Seattle Sounders 1, LA Galaxy 1 | 2016 MLS Match Recap

Franco Panizo

The Seattle Sounders were on the brink of starting the post-Sigi Schmid era with a win, but Sebastian Lletget had other plans.

Lletget scored his first goal of the season in the 78th minute to give the LA Galaxy a point in a 1-1 road draw with the Sounders on Sunday afternoon. Cristian Roldan had opened the scoring earlier in the second half at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, but a hiccup at the back allowed Lletget to push home the equalizer.

Both of the Western Conference clubs had other promising chances to score, particularly the Sounders, but some heads-up defensive plays saw them end in a deadlock.

With the draw, the Galaxy are 9-3-9 and in third place of the west while the Sounders are 6-12-3 and in ninth.

Box Score

49’ – SEA – Cristian Roldan (Nelson Valdez)
78' – LA – Sebastian Lletget (Steven Gerrard, Giovani dos Santos)
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Three Things

SAME OLD STORY: The Seattle Sounders had the better of the chances and finished with eight shots on goal, but once again had trouble putting them into the back of the net. Jordan Morris was especially poor with his finishing, wasting a great look in the 69th minute when he took too long to pull the trigger and failing to push home a cross just before the final whistle.
FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE: If there was one major positive for the Sounders to take away from this one, it was the play of Nicolás Lodeiro. The Uruguayan playmaker made his debut for Seattle by starting and going the distance, and he showed glimpses of what he is capable of by dribbling out of tight spots and finding teammates with well-weighted through balls. Things should only get better for him and the club the more he plays and more chemistry he gains with those around him.
VAN DAMME SHINES: The LA Galaxy were able to keep the Sounders largely at bay in part because of Seattle's finishing woes and in part because of the stellar play of Jelle Van Damme. While he could have been sent off late in the second half with a second yellow card, Van Damme impressed with his sturdy and physical defending. His biggest contributions were two goal-line clearances, which came in the 34 and 69th minutes against Clint Dempsey and Morris, respectively.