RECAP: Sounders secure road point in scoreless draw at Real Salt Lake

The Seattle Sounders left America First Field with a valuable road point following a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. 

The first half was evenly matched, with both teams having plenty of opportunities to take the lead. 

RSL came out firing from the get-go, with a dangerous chance from Brayan Vera in the 4th minute but barely missed wide after initially winning a 1v1 battle close to goal. 

The Sounders’ most notable opportunity in the first half came in the 29th minute when João Paulo split RSL defenders for Héber to attempt a shot, but the strike went just wide. 

The first 45 ended in a diving save from Stefan Frei, who managed to redirect the ball with his fingertips and deny the dangerous strike from Rubio Rubín.

The second half continued to be a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, with both sides barely missing chances to score. 

The Sounders put the pressure on right away in the 47th minute when a zipped cross into the box from Alex Roldan nearly reached Jordan Morris’ head to score, but the Seattle winger was unable to steer his effort on target.

Then in the 78th minute, Héber got a breakaway on the left side, cut it back to Morris for him to collect and shoot, but the shot was just over the goal.

RSL nearly came up with a goal in the 84th minute when Bertin Jacquesson did a quick turn and shot at the top of the eighteen but hit it over.

The two teams also had several set-piece opportunities to push ahead but were both left without goals for the night.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Frei holds down the fort

Frei came up big Saturday night, preventing several chances for RSL to score. He finished the match with three saves and an 80% passing rate to close out the night.

Top of the West

Tonight’s 0-0 draw against RSL results in a point for the Rave Green on the road, bringing them up to 20 points and into the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference.

Sounders return home

The next time the Sounders play will be back at Lumen Field on Saturday where they will face Sporting Kansas City (1:30 p.m. PT; Watch free on Apple TV, FOX, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS) for the second time this season. The last time the two teams went head-to-head, the Sounders won 4-1 on the road.