The Sounders FC kept pace with the LA Galaxy with a scoreless draw at the Home Depot Center on Monday.
The Sounders FC and LA Galaxy fought to a scoreless draw on Monday with a sold out crowd of 27,000 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, keeping the Sounders on pace with the league-leading Galaxy. Seattle improved to 8-4-8 (32 points) and keep their hold on third place in the West behind the 9-2-9 (36 points) LA Galaxy.
Turning Point
In the 17th minute, the Sounders earned a penalty kick when Fredy Montero’s bicycle kick attempt was swatted down by Omar Gonzalez for a handball in the box. Montero’s penalty kick was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Perk and two minutes later Jhon Kennedy Hurtado’s undeterred header attempt on a Tyson Wahl corner kick missed wide and the Galaxy dodged another bullet. If either of those balls found the net, the tenor of the game could have changed dramatically. Instead, the two teams scratched and clawed until the final whistle with neither team giving way to the pressure.
Standouts
Kasey Keller tipped away a strong shot from Juan Pablo Angel late in the game and earned his sixth clean sheet of the season, running his road shutout streak to three matches and 273 minutes.
Mauro Rosales continues to be a fantastic signing for the Sounders FC and was superb in generating offense throughout the match.
What We Learned
The Galaxy Are Beatable - After falling to LA in their last five MLS matches, the Sounders couldn’t seem to solve the Galaxy. Although two of those matches were won 1-0 on wonder strikes by Edson Buddle and Juninho, Seattle couldn’t surpass the MLS leaders. On Monday, they outplayed the Galaxy throughout the first half and had ample opportunity to go home with the three points and were left disappointed with just one point instead of three.
Next In Line
The Sounders are on a seven-game unbeaten streak and they will take it up against the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field on Sunday. After starting the year with five straight wins at home, the Timbers are now on a six-match winless streak and are just 0-5-1 in that stretch. At home, they are 0-3-1 in their last four matches. The Cascadia rivals drew 1-1 in their meeting at CenturyLink Field on May 14.
