SEATTLE, WASH. – Cristian Roldan scored his second goal of the season as Seattle Sounders FC (6-12-3, 21 points) drew 1-1 at home against the LA Galaxy (9-3-9, 36 points) Sunday afternoon in front of 48,458 fans on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field. Newly-signed Designated Player Nico Lodeiro played a full 90 minutes for the Rave Green as Seattle out-shot the Galaxy 18-10, but a late equalizer from Sebastian Lletget secured a point for the visitors. Brian Schmetzer made his managerial debut in the role of Interim Head Coach for Sounders FC, following the departure of Sigi Schmid earlier this week. Seattle returns to action next Sunday, August 7 with the club’s first-ever visit to Orlando City SC (4:00 p.m. PT / FS1, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Making his MLS debut just four days after signing with the Rave Green, Loderio put in a full 90-minute shift, in which the Uruguayan international pulled the strings for the Seattle attack, combining seamlessly with his teammates. Lodeiro’s 124 touches in the contest rank as the fourth-highest mark in a single match across MLS this season.
With Lodeiro in the lineup, Seattle outshot LA 18-10 on the day, passing the ball 530 times to the Galaxy’s 230 attempts. Additionally, Seattle edged the visitors in passing accuracy (87.2 percent to 79.1 percent) and possession throughout the contest (56.3 percent to 43.8 percent).
With Seattle’s attack coming to life on Sunday, Roldan launched Sounders FC into the lead in the 49th minute of play, when the second-year midfielder buried a loose ball inside the Galaxy 18-yard-box. Forward Nelson Valdez held-up the ball and provided the assist on the effort, following a frantic first half of action that saw several Seattle chances going unconverted.
LA drew level in the 78th minute of play, when midfielder Steve Gerrard dumped a lofted through ball into Seattle’s area, freezing the Rave Green’s backline as substitute Lletget slotted home a shot past Stefan Frei. For Lletget, the tally was his third strike against Seattle in three games throughout July across all competitions.
Sounders FC now turns its attention to a nationally-televised road matchup in Central Florida against Orlando City on Sunday, August 7 (4:00 p.m. PT / FS1, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM), preceded by a week of training in Seattle.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – LA Galaxy 1
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistants: Corey Parker, Apolinar Mariscal
Fourth Official: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 48,458
Weather: Mostly sunny and 68 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Cristian Roldan (Nelson Valdez) 49’
LA – Sebastian Lletget (Steven Gerrard, Giovani dos Santos) 78’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LA – Jelle Van Damme (caution) 65’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans – captain, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones; Osvaldo Alonso, Cristian Roldan, Nicolás Lodeiro, Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris; Nelson Valdez (Herculez Gomez 57’)
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Zach Scott, Oniel Fisher, Alvaro Fernandez, Andreas Ivanschitz, Oalex Anderson
Total shots: 18 (Dempsey, 5)
Shots on goal: 8 (3 players, 2)
Fouls: 12 (Dempsey/Roldan, 3)
Offside: 4 (Valdez/Morris, 2)
Corner-kicks: 2 (Dempsey/Lodeiro, 1)
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
LA Galaxy – Brian Rowe; A.J. DeLaGarza, Jelle Van Damme, Daniel Steres, Ashley Cole; Giovani dos Santos (Baggio Husidic 90+1’), Jeff Larentowicz (Mike Magee 71’), Emmanuel Boateng (Sebastian Lletget 63’), Nigel de Jong; Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane – captain
Substitutes not used: Clement Diop, Leonardo, Dave Romney, Alan Gordon
Total shots: 10 (Gerrard/Keane, 3)
Shots on goal: 3 (Keane, 2)
Fouls: 12 (3 players, 2)
Offside: 4 (Keane, 3)
Corner-kicks: 3 (Gerrard, 3)
Saves: 5 (Rowe, 5)
MATCH NOTES
- Sunday’s draw brings Seattle to 21 points on the season (6-12-3), as the club remains in ninth position in the Western Conference. Sounders FC concludes a busy month of July with a 1-3-2 record in MLS action and 2-4-2 record across all competitions (including a 3-0 international friendly win vs. West Ham United and a 4-2 loss to LA in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play).
- Sunday’s match marked the 20th all-time regular-season meeting between Seattle and LA, with the Galaxy holding a 9-4-7 advantage. Today’s fixture was also the third meeting between the two sides across all competitions this month, after LA earned a 1-0 win at CenturyLink Field on July 9 and a 4-2 victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on July 20 down in Southern California.
- Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer helmed the squad today for the first time since Sigi Schmid parted ways with the team this past Tuesday. As Sounders FC’s Top Assistant since joining MLS in 2009, Schmetzer had previously filled in for Schmid on four occasions in the regular season, accumulating a 3-1-0 record.
- Newly-signed Seattle Designated Player Nicolás Lodeiro started tonight’s match after joining the club earlier this week. His 124 touches in the contest rank as the fourth-highest mark in a single match across MLS this season. Fellow Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Fernandez, who signed with Sounders FC on Thursday, was included on the bench for Sunday’s fixture.
- Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan scored his second goal of the season in the 49th minute. The second-year pro scored his first career goal earlier this month in a 5-0 win over FC Dallas on July 13. Nelson Valdez recorded the assist on Roldan’s goal Sunday, his first of the season.
- With an attendance of 48,458, Sounders FC is now 15-3-4 all-time in front of home crowds above 45,000.
- Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei recorded one save on Sunday afternoon, bringing his career total with Sounders FC to 263, just seven shy of Kasey Keller’s all-time franchise record.
