After a blazing start to open the season, Seattle Sounders FC played to a fifth consecutive tie Saturday, ending in a 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew at Qwest Field.
After falling behind early on an Alejandro Moreno goal, Seattle tied the score in the 58th minute through Nate Jaqua's superb strike. However, the home side couldn't find the winning goal in a bizarre, back-and-forth second half.
Freddie Ljungberg missed a first-half penalty and Tyrone Marshall picked up a red card in stoppage time to add to Seattle's dismay, just two of many head-scratching events in Seattle coach Sigi Schmid's first game against his former employer.
Seattle welcomed back its designated player, Ljungberg, who looked rejuvenated in his return to the lineup after missing two games recovering from a migraine headache. But the Swede got off to an inauspicious start, stumbling awkwardly on his first touch of the game.
For the Crew, Robert Warzycha opted to rest talismanic midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who started on the bench after the team's midweek game against San Jose. Pat Noonan moved into the starting lineup in his place. Frankie Hejduk also stayed home with a groin injury, with Jed Zayner filling in at right back. Two other starters, midfielder Brian Carroll and goalkeeper Will Hesmer, were also absent with injuries.
Columbus pressured Seattle early, trying to force turnovers in the Sounders FC back line. In the second minute, Robbie Rogers let his intentions be known with a right-footed blast that forced a dive from Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
The early aggressors, Columbus opened the scoring in the 12th minute thanks to a pinpoint pass from Noonan. Streaking down the right side after a free kick, Noonan crossed into an exceedingly small window onto the head of Moreno, who nodded the ball past Keller from a full headlong dive.
With the one-goal disadvantage, Seattle started committing more men forward, with Ljungberg doing most of the attacking. Seattle's next flurry of offense led to a corner kick, with Marshall heading just wide of the Crew goal.
But for the most part, Seattle's advantage in possession during this spell resulted in few actual goal-scoring opportunities, as Chad Marshall and the Crew defense held firm around its penalty area.
Seattle nearly found its way back from the penalty spot. Zayner upended Ljungberg as the Swede chased a give-and-go from Zakuani. Historically, MLS teams convert 76 percent of their penalties in the regular season, so perhaps Seattle could be forgiven for mentally putting the goal on the board. Unfortunately for Ljungberg, his ensuing penalty skittered wide of the left post.
For Seattle, starting midfielder Pete Vagenas was making his first start of the season, and in one forgettable sequence, gave up a turnover and was forced to pull down Emmanuel Ekpo on the counterattack, earning a yellow for his trouble.
After this play, Ekpo came alive for the visitors. He got his head on an Eddie Gaven corner kick minutes later and nearly beat Keller after stealing the ball away on the following possession. Keller, who has been playing extremely well of late, quickly got low to palm the shot down while his defenders cleared away the mess.
The save meant Seattle went into the break only down 1-0, rueing Ljungberg's missed penalty.
With no changes coming out the locker room, Sounders FC continued to press for the equalizer. They found it in the 58th minute off a sparkling finish from Nate Jaqua. The sequence started with a quickly taken free kick from Montero. After an exchange with Zakuani, Jaqua played a combination with Ljungberg, whose return ball floated high into the penalty area. Jaqua took it on the full volley, lashing a laser beam into the roof of the net.
With two goals in two games, the tall striker is rounding into form. He almost added his fourth assist, heading to Montero inside the penalty area in the 66th. With his marker on the ground, Montero touched right and shot, but the effort was deflected out of play.
In the 64th minute, Patrick Ianni replaced Vagenas. The move preceded a similar move by Columbus, which inserted Schelotto in the 69th minute. Merely seconds into the match, the Argentinean playmaker immediately found space and forced a save from Keller.
That was followed by a strange sequence, when Columbus was adjudged to have passed back to goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum, who handled the ball in the area.
Seattle's resulting indirect free kick took more than two minutes of game time to execute, as Schelotto and Ekpo were both booked for encroaching on Seattle's kick. The end result was anticlimactic for Seattle fans; Ljungberg's shot from just outside the six-yard box failed to pass through the mass of Columbus bodies in the goalmouth.
By now, the action was in full swing and Seattle's sixth consecutive sellout crowd started to rock. The spectators vocalized their distaste for Ekpo, who antagonized the fans by slowly walking off the field after being substituted.
In the 83rd minute, Sebastien Le Toux replaced the tiring Jaqua as Schmid sought all three points.
However, the winning goal never came. Center back Tyrone Marshall, however, was sent off after the match referee conferred with his assistant during stoppage time.
In the end, Seattle had to settle for its fifth consecutive draw. And now Sounders FC will have to play without Marshall, who had started every game this season.
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
