The Seattle Sounders defeated St. Louis CITY SC 1-0 on Saturday night at Energizer Park with a lone goal from Kalani Kossa-Rienzi.
Seattle started out strong in the second minute, when Jesús Ferreira managed to get a head on the ball in the eighteen yard box, but it was saved by goalkeeper Roman Bürki.
St. Louis responded in the 6th minute with a counter attack that led to Dante Polvara picking out Rafael Santos inside the box, but a swift Andrew Thomas came off his line to block the shot attempt.
The home side found another opportunity in the 31st minute when Polvara met a curling free kick and managed to send a cross toward the far post, but Cristian Roldan cleared it out of harm's way.
The Sounders biggest chance of the first half came in the 39th minute when Osaze De Rosario laid the ball back to Albert Rusnák to make an attempt from distance, but Bürki managed to get a hand on it, resulting in a corner.
Cedric Teuchert had a long-range strike of his own in the first minute of first half stoppage time after Marcel Hartel played him near the right side of the penalty box, but his attempt was driven directly at Thomas for him to collect with ease.
Two minutes into the second half, a defensive effort near the end line from Ferreira resulted in a turnover from St. Louis. Ferreira found Kossa-Rienzi near the top of the box where the University of Washington alum cut inside and struck the ball near post to give the Sounders the opening lead of the night.
St. Louis nearly equalized in the 55th minute, but Nouhou came up with a crucial sliding challenge inside the box to deny the Midwest side a scoring opportunity.
Snyder Brunell nearly extended the lead to two in the 80th minute when Rusnák played the ball to the Homegrown for a near-post attempt, but Bürki was there to make the save.
Shortly after, St. Louis came inches away from scoring when Hartel unleashed a rocket from the top of the box. The strike had the power and precision to curl toward the corner, but it was no match for Thomas, who made a diving save to keep it out.
While St. Louis continued to apply pressure throughout the remaining minutes, the Sounders’ defensive efforts kept the home side off the scoresheet and secured all three points.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
First road win of the season
After falling to Real Salt Lake on Feb. 28 in their opening road match, the Sounders regrouped and came away with their first road match of the season at Energizer Park. They continue their marathon stretch of road matches with their CCC, Round of 16 match-up vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps on March 12 at BC Place.
Brickwall defense
In addition to the clean sheet on the road, the Sounders left Energizer Park with significant defensive stats. In 90 minutes of match play, the team collected 23 tackles, 6 interceptions, 3 blocks and 37 clearances.
Shot-stopping Andrew Thomas
St. Louis had several opportunities to equalize, but Thomas’s presence in goal was undeniable. He finished the night with five saves, contributing to the club’s second clean sheet of the season.
