Score: Sounders FC 1 vs. Colorado Rapids 0
Site: CenturyLink Field
Records: Sounders FC (15-7-3, 48 points). Colorado Rapids (8-12-6, 30 points).
Man of the Match: Clint Dempsey scored his 11th goal of the season off a Marco Pappa corner kick in the 52nd minute for the game-winner. It was Dempsey’s team-leading fourth game-winner and Pappa’s third assist of the season, all coming on game-winning tallies.
Telling Stat: Sigi Schmid preached patience for Sounders FC against the Rapids and that patience paid off. Seattle connected a season-high 621 passes, and its 342 passes in the first half were more than that of the 90 minutes against the Columbus Crew and D.C. United this season. The previous season-high of 618 passes also came against the Rapids in a 4-1 win in April.
What You Missed: The rain came down hard throughout the match and prompted several chants of “Seattle sunshine” from the Emerald City Supporters. After a summer that saw the temperature surpass 80 degrees on more days than it didn’t, it was a change of pace, but a welcome one to Seattle’s supporters, who seem to thrive on wet weather.
So What: The win extends Seattle’s lead in the Supporters’ Shield and Western Conference standings. The Sounders will have a quick turnaround, meeting Chivas USA on Wednesday at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., before a difficult run of five matches in 16 days begins with a match against Real Salt Lake on September 12.
