Jordan Morris had the game’s lone goal in the 63rd minute and Stefan Frei recorded four saves, two in the final minutes, as the visiting Seattle Sounders held on for a 1-0 win over Austin FC on Saturday in a Western Conference match.
Seattle (9-7-7, 34 points) won its fourth consecutive match and has five wins and a draw in its past six league games. Austin FC (8-9-6, 30 points) has lost two of its past three contests.
The Sounders produced the only shot on goal in the first half when Joao Paulo Mior blistered a low-percentage shot from the left half space outside the box that Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver saved.
The Verde was on the offensive early in the second half as Sebastian Driussi had a chance with a header in the 49th minute that was turned away by Frei. Seattle’s Paul Rothrock put a shot on target in the 53rd minute that carried a low goal expectancy and was stopped by Stuver, keeping the match scoreless.
Driussi had another chance in the 56th minute that was countered by Leo Chu’s shot five minutes later that carried a 24 percent goal expectancy.
That set the stage for Morris, had entered as a substitute to begin the second half. Morris waited near the six-yard line for a pass from Rothrock after the latter worked his way into the goal mouth after taking a pass from Obed Vargas. Morris had time to steady the pass and move the ball to his left foot before beating Stuver low to the left side of the goal.
It was Morris’ team-leading ninth goal of the season.
Any chance Austin had to mount a comeback was severely damaged when Morris drew a foul and a second yellow card in the match from Brendan Hines-Ike in the 77th minute, sending the Verde defender off and forcing the home side to play the final 13-plus minutes a man down.
The ensuing free kick from just outside the penalty area by Albert Rusnak in the 79th minute clanged off the crossbar, keeping the Verde’s fleeting chances alive.
Austin pressed mightily for the equalizer, as CJ Fodrey and Leo Vaisanen had shots on target in the first and second minutes of added time, respectively, that were pushed aside by Frei.
–Field Level Media
