Chad Marshall scored a rare and dramatic goal on the final kick of the game and Seattle Sounders escaped with a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.
Marshall’s goal in the 94th minute was the latest goal of the season thus far the Sounders (1-3-1, 4 pts.), who narrowly escaped their second loss in as many games away from home this year.
Giles Barnes scored in the 35th minute for the Dynamo (1-2-2, 5 pts.), who, despite the late collapse, are still unbeaten at home against the Sounders in seven games all-time across the regular season and playoffs (0-3-4).
Marshall’s last-gasp goal came at the end of a furious final 15 minutes for the Sounders, who found a spark from late-game substitutes Oalex Anderson and Herculez Gomez to salvage some key points on the road. Both paid immediate dividends, and Anderson played a major role in the setup of Marshall’s goal in just the fourth appearance of his career.
The 20-year-old forward raced to the end line and skipped a left-footed cross that flustered the Houston back line, and a wide-open Marshall pounced when the Dynamo failed to clear. The goal was just Marshall’s second in a regular season game since he joined the Sounders in 2014, but he scored a similarly dramatic goal in the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals last year at FC Dallas.
The Dynamo controlled much of the tempo in the first half and punctuated the surge off the foot of Barnes, who returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an injury. Barnes found some space inside the box after a Dynamo throw-in and a simple pass from former Sounders defender Jalil Anibaba, and the veteran turned and lifted a one-timed shot into the far corner to give Houston the lead for much of the match.
Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei finished with six saves in the draw, including a near-post save on Anibaba in the 25th minute and a lightning-quick parry on Dynamo midfielder Boniek Garcia from six yards out in the 68th.
Starting place of injured veteran Nelson Valdez, Aaron Kovar had one of the best chances of the match for the Sounders in the 50th minute, but his shot from distance after a layoff from Jordan Morris was tipped wide by Houston goalkeeper Joe Willis.
Clint Dempsey also had a free kick from 25 yards out whistle wide of the post in the 33rd minute, and Gomez nearly picked up an assist in his Sounders debut before his header across to the goalmouth to Dempsey was cleared away by the Houston back line in the 85th minute.
Valdez missed a game for the first time in seven matches across all competitions this season while nursing a leg injury sustained during training this week.
The Sounders return to action against the visiting Philadelphia Union at CenturyLink Field on April 16.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – Houston Dynamo 1
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Assistants: Ian Anderson, Kathryn Nesbit
Fourth Official: Marco de Oliveira
Attendance: 20,975
Weather: 80 degrees and mostly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU – Giles Barnes (Jalil Anibaba) 35’
SEA – Chad Marshall 90’+4’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
HOU – Jalil Anibaba (caution) 41’
SEA – Joevin Jones (caution) 55’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans – captain, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones (Dylan Remick 71’); Osvaldo Alonso, Cristian Roldan, Clint Dempsey; Aaron Kovar (Oalex Anderson 63’), Jordan Morris (Herculez Gomez 79’), Andreas Ivanschitz
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Zach Scott, Oniel Fisher, Nathan Sturgis
Total shots: 14 (Dempsey, 5)
Shots on goal: 7 (Dempsey/Ivanschitz, 2)
Fouls: 8 (Jones, 2)
Offside: 3 (Morris, 2)
Corner-kicks: 8 (Ivanschitz, 8)
Saves: 6 (Frei, 6)
Houston Dynamo – Joe Willis; Jalil Anibaba, David Horst, Raul Rodriguez, DaMarcus Beasley; Alex, Ricardo Clark, Andrew Wenger (Leonel Miranda 75’), Cristian Maidana (Boniek Garcia 67’), Giles Barnes – captain (David Rocha 90’); Will Bruin
Substitutes not used: Tyler Deric, Agus, Mauro Manotas, Erick Torres
Total shots: 16 (Barnes, 5)
Shots on goal: 7 (Barnes/Bruin, 2)
Fouls: 4 (Anibaba, 2)
Offside: 1 (Bruin, 1)
Corner-kicks: 4 (Maidana, 4)
Saves: 6 (Willis, 6)
