The Seattle Sounders battled to a 2-2 draw in an away match against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night.
Seattle’s Western Conference clash got off to a fortuitous start in the opening minutes. Raúl Ruidíaz raced onto a long ball over the top and broke free, drawing a last-ditch foul from Galaxy defender Daniel Steres, which resulted in a straight red card.
The roller-coaster start continued as the Galaxy were awarded a penalty kick in the 10th minute, only for the decision to be waved off a minute later after Video Review.
Seattle opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, with Harry Shipp salvaging a broken-down transition moment by slipping a pass to Ruidíaz, who fired his shot inside the far post. Unfortunately, the Galaxy equalized minutes later through a Zlatan Ibrahimovic header at the back post.
The Galaxy then took the lead in the second half, with Ibrahimovic calmly converting a penalty kick in the 66th minute. Seattle managed to pull level once again in the 82nd minute, as Galaxy goalkeeper David Bingham raced out to intercept a long ball to Jordan Morris, resulting in an own goal.
Seattle had a handful of quality chances to steal three points late in the match, but Bingham made amends for his earlier error with a string of impressive saves.
The Sounders will return to Seattle before heading to Portland next weekend to take on the Timbers on Friday (7:00 p.m. PT; ESPN, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
CHANCES WERE THERE
While a point on the road is always valuable, Seattle had plenty of opportunities to come away with the win on Saturday. Shortly after opening the scoring, Ruidíaz saw a similar effort blocked by Bingham, only for the Galaxy to equalize almost immediately. The Sounders had a handful of looks in the second half after falling behind in the 69th minute but couldn’t capitalize. After drawing level late in the match, Bingham denied both Morris and substitute Luis Silva to preserve a point for the home side.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
It’s been a difficult stretch of away matches for the Sounders, but they have a golden opportunity to get back in the win column next weekend. Form goes out the window in derby matches, and a road victory over the Timbers is the type of result that can galvanize a strong run of form.
RUIDÍAZ SCORES AGAIN
Entering the match against the Galaxy, Seattle’s Peruvian striker had not scored since the home match against Portland on July 21. Ruidíaz fired home his ninth goal of the season to hand Seattle a lead, and he made intelligent runs all evening inside the box. With a goal under his belt, the Sounders No. 9 could launch back into one of his scoring streaks.
