SAN JOSE, CALIF. – Obafemi Martins scored his team-leading 12th goal of the season as Seattle Sounders FC (13-13-3, 42 points) played to a 1-1 road draw with the San Jose Earthquakes (11-11-6, 39 points) Saturday night at Avaya Stadium. With the point, Sounders FC moves into sole position of fourth place in the Western Conference table as the club heads into its final five matches of the 2015 campaign.
San Jose struck first to go up 1-0 in the 70th minute in front of the home crowd of 18,000 at newly constructed Avaya Stadium. Moments after entering the match in the 70th minute, Earthquakes midfield architect Matias Perez Garcia sent left-footed service from the right flank following a foul just outside the 18-yard-box. Fatai Alashe approached the ball from the far side and deftly glanced a header to the side netting on the far post.
In the 82nd minute, Seattle’s Andreas Ivanschitz, in his Sounders FC debut, played a set piece from the left side into the area. Veteran defender Zach Scott directed a header toward the goal, which was quickly batted away by Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham. Martins instinctually reacted to the deflection with an overhead kick into the back of the net for his fifth goal in five games.
Tonight marked the first time that Designated Players Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Nelson Valdez all appeared together in the Sounders FC starting XI. The three forwards previously played together for 20 minutes during the second half of last week’s win over Toronto FC when Valdez came on as a substitute.
Scott came on for the injured Román Torres late in the first half, marking his 100th career MLS appearance. Ivanschitz earned his first minutes in Rave Green since signing on August 4 when he came on as a halftime substitute for Brad Evans.
With five games remaining in the 2015 campaign, Sounders FC now sits in sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference with 42 points. Sporting Kansas City and the Portland Timbers fill out the remaining playoff positions with 41 points, yet hold games in hand. San Jose sits just two points back of postseason position with 39 points.
For the second straight week, Sounders FC Assistant Coach Brian Schmetzer patrolled the sideline for the Rave Green on Saturday evening, with Head Coach Sigi Schmid absent due to a heath-related issue. Schmid is expected to return for next weekend’s contest at Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Next up for Seattle is a pair of matches against Vancouver, starting next Saturday, September 19 with a MLS regular season matchup at BC Place (4:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM). The two teams face off again the following Wednesday, September 23 in Seattle’s final 2015-2016 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage fixture on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – San Jose Earthquakes 1
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Venue: Avaya Stadium
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Assistants: Brian Dunn, Apolinar Marsical
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
Attendance: 18,000
Weather: Cloudy and 73 Degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SJ – Fatai Alashe (Matias Perez Garcia) 70’
SEA – Obafemi Martins 82’;
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SJ – Anibal Godoy (caution) 29’
SJ – Fatai Alashe (caution) 37’
SEA – Gonzalo Pineda (caution) 55’
SEA – Oniel Fisher (caution) 69’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Chad Marshall, Román Torres (Zach Scott 45’), Oniel Fisher; Brad Evans – captain (Andreas Ivanschitz 45’), Gonzalo Pineda, Erik Friberg, Nelson Valdez (Lamar Neagle 59’); Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
Substitutes not used: Charlie Lyon, Dylan Remick, Cristian Roldan, Marco Pappa
Total shots: 7 (Dempsey/Martins, 2)
Shots on goal: 2 (Scott/Martins, 1)
Fouls: 18 (Fisher/Friberg, 3)
Offside: 1 (Valdez, 1)
Corner-kicks: 2 (Friberg/Ivanschitz, 1)
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
San Jose Earthquakes – David Bingham; Marvell Wynne, Fatai Alashe, Clarence Goodson, Shaun Francis; Cordell Cato (Sanna Nyassi 88’), Marc Pelosi (Matias Perez Garcia 70’), Anibal Godoy, Shea Salinas; Chris Wondolowski, Quincy Amarikwa (Adam Jahn 69’)
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, JJ Koval, Leandro Barrera, Tommy Thompson
Total shots: 10 (Godoy/Wondolowski, 3)
Shots on goal: 2 (Alashe/Wondolowski, 1)
Fouls: 15 (Alashe, 4)
Offside: 3 (3 players tied at 1)
Corner-kicks: 7 (Salinas, 5)
Saves: 1 (Bingham, 1)
MATCH NOTES
- Seattle Sounders FC is now 13-13-3 in league play. With 42 points, the Rave Green are in sole position fourth place in the Western Conference with five matches remaining.
- Seattle is now 6-10-3 all-time against San Jose, including a 1-5-2 mark on the road. Tonight’s match was the first-ever meeting between the two sides at San Jose’s Avaya Stadium, which was constructed prior to the 2015 season.
- Tonight marked the first time that Designated Players Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Nelson Valdez all appeared together in the Sounders FC starting XI. The three forwards played together for 20 minutes during the second half of last week’s win over Toronto FC when Valdez came on as a substitute.
- Brian Schmetzer improved to 3-1-1 all-time as a fill-in for Head Coach Sigi Schmid. After manning the sideline in last Saturday’s 2-1 win against Toronto FC, tonight marks the first time Schmetzer has coached in consecutive matches.
- Coming onto the field just before halftime, Zach Scott became the seventh player in club history to reach 100 career league appearances with Sounders FC, joining Fredy Montero, Lamar Neagle, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Leo Gonzalez and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.
- Andreas Ivanschitz made his Sounders FC debut when he came on as a halftime substitute for Brad Evans.
