CARSON, CALIF. – A pair of goals from Cristian Roldan propelled Sounders FC (7-3-3, 24 points) to a 3-1 road win over the LA Galaxy (4-6-3, 15 points) Sunday evening at Dignity Health Sports Park. Jordan Morris added a goal and an assist as the Rave Green stayed tied atop the Western Conference standings with Portland, while also leading MLS in goals scored (29) and goal differential (+17). Brian Schmetzer’s side returns home next Saturday, October 3 for a matchup with Vancouver Whitecaps FC at CenturyLink Field (7:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Amazon Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Roldan put Seattle on the board in the 12th minute with his first goal of the season, finishing a Morris cross at the far post after Nouhou played the winger down the left flank. It was the first assist of the season for Nouhou and sixth for Morris, the latter of which is tied for fourth in MLS.
Morris’ made it 2-0 in the 38th minute, beating the Galaxy offside trap on a long through ball from Nico Lodeiro before slotting a shot past goalkeeper David Bingham. It was the seventh goal of the season for Morris, second on the team behind Raúl Ruidíaz. Lodeiro tallied his fifth assist of the season, giving him 60 in MLS action (including postseason) since signing with Sounders FC in July of 2016.
Roldan completed his brace in the 61st minute, getting behind the defense on a ball from João Paulo and chipping the onrushing Bingham to make it 3-0. The Southern California native now has six career MLS regular season goals against the Galaxy, the most of any Seattle player in club history.
Sebastian Lletget pulled one back for the Galaxy in the 88th minute, but it wasn’t enough, as the Rave Green bring three points back to Seattle ahead of next weekend’s home match with Cascadia rival Vancouver. Sounders FC has now lost just once in its last 10 regular-season matchups with the Galaxy (5-1-4), dating back to October of 2015.
MATCH NOTES
- Including postseason play, tonight’s contest in Southern California was the 35th all-time meeting between Sounders FC and the LA Galaxy. In regular season action, Seattle has posted a record of 9-10-10, including a 4-6-5 record on the road. Seattle has lost just once in its last 10 regular season matchups with the Galaxy (5-1-4), dating back to October of 2015.
- With the opening goal of the match, Cristian Roldan netted his first strike of 2020. He added another tally in the 61st minute. In his sixth professional season with the Rave Green, the University of Washington product now has 22 regular-season goals.
- Jordan Morris fed Roldan the assist on the opening goal, giving the Mercer Island native six assists on the season, leading the team in this category and moving him into a four-way tie for the third-best mark in the league. Morris now has 18 regular season assists all-time.
- Nouhou earned his third career assist on Roldan’s goal in the 12th minute, unlocking the left flank with a through ball to an onrushing Morris. It was the Cameroonian’s first assist since the 2017 season.
- Jordan Morris added a goal of his own in the 38th minute, his seventh of 2020, just one strike behind leading scorer Raúl Ruidíaz. The Sounders Academy product is now in a four-way tie for third in league-wide scoring. Since his rookie year in 2016, Morris has 32 regular-season goals to his name and an additional five tallies in the playoffs.
- Morris’ goal came courtesy of a long-range through ball from club captain Nico Lodeiro, his fifth assist of 2020. The Uruguayan playmaker has 53 assists in the regular season since joining the Rave Green in the 2016 summer transfer window, and 60 overall including postseason action.
- Lodeiro also hit another major milestone on Sunday night, crossing the 10,000-minute mark for Seattle. In club history, only six other players have achieved this feat (Ozzie Alonso, Brad Evans, Chad Marshall, Stefan Frei, Cristian Roldan and Leo Gonzalez).
- On Roldan’s second goal in the 61st minute, Brazilian midfielder João Paulo bagged his fourth assist of the season. His is now tied with Lodeiro for second on the team in assists.
- Roldan (six goals) and Morris (five goals) are first and second, respectively, in all-time Sounders FC regular-season scoring against the LA Galaxy.
- Head Coach Brian Schmetzer made three changes to the starting lineup that played in Portland midweek, with Xavier Arreaga replacing Shane O’Neill in central defense and Gustav Svensson starting in midfield for the injured Joevin Jones. Will Bruin replaced the suspended Raúl Ruidíaz at forward.
- Entering the match as a second-half substitute in the 70th minute of play, fullback Brad Smith made his formal return to the club. He last wore Rave Green at MLS Cup last November, playing a key role in capturing Seattle’s second title. Smith was re-signed on September 17 from England, where his contract with Premier League side Bournemouth ended.
- With Portland’s win over Vancouver tonight, Seattle remains deadlocked with the Timbers atop the MLS Western Conference. Both clubs are on 24 points and are set to face each other once more in regular season action on October 24 at CenturyLink Field. Seattle has one game in-hand on its Oregon rival.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 – LA Galaxy 1
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistants: Frank Anderson, Andrew Bigelow
Fourth Official: Joe Dickerson
VAR: Guido Gonzalez Jr.
Attendance: Closed Door
Weather: 69 and sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Cristian Roldan (Jordan Morris, Nouhou) 12’
SEA – Jordan Morris (Nicolás Loderio) 38’
SEA – Cristian Roldan (João Paulo) 61’
LA – Sebastian Lletget (Rolf Feltscher, Cristian Pavón) 88’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LA – Julian Araujo 40’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei, Kelvin Leerdam (Alex Roldan 69’), Yeimar Gómez Andrade (Shane O’Neill 79’), Nouhou (Miguel Ibarra 82’), Xavier Arreaga, Gustav Svensson (Jordy Delem 79’), João Paulo, Cristian Roldan, Nicolás Lodeiro - captain, Jordan Morris, Will Bruin (Brad Smith 70’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Joshua Atencio
Total shots: 12
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 3
Offside: 4
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 4
LA Galaxy – David Bingham, Emiliano Insúa (Diedie Traore 78’), Daniel Steres, Nick DePuy, Julian Araujo (Efrain Álvarez 53’), Rolf Feltscher, Jonathan dos Santos – captain, Joe Corona (Perry Kitchen 78’), Sebastian Lleget (Gordon Wild 89’), Cristian Pavón, Javier Hernandez
Substitutes not used: Jonathan Klinsmann, Giancarlo González, Emil Cuello, Sacha Kljestan, Ethan Zubak
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 5
Fouls: 9
Offside: 3
Corner-kicks: 8
Saves: 4
