The Seattle Sounders fell to Minnesota United 1-0 on Saturday night at Allianz Field behind a goal from JoaquÃn Pereyra in the second half.
The Loons had an opportunity within the first ten minutes when Carlos Harvey attempted a shot from distance, but his driven ball fell into the hands of goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Then in the 16th minute, the Sounders had a chance to score when forward Jesús Ferreira found defender Alex Roldan in a pocket of space at the top of the box, but his shot went directly to keeper Dayne St. Clair.
Four minutes later, defender Reed Baker-Whiting crossed the ball to forward Osaze De Rosario inside the box while St. Clair was out of position, but his one-time shot went over the net.
The Loons conjured up another chance in the 29th minute when Nicolas Romero attempted a left-footed volley at the edge of the eighteen but missed wide right of the goal.
A Ferreira corner kick nearly resulted in a goal for the Sounders when it found the head of center back Yeimar in the 34th minute, but the redirected corner went high and wide of the goal.
The Loon’s were inches away from grabbing the lead in the final six minutes of the first half when a counter attack found Joseph Rosales on the left side of the box, but his shot landed wide of the near post.
In the second half, the Rave Green came out firing with an aerial battle between St. Clair and De Rosario inside the box in the 51st minute. De Rosario managed to get a head on the ball and redirect it toward goal, but it was lofted over the net.
Minnesota earned a dangerous set piece opportunity in their attacking half in the 57th minute, but Baker-Whiting cleared out the curving ball for a corner.
In the 63rd minute, the Loon’s had another set piece that eventually found Harvey near the spot to produce a volleyed effort, but it was blocked by Yeimar.
It was not until the 73rd minute, when Minnesota took the lead. JoaquÃn Pereyra’s left-footed shot from long range landed in the bottom left corner to put the hosts 1-0 up over the Sounders.
The Sounders had a pair of quality opportunities to tie it up in the final 10 minutes of the match when Alex Roldan unleashed a rocket from distance and Yeimar displayed a one-time attempt from inside the box. However, St. Clair and Harvey blocked each shot, respectively, ultimately pushing the Loons to three points on Saturday night.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Welcome Back Stef Frei
The Sounders welcomed back goalkeeper Stefan Frei onto the pitch on Saturday night after the veteran player suffered a head injury during the team’s July 6 match vs. Columbus Crew.
Streak Broken
Following the 1-0 loss vs. the Loons, the team’s unbeaten streak has come to an end. Up until tonight, the Sounders have not lost since June 23, when they fell to PSG in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Up Next
The Sounders will have a quick turnaround between matches as they look ahead to Wednesday’s Leagues Cup Quarterfinals battle vs. Club Puebla at Lumen Field.
