SEATTLE — Lamar Neagle keeps finding his way back to Seattle.
Once he gets here, he starts finding the goal.
Neagle scored in the 85th minute, just two minutes after subbing into the game, to give the Seattle Sounders a 1-1 tie with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night.
A long through ball by Osvaldo Alonso found Roman Torres down the right wing, and Torres crossed it high into the penalty area. Neagle, in his fourth stint with the Sounders after being acquired in a trade with D.C. United on Aug. 7, sent a 16-yard shot off the side of his right foot past Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe.
“There was a lot of time (after getting Torres’ cross), and when that happens, there’s time to get nervous and think too much,” Neagle said. “My whole mindset was to keep it low the entire time. I ended up getting it down, and the defender got a touch to it, so I just put it back across the goal.”
Neagle previously played for the Sounders in 2009, 2011, and from 2013-15, putting 27 goals onto the board. This year, he had played 22 games with one goal for D.C. before coming back to the area where he grew up.
“I’m not sure what it is,” he said. “It’s a good fit. Occasionally, I leave, but I always end up coming back. Coming in halfway through the season, you want to be a guy who is helping and obviously getting in and getting some minutes. Gaining some confidence after the year I’ve had, to come in here and kind of recharge is nice.”
The Sounders (11-7-10) extended their club-record unbeaten streak to 12 games (6-0-6) in a game that included seven yellow cards. Torres got a straight red in the 89th minute.
“These games are all getting toward playoff intensity,” Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said. “It got a little chippy, and maybe we could have had a little bit more composure. But again, I like the fight of this team. I think that fight is what has gotten us to 12 games without a loss.”
The Sounders denied Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid a win in his return to Seattle. Schmid, who took L.A.’s reins on July 27 in place of the fired Curt Onalfo, coached the Sounders for 7 1/2 years — from their inaugural season in 2009 through July 2016.
“I had seven great years here, or whatever it worked out to be, and the fans have always been very, very supportive,” Schmid said. “Nobody was happier than me when they won the MLS Cup last year, because that was something we were striving for.”
Gyasi Zardes gave the Galaxy (7-14-6) the lead in the 25th minute with his second goal of the season. Jonathan dos Santos started play with a through ball up the attacking right side. Romain Alessandrini caught up with it outside the penalty area, and sent a cross toward the center of the box. Zardes met it and sent a 10-yard header past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
“I thought the team fought hard, which is something that we’ve been trying to get to,” Schmid said. “I thought our fighting spirit was good and thought we, at times, played some very good soccer. They got a goal late, and we had a couple of chances.”
While Seattle gained a point, star forward Jordan Morris hobbled off in the 60th minute, favoring his right leg. He pulled up lame while chasing a through ball and crumpled to the turf at the top of the Los Angeles penalty area. Schmetzer said Morris suffered a strained hamstring and would be evaluated further on Monday.
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