SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC vs. LA GALAXY
CENTURYLINK FIELD | Seattle, Washington
July 31, 2016 | Week 21 | MLS Game #211
4 pm ET (ESPN, MLS LIVE)
The start of a new era in Seattle will feature one of the marquee match-ups in Major League Soccer as Seattle Sounders FC play host to the LA Galaxy on Sunday afternoon at CenturyLink Field before an ESPN audience. For the first time since coming into MLS, Sounders FC will have a new man in charge as Brian Schmetzer takes over the coaching reins, the club coming off a 3-0 defeat at Sporting Kansas City leaving them in ninth place in the Western Conference. The Galaxy made it four wins in a row last weekend in a 2-1 victory at the Portland Timbers, moving into third place in the conference.
- This will be the Sounders' first-ever MLS game with a coach other than Schmid, as longtime assistant Brian Schmetzer will take the reins and hope to guide Seattle back into playoff contention. The Sounders didn’t register a single shot on goal in their last game, a 3-0 defeat to SKC, and have scored just 20 goals in 20 matches.
- The Galaxy have already beaten the Sounders twice this month, earning a 1-0 win in Seattle on July 9 before knocking them out of the Open Cup on July 20. The Galaxy are 9-4-6 all-time against Seattle — one of the few teams the Sounders don’t have a winning record against since entering the league in 2009.
- Including the Open Cup, the Galaxy are currently riding an eight-game unbeaten run with their last loss coming to Toronto FC on June 18. They’re been especially proficient against Cascadia teams, holding a 3-0-2 record vs. the Sounders, Timbers and Whitecaps this season.
REFEREE: Drew Fischer. AR1 (bench): Corey Parker; AR2 (opposite): Apolinar Mariscal; 4th: Jose Carlos Rivero
MLS Career: 57 games; FC/gm: 26.5; Y/gm: 3.1; R: 6; pens: 16
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: LA: A.J. DeLaGarza, Daniel Steres
DISABLED LIST: SEA: Roman Torres
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (19 meetings): Sounders FC 4 wins, 18 goals -- Galaxy 9 wins, 27 goals -- Ties 6
AT SEATTLE (10 meetings): Sounders FC 3 wins, 11 goals -- Galaxy 4 wins, 12 goals -- Ties 3
FUTURE MATCH: 9/25: LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders FC (ESPN)
- Sounders FC have not won at the Galaxy since 2009, now 11 trips in league and MLS Cup play without a win.
- The teams also met in the Knockout Round in the MLS Cup Playoffs last year, Sounders FC winning 3-2 at CenturyLink Field. The teams have met four times in the last six seasons in the MLS Cup Playoffs; last year's victory was the first time Sounders FC have advanced.
- The teams also met this year in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal on July 20, the Galaxy coming back for a 4-2 win at the StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium in Carson, Calif. Giovani dos Santos netted the equalizer late in the second half, then Sebastian Lletget scored twice in the final minutes to put the game away.
- Coaches record: Bruce Arena vs. SEA: P19 W9 L4 T6 -- Brian Schmetzer vs. LA: first game
LAST MEETING (MLS):
7/9: SEA 0, LA 1 (Keane 15)
- The game's only goal came in the 15th minute. With a crisp first-time pass from the touchline, Dave Romney freed Gyasi Zardes, who then played a low cross into the penalty area where Robbie Keane slid and fired home off the underside of the crossbar from eight yards out.
- Sounders FC nearly equalized in the 53rd minute when Jordan Morris beat a charging Brian Rowe to a through ball and put his effort on frame, but A.J. DeLaGarza blocked the shot on the goal line. Clint Dempsey also nearly leveled the score in the 82nd minute, but put a close-range shot off the post.
- SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-1-2-3): Stefan Frei - Tyrone Mears, Zach Scott, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones - Osvaldo Alonso - Cristian Roldan (Herculez Gomez 83), Erik Friberg - Jordan Morris, Clint Dempsey, Nelson Haedo Valdez (Oalex Anderson 64).
- LA GALAXY (4-4-2): Brian Rowe - A.J. DeLaGarza, Daniel Steres, Jelle Van Damme, David Romney - Baggio Husidic, Steven Gerrard (Mike Magee 85), Jeff Larentowicz, Gyasi Zardes - Giovani dos Santos (Sebastian Lletget 76), Robbie Keane (Alan Gordon 90).
