Carson, CA – In a match that had ups and downs and a controversial finish, the Seattle Sounders ended a 2-match losing skid and earned a valuable point to get back into a playoff spot in the MLS Western Conference after a 3-3 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday night.

The Sounders have started slowly recently, and that continued when the Galaxy scored in the just the 10^th minute when Mexican star Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored his 11^th goal of the season on a well delivered cross from Kevin Cabral from the right side and Hernandez did the rest to make it 1-0 LA. It was the 7^th time in the last 10 matches that the Sounders had given up the first score of the match.

Seattle continued to get chances in the offensive third; it appeared the Sounders had tied the game on a Jordan Morris goal, but it was waved off on an offside call. Seattle continued to create opportunities, but it was the Galaxy who extended the lead on a long, tough angle strike from the right side for Victor Vasquez who fired what appeared to be a cross that went to the upper right corner, a mere inches from the outstretched finger tips of Sounders goalkeeper Stefen Frei.

With a 2-0 lead at half-time, it appeared that the Galaxy would win their first match against the Sounders since 2018, but Seattle had other the plans. Seattle put the pressure on LA immediately as they pushed forward, and got a goal in the 52^nd minute when Peruvian star Raul Ruidiaz sprinted forward and sent a cross to midfielder Kelyn Rowe who shot a one-touch strike to cut the Galaxy lead to 2-1.

One of the best sequences of the Sounders season came 8 minutes later as they tied the match on and persistent and frenetic attack in the 60^th minute. First, midfielder Albert Rusnak fired a shot off of the the top cross-bar. The rebound went to Ruidiaz and found Rusnak again, and this time he fired it low off of the bar and just missed the net. Seattle kept possession, passing the ball around the edge of the box, and finally tied the match on a Nicolas Lodeiro cross to Ruidiaz in the middle of the box and his header tied the match.

The Sounders kept on dominating the 2nd half, and they capped off their turnaround by taking the lead in the 73^rd on a corner kick, when Yeimar Gomez struck a header on goal and Mercer Island, WA and U.S International Jordan Morris tapped the ball into the net for a 3-2 lead.

With time winding down in the match, a controversial moment gave LA a penalty kick in the 92^nd, when a the referee ruled a handball on defender Xavier Arreaga that appeared to deflect off of multiple players and hit Arreaga unintentionally. Dejan Joveljic, a substitute forward from Serbia scored the penalty to tie the match at 3-3, which proved to be the final.

With the draw for Seattle, the Sounders moved into the 7^th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 33 points, (10-3-13). LA stayed in the 6^th position with 34 points, (10-4-11). Sounders travel to rival Portland for a crucial matchup next Friday, while LA travels to New England next Sunday.

Takeaways

Overall, there was a lot to like from the Sounders on Friday, even though they didn’t get the full 3 points that they wanted. For the record, the majority of analysts and fans felt the VAR decision to give the Galaxy a penalty in extra time was the wrong one, there was nothing Arreaga could do to avoid touching the ball, but in the end the call proved crucial. However,  the Sounders showed a lot of resiliency and grit in the first place after falling behind 2-0 in the first half, to dominate the majority of the 2^nd half and score 3 goals is a very encouraging sign. After battling injuries this season, Raul Ruidiaz showed why the Peruvian International he is one of the top stars in the MLS, with an assist and a goal as he continued to torment the Galaxy like he has throughout his Sounders career. His goal in the 2^nd half was his 9^th in 9 regular season matches against the Galaxy, tied with Robbie Keane for most in the series.

The play of Albert Rusnak as of late is encouraging as well; the heavily criticized midfielder scored a beautiful goal in the 2-1 loss to Real Salt City on Sunday and against LA continued his strong play by creating the 2^nd goal on Friday against the Galaxy. The fact that the Sounders scored 3 goals on the road for the first time since a 4-3 loss to San Jose on April 24^th, almost 4 months ago. The fact that defensive midfielder Kelyn Rowe scored showed the versatility of the Sounders attack, and the potential Seattle has in making a run to the playoffs.

Defensively, Cameroon International Nouhou made the play of the game in 2^nd half to clear the ball from the line, which ultimately may have kept the Sounders from losing their 3^rd straight match. They still keep having lapses defensively that result in falling behind in matches, like leaving one the deadliest pure scorers in soccer over the last 12 years in “Chicharito” unmarked in between 3 center backs for the first LA goal.

With that said, the draw puts the Sounders at 34 points, owning a tiebreaker with 4 teams for the final playoff spot in the West with 8 matches left in the regular season. The middle of the Western Conference continues to be congested with teams 4-11 all within four teams of each other. A win over the Galaxy on the road would have been huge in helping Seattle position themselves to continue their 13 year playoff streak, but they will hope to avenge a 3-0 loss to Portland in Seattle in July when they face the Timbers in Portland on Friday.