CARSON, CALIF. – Western Conference rivals Sounders FC (10-13-3, 33 points) and LA Galaxy (10-11-4, 34 points) played a late-season thriller on Friday night at Dignity Health Sports Park, as the two sides battled to a 3-3 back-and-forth draw. Seattle found second-half goals from Kelyn Rowe, Raúl Ruidíaz and Jordan Morris, but the home side was able to equalize with a 92nd-minute penalty kick to send each team home with a point.
The Galaxy struck first in the 10th minute courtesy of Javier Hernández. After receiving a ball from the right side of the area from Kevin Cabral, the Mexican international took a quick touch before firing it across the face of goal and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Víctor Vázquez doubled the home side’s advantage in quick-strike fashion just before the halftime whistle, playing a crafty ball from the right wing into the area that found its way into the back of the net, sneaking in under the crossbar past Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Seattle got its first goal early in the second half, with Ruidíaz laying a ball off for Rowe in the middle of the area for a curler into the top corner of the net. Sounders FC leveled the score eight minutes later following a wild sequence that saw Albert Rusnák hit the post twice in quick succession. The ball eventually found the feet of captain Nicolás Lodeiro on the left flank for a cross to Ruidíaz, who headed it in for his sixth goal of the season.
Morris gave the Rave Green the lead in the 73rd minute with his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Lodeiro, this time on the right flank, crossed another ball in that met the head of defender Yeimar Gómez Andrade, whose initial effort was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond, but the rebound fell to Morris for a point-blank finish.
The Galaxy secured the draw in the 92nd minute after VAR deemed that Seattle defender Xavier Arreaga committed a hand-ball inside the area, giving the home side a penalty kick. Dejan Joveljić buried the attempt to level the score for the 3-3 final.
The Rave Green continue their three-match road stretch in a week’s time with a high-stakes Cascadia Cup clash at Portland on August 26 (7:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM). The upcoming contest is Seattle’s second of 2022 against the Timbers, with Sounders FC dropping the first match of the season on July 9 at Lumen Field. In addition to valuable points in the race for the MLS Cup Playoffs, Cascadia Cup positioning is also on the line, with Seattle currently in second place in the regional cup standings.
MATCH NOTES
- The result puts Seattle above the playoff line for the time being, currently in seventh place in the Western Conference with 33 points.
- Today’s match marked the 42nd MLS matchup (including postseason play) between Seattle and LA, making the Galaxy Seattle’s most frequent opponent since joining the league in 2009.
- In the regular season, Sounders FC’s all-time record against the Galaxy moves to 12-10-13. The Rave Green have a 3-4-0 mark against LA in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Seattle extended its unbeaten streak against the Galaxy to nine games (5-0-4), with its last loss coming in September of 2018. In that stretch, the Rave Green are 2-0-3 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
- Scoring an equalizing goal in the 61st minute of play, Raúl Ruidíaz recorded his ninth Sounders goal in nine MLS regular-season games against the Galaxy, tying LA’s Robbie Keane for the most strikes in the regular-season series.
- Ruidíaz now has six MLS goals in 2022, one behind teammate Jordan Morris for the team lead. The Peruvian has tallied nine goals in all competitions in 2022.
- Morris’ go-ahead goal in the 74th minute was his team-leading seventh MLS strike of 2022.
- Club captain Nicolás Lodeiro recorded his team-leading eighth MLS assist of the season on Ruidíaz’s equalizing goal, which was also his seventh assist in 14 regular-season matches against the Galaxy. No player in the all-time series has more assists.
- Kelyn Rowe’s goal at the start of the second half was his first strike of the MLS regular-season and his second in Rave Green since joining his hometown club prior to the 2021 season.
- Ruidíaz assisted on Rowe’s strike, his second helper of the year and his 11th overall in regular-season action since 2018.
- Alex Roldan was credited with a second assist on Rowe’s goal, his fifth of the 2022 MLS season.
- Nouhou was credited with a second assist on Ruidíaz’s goal, his second of the 2022 MLS season.
- With the start tonight, Alex Roldan now has 100 career MLS regular-season appearances since being drafted by Sounders FC in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. He and his brother Cristian now become the first pair of siblings in MLS history to each log 100 career regular-season appearances while playing for the same club.
- Scoring against Seattle in the 10th minute of play, Galaxy forward Javier Hernández recorded his fourth career strike against Sounders FC in seven MLS matches. Hernández has more goals against the Rave Green than any other active Galaxy player, having also scored the opening strike on March 12 in a 3-2 loss to Seattle at Lumen Field.
- Head Coach Brian Schmetzer changed his formation tonight from the club’s last match vs. Real Salt Lake on August 14, deploying a 5-3-2 shape in Southern California this evening. Only one personnel change was made, with Kelyn Rowe replacing the injured Cristian Roldan in the starting group (left athletic pubalgia).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 – LA Galaxy 3
Friday, August 19, 2022
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistants: Jeffrey Greeson, Cameron Blanchard
Fourth Official: Brandon Stevis
VAR: José Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 23,278
Weather: 68 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
LA – Javier Hernández(Kévin Cabral, Julián Araujo)10’
LA – Víctor Vázquez (Mark Delgado)42’
SEA – Kelyn Rowe (Raúl Ruidíaz, Alex Roldan) 53’
SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (Nico Lodeiro, Nouhou) 61’
SEA – Jordan Morris 73’
LA – Dejan Joveljic (penalty) 90’ + 2’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LA – Samuel Grandsir (caution) 49’
LA – Víctor Vázquez (caution) 58’
SEA – Nico Lodeiro (caution) 75’
SEA – Danny Leyva (caution) 90’ + 1’
SEA – Jimmy Medranda (caution) 90’ + 6’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou, Kelyn Rowe (Jimmy Medranda 78’); Danny Leyva, Albert Rusnák, Nico Lodeiro (Josh Atencio 83’); Jordan Morris (Will Bruin 86’); Raúl Ruidíaz (Jackson Ragen 83’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Ethan Dobbelaere, Dylan Teves, Léo Chú, Fredy Montero
Total shots: 16
Shots on goal: 5
Fouls: 12
Offside: 4
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 1
LA Galaxy – Jonathan Bond; Julián Araujo, Séga Coulibaly, Nick DePuy, Raheem Edwards; Kévin Cabral (Douglas Costa de Souza 62’), Mark Delgado, Gastón Brugman, Samuel Grandsir (Eriq Zavaleta 71’); Víctor Vázquez (Ricard Puig Martí 62’); Javier Hernández Balcázar (Dejan Joveljic 70’)
Substitutes not used: Kelvin Leerdam, Chase Gasper, Jonathan Klinsmann, Efraín Álvarez, Sacha Kljestan
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 10
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 6
Saves: 2
