ORLANDO, FLA. - Seattle Sounders FC (2-1-2, 8 points) fell by a final score of 4-1 to LAFC (2-0-3, 9 points) in the MLS Back is Tournament on Monday night at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. With the result, Seattle is eliminated from the Orlando tournament, following a second-place finish in Group B and tonight's Round of 16 loss. LAFC moves on to face Orlando City SC in the tournament's Quarterfinal Round.
LAFC's first-half goals were supplied by Diego Rossi and Latif Blessing. Rossi's tally came courtesy of a penalty kick in the 14th minute, awarded by referee Jair Marrufo due to a rash challenge from Seattle defender Xavier Arreaga. Blessing doubled his side's advantage in the 39th minute, hitting a curling shot from the left side of the area, with the attempt taking a deflection off Seattle's Shane O'Neill on the way into goal.
Sounders FC pulled itself back into the match in the 75th minute, as substitutes Joevin Jones and Will Bruin combined on a strike to make the score 2-1. With Jones pushing the ball down the left flank, the Trinidad & Tobago international served a pin-point cross to Bruin, who finished calmly with his first touch past LAFC goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer. For Bruin, it was his first goal since April 13, 2019 in a victory versus Toronto, as the forward recently returned from a torn ACL, and more recently, a separate right knee injury.
LAFC sealed the match with its third strike of the evening in the 82nd minute, with Rossi once again punishing Seattle's backline with a clean finish from the right flank. The Uruguayan's low shot found its way into the back of Stefan Frei's net at the far post. A fourth goal was added in the 89th minute by Brian RodrÃguez.
The Rave Green now prepare to safely close out their Orlando camp, with preparations underway for the squad to return home to the Pacific Northwest for the first time since July 3. Currently, the squad is scheduled to depart Florida on Tuesday, July 28.
MATCH NOTES
- Following tonight's loss in the MLS is Back Tournament, Seattle is eliminated from the Orlando competition. The Rave Green exit in the Round of 16, finishing their time in Central Florida with one win, one draw and two losses. The Rave Green finished in second place in Group B before advancing to tonight's Knockout Round contest versus LAFC.
- Including postseason play, Seattle is now 1-4-1 all-time versus LAFC (including tonight's contest). Monday's match marked the first meeting between the two sides since last season's MLS Western Conference Championship, a 3-1 win for Sounders FC at Banc of California Stadium.
- Will Bruin's goal in the 75th minute was his first strike of 2020 in his first match since returning from both ACL surgery in 2019 and a more recent right knee injury. The 30-year-old MLS veteran had not scored since a two-goal performance in a 3-2 victory over Toronto FC on April 13, 2019. Bruin tore his ACL in a training session in June of last year and was forced to miss the remainder of the 2019 season. He now has 71 all-time regular season goals to his name.
- With his assist on Bruin's goal, Joevin Jones made his return from injury as a substitute in tonight's match (left adductor strain). The match was his fourth appearance of 2020, and the assist was his first of the season. All told, Jones has 18 career MLS regular-season assists.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 - Los Angeles FC 4
Monday, July 27, 2020
Venue: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistants: Jose Da Silva, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Timothy Ford
VAR: Ismail Elfath
Attendance: Closed door
Weather: 80 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
LAFC - Diego Rossi (penalty) 14'
LAFC - Latif Blessing (Bradley Wright-Phillips, Brian Rodriguez) 39'
SEA - Will Bruin (Joevin Jones) 75'
LAFC - Diego Rossi 82'
LAFC - Brian RodrÃguez 89'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
None
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam (Will Bruin 71'), Shane O'Neill (Josh Atencio 88'), Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou (Joevin Jones 71'); Gustav Svensson, Cristian Roldan, Handwalla Bwana (Shandon Hopeau 55'), Nicolás Lodeiro, Jordan Morris (Ethan Dobbelaere 87'); Raúl RuidÃaz
Substitutes not used: Trey Muse, Stefan Cleveland, Jordy Delem, Justin Dhillon
Total shots: 11 (RuidÃaz, 5)
Shots on goal: 4 (Hopeau, 2)
Fouls: 11 (Lodeiro, 3)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 5 (Lodeiro, 5)
Saves: 4 (Frei, 4)
Los Angeles FC - Kenneth Vermeer; Tristan Blackmon, Dejan Jakovic, Eddie Segura, Diego Palacios (Jordan Harvey 84'); Latif Blessing, Eduard Atuesta, Mark-Anthony Kaye (Francisco Ginella 80'); Brian RodrÃguez, Bradley Wright-Phillips (Mohamed El-Munir HT, Danny Musovski 80'), Diego Rossi (Jose Cifuentes 90')
Substitutes not used: Pablo Sisniega, Danilo Silva, Andy Najar, Alejandro Guido, Bryce Duke, Adrien Perez, Christian Torres
Total shots: 25 (Rossi, 8)
Shots on goal: 8 (Rossi, 3)
Fouls: 13 (Blackmon, 4)
Offside: 5 (Rossi, 2)
Corner-kicks: 2 (Rodriguez, 2)
Saves: 3 (Vermeer, 3)
