The Seattle Sounders ended their three-game home series with a thrilling, stoppage-time victory over the New York Red Bulls. The win put the Sounders at the top of the Western Conference and the Supporters' Shield race. It was also the team's first come-from-behind win of the season, as a 36' Lloyd Sam goal gave the Red Bulls an early lead and ended the Sounders' league-best 338-minutes shutout streak.
Goals from Marco Pappa and Chad Barrett in the 69th and 91st minutes gave the Sounders the win and earned Seattle 7 points in three home matches.
Match Summary
Seattle Sounders FC: 2 - New York Red Bulls: 1
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Venue: XBOX Pitch at CenturyLink Field
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Assistants: Brian Dunn, Mike Kampmeinert
Fourth Official: Kevin Stott
Attendance: 40,194
Weather: Mostly sunny and 70 degrees
Scoring Summary
NY - Lloyd Sam 36'
SEA - Marco Pappa (Obafemi Martins) 69'
SEA - Chad Barrett (Clint Dempsey, Tyrone Mears) 90'+1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NY - Damien Perrinelle (caution) 51'
NY - Lloyd Sam (caution) 60'
NY - Felipe (caution) 67'
SEA - Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 72'
Lineups & Stats
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans - C (Zach Scott 75'), Chad Marshall, Dylan Remick; Cristian Roldan (Lamar Neagle 64'), Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Marco Pappa (Chad Barrett 89'); Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
Substitutes not used: Troy Perkins, Micheal Azira, Leo Gonzalez, Aaron Kovar
Total shots: 11 (Clint Dempsey, 5)
Shots on goal: 3 (3 players tied at 1)
Fouls: 9 (Dylan Remick, 3)
Offside: 1 (Cristian Roldan, 1)
Corner-kicks: 3 (Marco Pappa, 2)
Saves: 4 (Stefan Frei, 4)
New York Red Bulls - Luis Robles; Chris Duvall, Damien Perrinelle, Karl Ouimette, Kemar Lawrence; Lloyd Sam (Anatole Abang 90'+2), Dax McCarty - C, Sacha Kljestan, Felipe Martins, Mike Grella (Dane Richards 76'); Bradley Wright-Phillips
Substitutes not used: Kyle Reynish, Sean Davis, Connor Lade, Roy Miller, Marius Obekop
Total shots: 13 (Grella/Felipe, 3)
Shots on goal: 5 (Mike Grella, 2)
Fouls: 19 (Chris Duvall, 3)
Offside: 1 (Kemar Lawrence, 1)
Corner-kicks: 3 (Felipe, 3)
Saves: 1 (Luis Robles, 1)
Post-Match Quotes
SOUNDERS FC 2 - NEW YORK RED BULLS 1
SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015
SOUNDERS FC HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
Opening statement:
"I just want to say how extremely proud I am of our team. Our third game in [nine] days, playing against a good team that is fresh, just the mental fortitude and the mental toughness they showed today going down a goal...For our team to show resiliency and battle back and win it in injury time speaks a lot about the team's character. To be able to put in the effort they put in today, I was extremely proud of them."
On whether it was Clint Dempsey or Chad Barrett scoring the late goal:
"He's going to talk to Dempsey about it, I am not. Those guys can deal with that. I know the ball went into the back of the net."
On Brad Evans' calf injury:
"It was a great tackle on Bradley Wright-Phillips in the box, and on that tackle, he got kicked in the calf a little bit, and last year he had a calf injury. It was starting to tighten up on him...He's played well for us back there, so we pulled him out. Obviously, we feel like we have a very capable player back there in Zach Scott, who has been in these situations before."
On Dempsey and Martins not scoring a goal:
"When they were scoring you were saying, ‘You guys are the only ones scoring, so what's up?' We wanted our team to get goals, and for those guys to be involved in goals. Oba had an assist today on Marco [Pappa's] goal and Dempsey didn't get the goal but had an assist. There are very few people who could put that ball on frame with their left foot while going away from goal. That's an extremely talented skill level he has. He has played a lot of minutes this week. For me, no, I am not concerned about that. I didn't think our game was 100-percent sharp today, and a lot that was just fatigue and having our third game and playing against a good team, a team that pressed us. I thought over that things were good."
On the conversation at halftime in the locker room:
"At halftime we talked a little bit about going more direct...we felt we could get behind them on the flanks...We moved them side to side, but once we moved them side-to-side we didn't go forward at the right moment, and just trying to find the right moments. I think they also fatigued a little bit in the second half, so their pressure wasn't as good up high, so that gave us a little more ability to come out of the back. At the end it also came down to individuals making plays."
