The Seattle Sounders defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 on Wednesday night at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., behind an 18th-minute goal from Cristian Roldan.
Seattle had an inauspicious start when Jordy Delem left in the seventh minute with an injury and was replaced by Shane O’Neill.
San Jose thought they had a penalty kick in the 15th minute when referee Baldomero Toledo whistled a handball on Yeimar, but the penalty was waved off after Video Review.
Roldan capitalized on the momentum shift shortly after when he rocketed home a left-footed half volley from just outside the box for his first goal of the season.
The Sounders would unfortunately suffer another injury in stoppage time as goalkeeper Stefan Frei went down with a leg injury. Seattle was out of substitutes and finished with 10 men and defender Alex Roldan in goal.
The Sounders look to make it a perfect three-wins-in-three week when they host LAFC at Lumen Field on Sunday (6:30 p.m. PT; FS1, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
ALEX ROLDAN IN GOAL
In what was an unfortunate scenario, Roldan held his own and finished the final few minutes of the match in goal, making three stops to preserve the clean sheet. It was the first time in the club’s MLS history that it has utilized an outfield player in goal.
HEAVY ROTATION
Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer rotated his squad heavily on Wednesday in the middle of a three-match week and opted for a 3-4-3 formation. Homegrown teenagers Ethan Dobbelaere and Danny Leyva got starts up front and in the midfield, respectively, while Delem, prior to his injury, slotted into center back. It’s a promising sign that Seattle could rest its more veteran players while getting a road result against a difficult opponent.
RECORD-TYING UNBEATEN STREAK
The Sounders have run their unbeaten streak against the ‘Quakes to 14 matches, which ties the club’s best stretch against any MLS team (Chivas USA: 10-4-0). Seattle has not lost to San Jose in MLS play since 2015.
