NEW YORK - Second-half goals from Maxi Moralez, Jesús Medina and Ebenezer Ofori were the difference between Seattle Sounders FC (8-5-5, 29 points) and New York City FC (7-1-8, 29 points) in a midweek inter-conference matchup at Yankee Stadium, as the home side secured a 3-0 victory in the Bronx. With the result, Seattle moved to 2-3-0 all-time against New York City FC, including a 1-2-0 record at Yankee Stadium since NYCFC joined MLS in 2015.
With three matches inside of a week, Seattle Head Coach Brian Schmetzer rotated his squad on Wednesday night, adding four new players to his starting group from the one that defeated Vancouver last Saturday at CenturyLink Field. Fresh off Copa America duty with Ecuador, Xavier Arreaga started in central defense, while Nouhou replaced Brad Smith at left fullback. Central midfielders Gustav Svensson and Danny Leyva made way for the fresh pairing of Jordy Delem and Alex Roldan.
After a deadlocked first half that produced few true chances for either side, New York City FC took the lead early in the second half courtesy of midfielder Moralez. A compact passing sequence inside Seattle's area enabled the Argentine to combine with Medina in the 58th minute, with Moralez's final shot skipping past Stefan Frei to give the home side a 1-0 advantage. The strike was Moralez's sixth goal of 2019.
Medina netted his first goal of the campaign courtesy of a left-sided cross from ValentÃn Castellanos in the 77th minute, as the Paraguayan converted at Seattle's far post to give the home side a 2-0 lead. Ofori made it 3-0 in the 87th minute, belting a shot from outside the area. Alex Ring was credited with the assist on the play.
Following tonight's midweek contest in the Bronx, Sounders FC completes its two-match road trip this weekend in Central Ohio, as Brian Schmetzer's side travels to Columbus to take on Crew SC on Saturday, July 6 at MAPFRE Stadium (4:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH NOTES
- With tonight's result, Sounders FC remains third in the Western Conference with 29 points (8-5-5), two points shy of second-place LA Galaxy and 11 points behind Supporters' Shield-leading LAFC.
- Seattle moves to 2-3-0 all-time against New York City FC, having earned a 1-2-0 record at Yankee Stadium since NYCFC joined MLS in 2015.
- Head Coach Brian Schmetzer rotated four new players into his starting lineup tonight from the group that defeated Vancouver 1-0 on Saturday, June 29. Xavier Arreaga came into central defense, while Nouhou replaced Brad Smith from Saturday's match at left fullback. Central midfielders Gustav Svensson and Danny Leyva made way for the fresh pairing of Jordy Delem and Alex Roldan.
- Recent Designated Player signing Xavier Arreaga made his first appearance for the Rave Green tonight after returning from international duty with Ecuador in the 2019 Copa America. Arreaga was signed on May 7 from the Ecuadorian topflight, and the 24-year-old central defender has made three appearances for Seattle thus far (2 starts).
- Jordy Delem made his first start for Sounders FC after returning from CONCACAF Gold Cup action with Martinique. Delem has featured in 11 games for Seattle in 2019, including nine starts. His last start for the Rave Green came on June 5 at Montreal. Delem started all three Group Stage matches for his nation in this year's Gold Cup, scoring in the 84th minute in a 3-2 loss to Mexico on June 23.
- Also returning from Gold Cup action was Sounders FC centerback Román Torres, who rejoined the squad this week in New York following Panama's exit from CONCACAF's continental championship. Torres was part of tonight's 18-man group as a substitute.
- Sounders FC playmaker Nicolás Lodeiro rejoined his club this morning in New York City, returning to the squad from Copa America duty with Uruguay. Due to this morning's arrival, Lodeiro was not in the 18-man lineup tonight, but will continue on to Columbus with the club and will be eligible for selection in this weekend's match at Crew SC. Lodeiro's home country went out of the South American continental championship on penalties to Peru and Sounders FC teammate Raúl RuidÃaz in the quarterfinal stage of that competition. While representing Uruguay, Lodeiro started all Group C matches for his nation, helping his side to the top of that group and scoring one goal. He leads Seattle with eight assists in 14 appearances this season.
- Justin Dhillon made his second consecutive start for Sounders FC after being officially acquired last Friday. The next day, Dhillon started and played 90 minutes against Vancouver on June 29. After signing with Tacoma Defiance on March 15, Dhillon started 10 of his 14 USL appearances, leading the club with six goals this season (including a five-match scoring streak from May 12-June 8). The 24-year-old made history on May 18 by scoring just nine seconds into a 1-1 draw with Reno 1868 FC, marking the fastest goal in USL Championship history.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 - New York City FC 3
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Venue: Yankee Stadium
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistants: Logan Brown, Jose Da Silva
Fourth Official: Lorant Varga
VAR: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Attendance: 18,217
Weather: 84 degrees and sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
NYC - Maximiliano Moralez (Jesus Medina) 58'
NYC - Jesus Medina (Valentin Castellanos) 77'
NYC - Ebenezer Ofori (Alexander Ring) 87'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA- Nouhou (caution) 4'
NYC - Alexander Ring (caution) 42'
SEA - Kim Kee-hee (caution) 73'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Kim Kee-hee, Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou (Kelvin Leerdam 72'); Jordy Delem, Alex Roldan, Henry Wingo (VÃctor RodrÃguez 55'), Harry Shipp, Joevin Jones; Justin Dhillon (Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez 82')
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Román Torres, Brad Smith, Gustav Svensson
Total shots: 14 (Three players, 2)
Shots on goal: 4 (Four players, 1)
Fouls: 7 (Nouhou, 2)
Offside: 2 (Abdul-Salaam/Dhillon, 1)
Corner-kicks: 7 (RodrÃguez, 4)
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
New York City FC - Brad Stuver; Anton Tinnerholm, Sebastien Ibeagha, Alexander Ring, Maxime Chanot, Ronald Matarrita; Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (Jesus Medina 55'), Maximiliano Moralez, Keaton Parks, Alexandru Mitrita (Ebenezer Ofori 62'); Valentin Castellanos (Ben Sweat 84')
Substitutes not used: Luis Barraza, Daniel Bedoya, Juan Torres, Justin Haak
Total shots: 20 (Castellanos, 9)
Shots on goal: 8 (Castellanos, 2)
Fouls: 14 (Ring, 6)
Offside: 2 (Moralez/Tajouri-Shradi, 1)
Corner-kicks: 8 (Moralez, 8)
Saves: 4 (Stuver, 4)
