Late goal lifts Sounders past Real Salt Lake

Published 10:33 pm Friday, September 12, 2014

RENTON — It’s entirely possible the Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake, two perennial Major League Soccer Western Conference powers, could end up facing off again in the playoffs, and if Friday night’s game was any indication, that would make for one entertaining series.

Seattle and Salt Lake played a wide-open game that was full of scoring chances in front of 38,976 at CenturyLink Field, and by the time the fireworks had subsided — the last of them being fired in stoppage time after an Andy Rose game-winner — the Sounders had a 3-2 victory that extended their lead atop the standings.

“Definitely an exciting game,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. “For sure a couple of fantastic goals. … I think the two teams bring out another level in each other.”

With the win, the Sounders added three points to their lead over the Los Angles Galaxy in the West, putting them four points above the Galaxy. Salt Lake, meanwhile, remains in third place with 46 points.

“It’s huge getting a win against Salt Lake, and in this fashion is great, especially going into a stretch like this,” said midfielder Lamar Neagle, who scored Seattle’s first goal.

While a tie against one of the league’s top teams would have hardly been a disaster, Rose’s goal in stoppage time was big for the Sounders, who are chasing their first Supporters’ Shield— the trophy given to the MLS team with the best regular season record— and who were looking to get off to a good start on a stretch of five matches in 15 games, including Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup final in Philadelphia.

“We’ve said at the beginning of the season that we were a team that was going to play from minutes 1 to minute 90 or 95, and that’s something we’ve showed often and we showed it again tonight,” Schmid said. “It’s tremendous to get the three point, big win for us in terms of separation, in terms of staying in first place and continuing to push for the Supporters’ Shield.”

As good as the Sounders have looked this season building the league’s best record, thanks in large part to the dynamic attacking duo of Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey, fans are taking nothing for granted this time of year. The Sounders won on Sept. 13 last season, and like this season were on top of the standings, but then they stumbled into the postseason with an 0-4-3 record over their final seven games.

Despite Seattle having the better of the chances early, including a shot by Martins that hit the crossbar, and another from Martins that was saved by a sprawling Nick Rimando, it was Salt Lake that took the lead first, getting a goal from Javier Morales in the 30th minute. Morales, who somehow found tons of open space in the box, took a pass from Luke Mulholland and hit a low shot that beat Stefan Frei and tucked inside the far post.

But rather than go to the locker room feeling like they’d squandered their chances, the Sounders went to halftime with a 2-1 lead thanks to a couple of moments of individual brilliance. In the 38th minute, Neagle took a pass from DeAndre Yedlin, beat a defender, then launched a shot from long range that dipped over a diving Rimando and into the upper left corner of the net.

“Ridiculous,” midfielder Brad Evans said of Neagle’s long-range strike. “I had an awesome view on it, right next to him. I don’t know how he strikes the ball like that. He seems to do it a couple of times a year, and when he gets a hold of it, he gets a hold of it. Just a phenomenal strike. Ridiculous.”

Five minutes later, Martins played a give-and-go with Clint Dempsey, who played Martin into the box with a perfectly weighted ball, allowing Martins to tap a shot past Rimando. The goal was Martins’ 13th of the season, tying him with Fredy Montero for the second-most in a season behind Eddie Johnson, who scored 14 in 2012.

That lead didn’t last long in the second half, however, thanks to a Joao Plata shot from long range that deflected off Osvaldo Alonso and then the far post before rolling into the net to tie the game at 2-2.

The Sounders played the final 22 minutes plus stoppage time up a man after Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers earned a red card for hauling Martins down just outside the box, denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

And just when it looked like Seattle wasn’t going to be able to capitalize on that advantage, Yedlin was able to win a ball in the box that was crossed in by Alonso and lay it off for Rose, who hammered in the game winner.

“When you come on as a substitute, you want to make an impression on the game,” said Rose, who came on as a 65th-minute substitute. “… I was just trying to get in the box on the end of things.

“DeAndre showed great composure to put it on a platter for me. It was a great touch for him, and I had a little space to make sure I put it on target.”

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com