Andy Thomas made five saves for his second shutout of the season to lead the visiting Seattle Sounders to a 1-0 victory over St. Louis City on Saturday night.
It was the fifth clean sheet of Thomas’ career. Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, who came on as a substitute in the 23rd minute when starting defender Yeimar Gomez limped off with a leg injury, scored for Seattle (2-1-0, 6 points).
The Sounders were playing the second of a club-record five-game road trip as Lumen Field undergoes upgrades for hosting the FIFA World Cup in the summer.
Roman Burki finished with three saves for St. Louis (0-2-1, 1 point), which was shut out for the second straight game and has scored just one goal this season.
St. Louis controlled the action in the first half, finishing with a 6-2 edge in shot attempts including two good scoring tries. The first came in the 13th minute on a left-footed shot from the left side of the box by Marcel Hartel that forced Thomas to make a diving grab by the far right post. Thomas also cradled a right-footed shot by Cedric Teuchert from outside the box in the 27th minute.
Seattle took advantage of a turnover by St. Louis midfielder Conrad Wallem to take a 1-0 lead in the 47th minute. Jesus Ferreira intercepted Wallem’s short pass on the left edge of the box, then sent a crossing pass to Kossa-Rienzi at the top middle of the box. The University of Washington product then drilled a left-footed shot past a diving Burki into the bottom right corner.
St. Louis, which finished with a 60% to 40% edge in possession and attempted 12 shots to eight for the Sounders, pressed for a tying goal down the stretch but Thomas was up to the task, including stopping a clean right-footed blast by Hartel from the edge of the box in the 81st minute.
–Field Level Media
