Sandy, Utah – The Sounders struggled with their first road test of the season, as they lost 2-1 to Real Salt Lake. The Sounders had the more plentiful amount of chances, but RSL were more clinical in the final third. The Sounders led the game with 17 shots and 9 shots on target, yet were only able to find the net once.
The Sounders had the initial chances in the match. In the 8th minute, a corner kick whipped in by Albert Rusnak found Jackson Ragen at the far post. Ragen headed the ball back across the box where Yeimar got to it, but a quick reaction save from RSL keeper Rafael Cabral denied the opener.
Albert Rusnak had another chance moments later, when a free kick nearly caught Cabral out of position, but once again the keeper made a good save.
Things flipped on their head in the 23rd minute. Real Salt Lake found the back of the net thanks to a lovely half-volley scored by Aiden Hazarkharni. The goal was set-up by debutant Juan Sanabria who chipped the ball to the back-post, catching the Sounders defense napping.
“Goals change games,” said Hassani Dotson post-game, “From there, they were able to find the momentum.”
The first half flowed through Paul Rothrock. He forced RSL centerback Philip Quinton into an early yellow card after Rothrock beat Quinton to the ball and muscled past him.
The second half started off poorly for the Rave Green, as RSL rising star Xavier Gozo got in behind and rolled it across the box to Ariath Piol for a 2-0 lead.
The Sounders had a chance to respond in the 61st minute, after a free kick was awarded just outside the box toward the corner flag. Albert Rusnak went for goal and forced another save from Cabral.
In the 63rd minute, the Sounders pulled a goal back off a corner kick, earned after the free kick save. Cristian Roldan snuck past his mark in the box and flicked on the ball into the side netting to cut the deficit back to one goal.
The action seemed unrelenting after Real Salt Lake forced a 2v2 on a breakaway in the 65th minute. Alex Roldan sprinted back into position and made a perfectly timed sliding tackle to deny RSL the chance.
The Sounders thought they had found the equalizer in the 77th minute when Paul Rothrock’s cross was slotted home by Danny Musovski, but Rothrock was offside in the build-up.
In the 87th minute, RSL’s newest designated player Morgan Guilavogui got in behind the Sounders defense but Andrew Thomas made a great save to deny the forward a debut goal.
In the final minute of stoppage time, Snyder Brunell had an acrobatic effort saved by Cabral. The Sounders were denied by the RSL keeper on more than a handful of occasions throughout the game.
“We were getting our chances, but we were missing the final pieces,” said Snyder Brunell in regards to the performance of RSL Keeper Rafael Cabral. “The keeper wasn’t getting into our head, we just couldn’t make the final play.”
The Sounders are still looking for goals up top. Osaze De Rosario was hard-pressed to find space against the Real Salt Lake backline. Then after Danny Musovski replaced De Rosario, he had one big chance which ultimately was offside.
“Ozase (De Rosario) wasn’t as involved as I’d like him to be,” said Brian Schmetzer post-match. The 24-year-old forward only had 16 touches through 59 minutes in the match. De Rosario scored five goals in the preseason but is still looking for his first goal after the first two regular season games.
The Sounders will continue the road trip to St. Louis next weekend for a match at Energizer Park.
Cover Photo: Sounders FC Communications
