Securing its second win is as many games, Seattle Sounders FC (4-1-2, 14 points) defeated Western Conference foe Los Angeles FC (2-2-3, 9 points) by a final score of 3-1 on Sunday night in front of a nationally televised audience via FS1. Tonightās match marked the first time that the Rave Green played inside CenturyLink Field since March 7, when the initial COVID-19 shutdown began. Sundayās contest marked the second match for Brian Schmetzerās side since returning to regular season play following the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, with Seattle defeating Portland one week ago by a score of 3-0.
MEDIA RESOURCES
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: https://sndrs.com/eytvl
PHOTOS - IMAGES FOR MEDIA USE: https://sndrs.com/ctyeu
VIDEO - BRIAN SCHMETZER POST-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE: https://sndrs.com/nmext
VIDEO - JORDAN MORRIS & CRISTAN ROLDAN PRESS CONFERENCE: https://sndrs.com/vkk2j
RuidĆaz put Seattle up 1-0 in the 11th minute, pouncing on a loose ball and hammering a bending a shot from 25 yards out past goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer, who was caught off his line. The Peruvian striker is tied for the team lead with five goals this season, including three in his last two games after a brace at Portland last weekend.
Morris scored a pair of goals just moments apart early in the second half, first getting behind the defense in the 48th minute on a through-ball from NicolĆ”s Lodeiro and rounding Vermeer before finishing into the back of the net. He completed his brace a minute later, getting on the end of a cross from the right wing by JoĆ£o Paulo and converting a volley at the far post. Morrisā five goals this season are tied for first on the squad with RuidĆaz.
Diego Rossi pulled one back for the visitors in the 60th minute, tallying his league-leading seventh goal of the season on assists from JosƩ Cifuentes and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
The Rave Green have now won both matches since the league continued MLS regular season action following the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando. Brian Schmetzerās club is currently amidst a three-match winning streak in regular season play, dating back to the final Group Stage match in Orlando.
Sounders FC now shifts gears to a midweek matchup with Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, September 2 at Rio Tinto Stadium (6:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Amazon Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH NOTES
- With tonightās result, Sounders FC moves to 2-4-1 all-time against LAFC in all competitions. The win is the first for the Rave Green since last seasonās 3-1 road victory at Banc of California Stadium in the Western Conference Championship.
- In the clubās past two matches against Western Conference rivals Portland and LAFC, Seattle has outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 6-1.
- With his half-volley goal from distance in the 11th minute of play, RaĆŗl RuidĆaz continued his hot hand since play began following the MLS is Back Tournament. The Peruvian bagged a brace last weekend in Portland, giving him three goals in two games and five overall on the season. He know has 26 regular season goals since signing with Seattle in the summer transfer window of 2018.
- With a two-goal performance tonight, Seattle native Jordan Morris is now tied for the team lead in scoring with RuidĆaz (five goals each). Morris has 30 career MLS regular season goals since signing as Homegrown Player in 2016.
- Brazilian midfielder JoĆ¢o Paulo earned his second assist of the season on Morrisā third goal after signing prior to the 2020 season. Captain NicolĆ”s Lodeiro earned his fourth assist of the season on Morris second goal, his 52nd helper of his Sounders FC career.
- Following tonightās result, Seattle moves into second in the Western Conference with 14 points, two behind first-place Sporting Kansas City. The Rave Green have a game in-hand on Sporting, with a midweek trip to Real Salt Lake on the horizon on Wednesday, September 2 (6:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Amazon Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 ā Los Angeles FC 1
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistants: Andrew Bigelow, Jeremy Hanson
Fourth Official: Timothy Ford
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
Attendance: Closed Door
Weather: 70 degrees and cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA ā RaĆŗl RuidĆaz 11ā
SEA ā Jordan Morris (NicolĆ”s Lodeiro) 48ā
SEA ā Jordan Morris (JoĆ£o Paulo) 49ā
LAFC ā Diego Rossi (Jose Cifuentes, Bradley Wright-Phillips) 60ā
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA ā Kelvin Leerdam (caution) 28ā
LAFC ā Mark-Anthony Kaye (caution) 42ā
SEA ā Shane OāNeill (caution) 64ā
LAFC ā Latif Blessing (caution) 70ā
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam, Yeimar GĆ³mez Andrade, Shane OāNeill, Joevin Jones (Nouhou 72ā); JoĆ£o Paulo (Jordy Delem 78ā), Gustav Svensson, Cristian Roldan, NicolĆ”s Lodeiro (Alex Roldan 78ā), Jordan Morris (Xavier Arreaga 86ā); RaĆŗl RuidĆaz (Will Bruin HT)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Miguel Ibarra, Handwalla Bwana, Josh Atencio
Total shots: 10 (Morris, 3)
Shots on goal: 3 (Morris, 2)
Fouls: 13 (Five players, 2)
Offside: 2 (C. Roldan/RuidĆaz, 1)
Corner-kicks: 4 (Lodeiro, 3)
Saves: 3 (Frei, 3)
Los Angeles FC ā Kenneth Vermeer; Tristan Blackmon (Adrien Perez 66ā), Danilo Silva (Dejan Jakovic 39ā), Eddie Segura, Diego Palacios; Latif Blessing, Jose Cifuentes, Mark-Anthony Kaye (Francisco Ginella 77ā); Brian Rodriguez (Christian Torres 79ā), Bradley Wright-Phillips (Danny Musovski 77ā), Diego Rossi
Substitutes not used: Pablo Sisniega, Jordan Harvey, Mohamed El-Munir; Bryce Duke
Total shots: 10 (Rossi, 3)
Shots on goal: 4 (Rossi, 2)
Fouls: 7 (Kaye, 2)
Offside: 1 (Rodriguez, 1)
Corner-kicks: 8 (Cifuentes/Rodriguez, 4)
Saves: 0