Seattle Sounders FC (5-0-3, 18 points) and Austin FC (2-4-1, 7 points) played to a scoreless draw on Sunday night at Lumen Field. With a home point, Seattle maintains its hold on both the Supporters’ Shield race and the Western Conference standings heading into the June international break. With five wins and three draws to begin the season, Seattle has not lost in 2021, and the club has conceded just three goals in its opening eight matches.
The Rave Green looked to have broken the deadlock in the 75th minute of play, as João Paulo picked up a loose ball and weaved through Austin’s defense, knocking the ball onto Raúl Ruidíaz. The Peruvian redirected the play to Fredy Montero at the far post, and just when it seemed that Seattle’s all-time leading scorer had bagged his 50th regular-season goal, the strike was brought back for an offside call on Ruidíaz.
The Rave Green now head into the upcoming FIFA international break, with the club pausing from league duty until Saturday, June 19 at the LA Galaxy (6:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH NOTES
- Sunday’s contest was the first-ever meeting between Sounders FC and Austin FC. The Rave Green face the MLS expansion side in Texas in their second of two meetings on July 22 at the newly-constructed Q2 Stadium.
- Following the result, Seattle moves to 5-3-3 all-time against expansion teams, posting a 21-10 goal advantage dating back to 2010 following the Rave Green’s inaugural year.
- Sounders FC’s defense continues to anchor the club’s success, pacing all of MLS with just three goals allowed in 2021. Additionally, the Rave Green have allowed only one goal inside Lumen Field this season. None of the three total goals allowed have been from open play (two direct free kicks and one penalty kick).
- Following the draw, Seattle remains atop both the Supporters’ Shield race and MLS Western Conference standings. The Rave Green lead the New England Revolution by one point for the top record in MLS, while also maintaining a two-point lead over Sporting Kansas City in the West.
- Sounders FC maintains the best goal difference in MLS (+11) while also being the second-best side in the league in scoring (14 goals through eight games to Sporting Kansas City’s 15 goals).
- Head Coach Brian Schmetzer made just one change to his starting lineup from May 23 versus Atlanta United. Forward Fredy Montero got the nod at forward in place of Will Bruin, making his first start of 2021.
- Replacing the injured Stefan Frei in goal (L knee sprain), Stefan Cleveland made his third-straight Sounders FC start on Sunday, earning his second shutout in those three games. Cleveland is now 1-0-2 as Seattle’s starter.
SCORING SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 – Austin FC 0
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Venue: Lumen Field
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistants: Jeremy Hanson, Walk Heatherly
Fourth Official: Nima Saghafi
VAR: Tim Ford
Attendance: 12,895 (limited capacity)
Weather: 70 and partly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
None
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Xavier Arreaga (caution) 2’
ATX – Nick Lima (caution) 24’
ATX – Jared Stroud (caution) 45’+2’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Cleveland; Alex Roldan, Yeimar, Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou, Brad Smith (Danny Leyva 86’); Kelyn Rowe (Jimmy Medranda 66’), João Paulo, Cristian Roldan; Fredy Montero (Will Bruin 79’), Raúl Ruidíaz
Substitutes not used: Spencer Richey, Ethan Dobbelaere, Reed Baker-Whiting, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Shane O’Neill
Total shots: 14
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 10
Offside: 1
Corner-kicks: 7
Saves: 3
Austin FC – Brad Stuver; Matt Besler, Julio Cascante, Zan Kolmanic, Nick Lima; Tomas Pochettino, Alex Ring, Diego Fagundez, Cecilio Dominguez (Manny Perez 90’+2’), Jon Gallagher (Rodney Redes 87’), Jared Stroud (Sebastian Berhalter 90’+5’)
Substitutes not used: Andrew Tarbell, William Pulisic, Jhohan Romana, Aedan Stanley, Freddy Kleemann, Kekuta Manneh
Total shots: 12
Shots on goal: 3
Fouls: 14
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 7
Saves: 2
