Players dancing, singing in jubilant postgame locker room

MINNEAPOLIS – Will Bruin’s 97th minute goal left no shortage of jaws dropped at TCF Bank Stadium Saturday night, with good reason. The Seattle Sounders were 1-9-2 in 2018 when allowing the first goal, and 0-3-0 when trailing at halftime.

Bruin’s goal flipped the script by floating over Bobby Shuttleworth’s head, causing teammates and fans to erupt with joy as the Sounders capped off a 2-1 comeback against Minnesota United to remain a perfect 4-0 in their meetings with the Loons. More importantly, it extended their winning streak to four matches and their unbeaten run to seven. Five of those results have been on the road.

In the locker room after the match, teammates were dancing and singing as the boombox blared. Before reporters arrived, the Sounders broke out their traditional “Jingle Bells” tune they usually sing following road wins.

“You can see (how the team feels),” Osvaldo Alonso said. “People dancing, you know how happy they are. It’s a big three points.”

Keeper Stefan Frei recalled his view of Bruin’s goal.

“I thought it was over at first,” Frei said. “It looked like he had hit it a little too hard, but once he started running off into the corner, I knew either he was a fool or he had scored.

“I hate using the word ‘drug,’ but this is that feeling. This is what you play for. You can’t get that any other way, this feeling. This up and down, roller coaster of emotions and then the exhilarating finish, the joy. There’s just no other way of getting it than playing a team sport like this.”

Bruin said it was a split-second decision to chip Shuttleworth.

“I thought he had hesitated for a split second,” Bruin said. “I saw that he was in no man’s land, so I thought, ‘why not just go for it?’

“You can tell (what this means to the team). Guys are happy. We know we deserved it from the way we played, but our mentality is one game at a time. Keep climbing. We’re going to enjoy this one and then we’re going to get back next week and get ready for Dallas.”