The Seattle Sounders stunned the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field on Saturday, getting two late goals from Xavier Arreaga and Will Bruin to snatch a 2-1 road victory in the first rematch from MLS Cup 2020.
Bradley Wright-Phillps had the Crew in the driver's seat after opening his Crew account in the 77th minute, but Arreaga and Bruin scored during a wild two-minute span right before second-half stoppage time, allowing the Sounders to take all three points in improbable fashion. Seattle have now won three straight road games, while Columbus dropped their sixth straight match.
Seattle had their chances in the first half, perhaps most notably off a header from Yeimar Gomez Andrade via Joao Paulo's free kick that forced Columbus goalkeeper Eloy Room into a reaction save.
Raul Ruidiaz and Fredy Montero each also had looks for Seattle in the opening half-hour, but Ruidiaz saw his 13th-minute laser shot go just high, while Montero had a look from distance saved again by a sprawling Room.
Columbus had perhaps their best chance of the first half in the 34th minute off a free kick from Lucas Zelarayan that was met with a whipped header from Jonathan Mensah. However, the center back put it high off-target.
Wright-Phillips found Columbus' breakthrough in the 77th minute after entering the match as a second-half substitute. The longtime New York Red Bulls star slotted home a point-blank finish after a Zelarayan corner kick was headed down in front of goal, giving the hosts confidence that their fortunes would change.
But the Sounders struck back with a pair of late tallies, first from an unlikely source in Arreaga. The Ecuadorian center back got his foot to a cross from Jimmy Medranda for a close-range finish to tie it at 1-1 in the 88th minute.
Then Bruin found a huge winner just one minute later, slotting home his first goal of the season with a clinical finish from inside the area off a set-up from Medranda for the game-deciding tally.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: It's a catastrophic ending for the Crew, who badly needed a victory for morale purposes after entering the match in the midst of a five-game losing streak. They were mere minutes from achieving that, only to see that number extend to six due to the pair of late concessions. It's Seattle that instead got a cathartic victory, as Brian Schmetzer's group exacted some revenge for last year's defeat in MLS Cup and extended their lead over Sporting Kansas City atop the Western Conference table.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It's the dramatic game-winner off Will Bruin's boot, which sealed Seattle's late-game turnaround.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: It's been a tough season for Bruin, who hadn't found the scoresheet in 2021 before entering the match. He couldn't have picked a much better moment for the breakthrough.
Next Up
- CLB: Heineken Rivalry Week match: Friday, August 27 vs. FC Cincinnati | 6:30 pm ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
- SEA: Heineken Rivalry Week match: Sunday, August 29 vs. Portland Timbers | 10:30 pm ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
