SAN JOSE, CALIF. – A frenetic finish on Saturday evening in Northern California saw Sounders FC (1-1-3, 6 points) play to a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes (2-2-1, 7 points) at Avaya Stadium. Both goals came in the final six minutes of the contest, with Sounders FC midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro putting the visitors into the lead in the 84th minute, before San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski equalized six minutes later. The Rave Green extended their unbeaten streak to four games (1-0-3) in the first of a three-match road swing during the month of April. Seattle next travels to Vancouver to take on Whitecaps FC next Friday, April 14 at BC Place (7:00 p.m. PT / Q13 FOX, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Saturday’s contest got off to a rocky start for Seattle, as Gustav Svensson came on for Román Torres in the 15th minute of action after the Panamanian international suffered a left hamstring strain. Svensson, who had started all four matches coming into Saturday’s fixture, earned MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week honors after a strong performance at center back against Atlanta United FC.
The contest was evenly split for the majority of the game, with Seattle taking a slight edge in possession at 50.9 percent, while San Jose maintained an 18 to 14 advantage in shots. Nevertheless, both sides found opportunities, and Seattle capitalized on a broken play in the 84th minute, as Lodeiro pounced on a deflected Sounders FC free-kick to beat David Bingham at his far post. Clint Dempsey took the initial direct free-kick, but San Jose’s wall stood firm, only for the Uruguayan to hit a magnificent volley to help his team take the lead. The tally was Lodeiro’s second strike of the 2017 campaign.
San Jose answered before full-time, as perennial Sounders killer Wondolowski had the final word. Marco Ureña squared a ball for an onrushing Wondolowski inside Seattle’s six-yard-box, allowing the longtime Quakes forward to convert his 11th MLS goal against Sounders FC since 2009 – the most tallies of any opponent of the Rave Green. San Jose nearly doubled its lead in stoppage-time, as Ureña was through on goal, only for 2016 MLS Cup MVP Stefan Frei to stand tall and deny a second Quakes goal.
With a point from tonight’s contets in-hand, Sounders FC continues its three-match road swing next Friday, April 14 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place (7:00 p.m. PT / Q13 FOX, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM) before heading down to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy on Sunday, April 23 (1:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – San Jose Earthquakes 1
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Venue:
Avaya Stadium
Referee:
Ricardo Salazar
Assistants:
Kathryn Nesbitt, Logan Brown
Fourth Official:
Younes Marrakchi
Attendance:
18,000
Weather:
Partly cloudy and 54 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA –
Nicolás Lodeiro 84’
SJ –
Chris Wondolowski (Marco Ureña, Cordell Cato) 90’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SJ –
Anibal Godoy (caution) 33’
SEA –
Nicolás Lodeiro (caution) 45+1’
SJ –
Fatai Alashe (caution) 83’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Oniel Fisher (Alvaro Fernandez 70’), Román Torres (Gustav Svensson 15’), Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones; Osvaldo Alonso, Cristian Roldan, Nicolás Lodeiro, Clint Dempsey (Jordy Delem 89’), Harry Shipp; Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Tony Alfaro, Henry Wingo, Will Bruin
Total shots:
14 (Lodeiro, 4)
Shots on goal:
3 (Lodeiro, 2)
Fouls:
6 (Lodeiro, 2)
Offside:
1 (Lodeiro, 1)
Corner-kicks:
5 (Lodeiro, 5)
Saves:
2 (Frei, 2)
San Jose Earthquakes – David Bingham; Nick Lima, Fatai Alashe, Florian Jungwirth, Shaun Francis (Danny Hoesen 88’); Simon Dawkins (Cordell Cato 66’), Anibal Godoy, Darwin Ceren, Jahmir Hyka (Shea Salinas 81’); Marcos Ureña, Chris Wondolowski
Substitutes not used: Andrew Tarball, Andres Imperiale, Kofi Sarkodie, Tommy Thompson
Total shots:
18 (Ureña, 6)
Shots on goal:
3 (Ureña, 2)
Fouls:
18 (Godoy, 6)
Offside:
2 (Godoy/Ureña, 1)
Corner-kicks:
4 (Hyka, 3)
Saves:
2 (Bingham, 2)
MATCH NOTES
- Sounders FC extends its current unbeaten streak to four games (1-0-3), including two consecutive draws.
- Seattle is now 7-10-5 all-time against the Earthquakes, including a 1-5-4 record in San Jose.
- Tonight marked the first of a three-match road swing for Sounders FC in the month of April. The Rave Green travel to Vancouver next Friday for the first Cascadia match of the season at BC Place, then head to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy on Sunday, April 23. Seattle closes the month with a home match against the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 29.
- Román Torres suffered a left hamstring strain early on and was replace by Gustav Svensson in the 15th minute. Torres previously suffered a torn ACL at Avaya Stadium in September of 2015. Svensson has now appeared in every match this season – starting the last four – after joining Sounders FC this offseason.
- With his 90th-minute strike, Quakes forward Chris Wondolowski netted his 11th MLS strike against Sounders FC – the most by any opponent in league history.
- Stefan Frei made two saves on Saturday’s night, including a point-blank effort in stoppage-time on Marco Ureña to preserve a point for Sounders FC. He currently rests on 49 career wins with Seattle, the most in club history and one shy of becoming the first Seattle goalkeeper to reach 50 wins.
