SEATTLE, WASH. – Advantages in shot attempts, possession percentage and passing accuracy were not enough for Seattle Sounders FC (4-6-1, 13 points) on Saturday night at a sold-out CenturyLink Field, as the Colorado Rapids (8-2-3, 27 points) held onto a 1-0 win and claimed their second victory of 2016 over Sigi Schmid’s side. Colorado currently leads Major League Soccer’s Supporters’ Shield race by nine points, while Seattle has dropped back-to-back games for the first time since March.
Despite a 62-percent share of the game’s possession throughout the first half, Seattle conceded a goal just before the halftime whistle, as Axel Sjoberg rose to meet a Marc Burch corner-kick at Stefan Frei’s far post. The Swedish defender vaulted the visitors into a 1-0 lead, registering his first goal of the 2016 campaign in the 43rd minute of play.
Seattle had the lion’s share of scoring chances throughout the contest, including 17 total shots to Colorado’s nine attempts. Clint Dempsey got onto the end of an Andreas Ivanschitz corner-kick in the 72nd minute of play, but Burch was there to clear the Texas native’s header off the line and preserve Colorado’s lead. Ultimately Sjoberg’s goal was enough to secure all three points for the Rapids.
Sounders FC returns to training at Starfire Sports on Tuesday, May 24 before departing for a week on the East Coast on Thursday, May 26. Seattle next takes on the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, May 28 (4:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Univision-Seattle, ROOT SPORTS, KIRO Radio 97.3 GM, El Rey 1360 AM). The Rave Green then head to RFK Stadium for a midweek matchup against D.C. United on Wednesday, June 1 (5:00 p.m. PT / Q13 FOX, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 – Colorado Rapids 1
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Venue: Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Assistants: Jeremy Hanson, Mike Rottersman
Fourth Official: Baboucarr Jallow
Attendance: 41,028
Weather: 56 degrees and cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
COL – Axel Sjoberg (Marc Burch) 43’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
COL– Jermaine Jones (caution) 44’
COL– Marc Burch (caution) 60’
COL– Mekeil Williams (caution) 79’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Zach Scott, Brad Evans, Joevin Jones; Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Clint Dempsey; Aaron Kovar (Herculez Gomez 66’), Jordan Morris, Andreas Ivanschitz (Oalex Anderson 79’, Dylan Remick 83’)
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Cristian Roldan, Tony Alfaro, Oniel Fisher
Total shots: 17 (Dempsey, 5)
Shots on goal: 4 (Dempsey, 4)
Fouls: 8 (Dempsey, 3)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 10 (Ivanschitz, 9)
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
Colorado Rapids – Zac MacMath; Mekeil Williams, Bobby Burling, Axel Sjoberg, Marc Burch; Micheal Azira, Sam Cronin – captain, Jermaine Jones, Dillon Serna (Marlon Hairston 77’), Luis Solignac (Eric Miller 83’); Kevin Doyle (Jared Watts 90’+1’)
Substitutes not used: Chris Froschauer, Dennis Castillo, Dillon Powers, Conor Doyle
Total shots: 9 (Doyle, 3)
Shots on goal: 1 (Sjoberg, 1)
Fouls: 11 (3 players tied with 2)
Offside: 3 (3 players tied with 1)
Corner-kicks: 2 (Burch, 2)
Saves: 3 (MacMath, 3)
MATCH NOTES
- Sounders FC is now 4-6-1 in the 2016 MLS regular season. With 13 points, the Rave Green remain in eighth place in the Western Conference. The loss snaps Sounders FC’s four-match winning streak at CenturyLink Field.
- Seattle is now 13-5-2 all-time versus Colorado, with the Rapids winning each of the past three matchups in the series.
- On Saturday, midfielder Osvaldo Alonso registered his 200th career start in MLS regular season action.
- Defender Chad Marshall missed his first minutes of 2016 after being ruled out due to a right hamstring strain.
- Former Sounders FC players Micheal Azira and Marc Burch started for Colorado. Burch recorded an assist on Sjoberg’s goal in the 43rd minute.
- Seven of the 13 goals Sounders FC has allowed this season have come on set pieces. Just one of the 13 opposing scoring tallies was scored by a forward.
