IRVINE, CALIF. – Sounders FC 2 (6-3-2, 20 points) earned its second road draw of the season with a 1-1 result against Orange County Blues FC (5-3-1, 16 points). The Rave Green jumped out in front in the 31st minute with a counter-attack goal from Darwin Jones, but Didier Crettenand equalized for the Blues in the 70th minute via an indirect free kick. A straight red card was shown to Blues defender Josh Suggs in the 76th minute for a foul on Duncan McCormick, but S2 was unable to find the late game-winner despite the man-advantage.
In the 31st minute, after S2 intercepted a Blues pass in its own half, Andrés Correa played a short pass back to McCormick, who sent a long ball up the field to find Jones. The Sounders FC Homegrown Player took two touches around the keeper and slotted his shot home into the empty net for the game’s first goal. It was Jones’ fifth goal of the season, tying him for the team-lead with Andy Craven.
With a 1-0 lead in the second half, S2 goalkeeper Charlie Lyon was whistled for a six-second violation by referee Ramon Hernandez, giving the Blues an indirect free kick from just inside the top of the 18-yard box. Christopher Santana played the kick short to Crettenand, who fired a low shot into the bottom left of the net past a diving Lyon, tying the game 1-1 in the 70th minute.
Suggs was shown a straight red card after getting tangled up with McCormick during a tackle in the 76th minute.
With the draw, S2 remains in first place in the USL Western Conference.
S2 is back in action at Starfire Stadium on June 5 against Tulsa Roughnecks FC (7:00 p.m. PT / SoundersFC.com). Tulsa defeated S2 in the only previous match between the clubs by a final score of 4-3 at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, but the Rave Green are a perfect 6-0-0 at home so far this season.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 |1-1| Orange County Blues FC
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Venue: Anteater Stadium, Irvine, Calif.
Referee: Ramon Hernandez
Assistants: John Krill, Eduardo Jeff
Fourth official: Jared Kennedy
Attendance: 1,052
Weather: Cloudy, 65 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Darwin Jones (Duncan McCormick) 31’
OC – Didier Crettenand (Christopher Santana) 70’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Giuliano Frano (caution) 71’
SEA – Oniel Fisher (caution) 72’
OC – Josh Suggs (ejection) 76’
SEA – Sam Garza (caution) 90’+3
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Charlie Lyon, Giuliano Frano, Aaron Long, Nick Miele, Oniel Fisher, Duncan McCormick, Amadou Sanyang, Sérgio Mota (Pablo Rossi 73’), Andrés Correa (Sam Garza 63’), Diego Silvas (Qudus Lawal 73’), Darwin Jones
Substitutes not used: RJ Noll, Tosh Samkange, Kasey French
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 2
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 2
Saves: 2
Orange County Blues FC – Pepe Miranda, Jack McCracken, Brenton Griffiths, Beto Navarro, Josh Suggs, Luka Petricevic, Seung Ju Kim, Didier Crettenand (Jiovanni Santana86’), Denzel Slager (Mehrshad Momeni 55’), Christopher Ramirez (Chris Cortez 83’), Christopher Santana (Jimmy Turner 77’)
Substitutes not used: Billy Thompson, Jimmy Turner, Jacob Barron, Nichola Panuic
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 3
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 2
Saves: 1
