Sounders Find Equalizer in Stoppage Time
By Ben Renner
The Seattle Sounders tied the Montreal Impact 2-2 at Olympic Stadium after super-sub Will Bruin shocked the Canadian crowd in stoppage time.
Sounders defender Will Bruin scored on a wild juggle inside the goal box in front of over 34,000 people at Olympic Stadium to salvage a point for Seattle on the road last night. Coming away with a point after trailing 2-0 is the best kind of tie coach Brian Schmetzer can get.
The Sounders found themselves down two goals early in the second half. The Impact’s Ignacio Piatti seemed to put Seattle down for good in the 51st minute. But in the 83rd minute, Oneil Fisher drew a foul on the Impact’s Laurent Ciman in Montreal’s penalty box. Nicolas Lodeiro buried the resulting penalty kick to set up the last gasp.
The defending champions seemed to be headed to an 0-2 start to the season. Even after taking the MLS Cup last year despite a slow start, the Sounders, starting their first full season with Schmetzer as their head coach, didn’t need another loss. Dropping a home date with their nemesis the Houston Dynamo set them back heading into a cross-country trip to Quebec pointless.
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And they would have stayed without points had it not been for favorable timekeeping by head referee Jair Marrufo and a daring run by Shoreline’s own Henry Wingo. Wingo, a 72nd-minute substitute, found Lodeiro running free. His imperfect cross deflected off of Jordan Morris where Bruin could “pounce” on the loose ball. After Marrufo added three minutes of stoppage time, Bruin’s goal came in the 94th minute.
Schmetzer’s Sounders can hang their hat on their possession game. They controlled play most of the game. The Impact scored off of two costly turnovers by Seattle and went to sleep in the final minutes.
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The Sounders will head back home to take on the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, March 19th.