Albert Rusnák scores twice, Sounders defeat Fire 2-1

SEATTLE (AP) — Albert Rusnák netted two goals on second-half penalty kicks, scoring the winner in stoppage time to rally the Seattle Sounders to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night.

Seattle Sounders FC 2, Chicago Fire FC 1: Box Score

Chicago (4-10-6) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute and took it into halftime on a goal by Maren Haile-Selassie. Gastón Giménez earned his second assist of the season on Haile-Selassie’s fourth goal.

The Sounders (7-7-7) pulled even early in the second half when Rusnák, who had just one goal this season entering play, scored in the 57th minute. The PK was set up when Paul Rothrock, who subbed in for Alex Roldan to begin the second half, drew a foul on Chicago’s Jonathan Dean following a video review.

Rusnák’s winner came in the third minute of stoppage time on a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner of the net. Jordan Morris drew a foul on the Fire’s Mauricio Pineda to earn the PK.

Stefan Frei finished with three saves through 10 minutes of stoppage in goal for the Sounders. Chris Brady saved four shots for the Fire. Both keepers had one save in the first half.

The Fire beat the Sounders 1-0 at Soldier Field in Chicago in July of 2022 in the most recent matchup.

Seattle fell behind by two goals in its previous two matches before rallying for a 2-2 draw against the Dynamo in Houston and a 3-2 victory at home over FC Dallas.

The Sounders have gone 3-0-1 since losing 1-0 on the road to Sporting Kansas City to begin the month.

Chicago returns home to host the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. Seattle will host the New England Revolution on Saturday.

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