After a tough road loss for Seattle in L.A. last week, Seattle had a mountain to conquer going into Sunday night’s match. The Sounders needed to beat the Galaxy by at least three to tie. Despite the uphill battle, the Sounders came out with their heads heads and hopes high. They scored two goals in the first sixty minutes and kept L.A. off the scoreboard. The final third told a different story as L.A. snuck one past Michael Gspurning, crushing the hopes of a Sounders advancement to the finals. This leaves a lot of time for thinking during the off season. Seattle Sounders FC have not historically performed well during the playoffs and history has repeated itself again this season.
The first goal came in the 12th minute as Eddie Johnson broke past the defense on the left side and smacked one past the keeper. The goal marked Johnson’s 14th of the season, making him the top scorer for the Sounders.
Seattle’s second goal came off of a curling corner. Zach Scott made an amazing diving header and knocked the ball past the keeper to the far post. The goal was his first on the season.
The Galaxy responded in the final third of the match. Adam Johannson pinned down the Galaxy in the corner of the goal box. The L.A. player responded by wildly chipping the ball towards the front of goal. Johannson’s attempts to step in front of the ball caused his underarm to collide in the process. Robbie Keane scored the penalty in the 68th minute, sinking the nail into Seattle’s championship dreams.
Seattle had one last chance during stoppage time, but the Galaxy’s keeper held his ground. Now Seattle has the off season to re-evaluate and plan for the next season. Johnson and Osvaldo Alonso had some harsh words for the referees following the match.
Let’s make a simple point: yelling and arguing with them is never going to be productive, Mr. Johnson.
