SAN JOSE, CALIF. - Nicolás Lodeiro scored directly from a free kick in the 80th minute as Seattle Sounders FC (9-13-5, 32 points) drew 1-1 on the road with the San Jose Earthquakes (7-8-12, 33 points) Saturday evening at Avaya Stadium. With the draw, Seattle is now six points below Portland for the final Western Conference postseason position with seven matches remaining in the 2016 regular season. The Rave Green return home next Saturday afternoon for a meeting with Vancouver Whitecaps FC (1:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, ROOT SPORTS, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
San Jose struck first in the 20th minute, with Jordan Stewart taking advantage of a Sounders FC defensive mistake to find Chris Wondolowski inside the area for his 10th goal of the season. Wondolowski now has 10 career goals against Seattle, the most of any opposing player against the Rave Green.
The score remained 1-0 for the next hour of play before Seattle found the equalizer in the 80th minute. Lodeiro lined up a free kick from 20 yards out and fired a curving ball over the wall that snuck past David Bingham to tie the game at 1-1. It marked Lodeiro's third goal to go along with six assists in just seven games since signing with Seattle on July 27, with Sounders FC accumulating a 3-1-3 record. It was also the second time in three games that Lodeiro scored a late goal to secure a road draw for the Rave Green, after his stoppage-time strike at Houston on August 24.
Defender Román Torres made his first start since suffering a torn ACL nearly at San Jose on September 12 of last season. Torres made his return to the pitch with 45 minutes of action against Portland on August 28 before playing a full 90 minutes for Panama in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Jamaica on September 2.
Sounders FC continues its late-season push for a spot in the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs next Saturday when the club returns home for a Cascadia clash against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. PT from the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field, with local and regional television on JOEtv and ROOT SPORTS, respectively, as well as radio broadcasts on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 - San Jose Earthquakes 1
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Venue: Avaya Stadium
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistants: Apolinar Mariscal, Andrew Bigelow
Fourth Official: Kevin Stott
Attendance: 18,000
Weather: Clear and 62 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SJ - Chris Wondolowski (Jordan Stewart) 20'
SEA - Nico Lodeiro 80'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SJ - Jordan Stewart (caution) 44'
SEA - Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 54'
SJ - Simon Dawkins (caution) 58'
SJ - Marvell Wynne (caution) 69'
SJ - Alberto Quintero (caution) 84'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Román Torres, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones (Oniel Fisher 55'); Erik Friberg (Alvaro Fernandez 65'), Osvaldo Alonso - captain, Cristian Roldan (Nelson Valdez 80'), Nico Lodeiro, Andreas Ivanschitz; Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Zach Scott, Herculez Gomez, Oalex Anderson
Total shots: 5 (5 players, 1)
Shots on goal: 1 (Lodeiro, 1)
Fouls: 16 (Mears, 4)
Offside: 1 (Ivanschitz, 1)
Corner-kicks: 0
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
San Jose Earthquakes - David Bingham; Marvell Wynne, Victor Bernardez, Andres Imperiale, Jordan Stewart; Cordell Cato, Darwin Ceren, Fatai Alashe, Alberto Quintero, Simon Dawkins (Chad Barrett 80'); Chris Wondolowski - captain
Substitutes not used: Shaun Francis, Shea Salinas, Tommy Thompson, Henok Goitom, Quincy Amarikwa
Total shots: 12 (Wondolowski, 4)
Shots on goal: 3 (Wondolowski, 2)
Fouls: 15 (Stewart/Alshe, 1)
Offside: 2 (Cato/Wondolowski, 1)
Corner-kicks: 6 (Dawkins, 5)
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
MATCH NOTES
- With a record of 9-13-5, Sounders FC is now ninth in the Western Conference. At 32 points, the Rave Green are six points below the cutoff line for the 2016 MLS Playoffs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC ranks seventh with 34 points and the San Jose Earthquakes have 33 points.
- After the draw, Sounders FC is 7-10-3 against the San Jose Earthquakes in league play, including a 1-5-2 record on the road.
- San Jose's Chris Wondolowski scored his 10th goal of the season in the 20th minute. The forward leads all MLS players with 10 goals against Sounders FC. He has scored at least one goal against Sounders FC each year since 2009.
- Midfielder Nico Lodeiro scored the equalizer in the 80th minute. He has recorded a goal or an assist in each of the past six matches and has three goals and six assists since making his debut on July 31.
- With the draw, Sounders FC captured the Heritage Cup for the first time since 2013. The Heritage Cup is a trophy awarded to the head-to-head season-series winner between Seattle and San Jose. The two sides have now each won it four times apiece.
- Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer has posted a 3-1-3 record since taking over managerial duties on July 26.
