COLUMBUS, OHIO – Following a back-and-forth first half that saw both sides level at 1-1 heading into the break, Seattle Sounders FC (5-3-1, 16 points) sustained a 3-2 loss to Columbus Crew SC (4-3-2, 14 points) on Saturday night at MAPFRE Stadium. Tonight’s result marks the first loss for Sounders FC since April 12 following a three-match winning streak for Sigi Schmid’s side. Both Seattle goals came from Designated Player Clint Dempsey, who notched his sixth and seventh strikes of the 2015 campaign, moving him into a tie for the MLS lead in scoring. Despite the loss, Sounders FC currently sits third in the Western Conference with 16 points, with two games in-hand against first-place Vancouver and one game in-hand against second-place Dallas.
Crew SC’s Kei Kamara opened the scoring between the two sides in the 10th minute, as the Columbus forward headed home a Waylon Francis cross from the left flank for his sixth goal of the 2015 campaign.
Seattle hit back in the 24th minute, as Dempsey received a Marco Pappa pass before turning to fire Seattle level with a swing of his left foot from the top of Columbus’ 18-yard-box. With the goal, Dempsey secured his sixth goal of the campaign, moving him into a tie with strike partner Obafemi Martins for the team lead in scoring at the time.
Columbus started quickly out of the gate in the second half, as Argentine playmaker Federico Higuain dribbled through Seattle’s defense in the 49th minute, slotting a goal past Sounders FC netminder Stefan Frei to put the home side into a 2-1 lead. Kamara doubled Crew SC’s advantage eight minutes later, as Columbus players Justin Meram and Hector Jimenez combined to find Kamara in front of goal.
Dempsey found his second goal of the night in the 75th minute of play, rebounding a shot from Martins inside Columbus’ area to pull within a goal. With the strike, Dempsey joins Kamara atop the MLS scoring charts with his seventh strike of the season.
Concluding a three-match road swing, Sounders FC heads to BC Place on Saturday, May 16 to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 4:00 p.m. PT. The Rave Green’s second Cascadia Cup match of 2015, the contest is being broadcast regionally on Q13 FOX and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, as well as in Spanish via This TV and El Rey 1360 AM.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Columbus Crew SC 3
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Venue: MAPFRE Stadium
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic
Assistants: Jim Conlee, Jonathan Johnson
Fourth Official: Sorin Stoica
Attendance: 16,714
Weather: Mostly cloudy and 85 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
CLB – Kei Kamara (Waylon Francis) 10’
SEA – Clint Dempsey (Marco Pappa) 24’
CLB – Federico Higuain (Ethan Finlay) 49’
CLB – Kei Kamara (Hector Jimenez, Justin Meram) 58’
SEA – Clint Dempsey 75’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CLB – Emanuel Pogatetz (caution) 44’
SEA – Gonzalo Pineda (caution) 77’
CLB – Kei Kamara (caution) 77’
CLB – Aaron Schoenfeld (caution) 90’ +1
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans - C, Chad Marshall, Dylan Remick; Marco Pappa (Lamar Neagle 62’), Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Andy Rose (Chad Barrett 70’); Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
Substitutes not used: Troy Perkins, Leo Gonzalez, Zach Scott, Micheal Azira, Cristian Roldan
Total shots: 11 (Dempsey, 3)
Shots on goal: 6 (Dempsey, 3)
Fouls: 6 (6 tied at 1)
Offside: 3 (3 tied at 1)
Corner-kicks: 5 (Pineda, 4)
Saves: 10 (Frei, 10)
Columbus Crew SC – Steve Clark; Hector Jimenez, Michael Parkhurst - C, Emanuel Pogatetz, Waylon Francis; Ethan Finlay, Mohammed Saeid (Tyson Wahl 63’), Tony Tchani, Justin Meram (Kristinn Steindorsson 84’); Federico Higuain, Kei Kamara (Aaron Schoenfeld 84’)
Substitutes not used: Matt Lampson, Chad Barson, Chris Klute, Kevan George
Total shots: 24 (Kamara, 7)
Shots on goal: 13 (3 tied at 3)
Fouls: 13 (Tchani, 3)
Offside: 2 (Finlay/Kamara, 1)
Corner-kicks: 10 (Higuain, 10)
Saves: 4 (Clark, 4)
MATCH NOTES
- With four victories in its last six matches. Sounders FC currently sits third in the Western Conference with 16 points (5-3-1), with two games in-hand against first-place Vancouver and one game in-hand against second-place Dallas.
- With a brace tonight, Dempsey has seven goals on the season, tied atop MLS with Crew SC’s Kei Kamara, who also supplied two strikes tonight. The U.S. Men’s National Team captain has two multi-goal games in 2015 and five overall for Sounders FC.
- Dempsey has tallied a goal or an assist in all seven appearances in 2015. Overall, he has registered a goal or an assist in 17 of his last 18 matches, including nine consecutive matches, which is tied for sixth-most in MLS history.
- Stefan Frei set a career-high with 10 saves tonight. The Swiss goalkeeper didn’t record more than seven saves in a single match in 2014, but has at least eight saves in three of the past four matches.
- The result marks Sounders FC’s first-ever loss at MAPFRE Stadium, as well as the first against an Eastern Conference opponent this season. Seattle is now 3-1-1 all-time in Columbus and 2-1-0 against the East in 2015.
- Sounders FC used the same lineup in consecutive matches for the second time this season, following the opening two fixtures of the campaign. Tonight’s starting XI marks the seventh different lineup used by Sounders FC in nine matches in 2015.
POST-MATCH AUDIO
Post-match soundbytes from Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid, defender Chad Marshall and midfielder Gonzalo Pineda are available for download here.
