TUKWILA, Wash. -- Brian Nana-Sinkam scored a goal in his team debut but Seattle Sounders 2 conceded twice in the second half en route to a 2-1 defeat to Sacramento Republic FC in their season-opening match at Starfire Sports on Sunday.
Nana-Sinkam, the Sounders’ first-round pick in this year’s MLS SuperDraft out of Stanford, got the match off to a dream start for S2 after opening the scoring shortly after the match kicked off. But Sacramento’s Sammy Ochoa and Emrah Klimenta would each find tallies before the final whistle to give the visitors the victory.
Nana-Sinkam struck first in the 5th minute off a pinpoint free kick from midfielder Irvin Parra that found him in front of goal. The rookie defender then blasted his close-range shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the net, staking the hosts to the early lead.
Sacramento Republic would settle down after conceding the opener, notching a handful of chances of their own as they pressed for a first-half equalizer. Midfielder Adam Moffat nearly found the leveler in the 23rd minute after he teed up a distance shot that forced S2 goalkeeper Bryan Meredith into a diving save that would preserve the lead.
Sacramento defender Julius James then very nearly tied the contest again just four minutes later after he got his head to a corner kick with a clean look on goal. But James’ shot would sail just inches high of the crossbar.
S2 would have a good look at doubling the lead on a 36th-minute counter attack that eventually saw midfielder Lorenzo Ramos with a look on goal off a feed from Parra that was redirected by forward David Olsen. But Ramos’ shot was stuffed by a Sacramento defender and the 1-0 scoreline would hold into halftime.
Sacramento would find their equalizer in the 65th after a shot by defender James Kiffe took a deflection off Ochoa and slid past a diving Meredith, leveling the contest at 1-1.
The visitors very nearly had their go-ahead tally just minutes later off a shot from Moffat that deflected off of both goalposts before Meredith managed to corral it. Sacramento players adamantly appealed that the shot had gone in but the referee wouldn’t award the goal and the contest would remain tied by a matter of inches.
Klimenta would grab the game-winner in the 83rd minute, however, after a wild sequence of shots on Meredith that ended with the Sacramento midfielder unleashing a distance shot that slid by the S2 ‘keeper and into the net, sending the visitors to the road victory.
S2 return to action on April 2, when they’ll take on Cascadia rival Timbers 2 in another home matchup at Starfire (TICKETS).
