VANCOUVER -- The Seattle Sounders eked out a 2-1 triumph over the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place on Sunday, riding a first-half equalizer from midfielder Osvaldo Alonso and a second-half penalty kick from captain Brad Evans to the road victory.
The goal was Alonso's third of the season and second in three weeks following his long-distance screamer in Seattle’s 4-2 victory over the LA Galaxy last weekend. The tally for Evans, meanwhile, came in his return to action after missing Seattle’s previous four matches due to injury.
With the victory, the Sounders moved to 13-13-5 and 44 points on the season, vaulting them over Sporting Kansas City and into fifth place in the Western Conference.
The Sounders have now won four straight and are 7-1-3 in their last 11 games. They also managed to get the win despite playing without playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro (yellow card accumulation) for the first time this season and midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz (neck strain), who was a late injury scratch.
The Sounders were dealt another blow in just the ninth minute after midfielder Alvaro Fernandez had to come off with what was diagnosed as a strained left hamstring, forcing interim head coach Brian Schmetzer to use an early substitution to replace him with defender Oniel Fisher.
The hosts grabbed the first-half lead in the 25th minute after Fisher was whistled for foul in the Vancouver penalty box on 15-year-old rookie midfielder Alphonso Davies. Vancouver’s Pedro Morales slotted home ensuing look from the spot past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei, giving the Whitecaps the 1-0 first-half lead.
Seattle equalized shortly before the halftime whistle, however, after Alonso got on the end of a cross from left back Joevin Jones and tapped the finish into the Vancouver net, knotting the contest at 1-1.
Seattle went a man up in the 55th minute after Morales caught Cristian Roldan in the head with a wayward elbow, drawing an immediate red from Salazar and leaving Vancouver without its top playmaker and attacking threat for the rest of the match.
The Sounders then took the lead in the 84th minute after a cross from Evans deflected off the hand of Vancouver’s Jordan Harvey, setting the captain up with a look from the spot that he would convert to give the visitors the 2-1 lead.
Evans was then ejected in the 84th minute after appearing to whip his head in the direction of Vancouver’s David Edgar. The red card means Evans will be suspended for Seattle’s next match against the Houston Dynamo at CenturyLink Field on Oct. 12, following a bye weekend next week.
