The Seattle Sounders defeated St. Louis CITY SC 2-0 on Wednesday night at Lumen Field behind a first-half own goal by Tim Parker and an early second-half insurance tally by Jon Bell.
The Sounders nearly opened the scoring inside the fifth minute when a header from Jackson Ragen across the face of goal off an Albert Rusnák free kick was headed over the crossbar by defender Parker.
Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei made a strong close-range save in the 11th minute when he got big to deny Hosei Kijima’s shot at the near post.
Seattle went ahead in the 27th minute when a great cross from Alex Roldan forced Parker into an awkward position before it caromed off his knee and into his own net.
The Sounders doubled their lead four minutes into the second half when Bell rose for a header off a free kick from Rusnák, who extended his team-lead in assists to 11. Bell beat his defender in the air and sent the cross back where it came from and past goalkeeper Roman Bürki.
Obed Vargas was inches away from adding a third goal in the 72nd minute when his left-footed shot was deflected by Parker and then pushed away by Bürki’s fingertips.
Bürki then made a double-save on Raúl RuidÃaz a minute later when he denied RuidÃaz’s initial first-timed effort and his subsequent follow-up on the rebound.
Frei made a good save of his own in the 77th minute when Akil Watts broke free in the right side of the box and fired a shot across his body.
Bürki made another fantastic save in the 80th minute when he denied a breakaway by Jordan Morris, who was sent in behind after a beautiful through-ball from Rusnák.
Frei recorded the 112th clean sheet in his illustrious career, tying MLS legend Kevin Hartman for second on the league’s all-time shutout list.
Seattle continues its dominance over St. Louis since it entered MLS last year. The Sounders are a perfect 4-0-0 against CITY and outscoring them 9-1.
The Sounders finish the matchday sixth in the West on 37 points from 24 matches. They are just one point behind the Vancouver Whitecaps for fourth.
Before heading into Leagues Cup on July 26, the Sounders will conclude their MLS slate in a massive home match against defending Western Conference champions LAFC on Saturday (7:30 p.m. PT; MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Bell opens Sounders account
In the midst of a three-match week, Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer opted to rest starting center back Yeimar in favor of Bell. The former St. Louis CITY SC defender scored his first Sounders goal in just his fifth start of the season.
Own goal oddity
St. Louis CITY made it four consecutive games scoring an own goal against the Sounders. Parker’s own goal on Wednesday was his second against Seattle, making him, coincidentally, the leading scorer in the all-time series.
Win streak continues
The Sounders ran their winning streak to five consecutive MLS matches and six in all competitions. It’s the longest win streak since they rattled off a club-record nine wins in 2018. The Sounders are unbeaten in their last eight contests (7-0-1) and have lost just twice in their last 18 (12-2-4).
