The Seattle Sounders picked up a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on Saturday night, with Beau Leroux and Albert Rusnák scoring either side of halftime.
The Sounders nearly opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Paul Rothrock played a driven cross to the back post that found the run of Alex Roldan, whose powerful header was tipped over the bar by San Jose’s goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, the Earthquakes fired a warning shot as Leroux fired a header from point-blank range, but Stefan Frei came up with the save.
San Jose took the lead in the 32nd minute as Leroux struck a shot from distance that took a wicked deflection off Jackson Ragen before looping over Frei and into the back of the net.
Frei came up with another save on a close-range effort from Leroux in the 41st minute to keep the Sounders within touching distance heading into halftime.
The Sounders came close to an equalizer two minutes into the second half. Rusnák split the San Jose back line with a clever through-ball into space for Paul Rothrock, who drove into the box before pulling his shot wide of the far post.
In the 51st minute, Nouhou nearly pulled the Rave Green level with a pair of long-distance efforts, forcing Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel into a series of impressive saves.
In the 69th minute, Obed Vargas played an inch-perfect pass to set up a breakaway for Danny Musovski, but his ensuing shot was saved by Daniel.
The Sounders generated another quality chance six minutes later when Georgi Minoungi beat his defender with a bit of skill and cut it back for Musovski in front of goal, whose first-time effort missed the target.
Seattle’s persistence finally paid off in the 80th minute through a moment of magic from Rusnák. After receiving a pass from Cristian Roldan on the right flank, Rusnák weaved past his defender before smashing a shot into the bottom corner to make it 1-1.
The Sounders nearly found a late game winner in the 88th minute when Ferreira nodded a ball into the six for Musovski, whose headed effort was punched away by Daniel.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Chance Creation
The Sounders managed to create a host of chances, and were unlucky to not find a second goal. The Rave Green posted 26 shots, 9 of which were on target, generating 2.3 Expected Goals.
Tale of Two Halves
After a first half in which the Sounders struggled to turn their control of the match into clear-cut chances, the attack burst into life after the halftime break. Musovski came on to play as the No. 9, with Ferreira moving to the wing and Cristian Roldan dropping into a holding midfield role. These subtle adjustments, along with the introduction of Minoungou in the 73rd minute, helped the Sounders create a flurry of opportunities.
Reinforcements
After missing the Houston match due to international duty, Nouhou and Vargas were among the top performers on Saturday night. Nouhou supplied his typical lock-down defending, while Vargas put in an excellent two-way shift in midfield.
