SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders fell into a three-goal deficit, but staged a remarkable second-half comeback that saw them bag four goals in 27 minutes en-route to a 4-3 victory over D.C. United at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday night.
DeShorn Brown, Ian Harkes, and Lloyd Sam all netted for D.C. in the first 51 minutes of the contest, putting the Sounders into what looked to be an insurmountable three-goal hole. But Will Bruin, Brad Evans, Gustav Svensson, and Cristian Roldan all netted for the Rave Green in the second half, giving the Sounders the remarkable comeback victory.
The match marked the second time the Sounders have come back from a three-goal deficit in the second half at CenturyLink Field this season, the first being their 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution back on April 29.
The Sounders were playing without a few key contributors for the match, with goalkeeper Stefan Frei and midfielder Ozzie Alonso both missing the contest due to injuries, and Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris also out of action with the U.S. men's national team.
Brown opened the scoring in just the eighth minute after D.C. teammate Patrick Nyarko picked off a wayward pass and made a charging run into the Sounders’ penalty box. Nyarko then found Brown with a cross right in front of the Seattle goal for the easy tap-in, giving the visitors the early 1-0 advantage.
Harkes then doubled that in the 27th with a nifty finish that he tucked past the outstretched legs of Chad Marshall and diving Sounders goalkeeper Tyler Miller, giving D.C. the 2-0 lead before the game’s half-hour mark. That scoreline would hold through halftime, but D.C. would tack on another in the 51st minute after Sam collected a feed from Luciano Acosta and cashed home another shot past Miller.
Bruin would start the comeback in the 51st minute, however, with a flicked header off a Joevin Jones cross to cut the deficit to 3-1. Evans and Svensson would add tallies of their own to equalize before Roldan cashed home the game-winner off a breakaway finish in the 78th to seal the remarkable result.
The Sounders did lose star midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro to an 89th-minute red card, meaning the Uruguayan playmaker will miss the Sounders next match against the San Jose Earthquakes at CenturyLink Field on Sunday.
