SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders conceded a first-half goal but got a dramatic leveler from Lamar Neagle in the 85th minute, salvaging a 1-1 draw in a wild Western Conference home matchup with the LA Galaxy at CenturyLink Field on Sunday night.
Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes netted the opener for the visitors in the 25th minute with a header past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei off a nifty flicked feed from LA midfielder Romain Alessandrini. The Galaxy would manage to hold that lead into halftime, but Neagle’s late finish snatched the point for the Sounders, who also lost forward Jordan Morris to a second-half hamstring injury and center back Roman Torres to an 89th-minute red card.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Return of Sigi
Sunday’s match marked the return to CenturyLink Field for Galaxy Head Coach Sigi Schmid, who manned the sidelines in Seattle for the entirety of the Sounders’ MLS existence from 2009 until halfway through last season.
Neagle comes through
It wasn’t a sure thing that Neagle would be getting regular playing time when he came over from D.C. United during the summer transfer window, but the 30-year-old winger certainly made his case for some more with Sunday’s late goal. The goal was the first of the season in Rave Green for Neagle, who is in his fourth stint with his hometown club since his MLS career began in 2010.
Road slates up next
Sunday’s result moved the Sounders to 11-7-10 and 43 points on the season, drawing them within one point of the Portland Timbers for the top spot in the Western Conference. If they want to keep that pace, they’ll have to do so on the road, with a road matchup against FC Dallas on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Toyota Stadium on the docket to be followed up by another away fixture against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sept. 23.
