CARSON, CALIF. – Jordan Morris recorded the first brace of his professional career to lead Seattle Sounders FC (11-13-15, 38 points) to a 4-2 road win over the LA Galaxy (11-5-15, 48 points) Sunday afternoon at the StubHub Center, giving the Rave Green their first road win over the Galaxy since August 15, 2009. Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer’s club now sits three points below Portland for the last Western Conference spot in the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, with two games in-hand. Seattle returns to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of crucial fixtures this week, beginning with Wednesday’s matchup against the Chicago Fire at CenturyLink Field before a road clash at Vancouver next Sunday at BC Place.
The home side kicked-off the scoring in the 20th minute of play, with Robbie Keane once again providing to be a thorn in the side of Sounders FC. Galaxy winger Sebastian Lletget provided the service from the right channel to Keane, with the Irishman rising to meet the cross before burying a header into the back of Stefan Frei’s net. The tally was Keane’s eighth all-time goal against Seattle, placing him second in scoring in MLS regular-season play against the Rave Green, trailing only San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski.
Seattle secured an equalizer in the 35th minute, as Austrian international Andreas Ivanschitz took the reins on a Sounders FC corner-kick, delivering a well-placed out-swinger that glanced off of Galaxy defender Jelle Van Damme and into the LA goal. After a flurry of decent chances between both sides, the two teams went into the halftime intermission deadlocked at 1-1.
Morris vaulted the visitors into the lead in the 63rd minute of play, as the rookie made a streaking run into LA’s area, racing past defender Daniel Steres before burying his attempt at Brian Rowe’s far post. He completed the brace 10 minutes later, giving the Rave Green a two-goal lead in front of the Galaxy faithful. Morris began the sequence by finding Alvaro Fernandez at the far post, who then headed a pass to Nelson Valdez for a first-time shot that was saved by Rowe. Morris then pounced on the rebound and calmly knocked in a left-footed shot from close range for his 12th tally of the season.
Morris’ 12 goals in 2016 place him first in scoring among all American rookies in MLS history, and second only to Cyle Larin’s 17 last season for the league’s all-time rookie record. In addition to Sunday’s fixture being the first multi-goal game of his professional career, the Mercer Island native also passed Philadelphia’s Chris Pontius as the top-scoring American in MLS this season.
Osvaldo Alonso added an insurance tally in the 78th minute to give the visiting side four goals, the most Sounders FC has ever scored in a road match against the Galaxy. Nicolás Lodeiro led Alonso into space at the top of the area on a ball that deflected off referee Armando Villarreal, and the Cuban delivered a 23-yard screamer inside the far post and into the side netting. It marked the second goal of the season for Alonso and the team-leading eighth assist for Lodeiro.
The Galaxy pulled one back via a Keane penalty kick in the 85th minute, but it wasn’t enough as Sounders FC earned its first road win over LA since August of 2009. Seattle has lost just once in five road fixtures (2-1-2) under Schmetzer.
Just three points behind the red line in the race for the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, Brian Schmetzer’s side turns its attention to two pivotal matches this week, beginning with a home date against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, September 28 (7:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, ROOT SPORTS, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM). Wednesday’s match is Seattle’s last against Eastern Conference opposition this year, with the Rave Green heading to Vancouver on Sunday, October 2 for a key nationally-televised clash against Vancouver in a contest that carries massive postseason implications (5:00 p.m. PT / FOX Sports 1, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 4 – LA Galaxy 2
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Venue: StubHub Center
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistants: Corey Parker, Kyle Atkins
Fourth Official: Nima Saghafi
Attendance: 25,819
Weather: Sunny and 92 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
LA – Robbie Keane 20’
SEA – Jelle Van Damme (OG) 35’
SEA – Jordan Morris (Alvaro Fernandez) 63’
SEA – Jordan Morris 73’
SEA – Osvaldo Alonso (Nico Lodeiro) 78’
LA – Robbie Keane (penalty) 85’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LA – Robbie Keane (caution) 59’
SEA – Nelson Valdez (caution) 66’
SEA – Nico Lodeiro (caution) 81’
SEA – Román Torres (caution) 86’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Román Torres, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones (Oniel Fisher 82’); Osvaldo Alonso – captain, Cristian Roldan, Alvaro Fernandez (Herculez Gomez 83’), Nico Lodeiro, Andreas Ivanschitz (Nelson Valdez 65’), Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Oalex Anderson, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis
Total shots: 12 (Morris, 5)
Shots on goal: 9 (Morris, 4)
Fouls: 10 (Alonso, 4)
Offside: 1 (Torres, 1)
Corner-kicks: 5 (Ivanschitz, 4)
Saves: 7 (Frei, 7)
LA Galaxy – Brian Rowe; Robbie Rogers, Daniel Steres (Alan Gordon 75’), Jelle Van Damme, Ashley Cole; Sebastian Lletget, Jeff Larentowicz, Baggio Husidic (Landon Donovan 67’), Giovani dos Santos, Emmanuel Boateng (Steven Gerrard 72’); Robbie Keane
Substitutes not used: Dan Kennedy, A.J. DeLaGarza, Mike Magee, Rafael Garcia
Total shots: 20 (dos Santos, 6)
Shots on goal: 9 (dos Santos/Keane, 3)
Fouls: 9 (9 players, 1)
Offside: 1 (Keane, 1)
Corner-kicks: 7 (dos Santos, 4)
Saves: 3 (Rowe, 3)
MATCH NOTES
- With a record of 11-13-5, Sounders FC remains seventh in the Western Conference and three points below the cutoff line for the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs with two games in-hand. Currently, the Portland Timbers occupy the sixth and final postseason position with 41 points, with Caleb Porter’s side having played two extra matches over Seattle.
- Sounders FC is 5-9-7 against LA Galaxy in league play, including a 2-5-3 record at StubHub Center. Sunday’s result marks Seattle’s first win road win over the Galaxy since August 15, 2009 and LA’s first home loss of the season. The sides met three times in MLS action this season, with the Rave Green posting a 1-1-1 mark.
- In the 85th minute, Robbie Keane recorded his ninth goal against Sounders FC in regular season play, which ranks second to San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski (10 goals) among all players. Keane has also tallied two goals against the Rave Green in postseason play.
- Jelle Van Damme’s own goal in the first half was the second own goal against Seattle across all competitions this season. On March 2, Club America allowed an own goal in a 3-2 win for Club America at Azteca Stadium in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Knockout Round.
- Forward Jordan Morris earned the first brace of his MLS career on Sunday, extending his team-lead to 12 goals in 2016. The Homegrown Player ranks first in the league with six game-winning goals, including one on Sunday.
- Midfielder Nico Lodeiro recorded his team-leading eighth assist of the season on Osvaldo Alonso’s goal in the 78th minute, giving him eight consecutive matches with either a goal or assist.
- Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer has posted a 5-1-3 record since taking over managerial duties on July 26.
