Nicolás Lodeiro recorded a brace as Seattle Sounders FC (14-9-7, 49 points) earned a 4-2 win over the New York Red Bulls (12-13-5, 41 points) on Sunday afternoon at CenturyLink Field. Jordan Morris also added a goal and assist as the Rave Green jumped back into sole possession of second place in the Western Conference with 49 points, one point ahead of third-place Minnesota and two points clear of fourth-place Real Salt Lake, while still trailing Supporters' Shield-leading Los Angeles FC by 15 points. Brian Schmetzer's club now hosts FC Dallas on Wednesday, September 18 (7:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM) before hitting the road for the lone matchup of the season against D.C. United on Sunday, September 22 at Audi Field (5:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Morris put Seattle on the board in the second minute for his ninth goal of the season. Nicolás Lodeiro's corner kick found Gustav Svensson for a snap header to Morris, who redirected the ball into the net for the match's opening strike.
Lodeiro then made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute, capping some impressive combination play in the final third. After some build-up play on the right flank, Cristian Roldan sent a cross to the other side of the 18-yard-box to Morris, who headed a ball back across the goal to Lodeiro for a volley to the back of the net.
The visitors pulled one back in the 27th minute on a goal from defender Aaron Long, who rose up to find a cross from Michael Amir Murillo and head it in for his second goal of the season. Kaku found the equalizer in the second half, converting a cross from Daniel Royer in the 67th minute to level the game at 2-2.
Seattle took a 3-2 lead in the 83rd minute via an own goal from Red Bulls midfielder Sean Davis. VÃctor RodrÃguez, making his first appearance since July 6 at Columbus, gathered a ball on the left side of the area and sent a cross near the touchline. Davis, in an attempted clearance, redirected RodrÃguez's cross into the back of the net.
Lodeiro provided the insurance tally in second half stoppage time for his seventh goal of the season, one shy of his MLS career high set last season. Roldan got on the end of a long over-the-top ball from Saad Abdul-Salaam, then found Lodeiro on the break near the penalty area for a shot past Luis Robles.
Sounders FC returns to action on Wednesday, September 18 with a home match vs. FC Dallas at CenturyLink Field (7:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM). The club then hits the road next weekend for the lone matchup of the season against D.C. United on Sunday, September 22 at Audi Field (5:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH NOTES
- With today's result, Sounders FC moves back into sole possession of second place in the Western Conference with 49 points (14-9-7), 15 points behind Supporters' Shield-leading LAFC. The club is now one point ahead of third-place Minnesota and two points ahead of fourth-place Real Salt Lake.
- Seattle today both matched its highest goal output of the season and scored four goals in a match for the first time since a 4-3 win over the LA Galaxy on September 1.
- Lodeiro netted his sixth and seventh goals of the season and is now one shy of his single-season MLS career high he set during the 2018 season. The multi-goal game was his second of the season after a brace at Columbus on July 6. The midfielder now ranks third on the club in goals, behind only RuidÃaz (11) and Morris (9).
- Morris now has nine goals this season, three shy of the career-high that he set as a rookie in 2016. His assist on Lodeiro's first goal marked his seventh of 2019, already a career high. Morris now has five goals and five assists in his last seven starts.
- Saad Abdul-Salaam recorded his first assist of 2019 on Lodeiro's second goal.
- Prior to kickoff on Sunday, Founding Owner Joe Roth was celebrated following last month's announcement that he is departing Sounders FC. A leader behind Seattle's successful 2007 MLS expansion bid and the team's 2009 launch that saw Seattle set a new standard for soccer support in North America, Roth was instrumental with his ambition and vision, helping to lay the foundation of a club that has won more matches than any other team in MLS over the past 10 seasons.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 4 - New York Red Bulls 2
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistants: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho, Nick Uranga
Fourth Official: Thomas D. Snyder
VAR: Tim Ford
Attendance: 37,722
Weather: 63 degrees, cloudy and chance of rain
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA - Jordan Morris 2'
SEA - Nicolás Lodeiro (Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan) 23'
NY - Aaron Long (Michael Murillo, Bradley Wright-Phillips) 27'
NY - Kaku (Daniel Royer, Marc Rzatkowski) 67'
SEA - Sean Davis (OG) 83'
SEA - Nicolás Lodeiro (Cristian Roldan, Saad Abdul-Salaam) 90'+4'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NY - Aaron Long (caution) 12'
NY - Michael Murillo (caution) 26'
SEA - Jordy Delem (caution) 38'
NY - Bradley Wright-Phillips (caution) 76'
SEA - Cristian Roldan (caution) 89'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam, Kim Kee-hee, Xavier Arreaga, Brad Smith; Gustav Svensson, Jordy Delem (VÃctor RodrÃguez 66'), Cristian Roldan, Nicolás Lodeiro - captain, Jordan Morris (Joevin Jones 85'); Raúl RuidÃaz (Saad Abdul-Salaam 90'+2')
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Emanuel Cecchini, Harry Shipp, Luis Silva
Total shots: 15 (Svensson, 4)
Shots on goal: 6 (Lodeiro, 2)
Fouls: 8 (Three players, 2)
Offside: 1 (RuidÃaz, 1)
Corner-kicks: 9 (Lodeiro, 8)
Saves: 4 (Frei, 4)
New York Red Bulls - Luis Robles - captain; Rece Buckmaster, Amro Tarek (Tim Parker HT), Aaron Long, Michael Amir Murillo; Marc Rzatkowski, Sean Davis, Cristian Casseres Jr. (Josh Sims 39'), Daniel Royer, Kaku (Alex Muyl 81'); Bradley Wright-Phillips
Substitutes not used: Ryan Meara, Kyle Duncan, Omir Fernandez, Tom Barlow
Total shots: 10 (Long, 3)
Shots on goal: 6 (Long/Royer, 2)
Fouls: 6 (Wright-Phillips, 2)
Offside: 2 (Royer/Rzatkowski, 1)
Corner-kicks: 5 (Rzatkowski, 3)
Saves: 3 (Robles, 3)
