VANCOUVER – The Seattle Sounders got a first-half goal from Nicolás Lodeiro and were the beneficiaries of a second-half red card but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place on Wednesday, following an equalizer from former Sounder Fredy Montero.
Lodeiro opened the scoring in the 19th minute after MLS debutant VÃctor RodrÃguez was brought down in the box by Vancouver defender Sheanon Williams, drawing a penalty kick whistle from referee Ricardo Salazar. Lodeiro would slot the ensuing look from the spot past ‘Caps goalkeeper David Ousted, giving the Sounders a 1-0 lead they would take into halftime.
Seattle would go up a man for the duration of the contest in the 60th minute after Vancouver midfielder Tony Tchani was shown a second yellow card for fouling Cristian Roldan on a counter-attack. But Montero would still manage to equalize after he finished a feed from second-half substitute Alphonso Davies to allow the 10-man Whitecaps to improbably level the contest at 1-1.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Rodriguez debuts
The Sounders finally got their first look at their shiny new acquisition on Wednesday, as the midfielder Rodriguez made his first start for the club since his signing was officially announced earlier this month. The Spanish midfielder looked good, winning the penalty kick that set up Lodeiro’s go-ahead tally and narrowly missing on a couple of other chances. Rodriguez is still acclimating to his new surroundings but if he can put together any stretch of sustained production going forward, it should bode well for Seattle’s depth.
Unbeaten streak record set
With the draw the Sounders set a club record for matches unbeaten at 10. The streak dates back to the June 21 contest against Orlando City and includes four draws and six wins. The unbeaten streak has seen the Sounders rise from the middle of the Western Conference to one point ahead of Portland for first place. With eight regular season matches remaining - seven of which are against Western Conference opponents - each match carries more importance as the Western Conference playoff picture shakes out.
Timbers up next
The draw moved their record to 11-7-8 and 41 points on the season. They’ll now turn their focus to arguably their biggest game of the season – a Rivalry Week clash against the Portland Timbers at CenturyLink Field on Sunday. The Heritage Match will be the 99th time in history the Timbers and Sounders have faced off adding even more pageantry to arguably the best rivalry in MLS.
