Raúl Ruidíaz tied the single-season club record with his 17th goal of the season as Sounders FC (17-8-8, 59 points) drew 1-1 with the LA Galaxy (13-12-8, 47 points) on Monday evening at Lumen Field. Seattle sits atop the Western Conference going into Sunday’s Decision Day matchup with Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place (3:00 p.m. PT / FOX 13+, Prime Video, Univision-Seattle, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Javier Hernández opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Nick DePuy headed Sebastian Lletget’s corner kick to the feet of the Mexican striker, who was able to finish the close-range effort to put the away side up 1-0.
Seattle leveled the score early in the second half courtesy of a Ruidíaz’s panenka penalty kick in the 51st minute. Cristian Roldan won the penalty after being taken down inside the area while making a run down the right flank. Ruidíaz’s goal marked his 17th of the season, tying the single-season club record set by Obafemi Martins in 2014, as well as his 50th in MLS regular-season play.
Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris made his long-awaited return to the pitch after coming on as a second-half substitute, making his first appearance for the club in 2021. Morris suffered a torn ACL on February 20 while on loan with Swansea City.
Brian Schmetzer’s side concludes its 2021 regular-season campaign on Sunday, November 7 for a Decision Day matchup with Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place (3:00 p.m. PT / FOX 13+, Prime Video, Univision-Seattle, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM), with the 2021 Cascadia Cup on the line.
MATCH NOTES
• With 59 points (17-8-8), Seattle sits atop the Western Conference with one game remaining, one point ahead of Sporting Kansas City (two games remaining) and the Colorado Rapids (one game remaining). The Rave Green close the regular season with a Decision Day matchup at BC Place against Whitecaps FC on November 7.
• Sounders FC is now 11-10-12 all-time against the Galaxy in regular-season play, including a 6-4-6 mark at Lumen Field.
• With his 50th-career MLS regular-season goal, Raúl Ruidíaz also matched Sounders FC’s club record with his 17th goal of the season, tying Obafemi Martins’ mark from 2014. The Peruvian is tied for second in MLS scoring this season, one goal behind NYCFC’s Valentín Castellanos. He also has eight career regular-season goals against the Galaxy, the most of any Seattle player. It was Ruidíaz’s first appearance for Seattle since September 29 after aggravating a hamstring injury while on international duty last month.
• Jordan Morris made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute. Morris suffered a torn ACL in February while on loan with Swansea City.
• Tonight marked Cristian Roldan’s 200th career appearance in regular-season play, tying Brad Evans for third all-time in club history. Osvaldo Alonso ranks first with 277 appearances and Stefan Frei is second with 236.
• Midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro made his first start since September 11 after returning to the pitch on Tuesday at LAFC. Lodeiro’s ongoing knee injury this season has forced him to appear in just nine regular-season games in 2021.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – LA Galaxy 1
Monday, November 1, 2021
Venue: Lumen Field
Referee: Joseph Dickerson
Assistants: Cameron Blanchard, Jeff Hosking
Fourth Official: Ramy Touchan
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 32,781
Weather: 50 degrees and cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
LAG – Javier Hernández (Sebastian Lletget, Nick DePuy) 19’
SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (penalty) 51’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Kelyn Rowe (caution) 66’
LAG – Jonathan Bond (caution) 81’
LAG – Samuel Grandsir (caution) 90’+1’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar, Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou (Shane O’Neill HT), Brad Smith (Nicolas Benezet 73’); João Paulo, Kelyn Rowe, Cristian Roldan, Nicolás Lodeiro (Fredy Montero 73’); Raúl Ruidíaz (Jordan Morris 66’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Léo Chú, Danny Leyva, Josh Atencio
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 3
Fouls: 11
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 3
LA Galaxy – Jonathan Bond; Julian Araujo, Derrick Williams, Nick DePuy, Oniel Fisher; Rayan Raveloson, Jonathan dos Santos (Sacha Kljestan 78’), Sebastian Lletget (Victor Vazquez 63’), Efrain Alvarez (Samuel Grandsir 63’), Kevin Cabral, Javier Hernandez (Daniel Steres 88’)
Substitutes not used: Niko Hamalainen, Ethan Zubak, Jonathan Klinsmann, Adam Saldana, Dejan Joveljic
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 17
Offside: 1
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 2
- SOUNDERS FC -
