SEATTLE, WASH. – On a historic night at CenturyLink Field in front of a sold-out partisan crowd of 42,712, Sounders FC (7-7-6, 27 points) fed off the energy of its vocal fans to overcome a three-goal deficit against Eastern Conference foe D.C. United (5-12-3, 18 points). The 4-3 Seattle win proved to be historic, as Sounders FC becomes the first team in MLS history to overcome a three-goal deficit to win a regular season match in regulation play (4,916 all-time games). Tonight’s result surpasses Seattle’s franchise-best comeback mark from earlier in the 2017 campaign, as the Rave Green clawed back to draw New England 3-3 on April 29 after being down 3-0 in that contest.
Will Bruin, Brad Evans, Gustav Svensson and Cristian Roldan found the back of the net in a second-half span of 27 minutes to seal the victory for Seattle, with Brian Schmetzer’s side now above the red line in the race for the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. Sounders FC is currently in a three-way tie for fourth place with Cascadia rivals Vancouver and Portland, with fellow Conference rival San Jose coming to town on Sunday, July 23 (7:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Univision-Seattle, ROOT SPORTS, KIRO Radio 97.3, El Rey 1360 AM).
Deshorn Brown put the visitors on the board first in the eighth minute, tapping in a cross from Patrick Nyarko after the latter made a knifing run up the left side. D.C. made it 2-0 in the 27th minute when Ian Harkes collected a ball in the area from Sean Franklin, created some space for himself with a move to his right, and fired a shot past Tyler Miller. Despite Seattle holding 67.3% of possession for the first 45 minutes, the home side went into halftime without a goal.
Lloyd Sam gave United a 3-0 lead in the 50th minute, receiving a pass near the top of the 18-yard-box in space and slotting a low shot past Miller. It is the fourth time this season that Sounders FC has surrendered three goals in a single match.
Seattle’s comeback was initiated by Bruin, with the target forward getting on the end of a Joevin Jones cross in the 51st minute to make the score 3-1. Jones bagged his second helper of the night – and his eighth of the 2017 MLS season – just 11 minutes later, this time with a lethal cross from the outside of his left foot to an onrushing Evans, who dove to send a header past United netminder Travis Worra.
Within a goal of leveling the match, Sounders FC found its equalizer in the 74th minute off a Nicolás Lodeiro corner-kick, as Svensson finished calmly at Worra’s near post to even the match at three goals apiece.
Four minutes later Roldan sent CenturyLink Field into euphoria, as the University of Washington product led a Seattle counterattack, nutmegging United defender Steve Birnbaum before putting the ball between Worra’s legs to seal the dramatic comeback.
However, the match’s final act ended on a downturn for Seattle, as Lodeiro was sent off in the 89th minute for lashing out at D.C. midfielder Marcelo Sarvas. The Uruguayan is now suspended for Seattle’s next MLS contest as a result of tonight’s red card.
Following Wednesday’s result, the Rave Green return to league play against the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday, July 23 (7:30 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Univision-Seattle, ROOT SPORTS, KIRO Radio 97.3, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 4 – D.C. United 3
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Venue:
CenturyLink Field
Referee:
Kevin Stott
Assistants:
Mike Rottersman, Ian Anderson
Fourth Official:
Baboucarr Jallow
Attendance:
42,714
Weather:
74 degrees and sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
DC –
Deshorn Brown (Patrick Nyarko) 8’
DC –
Ian Harkes (Sean Franklin) 27’
DC
– Lloyd Sam (Luciano Acosta) 50’
SEA
– Will Bruin (Joevin Jones) 51’
SEA
– Brad Evans (Joevin Jones, Nouhou) 62’
SEA
– Gustav Svensson (Nicolás Lodeiro) 74’
SEA
– Cristian Roldan (Will Bruin) 78’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
DC –
Marcelo Sarvas (caution) 33’
SEA
– Nicolás Lodeiro (ejection) 89’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Tyler Miller; Brad Evans (Jordy Delem 70’), Román Torres, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones; Gustav Svensson, Cristian Roldan, Aaron Kovar (Kelvin Leerdam 54’), Nicolás Lodeiro – captain, Harry Shipp (Nouhou 54’); Will Bruin
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Seyi Adekoya, Tony Alfaro, Zach Mathers
Total shots:
15 (Kovar/Roldan, 3)
Shots on goal:
5 (Bruin, 2)
Fouls:
12 (Bruin, 3)
Offside:
1 (Lodeiro, 1)
Corner-kicks:
7 (Lodeiro, 6)
Saves:
5 (Miller, 5)
D.C. United – Travis Worra; Taylor Kemp, Sean Franklin, Kofi Opare, Steve Birnbaum – captain; Marcelo Sarvas, Lloyd Sam (Sébastien Le Toux 87’), Luciano Acosta, Patrick Nyarko, Ian Harkes; Deshorn Brown (Lamar Neagle 73’)
Substitutes not used: Eric Klenofsky, Nick DeLeon, Chris Korb, Jared Jeffrey, Bobby Boswell
Total shots:
12 (Brown, 4)
Shots on goal:
8 (Sam/Brown, 2)
Fouls:
14 (Sarvas, 4)
Offside:
0
Corner-kicks:
4 (Sam, 4)
Saves:
1 (Worra, 1)
MATCH NOTES
- With the win, Sounders FC moves above the red line for postseason contention in the Western Conference with 27 points (7-7-6), tied with Cascadia rivals Portland and Vancouver for fourth place.
- Tonight’s result is the largest comeback in club history, and the second three-goal comeback this season (3-3 draw vs. New England on April 29). The Rave Green became the first team in MLS history to overcome a three-goal deficit to win a game in regulation, as well as the first team to erase two 3-0 deficits in a single season.
- Bruin’s goal matched Dempsey for the team lead with seven tallies on the season, while Evans and Svensson each recorded their first and Roldan’s winner marked his third. It was the fifth time in club history that Sounders FC has seen at least four different goal-scorers in the same match, and just the third time in club history that the Rave Green have scored four goals in a single half. The seven goals combined between the two sides is one shy of the most in Sounders FC history.
- Wednesday’s match marked the debut of newest Seattle signing Kelvin Leerdam, who entered the match as a substitute in the 54th minute of play. Leerdam was added to Seattle’s roster on July 1 using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM), with the Dutch right-back joining Sounders FC after nine productive seasons in Holland’s topflight.
- Tonight was the first win of the season for Sounders FC while conceding at least two goals (1-6-3).
- Seattle’s first three goals were scored over the span of 13 minutes, the second-fastest time between three goals in club history. The last three goals scored occurred over a 14-minute margin, the third fastest span in club history.
