The Seattle Sounders defeated 10-man Austin FC 1-0 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Saturday behind a second-half goal from Jordan Morris.
Pedro de la Vega had the first good look at goal in the 12th minute when he struck a free kick from 25 yards out that forced goalkeeper Brad Stuver to push it over the crossbar.
Neither Stuver nor Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei had much else to do in the first half as both teams felt each other out over the first 45 minutes.
Sebastián Driussi forced Frei into a great save in the 49th minute when he leapt for a header aimed at the near post, but Frei got down to his left to parry it wide.
Driuissi had another headed opportunity in the 56th minute, but his effort was directly at Frei.
The Sounders’ first great chance of the second half came in the 61st minute when Albert Rusnák led a counterattack and fed Léo Chú on the right side, but his first-timed attempt was straight into Stuver.
Seattle found the breakthrough in the 63rd minute when Obed Vargas made an incisive run into the heart of the Austin defense and played in Paul Rothrock, who picked out Morris at the top of the box. Morris faked with his right foot, pushed the ball to his left and coolly slotted the opening goal into the bottom corner.
Austin was reduced to 10 men in the 77th minute when Morris drew the second yellow card on defender Brendan Hines-Ike. Rusnák almost doubled the lead on the ensuing free kick at the edge of the box when he rattled the crossbar.
Frei made a crucial save in the first minute of stoppage time when he dove to his left to push aside a headed effort off a corner by CJ Fodrey. The clean sheet was the 109th of Frei’s illustrious career, leaving him just one behind Kevin Hartman for second on the all-time MLS shutout list.
Seattle ends its match in sixth place in the Western Conference with 34 points from 23 matches. The Sounders will return to Lumen Field on Wednesday for a midweek match against St. Louis CITY SC (7:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
De la Vega returns to Starting XI
After battling hamstring injuries over the first half of the season, de la Vega made just his second start of the year and first since March 2 against, coincidentally, Austin FC.
Morris’ career-best form continues
Despite coming off the bench and entering at halftime, Morris recorded yet another goal on Saturday. He has now scored in three consecutive matches and has nine goals in his last 11 contests in all competitions dating back to May 18.
Five wins on the trot
The Sounders ran their win streak to five games in all competitions and are unbeaten in their last seven contests (6-0-1).
