The Seattle Sounders drew 1-1 on Wednesday with the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernández came on as a second-half substitute for LA and scored the opening goal in the 78th minute before Raúl Ruidíaz equalized in the third minute of stoppage time to split the points.
The Galaxy had a chance to open the scoring in the 15th minute when a header that was destined for the back of the net was saved off the crossbar on a diving header from Alex Roldan. LA nearly took the lead again in the 26th minute when Ethan Zubak’s shot was saved off the post by Stefan Frei.
Before Ruidíaz’s leveler, Nicolás Lodeiro had the best chance for the Sounders in the 85th minute when his free kick from the top of the box clipped the crossbar.
With a huge three-match week, Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer rotated his squad heavily, deploying five new players from his starting lineup last weekend. New acquisition Jimmy Medranda also made his Sounders debut as a substitute in the 86th minute.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
RUIDÍAZ TO THE RESCUE
Ruidíaz scored his 11th goal of the season in dramatic fashion, finishing a great bit of build-up play from Jordan Morris and João Paulo. Ruidíaz matches his Sounders career high with 11 goals that he set last season and has done so in six fewer matches. He is now in a three-way tie for second place in the MLS Golden Boot race, three tallies behind LAFC’s Diego Rossi.
DOBBELAERE DEBUTS
Sounders 17-year-old Homegrown midfielder Ethan Dobbelaere made his MLS debut and first MLS start on Wednesday, going 54 minutes before being replaced by Morris. It was a promising outing for the former Academy standout, who fared well on the right wing.
DECISION DAY LOOMS
The Sounders will host the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday at CenturyLink Field for Decision Day (3:30 p.m. PT; JOEtv, Prime Video, 1090 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM). Seattle is 1-0-2 against the ‘Quakes this season, including a record-setting 7-1 win on Sept. 10.
