CARSON, CALIF. - Despite goals from Michael Farfan and Herculez Gomez, Seattle Sounders FC fell 4-2 on the road to the LA Galaxy Wednesday evening as the Rave Green were eliminated in the Quarterfinals of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Seattle took the lead twice in the midweek fixture, but Galaxy secured advancement in the domestic tournament via a late brace from Sebastien Lletget, as well as strikes from Alan Gordon and Giovani dos Santos. Sounders FC now shifts gears to MLS regular season action, as the Rave Green take on Sporting Kansas City on Sunday at Children's Mercy Park (12:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Sigi's Schmid's side got off the mark quickly in Southern California, as Farfan intercepted a Galaxy pass in the final third, allowing him to break through on goal and slot a smooth finish past LA goalkeeper Clement Diop to give Seattle and early 1-0 lead. Wednesday night's match was Farfan's first with the Sounders FC First Team this season, having previously made six appearances for S2 in addition to a performance against West Ham United in an international friendly earlier this month.
The home side equalized in the 17th minute, as Gordan found the back of the net, redirecting a pass from teammate Baggio Husidic past Seattle's Tyler Miller. The two sides went into the break deadlocked at one goal apiece following the first 45 minutes of play.
Seattle's go-ahead goal came in the 58th minute, as Gomez got on the end of a Dylan Remick lofted through ball, burying his shot at an extremely acute angle.
A flurry of late goals propelled Bruce Arena's squad into the Semifinals, beginning in the 77th minute when dos Santos intercepted a Zach Scott pass along the backline and converted past Miller for the Galaxy equalizer. The score remained 2-2 until Lletget tallied twice in the final five minutes of play, first tapping in a cross from Baggio Husidic for the lead before adding an insurance tally three minutes later to finish the match 4-2 for the home side.
Sounders FC concludes its three-match road swing as the club heads to the heartland for a nationally-televised Western Conference showdown at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, July 24 (12:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 - LA Galaxy 4
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Venue: StubHub Center Track Field
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistants: Ian Anderson, Cameron Blanchard
Fourth Official: Michael Radchuk
Weather: Clear and 70 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA - Michael Farfan 4'
LA - Alan Gordon (Baggio Husidic, Sebastian Lletget) 17'
SEA - Herculez Gomez (Dylan Remick, Michael Farfan) 58'
LA - Giovani dos Santos 77'
LA - Sebastian Lletget (Baggio Husidic, Gyasi Zardes) 85'
LA - Sebastian Lletget (Gyasi Zardes) 88'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LA - Leonardo (caution) 31'
SEA - Dylan Remick (caution) 32'
SEA - Tony Alfaro (caution) 57'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Tyler Miller; Oniel Fisher, Zach Scott - captain, Tony Alfaro, Dylan Remick; Zach Mathers, Nathan Sturgis (Brad Evans 76'), Michael Farfan; Aaron Kovar (Cristian Roldan 66'), Herculez Gomez, Oalex Anderson (Jordan Morris 82')
Substitutes: Stefan Frei, Tyrone Mears, Joevin Jones, Andy Craven
Total shots: 6 (Gomez, 2)
Shots on goal: 4 (Gomez, 2)
Fouls: 14 (Remick/Farfan, 3)
Offside: 6 (Gomez, 4)
Corner-kicks: 2 (Kovar, 2)
Saves: 2 (Miller)
LA Galaxy - Clement Diop; Rafael Garcia, Daniel Steres, Leonardo, Dave Romney; Sebastian Lletget, Baggio Husidic, Mike Magee (Giovani dos Santos 74'), Nigel DeJong (Jeff Larentowicz 90'+1'), Emmanuel Boateng; Alan Gordon (Gyasi Zardes 74')
Substitutes not used: Dan Kennedy, A.J. DeLaGarza, Jack McBean, Jelle Van Damme
Total shots: 16 (Magee/Lletget, 4)
Shots on goal: 6 (Lletget, 3)
Fouls: 12 (4 players, 2)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 4 (Boateng, 3)
Saves: 2 (Diop, 2)
MATCH NOTES
- Sounders FC falls to 22-3-4 in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, including a 4-2-3 mark on the road.
- LA Galaxy holds a 2-0-0 advantage over Seattle across all competitions in 2016. The Galaxy topped the Rave Green by a score of 1-0 on July 9 in Seattle. The two sides meet for the third time this month in Seattle on July 31 in a full-stadium MLS regular season match at CenturyLink Field.
- In his first competitive appearance for Sounders FC, midfielder Michael Farfan recorded one goal and one assist. His fourth-minute tally ties the club's tournament record for second-fastest goal, joining Nate Jaqua's goal versus the LA Galaxy in the Quarterfinals of the 2011 tournament. Farfan appeared in the second half of the friendly versus West Ham United on July 5, in addition to six appearances with S2 this season.
- In the second half, forward Herculez Gomez scored his first goal in a competitive match for Sounders FC. Gomez also netted a goal in the friendly versus West Ham United and added a converted penalty-kick during the shootout against Real Salt Lake in the previous round of the tournament last month.
