VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA– Sounders FC (13-13-5, 44 points) secured a come-from-behind victory with a shorthanded roster on the road against Vancouver Whitecaps FC (9-15-8, 35 points) on Sunday night at BC Place. Playing down two starters – Nicolás Lodeiro due to yellow card accumulation and Andreas Ivanschitz because of a neck strain – Seattle lost Alvaro Fernandez to injury early in the match, as well. However, the Rave Green bounced back from a 1-0 deficit to draw the game with a first-half goal from Osvaldo Alonso before taking the match with a penalty-kick by Brad Evans in the 81st minute. With the win, Sounders FC continues its push for the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, with Brian Schmetzer’s side now in fifth position in the Western Conference after moving above the red line for the first time this season after Wednesday’s victory over the Chicago Fire. Winner of four straight matches, Sounders FC is a single point shy of fourth place with 44 points, holding one game in-hand on Real Salt Lake.
Vancouver struck first in the 22nd minute of play through a Pedro Morales penalty-kick. Moments earlier, Alphonso Davies won the spot-kick for the home side, as the Whitecaps FC Homegrown Player jostled with Seattle’s Oniel Fisher inside the latter’s 18-yard-box. Referee Ricardo Salazar awarded the penalty to Vancouver, opening the door for an early 1-0 lead for the home side.
Fisher came on for Fernandez in the ninth minute of play, with the Uruguayan departing the match due to a hamstring strain. For Morales, the goal was his third penalty strike against Sounders FC in the 2016 season.
Seattle struck back just before halftime through Ozzie Alonso, with the Cuban getting on the end of a Joevin Jones cross. Leveling the score at one apiece heading into the break, the tally was Alonso’s third strike of 2016, matching a career-high.
Morales’ afternoon took a controversial turn in the 53rd minute, with the Chilean earning a straight red card from Salazar for an elbow to the face of Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan.
Sounders boss Brian Schmetzer reintroduced captain Brad Evans into the team in the 65th minute of play, with the veteran being deployed in midfield. For Evans, tonight’s action was the first appearance he’s made since suffering a calf strain injury against Portland on August 28.
Evans’ presence was felt in a big way, as the captain scored the game-winning goal on a penalty-kick in the 81st minute. The score marked a perfect nine-for-nine on career penalty-kicks for Evans, but minutes later he was sent off for what was deemed violent conduct by Salazar, and Seattle would finish the match with 10 players.
Despite playing a man down, Sounders FC was able to deter Whitecaps FC for the remaining time, securing the 2-1 victory that pushed the team to 44 points for fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
With just two matches remaining in the 2016 regular season, Seattle enters a bye week during the upcoming FIFA international break. Sounders FC continues its late-season push for an eighth-consecutive playoff berth with a pivotal home match against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, October 12 (7:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Venue: BC Place
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistants: Frank Anderson, Peter Balciunas
Fourth Official: Juan Guzman
Attendance: 24,837
Weather: Sunny and 59 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
VAN – Pedro Morales (penalty) 25’
SEA – Osvaldo Alonso (Joevin Jones) 39’
SEA – Brad Evans (penalty) 81’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
VAN – Giles Barnes (caution) 32’
SEA – Oniel Fisher (caution) 46’
VAN – Pedro Morales (ejection) 53’
VAN – Blas Perez (caution) 80’
SEA – Brad Evans (ejection) 84’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Román Torres, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones; Osvaldo Alonso – captain, Cristian Roldan, Alvaro Fernandez (Oniel Fisher 9’) (Brad Evans 65’), Herculez Gomez, Erik Friberg (Nelson Valdez 79’); Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Oalex Anderson, Zach Scott, Aaron Kovar
Total shots: 11 (Alonso, 3)
Shots on goal: 6 (6 players, 1)
Fouls: 9 (Gomez/Fisher, 2)
Offside: 2 (Jones/Morris, 1)
Corner-kicks: 4 (Gomez, 4)
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC – David Ousted; Jordan Smith (Blas Perez 76’), David Edgar, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba (Nicolas Mezquida 82’), Pedro Morales – captain, Alphonso Davies, Christian Bolanos, Giles Barnes (Andrew Jacobson 66’); Erik Hurtado
Substitutes not used: Marcel de Jong, Paolo Tornaghi, Masato Kudo, Cristian Techera
Total shots: 15 (Davies, 4)
Shots on goal: 4 (Davies, 2)
Fouls: 9 (Harvey, 4)
Offside: 1 (Hurtado, 1)
Corner-kicks: 3 (Bolanos, 3)
Saves: 4 (Ousted, 4)
MATCH NOTES
- With a record of 13-13-5, Sounders FC now sits in fifth place in the Western Conference after securing nine points in the past eight days. Winner of four straight matches, Sounders FC is a single point shy of fourth place with 44 points, holding one game in-hand on Real Salt Lake.
- Sounders FC is 7-6-4 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in league play, including a 4-2-3 record at BC Place. Sunday’s contest wraps up the season series with Vancouver, in which the Rave Green posted a record of 2-1-0 against their Cascadia rivals.
- Sunday’s win marks the fourth time in club history that Sounders FC has won three matches in a span of eight days or fewer. The last time this occurred was from August 31 – September 7, 2013, amidst a five-match winning streak. However, the active streak is the only one that featured two road contests.
- Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso scored a goal in the 39th minute on a pass from defender Joevin Jones. The tally gives Alonso three goals on the season, which matches a career-high set in 2011.
- Captain Brad Evans appeared for 19 minutes in a reserve role. Playing in his first match since August 28, Evans subbed in for Oniel Fisher in the 65th minute. In the 81st minute, Evans scored the game-winning goal on a converted penalty-kick, maintaining his unblemished career mark from the spot (9-9 in MLS play). He was then ejected after he was shown his third-career red card, including his second of 2016, in the 84th minute.
- Vancouver’s lone goal came on a converted penalty attempt in the 25th minute from midfielder Pedro Morales. Morales recorded three penalty-kick goals against Sounders FC this season, with the other two coming in Vancouver’s 2-1 win in Seattle on March 19.
- Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer has posted a 7-1-3 record since taking over managerial duties on July 26, vaulting Seattle from ninth place to fifth place in less than four weeks.
