The Seattle Sounders got the best of a wild shootout with the LA Galaxy on Sunday, riding a brace from Cristian Roldan and a goal apiece from Jordan Morris and Raúl RuidÃaz to a 4-3 victory over the LA Galaxy at CenturyLink Field on Sunday.
After a slow start, the match looked destined to hit halftime locked in a 0-0 draw, before Seattle found a breakthrough opener off a point-blank finish into an open net from RuÃdiaz, who was set up by a cross from a charging Nicolás Lodeiro.
Roldan would then double the lead soon after second-half kickoff. A corner kick from Lodeiro deflected to Roldan’s feet before he took a touch and slotted home a nifty finish past Bingham, staking the Sounders to the 2-0 second-half lead.
The Galaxy would fight back, however, cutting the deficit in half off a headed finish from Ibrahimović from a corner kick to pull the visitors to 2-1 in the 66th minute.
Antuna would then find the leveler in the 75th after a corner kick deflected to him right in front of the net, allowing him to slot home a wide-open finish for 2-2. Morris struck back just two minutes after that with a breakaway finish against Bingham, but Skjelvik matched it with a finish of his own to bring it back to 3-3 in the 81st minute.
But Roldan would find the game-winner with a tap-in finish off a counterattack with just one-minute remaining in regulation time, with the Sounders holding on after that for the 4-3 final.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
ABSOLUTE MADNESS
The game actually started relatively slowly, but it didn’t stay that way for long, as the barrage of goals in the second half made for one of the craziest, most entertaining matches we’ve seen all MLS season. It wasn’t for the faint of heart and the Sounders will hope to defend and protect leads better going forward, but in the end, Seattle’s attack did enough to get the three-point result.
WINGER ROLDAN COMES THROUGH
Roldan has been moved higher up the field the last couple of games from his normal spot in the defensive midfield, and he now has three goals in his two games back on the wing coming off his strike in last weekend’s 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers. With newly acquired midfielder Emanuel Cecchini in the fold and Roldan thriving back on the wing, it’s a look that Brian Schmetzer could continue to deploy for the time being.
SECOND IN THE WEST
With the victory, the Sounders leapfrogged the San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake, moving to 13-8-7 on the season with 46 points through 26 matches. That’s the most important takeaway of all as the team continues jockeying for playoff positioning and the homefield advantage that comes with the No. 2 seed in a Western Conference that has seen a logjam take hold behind Supporters’ Shield-leading LAFC.
