BRIDGEVIEW, ILL. – After battling for 90 minutes, Seattle Sounders FC (10-8-2, 32 points) was undone by a second-half stoppage-time strike from Chicago Fire (5-9-3, 18 points) substitute Jason Johnson at Toyota Park on Saturday night in front of 18,528 fans. Despite the loss, Seattle remains deadlocked on points with Vancouver Whitecaps FC atop Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, with the Rave Green maintaining the tie-breaker between the two clubs via goal difference.
Following a back-and-forth first half that saw opportunities exchanged between both sides – including four shots from Sounders FC and a passing accuracy mark of 79.8 percent – the two teams went into the break scoreless. Seattle’s strongest first-half scoring opportunities came courtesy of a Chad Barrett blast that was saved by Chicago’s Sean Johnson in the 37th minute of play, followed by a Cristian Roldan long-range shot that rattled the fire crossbar just before the halftime whistle.
Picking things up in the second half, Sounders FC substitute Andy Craven fired a shot on-frame in the 68th minute during a Seattle free-kick, moments after the forward entered the match. Johnson made a reactionary save, and the rebound fell to Sounders FC captain Zach Scott, with the defender’s subsequent header cleared from by Chicago’s backline.
All three of the match’s yellow cards occurred in the final 10 minutes, including a Craven caution in the 80th minute, followed by bookings for Chicago’s Razvan Cocis and Adailton in the 82nd and 84th minutes, respectively.
The match’s lone goal came two minutes into second-half stoppage-time, during a Fire counter-attack following a Sounders FC free-kick. Chicago midfielder Michael Stephens brought the ball out of the break through the midfield, then placed a through ball to forward Jason Johnson along the right flank. Johnson cut back inside into the 18-yard-box and placed a well-struck ball into the far corner of the net for the winner.
Sigi Schmid’s side returns to action on Saturday, July 18 back on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field against Western Conference foe Colorado Rapids. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. PT in Seattle, with television coverage being provided by Q13 FOX and Univision-Seattle, and via radio on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 – Chicago Fire 1
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Venue: Toyota Park
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry, Kyle Atkins
Fourth Official: Mark Kadlecik
Attendance: 18,528
Weather: Cloudy and 74 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
CHI – Jason Johnson (Michael Stephens) 90’+2’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Andy Craven (caution) 80’
CHI – Razvan Cocis (caution) 82’
CHI – Adailton (caution) 84’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Troy Perkins; Tyrone Mears, Chad Marshall, Zach Scott – captain, Dylan Remick; Lamar Neagle, Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Cristian Roldan (Micheal Azira 83’), Thomás (Andy Rose 69’); Chad Barrett (Andy Craven 65’)
Substitutes not used: Charlie Lyon, Jimmy Ockford, Leo Gonzalez, Darwin Jones
Total shots: 9 (Lamar Neagle, 3
Shots on goal: 2 (Chad Barrett/Andy Craven, 1)
Fouls: 11 (Cristian Roldan/Lamar Neagle, 2)
Offside: 1 (Lamar Neagle, 1)
Corner-kicks: 2 (Cristian Roldan, 2)
Saves: 5 (Troy Perkins, 5)
Chicago Fire – Sean Johnson; Patrick Doody, Eric Gehrig, Adailton, Palmer; Shipp, Matt Polster, Razvan Cocis, Patrick Nyarko (Jason Johnson 65’); Kennedy Igboananike (Michael Stephens 83’), Mike Magee – captain (Guly 70’)
Substitutes not used: Jon Busch, Greg Cochrane, Chris Ritter, Matt Watson
Total shots: 16 (Harry Shipp/Mike Magee, 3)
Shots on goal: 6 (Guly/Jason Johnson, 2)
Fouls: 13 (Razvan Cocis, 5)
Offside: 2 (Kennedy Igboananike/Guly, 1)
Corner-kicks: 6 (Harry Shipp, 5)
Saves: 2 (Sean Johnson, 2)
MATCH NOTES
- After tonight’s result, Sounders FC is now 10-8-2, and remains deadlocked on points with Vancouver Whitecaps FC atop Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, with the Rave Green maintaining the tie-breaker between the two clubs via goal difference. The club’s 10 wins are tied for the most in MLS.
Seattle is now 6-1-3 all-time against Chicago Fire in regular season play, including a 3-1-2 record at Toyota Park. On Saturday, the Rave Green lost to the Fire for the first time in league action.
Tonight’s match marked Troy Perkins’ first start for Sounders FC, and his 214th MLS start overall, which ranks 10th all-time among MLS goalkeepers.
Johnson’s goal was the seventh time in club history Seattle has allowed a goal two minutes into second-half stoppage-time or later.
MEDIA RESOURCES
- Post-match soundbytes from Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid, goalkeeper Troy Perkins and midfielder Cristian Roldan are available for download here.
Sigi Schmid post-match interview: http://sndrs.com/ydqa
Full match highlights: http://sndrs.com/u7sr
