Happenstance seemed to happen again to the Sounders.
Sure, midfielder Albert Rusnák kept the discussion from circling around the team’s issues scoring goals and defensive errors. But his skillful equalizer in the 80th minute barely changes grumbling for wanting more from the Sounders in the final third.
Without it Saturday, Seattle left PayPal Park with a 1-1 draw against San Jose. The Quakes (2-3-1) are unbeaten in their past eight matches against the Sounders.
Earlier in the night, it looked like a deflection lobbed a ball over keeper Stefan Frei and into goal for San Jose in the 32nd minute. Another unlucky moment to add to the pile of two own goals and a stumble that led to a conceded goal for Seattle in MLS competitions.
But that dismisses Beau Leroux’s view. In a pinball sequence in the box, the ball finally rested at Alex Roldan’s feet. Leroux, a San Jose native, jumped Roldan’s pass intended for João Paulo, the rookie quickly unleashing a shot for his debut MLS score.
First-year Quakes coach Bruce Arena, who’s won five MLS Cups, planned a new look around talented acquisitions in Chicho Arango, Josef Martínez and Hernán López. But Martínez (international duty) didn’t enter the match until the 73rd minute and López was out due to undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this month.
No worries, Leroux capitalized on the few chances the Quakes had — something the Sounders (2-2-2) have struggled to do without their first-choice attackers in Jordan Morris (hamstring) and Pedro de la Vega (quad).
San Jose keeper Daniel was busy beginning with tipping a Roldan header over the crossbar in the 18th minute. In the second half, it was a right-footed shot by Rusnák (47th), a whopper of an attempt by Nouhou from distance (51st), an open look from Danny Musovski (69th) and Cristian Roldan (74th) that required expert goaltending.
Daniel just didn’t have the moves to stop Rusnák’s right-footed shot in the 80th minute that angled out of reach and into the side netting. It’s the designated player’s second goal of the season.
Nouhou returned to the starting lineup after a pair of successful performance with his Cameroon national team for World Cup qualifier matches. Obed Vargas was paired with João Paulo in the midfield. Vargas is back from international duty with Mexico’s U-20 national team.
Although the two mainstay players returned, there was a different look with Cristian Roldan and Rusnák playing a line behind Jesús Ferreira. Paul Rothrock and Alex Roldan were the wingbacks, and the three center backs were Nouhou, Yeimar and Jackson Ragen.
The Sounders will remain on the road with a matchup against San Diego FC next week. This is SDFC’s maiden season as MLS’s 30th club.
