CARSON, CALIF. - Seattle Sounders FC (8-7-7, 31 points) earned a hard-fought road point at the LA Galaxy (6-10-5, 23 points) on Sunday night at StubHub Center, as Brian Schmetzer's side extended its current unbeaten run to six MLS matches dating back to June 21. The result came against newly-signed Galaxy Head Coach Sigi Schmid, with the former Sounders FC boss rejoining his old club just two days ago. The draw keeps Seattle in a tie for fourth place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference, with the Rave Green tied with Cascadia rival Portland on 31 points in the hunt of a ninth-consecutive postseason berth.
A spirited first half saw numerous exchanges from both sides, but the conclusion of the first 45 minutes was most memorable for hard challenges and a pair of Galaxy bookings. Jermaine Jones saw the match's first caution in the 42nd minute, scything down Nico Lodeiro in midfield, followed by a Jelle Van Damme yellow card four minutes later for a foul on Clint Dempsey. LA took a 55.8 percent share of possession into the halftime break, with Seattle carrying a 53.3 percent advantage in duels won.
Stefan Frei kept the match level in the 64th minute, making a trademark reactionary save to deny the home side during a Galaxy corner-kick. The veteran netminder was able to swat away an incredibly close attempt from LA's Giovani dos Santos, denying the forward with both hands. A minute later, Frei was again called into action on a Gyasi Zardes header, but he was once again up to the task by making a diving save.
Seattle enjoyed a man-advantage for the final moments of the contest, as Van Damme earned his second yellow card for another hard foul, resulting in his ejection. A flurry of late chances failed to produce a goal from either side, leaving the match scoreless.
Of note in tonight's match, Clint Dempsey made his return to the Seattle starting lineup following his participation in the U.S. Men's National Team's title-winning efforts in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. While away on international duty, Dempsey equaled Landon Donovan's all-time scoring mark for the United States with a strike on June 22 against Costa Rica, bringing his total to 57 goals for his country. Jordan Morris - Dempsey's frontline teammate for both Sounders FC and the United States - made his return with a substitute appearance in the 66th minute. Morris scored the Gold Cup-winning strike in Wednesday's Gold Cup Final versus Jamaica in Santa Clara.
Riding a six-match unbeaten streak in MLS, Seattle remains on the road for an August 5 showdown with Minnesota United. Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT, and the contest marks the first all-time meeting between the Rave Green and Adrian Heath's MLS expansion side. Q13 FOX is providing regional television coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. PT, with KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM broadcasting the match via radio throughout Western Washington.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 - LA Galaxy 0
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Venue:
StubHub Center
Referee:
Armando Villlarreal
Assistants:
Apolinar Mariscal, Cameron Blanchard
Fourth Official:
Daniel Radford
Attendance:
25,667
Weather:
Sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
None
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LA
- Jermaine Jones (caution) 42'
LA
- Jelle Van Damme (caution) 45'+1'
LA
- Bradley Diallo (caution) 80'
SEA
- Joevin Jones (caution) 83'
LA
- Romain Alessandrini (caution) 85'
LA
- Jelle Van Damme (second caution, ejection) 86'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam, Román Torres, Chad Marshall, Nouhou (Jordan Morris 66'); Gustav Svensson, Cristian Roldan, Nicolás Lodeiro - captain, Clint Dempsey, Joevin Jones; Will Bruin (Brad Evans 89')
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Tony Alfaro, Aaron Kovar, Harry Shipp, Jordy Delem
Total shots:
17 (Torres/Dempsey, 3)
Shots on goal:
2 (Dempsey/Morris, 1)
Fouls:
10 (Three players, 2)
Offside:
3 (Three players, 1)
Corner-kicks:
4 (Roldan/Lodeiro, 2)
Saves:
4 (Frei, 4)
LA Galaxy - Brian Rowe; Pele van Anholt (Bradley Diallo 71'), Daniel Steres, Jelle Van Damme, Ashley Cole; Joao Pedro, Jermaine Jones, Romain Allessandrini, Giovani dos Santos (Rafael Garcia 89'), Emmanuel Boateng (Bradford Jamieson 77'); Gyasi Zardes
Substitutes not used: Jon Kempin, Hugo Arellano, Raul Mendiola, Jack McInerney
Total shots:
13 (Zardes, 4)
Shots on goal:
4 (Zardes, 2)
Fouls:
12 (Van Damme/dos Santos, 3)
Offside:
2 (Alessandrini/Zardes, 1)
Corner-kicks:
4 (Alessandrini, 4)
Saves:
2 (Rowe, 2)
MATCH NOTES
- With the draw, Seattle moves to 8-7-7 on the season (31 points), keeping the Rave Green in a tie for fourth place with Portland in Major League Soccer's Western Conference.
- Brian Schmetzer's side extends its current unbeaten run to six MLS matches dating back to a 1-1 draw on June 21 versus Orlando City. Prior to Saturday, Seattle had won three consecutive contests.
- Tonight's result came against newly-signed Galaxy Head Coach Sigi Schmid, with the former Sounders FC boss rejoining his old club just two days ago. Schmid coached Sounders FC from the club's inaugural MLS season until July of 2016, when Brian Schmetzer took the helm in Seattle and led the club to its first MLS Cup. Schmid accumulated a 115-79-56 record in Seattle, en route to winning four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles and the 2014 MLS Supporters' Shield. He previously coached the Galaxy from 1999 through 2004.
- 2017 MLS All-Star Stefan Frei and his backline claimed their seventh shutout of the season on Saturday night.
- Clint Dempsey made his return to the Seattle starting lineup following his participation in the U.S. Men's National Team's title-winning efforts in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. While away on international duty, Dempsey equaled Landon Donovan's all-time scoring mark for the United States with a strike on June 22 against Costa Rica, bringing his total to 57 goals for his country.
- Jordan Morris - Dempsey's frontline teammate for both Sounders FC and the United States - made his return with a substitute appearance in the 66th minute. Morris scored the Gold Cup-winning strike in Wednesday's Gold Cup Final versus Jamaica in Santa Clara.
- Dating back to last fall, Seattle has now gone unbeaten at LA in the past three matches, good for the club's best-ever run in Southern California. On September 25, 2016 the Rave Green beat LA 4-2, and earlier this season Seattle came away with a 3-0 victory on April 23. The two sides conclude their 2017 regular season series on September 10 in Seattle.
