ATLANTA, GEORGIA – Sounders FC (10-12-2, 32 points) fell 2-1 at Atlanta United FC (7-7-9, 28 points) on Saturday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Cristian Roldan scored his fourth goal of the season to level the match in the second half, but ultimately Atlanta stole the full three points with a goal just before the final whistle in stoppage time from substitute Andrew Gutman.
Ronaldo Cisneros opened the scoring for Atlanta United in the 23rd minute, receiving a ball from Caleb Wiley and smashing a shot that deflected off Nouhou and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Seattle’s Cristian Roldan answered Atlanta’s goal in the second half after a nice spell of possession from the away side. Captain Nico Lodeiro fed the ball to Nouhou at the edge of the area, who crossed a pass into the 18-yard-box. After taking a number of deflections, the ball fell to the feet of Roldan, who finished at the near post to level the match. The strike was his fourth goal of the MLS season.
Gutman won the match for Atlanta in second-half stoppage time, bagging a long-range strike from outside the area off the far post and into the back of the net.
Following today's match, the Rave Green return home to face Real Salt Lake next Sunday, August 14 at Lumen Field (7:00 p.m. PT / FOX13+, Prime Video 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM). With just 10 matches remaining in the MLS regular season, each game is critical, with the Rave Green currently occupying the seventh and final MLS Cup Playoffs position in the Western Conference.
MATCH NOTES
- With today’s loss, Sounders FC takes three points from two games this week, following Tuesday’s 1-0 home victory over FC Dallas. At the time of writing, Seattle remains above the playoff line in the seventh and final postseason position in the Western Conference (32 points).
- Today’s match marks the first loss for Seattle against Atlanta United since the latter entered the league in 2017, with Seattle’s record against Atlanta now standing at 1-1-3.
- Today marked Sounders FC’s first matchup with Atlanta since former player and Assistant Coach Gonzalo Pineda took over as Head Coach of the Eastern Conference side in August of 2021. Pineda spent more than four seasons as an Assistant Coach for Sounders FC, helping the club to three MLS Cup Final appearances (2017, 2019, 2020) and one title (2019). Pineda finished his playing career with Sounders FC from 2014 through 2015, starting 45 of 56 MLS regular-season appearances and helping the club lift the 2014 Supporters’ Shield and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- With his goal in the 68th minute of play, midfielder Cristian Roldan recorded his fourth MLS strike of 2022, good for third on the roster in scoring. In all competitions this season, Roldan now has five goals.
- Head Coach Brian Schmetzer deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation with one personnel change to Tuesday’s lineup vs. FC Dallas: Will Bruin replaced Fredy Montero at forward. Additionally, Léo Chú started on the left wing and Jordan Morris on the right wing today.
- Raúl RuidÃaz appeared as a substitute for the second-consecutive match after returning from a hamstring injury. The Peruvian returned to action on Tuesday against FC Dallas.
- RuidÃaz and teammate Jordan Morris now head to the 2022 MLS All-Star Game, which is being played at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, August 10 (5:30 p.m. PT / ESPN, Univision).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – Atlanta United FC 2
Saturday, August 6, 2022
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistants: Corey Parker, Logan Brown
Fourth Official: Rosendo Mendoza
VAR: Ismail Elfath
Attendance: 68,586
Weather: 90 degrees and partly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
ATL – Ronaldo Cisneros(Luiz Araújo, Caleb Wiley)23’
SEA – Cristian Roldan 68’
ATL – Andrew Gutman (Marcelino Moreno) 90’ + 4’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Cristian Roldan (caution) 82’
ATL – Juan José Sánchez Purata (caution) 89’
SEA – Nico Lodeiro (caution) 90’+2’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou;Cristian Roldan, Albert Rusnák (Josh Atencio 89’); Jordan Morris, Nico Lodeiro, Léo Chú (Danny Leyva 55’); Will Bruin (Raúl RuidÃaz 55’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Jackson Ragen, Kelyn Rowe, Jimmy Medranda, Dylan Teves, Fredy Montero
Total shots: 14
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 11
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 7
Saves: 3
Atlanta United FC – Rocco RÃos Novo; Aiden McFadden (Edwin Mosquera 82’), Juan José Sánchez Purata, Alan Franco, Caleb Wiley; Santiago Sosa (Andrew Gutman 81’), Matheus Rossetto (Marcelino Moreno 45’); Ronaldo Cisneros (Franco Ibarra 65’), Thiago Almada, Luiz Araújo; Josef MartÃnez
Substitutes not used: Dom Dwyer, Raúl Gudiño, Alex De John, Amar Sejdić, Ronald Hernández
Total shots: 10
Shots on goal: 5
Fouls: 9
Offside: 3
Corner-kicks:
Saves: 3
