Second-half substitute Sebastian Gomez scored in the 66th minute as the Seattle Sounders salvaged a 1-1 draw with visiting CF Montreal on Saturday night.
The Sounders (11-10-9, 42 points) pressed heavily in the second half for the winner, but Montreal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza made four of his five saves after the intermission to preserve the tie. Seventh in the Western Conference, Seattle moved two points ahead of the eighth-place LA Galaxy.
Hennadii Synchuk scored for Montreal (6-17-7, 25 points), which is in last place in the Eastern Conference and had lost two straight and seven of its previous eight league matches.
The equalizer came after Seattle’s Jesus Ferreira stole the ball about 25 yards from the Montreal net. Victor Loturi’s sliding tackle knocked the ball off Ferreira’s foot but the ball rolled straight to Gomez for a 12-yard shot from the left side of the penalty area that eluded a diving Breza on its way into the lower right corner of the net. It was the second MLS goal for the 20-year-old rookie.
Montreal opened the scoring in the 13th minute as Alexis Sanchez won the ball near midfield and lofted a pass over the Sounders’ back line to Noah Streit to create a two-on-two rush. Seattle defender Ryan Sailor stopped Streit’s run near the top of the penalty area, but the ball bounced to Synchuk for a one-timer — a low, left-footed 18-yard shot just out of the reach of diving goalkeeper Andrew Thomas and inside the left post.
The Sounders had two chances to tie the score in the 62nd minute after Albert Rusnak lobbed a pass over the Montreal defense. Jordan Morris’ half-volley from 15 yards out was deflected by Breza, with the rebound falling to Dejan Joveljic. His shot from 10 yards was blocked by midfielder Samuel Piette as the goalie tried to scramble back into position.
Seattle continued to press after the goal, with Morris putting a shot from the right edge of the 6-yard box off the far post in the 70th minute. Two minutes later, Morris made a run down the right wing and sent a cross to Gomez, with his shot from just outside the penalty spot pawed away by Breza.
Montreal played without injured forward Prince Owusu, the team’s leading scorer with 15 goals, as it prepares to host Forge FC of Hamilton, Ontario, in the Canadian championship Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
