sounders FC 1, LA Galaxy 1.
46		LA kicks off to start the second half, attacking the north goal.
48		Brad Evans earns a corner kick on the right side. Freddie Ljungberg takes the kick and Tyrone Marshall heads the service wide for a goal kick.
49		Sebastien Le Toux plays a ball forward along the left touchline to Steve Zakuani, who races into the box before dropping a pass to Freddie Ljungberg, but LA plays it out for a corner kick. Freddie Ljungberg takes the kick, but it is cleared away.
51		Mike Magee is played to the ground with no call. He is taken off the field, but returns when play resumes.
54		Steve Zakuani again races past the LA defense and plays a ball in to Freddie Ljungberg for a header, but it goes high.
54		Attendance is announced at 29,025.
57		Amidst a scuffle, James Riley is given a red card after Mike Magee grabs him from around the neck. Riley responded by shoving Magee and was given a red card ejection, while Magee was not even cautioned.
58		Amidst the post-red card chaos, Freddie Ljungberg is issued a yellow card and Mike Magee also is shown a yellow.
61		Steve Zakuani is taken down 30 yards out and LA's Landon Donovan is issued a yellow card.
62		LA's Donovan Ricketts hits the deck after a collision with Nate Jaqua. He returns to his feet after writhing on the ground for a minuteand limps up to take the goal kick.
63		Chris Klein subs on for Jovan Kirovski.
65		Chris Klein rockets in a shot from 20 yards out, but Kasey Keller collects it for the save.
66		Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is furious when LA plays a ball over the touchline but continues play with no whistle, eventually earning a corner kick.
68		Landon Donovan works past Tyrone Marshall on the right side, but Osvaldo Alonso stops his run for a corner kick.
72		Zach Scott subs on for Nathan Sturgis.
73		Sanna Nyassi subs on for Steve Zakuani.
76		Eddie Lewis subs on for Alan Gordon.
78		Nate Jaqua is called offside after a great ball forward by Freddie Ljungberg.
80		Nate Jaqua is given a yellow card for a foul on Gregg Berhalter.
82		Gregg Berhalter takes down Nate Jaqua for a free kick from 30 yards out.
83		Stefani Miglioranzi is issued a yellow card for a foul on Freddie Ljungberg in the midfield.
84		Edson Buddle subs on for Dema Kovalenko.
87		Stephen King subs on for Sebastien Le Toux. Seattle plays the ball forward quick, but Donovan Ricketts comes out for the stop.
89		Donovan Ricketts falls to the ground untouched, apparently resulting from his earlier collision, though he stands right back to his feet when the trainers reach him.
91+		Sanna Nyassi thunders in a shot from 40 yards out, but it goes high for a goal kick.
Full Time		The referee blows the final whistle after three minutes of stoppage time. Final score, Sounders FC 1, LA Galaxy 1.

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