On Marco Pappa:
"I know he was mad at me at one point because he thought I took him out a little too early, but I told him, ‘If you do what I am looking for you to do, you're not going to get pulled out.' Today he felt he rolled his ankle a little bit, so he has to come out at the end. He is a player who is very talented. Sometimes I want him to be higher up on the field to expose his talents and getting in. He is doing that better. He is getting more touches in the opponent's end of the field...and that's what we look for. Now he's got a couple of goals, I think he already has a career-high in assists, and we need him to continue to play that way."
On Cristian Roldan:
"Well I think Roldan was getting tired, so we needed to make that change. He was giving us really good energy. I think Cristian played really well in the first half, especially the first 30 minutes. Lamar is a guy who has always been in our starting lineup or very close to it, so he was a guy who we came with. We talked with Lamar about getting behind them, because felt he had the pace to get behind them on that side. Mears was fighting on a couple of balls and got in behind and did well."
On being out-fouled suffering 19 fouls to New York's nine:
"It's a product of their pressing style, but it is also that school of soccer where [Jesse] Marsch comes from: you commit tackles and fouls in the midfield to slow the opponent down. You look at a lot of tactical calls in the midfield that were called. There was one happened in almost our end of the field and the referee doesn't yellow card the guy, but it is like if he didn't foul that guy it is three vs. three, and their ability recognize that. Part of it is their aggressive style as far as pressing, but part of it is their awareness of doing those kind of fouls to make sure the game slows down at the right time. Their style - D.C. United is very similar in that regard, Sporting KC is very similar in that regard."
On going 2-0-1 on the homestretch:
"We are a strong group and we are resilient. Fitness-wise, I think we are alright. When I watched Colorado's game yesterday, and their effort in their third game in seven days, it was one-day less than us, and I looked at our group today, I was really pleased with our mentality and our fitness level. That's part of it. We know we are going to face these stretches because of Open Cup and Champions League. We have to be prepared. Obviously, if all hands are on deck and [Gonzalo] Pineda is healthy, there is still rotation that can be done there."
On Dempsey not joining USMNT in Holland:
"Clint's wife is pregnant, she is due. The decision there from U.S. Soccer and Jurgen [Klinsmann] was to stay closer [to home]. It's tougher to fly back from Amsterdam if you're wife is going to deliver. That's his reasoning there, that's the reason he didn't get called in. It's great. The game they are playing in Holland is outside of the FIFA date, so if they were to play those games in the FIFA date we would have missed them on the 13th of June, so we will miss them on the 6thbut have them back for the 13th."
SOUNDERS FC FORWARD CHAD BARRETT
On the game-winning goal:
"I mean I got my toe on it. I got what I wanted to on it. The whole reason why I wanted to get my toe and didn't head it is I wasn't sure. And at the last second as the ball is coming across I can kind of see it's going in. As a forward I can tell when it's going in and when it's not, but there's that chance where it might hit the post or someone might be on the other side of me I'm not too sure of so I just did it to make sure we got the three points. I knew I was onside but it was going in anyways."
On the team's character:
"You always want to win when you play at home. It doesn't matter if you have three games in a stretch or three games spanned out over three weeks. You want to make sure you take all the points that you can at home. We started the week off rough against KC, we left it until late today but the important thing is that we took seven out of nine points on our homestand and that's a really good homestand."
On coming from behind to get a result for the first time this season:
"I didn't know that but that was something we did early on last year where really it helped us out and was kind of a character-builder of this team...It's always good to do it to know that you can in the games that follow."
SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER BRAD EVANS
On coming out after the hard tackle in the box:
"I just wanted to be smart. I didn't want a repeat of last year. I feel okay."
On the gritty, late win:
"I think over the course of the year you're going to win games differently. Tonight was one where we waited until the last minute and you come from behind also. I think it says a lot we can win different ways. Some games we can possess and really have the better end of play and come out with an easy 1-0 victory, buttonight it was a team that made you work for it and it's a very good team. In saying that, I am happy we can win in different ways."
On the locker room talk at halftime:
"They were 1-0 up, so for us we had to push the envelope a little bit. Coming out with a good tempo, finding the corners - we were able to stretch them...We were able to keep good possession in their half and get some good crosses. At that point we made it 1-1, but they still wanted to play and they still wanted to attack, and they still wanted to come out with a win. We will take that. We are a counterattacking team and in the last minute we found ourselves with a goal."
SOUNDERS FC GOALKEEPER STEFAN FREI
On New York's goal:
"First of all, we may have got caught off-guard a little with that ball behind, then scrambling to make sure Bradley Wright-Phillips or whoever it was doesn't get to the ball, then it's an unfortunate hand ball. They had some set play figured out there with the way they played the ball over...I didn't really see the ball that well, so I wanted to make sure I covered my side. If he was going to beat the wall and go far side, that was going to take some skill. We probably just need to follow-up a little better, the way they did, to help out with second balls. We knew we were going to get scored on at some point, and I'm really happy we were able to get the win. That's the important part."
