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SEATTLE — Real Salt Lake fell 2-0 to Major League Soccer Western Conference rival the Seattle Sounders Friday night on the road in the Emerald City.
It’s a loss that gave the Sounders the first-place slot in both the Western Conference standings and the race for the Supporter’s Shield, which RSL had held for a number of weeks now.
The Sounders hit the net early, firing a shot past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando in just the third minute of play off forward Obafemi Martins. The Seattle side increased its cushion off a 38th-minute goal from forward Lamar Neagle, sending RSL into halftime down 2-0.
Ultimately, the two goals were all the Sounders needed to close out the night, as the second half went scoreless for both sides and secured the shutout victory for the Seattle club.
The match only saw the two goals hit the back of the net, but it saw many more yellow cards handed out — six for the Salt Lake side and one for the Seattle side — with all but one of the total seven coming in the second half of the heated battle.
RSL midfielders Javier Morales, Ned Grabavoy, Khari Stephenson and Kyle Beckerman all got put in the book, along with defender Carlos Salcedo and forward Olmes Garcia. Defender DeAndre Yedlin was the only Seattle player to see the book in the match.
The Salt Lake side was without its leading scorer, forward Alvaro Saborio, on the road due to a calf injury suffered last week while he was in Costa Rica on international duty.
With the loss, the Salt Lake club fell out of first place in the MLS West and its race for the Supporter’s Shield. RSL now sits in second place in the MLS Western Conference with a 14-9-6 record and 48 points, while Seattle sits one point ahead with a 15-8-4 record.
The Salt Lake club will now return to its home pitch to host MLS Western Conference opponent the San Jose Earthquakes on Sept. 21. RSL will then return to the road to face the Vancouver Whitecaps Sept. 28 to wrap up the month of September. Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
