By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

The sounders give up another stoppage-time goal and settle for another draw

Sounders inability to close out games results in 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake

With the cold and rain pouring down before Wednesday’s match between the  Sounders and Real Salt  Lake the wise note would be that the Sounders were in their element. For the first fifteen minutes of the contest, the visitors made themselves at home.

Real Salt had a chance early in the game.  A  foul by Yeimar on  Diego  Luna in the eighth minute was deemed just outside the Sounders goal box after a VAR review to see if the infraction was inside the box.  Luna’s free kick was blocked and the Sounders survived.  Diligent man-to-man marking in a high press and fluid passing when in possession allowed the  Sounders to claw their way back into the game and nearly take the lead.

OVERCOMING LETHARGIC START

The movement and link-up play saw the  Sounders force two quality saves by Real Salt Lake keeper Gavin  Beavers in ten minutes.  The first link-up play started after Joao Paulo won a free kick in the 34th minute just inside the Real Salt Lake half Paulo passed the ball to Albert Rusnak who found  Alex Roldan on the right side who continued the play with a pass to his brother Cristian who pinched in from the right side. Cristian Roldan quickly slid the ball to Raul Ruidiaz, who laid it off to Obed Vargas for the right-footed shot headed for the top right corner were it not for a save by Beavers.

A SECOND NEAR CHANCE

The second quality opportunity came in the 40th minute. Jordan Morris carried the ball from the left side of the field to the right and laid the ball off to  Alex Roldan who cut inside and found brother Cristian who rifled a right-footed shot that forced Beavers to his knees to make the save.  Both sides had half chances that went begging and as a result, both sides stepped into the dressing rooms for the halftime break wondering what could have been.

SOUNDERS START THE SECOND HALF ON THE FRONT FOOT

The Sounders started the second half the way they should have started the game, aggressively, determined,  with the intent to score. 60 seconds into the half Paulo’s long kick into the Real Salt Lake half found  Ruidiaz who laid the ball off to a streaking Morris who was open inside the goal box but elected to pass the ball to  Rusnak whose shot was blocked by an RSL defender. Both sides played to a stalemate for the next ten minutes. An injury to  Anderson Julio saw the insertion of RSL marksman Cristian Arango ( chicho) in the 58th minute.

SOUNDERS  CONTINUE TO PUSH

The Sounders continued their offensive prowess with Morris making runs down the left side forcing the RSL backline on its heels.  Paulo and Vargas pushed up further upfield and the Sounders onslaught in the Real Salt Lake half continued with the Rave Green earning several corner kicks.  Nouhou nearly scored in the 65th minute when Paulo’s corner into the RSL goal box was headed right to Nouhou whose left-footed shot forced a diving save by Beavers .  

SOUNDERS GET THEIR GOAL

The continued pressure by the Sounders paid dividends in the 67th minute when  Cristian Roldan was fouled as he was streaking down the middle of the ball towards the  Real Salt Lake goal by defender Braian Ojeda. With the Real Salt Lake wall lined up to the left of Beavers, the Sounders lined up to his right  Rusnak looked left and shot right fooling the hapless Beavers who was too slow to stop Rusnak’s shot.

 TOO QUICK TO PULL THE TRIGGER?

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer inserted Reed Baker-Whitting for Cristian Roldan in the 74th minute. Unless it was injury-related My though is Schmetzer should have waited another five to six minutes to make the change for continuity. Eight minutes later Schmetzer inserted Josh Antencio for Jordan Morris and  Danny Musovski. The moves looked good when Musovski scored in the  96th minute to give the Sounders a 2-0 lead. The goal was disallowed after a VAR when it was ruled Musovski had committed a foul  

INABILITY TO WIN DUALS

The irony is that the VAR gave  RSL the extra minute it needed to boot the ball downfield into the Sounder’s goal. The backline’s inability to win the aerial duels saw the ball end up in the box in front of Andres Gomez’s foot who then slotted home the equalizer.

BIG PICTURE

The Sounder’s inability to close out games when leading has and is a big concern. Closing out games demands mental toughness and technical ability to possess the ball. It also takes communication and sticking to the game plan. None of that is happening with the Sounders at the present moment due to a lack of leadership.

MATCH NOTES

  • With the result, Sounders FC sits in 10th place in the Western Conference with 18 points (4-6-6). Real Salt Lake maintains its first-place position in the West with 30 points (8-2-6).
  • Tonight marked the second of two meetings this season between the two sides, following a 2-0 RSL home win on May 15. Seattle trails the all-time regular-season series with RSL 13-16-7.
  • The draw extends Seattle’s unbeaten streak to three games across all competitions. Brian Schmetzer’s side has lost just once in its last nine fixtures across all competitions (4-1-4).
  • Albert Rusnák scored his first goal of the season in the 69th minute directly from a free kick. It marked Rusnák’s first goal against his former club, after playing for RSL from 2017-2021. He also leads Sounders FC with five assists this season.
  • With the goal, Rusnák becomes the fifth active player and 29th player overall in MLS history to reach 50 goals and 50 assists in regular-season play.
  • Josh Atencio appeared as a second-half substitute, returning to the pitch for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury against Louisville City FC on May 8 in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play.
  • Head Coach Brian Schmetzer held Pedro de la Vega out of today’s matchday roster due to lingering soreness following his last appearance. De la Vega is expected to return to the field soon, as the club continues to carefully manage his return-to-play progression.

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Sounders FC 1 – Real Salt Lake 1

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Venue: Emerald Queen Casino Pitch at Lumen Field

Referee: Sergii Boiko

Assistants: Kathryn Nesbitt, Chantal Boudreau

Fourth Official: Ricardo Fierro

VAR: Guido Gonzales Jr.

Attendance: 29,244

Weather: 52 degrees and rain

SCORING SUMMARY

SEA – Albert Rusnák 68’

RSL – Andres Gomez 90’+9’

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

RSL – Bryan Oviedo (caution) 67’

RSL – Matt Crooks (caution) 75’

SEA – Obed Vargas (caution) 87’

SEA – Reed Baker-Whiting (caution) 90’+4’

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Jackson Ragen, Yeimar, Nouhou; Obed Vargas, João Paulo (Paul Rothrock 90’+3’), Cristian Roldan (Reed Baker-Whiting 74’), Albert Rusnák, Jordan Morris (Josh Atencio 83’); Raúl Ruidíaz (Danny Musovski 83’)

Substitutes not used: Andrew Thomas, Cody Baker, Danny Leyva, Dylan Teves, Sota Kitahara

Total shots: 17

Shots on goal: 5

Fouls: 11

Offside: 2

Corner-Kicks: 11

Saves: 3

Real Salt Lake – Gavin Beavers; Bryan Oviedo (Alexandros Katranis 83’), Brayan Vera, Justen Glad, Philip Quinton (Andrew Brody 83’); Diego Luna (Fidel Barajas 64’), Andres Gomez, Nelson Palacio (Braian Ojeda 64’), Emeka Eneli, Maikel Chang (Matt Crooks 34’); Anderson Julio (Cristian Arango 58’)

Substitutes not used: Zac MacMath, Bertin Jacquesson

Total shots: 18

Shots on goal: 4

Fouls: 13

Offside: 0

Corner-kicks: 4

Saves: 4

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