On RBNY's aggressiveness:
"They tried to play their game. I think if you're trying to be proactive about creating something and playing your game and getting something out of the game, that's the way to go whether you're home or away. I give them props for that, but we were able to again focus on ourselves and the way we wanted to build out of the back and then carve ourselves some chances. We left it a bit late, but we were able to find the back of the net, which is great."
NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH JESSE MARSCH
On the game:
"It's gut-wrenching right now because we put a lot of good things together on the day and it's another game where we feel like there's a lot of good moments, but we don't make them add up enough to good chances and then to goals. Then we let little plays slip away so it's a really tough one to swallow right now, but we can't hang our heads. We just have to dig in and now our backs are against the wall then figure out a way to get better."
On losing the early lead then conceding a late goal:
"Yeah, we were a little bit on our heels at the end of the second half, but at the same time, we had chances to make plays going on the counter on the other end. You knew when it was 1-1 that the game was still up for grabs a little bit. We tried to push and in the end, Clint Dempsey makes a really tough play. And that's what you need - you need your big players in big moments to make big plays. We're going to continue to push and we're going to get there, but now we're struggling to put full performances together."
On the play of goalkeeper Luis Robles:
"Luis, in the first half, made a very good save. He was very solid overall on crosses. He played like a man. You know, it's a tough place to come in and play. It's important that, when you come here, that you have a group that's ready to dig in for every moment. On a lot of levels, we did, but we let two plays get away from us and we just couldn't make them pay for a lot of little advantages that we had on the day."
On Lloyd Sam's first-half goal:
"It was just being alert and ready for any loose balls and that was a good play. We needed a little bit of an effort. That's where we are right now - we have some good things happening on the field, but we need the individual efforts to now continue to figure out ways to get goals. We'll keep pushing."
On the short week going to Houston and the difficult schedule ahead:
"I feel like our backs are against the wall. We have a long flight back to New York, need to recover physically then have to figure out a way to get ready for a really tough game in Houston. Before we have a little break, I think we want to make sure that we finish strong so this is a really important week for our team."
NEW YORK RED BULLS GOALKEEPER LUIS ROBLES
On the result:
"Seattle's a good team. We knew going into the second half that we were going to have maintain possession, we were going to have to create chances. We made a couple mistakes towards the end and because they are a good team they made us pay for it. It just continues to show the quality and class that they have in this organization."
On his first-half save on Cristian Roldan's header:
"I'm not sure who hit it. I saw it late so I think even when I saved it the ball was behind me. It was just one of those moments that kept us in it in the first half and we were able to get a goal coming into halftime 1-0 in a good position. I felt with this team and the quality we had, that was a favorable position to be in to finish the last 45."
On getting back on track after consecutive losses:
"We've got to remember that it's a long season and there's going to be heartbreak but there's also going to be jubilation. We have to continue to improve defensively; we've been getting punished for our mistakes. There hasn't been any sort of grace there but we have not only the personnel but the management to work this out. We know that 12 games in, we're not going to be perfect. There's some things that continue to pop up; I know that we'll address it and we'll improve...Houston is going to be difficult because of the weather. They've had some strange weather over there but nonetheless it's going to be a good matchup. Another opportunity for us to show against the Western Conference that the Eastern Conference is no joke, but more than anything it's going to be a good chance for us to get back on track."
NEW YORK RED BULLS MIDFIELDER SACHA KLJESTAN
On the result:
"We're obviously disappointed. This game's a tough one to swallow. We put a lot effort into this game. Guys emptied their tanks, and it sucks but we need to be better closing out games. We talked about early in the season being a team that doesn't give up a goal late in a game. So we've got ourselves to balme, we've got to look ourselves in the mirror and get ready again for next week."
On the keys for the short week:
"I think it's important we're taking the red-eye back tonight so that'll be nice to be back home in the morning, have a good day off and then get back to work. We've got a couple of days of training and then go down to probably a hot and difficult game in Houston and it's going to be another very difficult game, but it's a big chance for us to step up and kind of get us back on the right foot."
On not finding a second goal:
"We got a couple of good opportunities, but maybe we lacked that killer instinct or maybe we just got a little bit unlucky. [Mike] Grella put one in the top corner that the goalie made a great save on. Other than that, we've got to just clean it up a little bit and make sure we're not giving up chances. I think we gave up two pretty easy chances at the end of the game and they punished us for it."