Sounders FC (1-2-0, 3 points) defeated the LA Galaxy (2-1-0, 6 points) 3-2 at home Saturday afternoon with goals from Jordan Morris, Fredy Montero and Xavier Arreaga. It was the club’s first win of the 2022 MLS regular season and 200th all-time since joining MLS in 2009. Seattle becomes the fastest club to reach 200 regular season wins, doing so in 425 games, seven faster than the Galaxy’s 432. It also extended Seattle’s unbeaten streak over the Galaxy to eight games (5-0-3) dating back to 2018.
The Galaxy’s Javier Hernández opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Raheem Edwards slipped a ball into Rayan Raveloson behind the defense for an easy pass to Hernández, who finished past the outstretched hands of Stefan Frei. Morris answered in the 17th minute when a deflected corner led to a scuffle in front of goal, where Morris was able to tap it into the back of the net to level the game. It was Morris’ 45th goal across all competitions for Seattle, tying him for fourth all-time in club history with Nicolás Lodeiro. Montero added one more in first-half stoppage time via a penalty kick after drawing a foul in the area for his franchise-leading 71st goal across all competitions.
The visitors equalized in the 48th minute when Douglas Costa converted a free kick from outside the 18-yard-box that took a deflection off a Seattle defender into the back of the net. Seattle found the game-winner in the 72nd minute when Alex Roldan’s cross into the area found the head of Xavier Arreaga for his first goal of the season.
Brian Schmetzer’s side now returns to 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League action, traveling to Estadio León to take on Club León in the second leg of the tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 17 (5:30 p.m. PT / FOX Sports, iHeart Media, El Rey 1360 AM). Seattle then travels to Q2 Stadium for a weekend matchup against Austin FC on Sunday, March 20 (1:30 p.m. PT / FS1, iHeart Media, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH NOTES
• Sounders FC earns its first win of the 2022 regular-season campaign and is now 1-2-0 on the year. Brian Schmetzer’s side improves to 3-2-1 across all competitions this year, including 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League matches.
• Today’s match marked Sounders FC’s 200th all-time win in MLS regular season play since entering the league in 2009. With 425 total regular season games played, Seattle is the fastest club to reach 200 wins, eclipsing the Galaxy’s previous league record 200 wins in its first 432 matches.
• Saturday marked the 44th all-time meeting between the two sides since Seattle entered MLS in 2009. Sounders FC leads the series 17-15-12 across MLS regular season, postseason and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play.
• Sounders FC is unbeaten in its last eight matches against the Galaxy (5-0-3), with the last defeat coming in September of 2018.
• Jordan Morris scored Seattle’s first MLS regular season goal of 2022 in the first half, his third across all competitions this season. Morris now has six goals against the Galaxy in regular-season play, tying Cristian Roldan for second behind only Raúl RuidÃaz’s eight.
• Morris’ 45 goals for Seattle across all competitions are now tied with Nicolás Lodeiro for fourth in club history.
• Montero’s first-half goal via penalty kick is his first of the 2022 MLS regular season and his third across all competitions, following a brace on Tuesday against Club León in Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League action. The Colombian is Seattle’s all-time leading scorer across all competitions with 71 goals.
• Xavier Arreaga’s second-half goal was the third of his MLS career. It was the seventh career assist for Alex Roldan.
• Will Bruin made his first appearance of 2022, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute. The veteran forward had missed the previous five matches this season due to injury.
• Coach Schmetzer deployed the same starting XI from Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Club León in Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League play.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 – LA Galaxy 2
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Venue: Lumen Field
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistants: Jeremy Hanson, Jeff Hosking
Fourth Official: Greg Dopka
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 33,200
Weather: 54 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
LAG – Javier Hernández (Rayan Raveloson, Raheem Edwards) 6’
SEA – Jordan Morris 17’
SEA – Fredy Montero (penalty) 45’+2’
LAG – Douglas Costa 48’
SEA – Xavier Arreaga (Alex Roldan, Cristian Roldan) 72’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Obed Vargas (caution) 29’
SEA – João Paulo (caution) 38’
LAG – Nick DePuy (caution) 44’
SEA – Nouhou (caution) 46’
SEA – Will Bruin (caution) 90’
SEA – Alex Roldan (caution) 90’+1’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar (Jackson Ragen 52’), Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou; João Paulo, Obed Vargas (Kelyn Rowe 59’), Cristian Roldan, Albert Rusnák (Abdoulaye Cissoko 81’), Jordan Morris; Fredy Montero (Will Bruin 81’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Sam Adeniran, Léo Chú, Reed Baker-Whiting
Total shots: 8
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 11
Offside: 1
Corner-kicks: 1
Saves: 1
LA Galaxy – Jonathan Bond; Julian Araujo, Sega Coulibaly, Nick DePuy, Raheem Edwards; Rayan Raveloson (Dejan Jovelijic 84’), Marky Delgado, Efrain Alvarez; Kevin Cabral (Samuel Grandsir 69’), Douglas Costa (Victor Vazquez 69’), Javier Hernández
Substitutes not used: Derrick Williams, Eriq Zavaleta, Sacha Kljestan, Kelvin Leerdam, Jonathan Klinsmann, Jonathan Perez
Total shots: 14
Shots on goal: 3
Fouls: 18
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 6
Saves: 1
