ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Clint Dempsey recorded his second career hat-trick as Seattle Sounders FC (7-12-3, 24 points) took three points on the road against Orlando City SC (5-6-11, 26 points) Sunday evening at Camping World Stadium. Nicolás Lodeiro and Jordan Morris registered two assists apiece as Seattle earned its second road win of 2016 and snapped a 17-match home unbeaten streak for Orlando City. With 11 of its final 12 matches regular-season matches against Western Conference opposition, Seattle continues its late-season push for a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs next Sunday in a nationally-televised home fixture against Real Salt Lake on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field (4:00 p.m. PT / FS1, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
The two sides wasted little time exchanging attacks on Sunday evening, despite the Central Florida heat and humidity. Orlando City struck first through Seb Hines, with the centerback rising to meet a Kaká corner-kick. The Englishman ran through Seattle’s eighteen-yard-box in the seventh minute of play, putting a driven header on-frame for his third goal of the 2016 season.
Sounders FC responded seven minutes later, as newly-signed Designated Player Lodeiro unlocked Orlando’s defense, playing a cutting through ball to onrushing fullback Tyrone Mears. Seattle’s English defender squared a cross for Dempsey, who leveled the score at one apiece.
Dempsey was far from done on the night, bagging his second strike of the evening before the stroke of halftime, as the Texas native tapped home a goal in the 37th minute to give Seattle a 2-1 lead heading into the break. Midfielder Cristian Roldan played a lofted through ball to Morris, with the rookie forward providing the assist to Dempsey.
Seattle continued applying pressure to the home side immediately following the intermission, with Dempsey securing his hat-trick in the 48th minute. Once again it was Lodeiro that initiated the attack, with the Uruguayan unleashing another disarming through ball to the feet of Morris, who then slotted an assist comfortably to Dempsey. Dempsey’s three goals on Sunday night give the Seattle forward six tallies on the year, placing him one strike behind Morris for the team scoring lead in MLS play. It marked the second career hat-trick for Dempsey – both with Seattle – as well as the sixth three-goal, single-match performance in Sounders FC’s history. Dempsey is the only player to register two hat-tricks for Sounders FC.
Lodeiro and Morris each recorded a pair of assists, and nearly made it three apiece when they combined to set-up a Nelson Valdez shot that hit the post in the 80th minute. It marked the first MLS assists registered to Lodeiro, playing in his second contest with Seattle. The pair of helpers give Morris three on the season, to go along with his team-leading seven goals.
Unbeaten over its past two MLS matches under Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer, Sounders FC returns to Seattle with 11 of its 12 remaining matches against Western Conference opposition in the hunt for the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, beginning with a nationally-televised showdown against Real Salt Lake at CenturyLink Field on Sunday, August 14 (4:00 p.m. PT / FS1, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 – Orlando City SC 1
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Venue: Camping World Stadium
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Cameron Blanchard
Fourth Official: Ismail Elfath
Attendance: 28,247
Weather: Cloudy and 85 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
ORL – Seb Hines (Kaká) 7’
SEA – Clint Dempsey (Tyrone Mears, Nicolás Lodeiro) 14’
SEA – Clint Dempsey (Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan) 37’
SEA – Clint Dempsey (Jordan Morris, Nicolás Lodeiro) 48’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
ORL – Antonio Nocerino (caution) 33’
ORL – Seb Hines (caution) 58’
SEA – Cristian Roldan (caution) 64’
SEA – Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 73’
SEA – Nicolás Lodeiro (caution) 75’
SEA – Zach Scott (caution) 76’
ORL – David Mateos (caution) 84’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans – captain, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones (Zach Scott 57’); Osvaldo Alonso, Cristian Roldan; Nicolás Lodeiro, Clint Dempsey (Nelson Valdez 59’), Andreas Ivanschitz (Alvaro Fernandez 83’); Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Erik Friberg, Oalex Anderson, Herculez Gomez
Total shots: 12 (Dempsey, 4)
Shots on goal: 5 (Dempsey, 4)
Fouls: 16 (4 players, 3)
Offside: 3 (3 players, 1)
Corner-kicks: 3 (Ivanschitz, 2)
Saves: 2 (Frei, 2)
Orlando City SC – Joe Bendik; Kevin Alston, Seb Hines, David Mateos, Luke Boden; Antonio Nocerino (Carlos Rivas 78’), Servando Carrasco; Hadji Barry (MatÃas Pérez GarcÃa 55’), Kaká, Brek Shea (Julio Bpatista 67’); Cyle Larin
Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards, Mike Ambrose, José Aja, Tony Rocha
Total shots: 13 (Hines, 5)
Shots on goal: 3 (Hines, 2)
Fouls: 13 (Carrasco, 3)
Offside: 1 (Larin, 1)
Corner-kicks: 4 (Kaká, 4)
Saves: 2 (Bendik, 2)
MATCH NOTES
- Sounders FC kicks-off the month of August with a win and improves to 7-12-3 on the season. With 24 points, the Rave Green remain ninth in the Western Conference, eight points behind Portland for the sixth postseason spot.
- Clint Dempsey recorded the sixth hat-trick in club history on Sunday, doubling his season total to six goals on the season. Dempsey also registered the last Sounders FC hat-trick (April 4, 2014 at Portland), becoming the club’s first player with two three-goal performances.
- Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer registered his first win since assuming managerial duties on July 26. Schmetzer guided Sounders FC to a 1-1 draw against the LA Galaxy in his debut last weekend.
- Sunday’s match marked Seattle’s first trip to Florida for an MLS match, as the club remained unbeaten in two outings against Orlando City SC. The Rave Green cruised to a 4-0 home win in lone previous meeting last August. The loss ended the Lions’ 17-match home unbeaten streak (8-0-9), as Sounders FC became the first team to win in Orlando since July 18, 2015.
- Nicolás Lodeiro and Jordan Morris each recorded a pair of assists on Sunday. It marked the first MLS assists registered to Lodeiro, playing in his second contest with Seattle. The pair of helpers give Morris three on the season, to go along with his team-leading seven goals. They both nearly made it three apiece when they combined to set-up a Nelson Valdez shot that hit the post.
- Sounders FC improves to 5-2-1 this season against the Eastern Conference. The Rave Green have one match remaining against the East when the club hosts the Chicago Fire on September 28.
- Alvaro Fernandez made his first appearance for Sounders FC since signing on July 28 when he came on for Andreas Ivanschitz in the 83rd minute. The Uruguayan international previously played for Sounders FC from 2010-2012.
