MLS Regular Season
Score: Sounders FC 2 vs. New York Red Bulls 1
Goal-scorers: Lloyd Sam (36’), Marco Pappa (69’), Chad Barrett (90’)
Site: CenturyLink Field
Man of the Match: Marco Pappa scored Sounders FC’s opening goal for the second straight game, this time finding the net on a left-footed strike from inside the box. Obafemi Martins found Pappa streaking down the left flank and one-on-one with a defender, and Pappa tied the match with a spectacular individual effort, dribbling from right to left before firing a shot into the upper netting.
Telling Stat: Lloyd Sam’s goal for New York broke a shutout streak of 338 minutes by Stefan Frei, the longest such streak by an MLS goalkeeper this season.
Sounders FC has now held an advantage in possession in five straight matches, owning 55 percent of it Sunday afternoon. The Sounders and Red Bulls were the two best possession teams in the league heading into the game, owning 55 and 57 percent of possession on the season, respectively.
What You Missed: It appeared as if Clint Dempsey, who leads MLS with three game-winning goals, had scored another deciding goal on Sunday before Chad Barrett was officially credited with the stoppage-time winner. Barrett got a slight touch on Dempsey’s volley that was heading into the goal off a cross from Tyrone Mears. Dempsey is now tied for third in MLS with half a dozen assists.
Rookie midfielder Cristian Roldan made his second consecutive start on the right wing, playing 64 minutes for the Sounders. Sigi Schmid gave him the start against Colorado on Wednesday, when the 19-year-old made the cross that led to Pappa’s game-winning goal. Mainly a central midfielder in college, Roldan said this week that he is becoming more and more comfortable on the wing.
So What: Having won six of its last eight matches, Sounders FC is now 8-3-2 and remains atop the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings. The Rave Green earned seven points from their three-match homestand and will return to action on Saturday at Sporting Kansas City, where Seattle has never lost a regular-season match.
