SEATTLE, WASH. - Seattle Sounders FC (0-1-0, 0 points) opened its 2018 Major League Soccer campaign with a 1-0 loss versus expansion side Los Angeles Football Club (1-0-0, 3 points) on Sunday afternoon on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field. After claiming a 4-0 win over Salvadoran champion Santa Tecla in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday, Seattle lost for first time at home since May 6 of 2017, when the Rave Green fell 1-0 to Toronto FC in league play. Since Brian Schmetzer took over the club in July of 2016, Seattle has a 21-2-7 overall record in regular season and Audi MLS Cup Playoffs action at CenturyLink Field.
LAFC earned their first goal in club history in the 11th of minute of play, as Diego Rossi placed a shot into the far corner of Stefan Frei's net. Despite Seattle's advantages in shots on goal (seven to LAFC's one), duels won (56.6-percent) and corner-kicks (12 to LAFC's one), the expansion side earned its first-ever victory in MLS.
Following Thursday's Champions League victory over Santa Tecla, the Rave Green advance to the Quarterfinal Round of North America's premier club soccer competition for the fourth time in club history, with a marquee matchup against Mexican powerhouse Chivas Guadalajara looming on the horizon. Seattle is set to host the first match of the two-legged series at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, March 7 (7:00 p.m. PT / Univision Deportes Network, Go90, SoundersFC.com, El Rey 1360 AM). The return leg is set for Wednesday, March 14 in Guadalajara at Estadio Akron. The Chivas home match is included as the 19th game in 2018 Sounders FC Season Ticket Member packages, and members of the press interested in covering the match should apply through CONCACAF's media center, as the accreditation process for Champions League is different than MLS.
MATCH NOTES
- Sunday's loss is just the second Sounders FC defeat in 30 home matches (regular season and Audi MLS Cup Playoffs) since Brian Schmetzer took over as Head Coach in July of 2016. In that time, the Rave Green have logged a 21-2-7 record on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
- Seattle is now 3-2-3 all-time in its first match against expansion sides, with LAFC joining the Montreal Impact as the only expansion teams that have won their first match against Sounders FC. The loss brings Sounders FC to 5-5-0 all-time in MLS openers.
- Midfielder Handwalla Bwana made his pro debut as a second-half substitute, logging 26 minutes of action after coming on for Harry Shipp. The Homegrown Player and University of Washington product nearly scored moments after coming on, when his shot from distance took a deflection and hit the crossbar.
- Former Sounders FC goalkeeper Tyler Miller made his LAFC debut between the posts, making seven saves and recording his first career MLS shutout. Miller spent the past three years with Sounders FC and S2 before LAFC made him the club's first selection in last December's Expansion Draft.
- With his two yellow cards today, Seattle defender Tony Alfaro is now suspended for the club's next league match March 18 at FC Dallas.
- With Sounders FC set to face Chivas Guadalajara in the first leg of the Quarterfinal Round of the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday, Brian Schmetzer's lineup selection did not include Clint Dempsey or Chad Marshall, while Román Torres logged just 45 minutes of action
- The Chivas series is Seattle's fifth test against Mexican opposition, having previously played Monterrey in 2010 and 2011, Santos Laguna in 2012 and 2013, in addition to Club América in 2016. While Sounders FC has played Chivas in a friendly match in 2010, the two sides have not met previously in competitive play.
- Wednesday's match puts Seattle into the Quarterfinal Round of North America's premier club soccer competition for the fourth time in club history, having only advanced to the Semifinal Round of Champions League play once before in the 2012-2013 campaign.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 - Los Angeles FC 1
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Venue:
Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field
Referee:
Jose Carlos Rivero
Assistants:
Brian Poeschel, Michael Kampmeinert
Fourth Official:
Alex Chilowicz
VAR:
Timothy Ford
Attendance:
40,070
Weather:
Partly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
LAFC -
Diego Rossi (Carlos Vela, Mark-Anthony Kaye) 11'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LAFC -
Benny Feilhaber (caution) 69'
SEA
- Tony Alfaro (caution) 79'
SEA
- Tony Alfaro (ejection) 83'
SEA
- Nouhou (caution) 90'+4'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Jordy Delem (Lamar Neagle 80'), Román Torres (Magnus Wolff Eikrem HT), Tony Alfaro, Nouhou; Gustav Svensson, Cristian Roldan, Henry Wingo, Nicolás Lodeiro - captain, Harry Shipp (Handwalla Bwana 64'); Will Bruin
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Chad Marshall, Waylon Francis, Alex Roldan
Total shots:
22 (Bruin, 5)
Shots on goal:
7 (Seven players, 1)
Fouls:
12 (Svensson, 5)
Offside:
4 (Four players, 1)
Corner-kicks:
12 (Lodeiro, 9)
Saves:
0
Los Angeles FC - Tyler Miller; Steven Beitashour, Dejan Jakovic, Laurent Ciman - captain, Joao Moutinho; Mark-Anthony Kaye, Benny Feilhaber, Latif Blessing, Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi (Jordan Harvey 90'); Marco Ureña (Tristan Blackmon 80')
Substitutes not used: Charlie Lyon, James Murphy, Rodrigo Pacheco, Omar Gaber
Total shots:
5 (Rossi, 2)
Shots on goal:
1 (Rossi, 1)
Fouls:
12 (Feilhaber, 3)
Offside:
1 (Blessing, 1)
Corner-kicks:
1 (Feilhaber, 1)
Saves:
7 (Miller, 7)
