Sounders stunned with 2-2 draw

A last second Diego Fagundez header wipes out a come-from-behind brace from Eddie Johnson as Sounders tie 2-2 with the Revolution.

FOXBORO, Mass. – Fifteen seconds was all that separated the Sounders FC from their first victory since May 9.

Holding a 2-1 lead off of two first-half goals from Eddie Johnson, the Sounders held off the suddenly hot New England Revolution into stoppage time. 

Three minutes and 45 seconds into four minutes of added time, Fernando Cardenas buzzed a ball into the box from the left side.  The intended target, Saer Sene, lost his footing in the box, but the ball went through to Diego Fagundez for a header and the 17-year-old headed it in for the last gasp equalizer and the Sounders FC's winless run extended to eight matches with a 2-2 draw.

"I was very pleased with how we responded," Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said.  "I was pleased with how we responded in the first half, in the second half, and we did what we had to do."

The Sounders were forced to battle back from an early deficit when Sene scored a controversial first goal.

After missing high on an earlier chance, Sene was able to put away his eighth goal of the season in the 12th minute, though he did it amidst appeals for an offside flag from every Sounder in the area.

Sene played the ball down to Blake Brettschneider coming into the box, then Brettschneider returned the ball to Sene, who appeared to be well offside on the play.  Without the flag in the air, Sene easily put the ball into the net for the 1-0 lead.

The Sounders showed the determination that earned them a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes in the US Open Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, though, and quickly equalized.

Mauro Rosales, playing as a withdrawn forward in the absence of Fredy Montero, took the ball away from the New England defense, then touched it to Alex Caskey.  Rosales received a quick return pass, then found Johnson with a well-placed ball over the defense.  Johnson finished by smashing the header past Matt Reis for his sixth goal of the season to equalize in the 23rd minute.

Johnson would add one more before halftime on a hustle play from defender Marc Burch.

Rosales played a ball for Johnson from the right side, but it went through the box to an empty far side.  Burch chased it down, though, and quickly sent a left-footed cross back into the box, finding Johnson with pinpoint accuracy and Johnson finished another header for his second goal of the night and seventh of the season to give Seattle a 2-1 lead in the 36th minute.

"One of our strengths is getting the ball out wide and serving the ball in the box," Johnson said.  "We've got guys who can score, who are dangerous on crosses.  We're a big team and we were playing to our strengths, and we kind of went from playing to our strengths as the game went on."

Adding to the mountain Seattle would need to climb, Schmid was forced to use his first sub at halftime when goalkeeper Andrew Weber suffered a groin injury in the first half.  Bryan Meredith came on in the second half and made a key save on an 89th minute shot from Cardenas.

However, he had no defense for the stoppage-time effort from Fagundez and the Sounders had to settle for just one point out of the road draw.

"We just stayed thinking positively and we played with energy, we played with passion," midfielder Osvaldo Alonso said.  "We know we are team that's able to play good soccer and beat that team.  We came back and we scored two goals and unfortunately they scored in the last minute, and we're just disappointed in that."

Seattle's next match is at Rio Tinto Stadium against Real Salt Lake on July 4.  They will then host the Colorado Rapids at CenturyLink Field on July 7.

Scoring
Sounders FC – Eddie Johnson (Mauro Rosales) 23; Eddie Johnson (Marc Burch) 36.
Revolution – Saer Sene (Blake Brettschneider) 12; Diego Fagundez (Fernando Cardenas) 94+.

Discipline
Sounders FC – Andy Rose (caution) 18; Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 50; Leo Gonzalez (caution) 90.
Revolution – None.

Lineups
Sounders FC – Andrew Weber (Bryan Meredith 46), Adam Johansson, Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Marc Burch, Brad Evans (Alvaro Fernandez 56), Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Alex Caskey (Leo Gonzalez 80), Mauro Rosales, Eddie Johnson.
Revolution – Matt Reis, Florian Lechner (Diego Fagundez 81), AJ Soares, Stephen McCarthy, Chris Tierney, Benny Feilhaber, Clyde Simms (Kelyn Rowe 64), Shalrie Joseph, Lee Nguyen, Saer Sene, Blake Brettschneider (Fernando Cardenas 71).