SEATTLE, WASH. - Harry Shipp scored his second goal of the season as Seattle Sounders FC (3-5-4, 13 points) earned a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake (3-8-2, 11 points) Saturday afternoon on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field in front of 40,588 spectators. The win snapped a four-match winless streak for Seattle, as the club concluded a stretch of three matches in eight days. Next up, the Rave Green host Cascadia rival Portland Timbers next Saturday, May 27, in the first Seattle-Portland derby of the season (12:00 p.m. PT / FOX, KIRO Radio 97.3. FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Shipp put Seattle on the board first in the 42nd minute with his second goal of the season. After having his initial attempt from inside the area blocked, Gustav Svensson laid a ball off to the Chicago native for a first-time shot that deflected off a defender and into the net. It also marked Svensson's second assist of the 2017 campaign.
Seattle nearly doubled its lead early in the second half after the home side was awarded a penalty, as Jordan Morris was fouled inside the area by Chris Schuler. However, Clint Dempsey's ensuing attempt was saved by Nick Rimando.
Stefan Frei made five saves in a shutout performance for Seattle, giving the Swiss netminder three clean sheets on the season and 30 total since joining Sounders FC in 2014, matching Kasey Keller for the club's all-time mark.
Defender Brad Evans made his first start of the 2017 MLS campaign, totaling 66 minutes at right-back. It marked the first start for the Sounders FC original since August 28 of last season.
Sounders FC returns to action next Saturday, May 27 with the first Seattle-Portland matchup of the season. Kickoff is set for noon PT and broadcast nationally on FOX, one of four MLS games this season featured on the free-to-air network.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 - Real Salt Lake 0
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Venue:
CenturyLink Field
Referee:
Kevin Stott
Assistants:
Cameron Blanchard, Felisa Mariscal
Fourth Official:
Alex Chilowicz
Attendance:
40,588
Weather:
Sunny and 69 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA -
Harry Shipp (Gustav Svensson) 42'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
RSL -
sunday Stephen (caution) 25'
RSL -
Kyle Beckerman (caution) 75'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC
- Stefan Frei; Brad Evans (Jordy Delem 66'), Chad Marshall, Gustav Svensson; Joevin Jones, Osvaldo Alonso - captain, Cristian Roldan, Harry Shipp (Alvaro Fernandez 63'), Nicolás Lodeiro, Clint Dempsey (Will Bruin 81'); Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used:
Tyler Miller, Oniel Fisher, Nouhou Tolo, Seyi Adekoya
Total shots:
17 (Lodeiro, 5)
Shots on goal:
6 (Morris, 2)
Fouls:
8 (3 players, 2)
Offside:
1 (Morris, 1)
Corner-kicks:
8 (Lodeiro, 7)
Saves:
5 (Frei, 5)
Real Salt Lake -
Nick Rimando; Reagan Dunk, Justin Schmidt, Aaron Maund, Chris Schuler; Kyle Beckerman - captain, Sunday Stephen (Luke Mulholland 75'), Albert Rusnák; Joao Plata, Omar Holness (Jefferson Savarino 57'), Luis Silva (Yura Movaisyan 74')
Substitutes not used:
Matt Van Oekel, Chris Wingert, Jose Hernandez, Ricardo Velazco
Total shots:
11 (Plata, 3)
Shots on goal:
5 (Plata, 2)
Fouls:
18 (Stephen, 5)
Offside:
1 (Plata, 1)
Corner-kicks:
3 (Rusnák, 3)
Saves:
5 (Rimando, 5)
MATCH NOTES
- Sounders FC is now 3-5-4 this season and sits in seventh place in the Western Conference three points behind Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the San Jose Earthquakes. The victory snapped a three-game skid for the Rave Green, while improving the club's mark to 3-0-0 this season when leading at halftime.
- After today's clean sheet, goalkeeper Stefan Frei tied Kasey Keller's club record with his 30th all-time shutout for Sounders FC.
- Seattle improves to 8-8-4 all-time against RSL in regular-season play, including a 7-2-2 mark at CenturyLink Field. Sounders FC has won three-straight matches in the series and four of the past five contests.
- Defender Brad Evans made his first start of the 2017 MLS campaign, totaling 66 minutes at right-back.
- Midfielder Harry Shipp scored his second goal of the season in the first half, while midfielder Gustav Svensson was credited with his second assist.
- With an attendance of 40,588, Sounders FC extends its league-leading MLS sellout streak to 151 matches.
