The Seattle Sounders had won their last four home matches but on Saturday night in front of 41,028 at CenturyLink Field, the Colorado Rapids went on the road and, like they have all season, found a way to get the result.
The visiting Rapids converted their only shot on goal and walked away with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Axel Sjoberg’s first-half header.
The Rapids (8-2-3) are now undefeated in their last eight games, and leading the Western Conference and the league with 27 points from 13 games.
Seattle had more of the ball (65.7 percent) and out-shot the Rapids (17-9 overall and 4-1 on target), but it was the visitors who made the most of their chances and found the net for the game’s lone tally.
The Rapids’ breakthrough came just before halftime, when Marc Burch swung a 43rd-minute corner in to the edge of Stefan Frei’s six-yard box. Sjoberg lost his marker and got enough space for a clean header, which he put down off the turf and past Frei.
Of the Sounders’ 17 shots, the best chance of the evening came from Clint Dempsey. In the 9th minute, Osvaldo Alonso slipped the veteran forward into space at the top of the box but Dempsey fired a left-footed shot directly at Zac MacMath.
Dempsey came close again on a couple occasions in the second half, as did Jordan Morris, but the Sounders couldn’t find a tying goal. MacMath finished with three saves for his fifth shutout of the season.
With their home winning streak snapped, the Sounders (4-6-1) sit eighth in the West on 13 points from 11 games.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Colorado defender Marc Burch served up the assist on the game-winning goal and made a point-saving goal line clearance in the 73rd minute.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
In the 43rd minute, Colorado’s Axel Sjoberg got loose six yards from goal and got his head on a corner to score the game’s only goal.
MATCH TO FORGET
Seattle’s Clint Dempsey kept getting in good positions, but will be frustrated to have two shots saved and a header cleared off the line.
This article makes a lot of Seattle’s home win streak, and plays down the fact that the Sounders are almost dead last in the West. This team is not looking strong. I’ve always been a Sigi Schmidt fan, and I’m definitely a fan of coaching stability, but how far does this team have to fall before it’s time to push the panic button?
Never did one side give another a clearer, more concise reminder of why you cover the far post on corner kicks, and what can happen if you don’t. It ain’t rocket surgery, just good soccer basics. The fact that the same guy was key in both halves of this lesson, and that of course he used to be with Seattle himself, only serves to further crystallize the point.