The Seattle Sounders defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 on Saturday night at Lumen Field behind goals from Jordan Morris and Nicolás Lodeiro.
Jonathan Lewis opened the scoring for the visitors just three minutes into the match when he got on the end of a through ball from Diego Rubio, dribbled around goalkeeper Stefan Frei and trickled the ball into the back of the net.
The Sounders dominated the rest of the first half with 74% possession and finally found the breakthrough in the 43rd minute. Jimmy Medranda slipped in Morris, who cheekily chipped goalkeeper William Yarbrough for his sixth goal of the season.
Seattle nearly equalized several times in the minutes leading up to Morris’ goal when Morris again got free in the 37th minute and had his shot saved by Yarbough. Yeimar had two chances to find the back of the net in quick succession in the 42nd minute when his initial shot was cleared off the line before he headed a recycled cross over the crossbar.
Frei made a huge save the first minute into the second half when he parried away a powerful shot from Lucas Esteves. In the aftermath, Kelyn Rowe was shown a second yellow card for delaying a restart and was sent off.
The Sounders found the match-winner in the 71st minute when Lodeiro converted from the penalty spot after Yarbrough took down Morris in the box. The goal was Lodeiro’s third penalty of the MLS season and fourth goal of the campaign. He extended his perfect record to 17-for-17 for his career in league play.
Lewis almost pulled the Rapids level in the 81st minute when he had a left-footed effort that Frei was able to push over the bar.
Seattle will head to Los Angeles on Friday for a match against Supporters’ Shield-leading LAFC (8:15 p.m. PT; FS1, FOX Deportes, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360AM).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Gut check
The Sounders battled back from down a goal and then down a man to earn three crucial points and snap their three-match losing streak. The win pushes them back above the playoff line for the time being.
Drought ends
When Morris equalized in the 43rd minute, it snapped a 343-minute scoreless drought that dated back to the 60th minute against Toronto FC on July 2. The Sounders entered the match scoreless in three straight matches, their longest streak since 2018.
Personnel change
Head Coach Brian Schmetzer opted to start nominal left fullback Jimmy Medranda on the right side of the attack as an inverted winger. That switch pushed Cristian Roldan, who had been playing there most of the year, into central midfield alongside Albert Rusnák.
