The Seattle Sounders and FC Cincinnati drew 1-1 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Saturday. Evander opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half before an 83rd-minute leveler from Kalani Kossa-Rienzi split the points.
Osaze De Rosario had a chance two minutes in, but his header in the box missed just wide.
Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas made an incredible diving stop in the 15th minute when he denied a Miles Robinson header that was destined for the bottom corner.
Cincinnati found its go-ahead goal in the 24th minute at the end of a flurry of opportunities. Thomas denied Bryan Ramirez from the center of the box before blocking Kenji Mboma Dem’s rebound. Ramirez tried once more, but his shot was cleared off the goal line by the body of Paul Rothrock. The ball fell to Evander, who made no mistake on the half-volley from 12 yards out.
Sounders midfielder Edson Carli had a great look on goal just before halftime when he collected an attempted clearance, but his shot that was redirected by Rothrock just went wide.
Cincinnati forward Tom Barlow almost doubled the advantage in the 51st minute, but another big stop from Thomas kept Seattle’s deficit at one.
Sebastian Gomez’s header in the 82nd minute forced Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano into an uncomfortable save that he needed to punch over the crossbar.
On the ensuing corner kick, Nouhou denied a counterattack before the ball found Albert Rusnák out wide. Rusnák whipped in a beautiful ball to the middle of the box where Kossa-Rienzi slid in a one-timed effort to equalize. The goal was the University of Washington product’s third on the season.
Seattle finishes the match 11th in the Western Conference with 25 points from 20 matches (7-9-4).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Streak snapped
Seattle’s come-from-behind draw breaks the club’s eight-match losing streak in MLS.
Rothrock dons armband
Rothrock earned his first appearance as captain as he led a group of young Sounders. The 27-year-old Capitol Hill native is in his fourth season for his hometown club.
Carli makes MLS debut
Nineteen-year-old Carli made his MLS debut for the First Team on Saturday going 61 minutes. The MLS NEXT Pro midfielder signed for Tacoma Defiance from the Sounders Academy earlier this year.
