Jordan Morris leads Sounders to huge road win over Galaxy, 4-2

The Sounders made a statement about their playoff intentions Sunday with a Jordan Morris-led 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Seattle traveled to LA with an unchanged lineup from last weekend’s win over Vancouver, with Brad Evans and Erik Friberg not traveling due to minor injuries. The Galaxy saw Giovani Dos Santos return to their starting lineup while Steven Gerrard was on the bench. The Sounders came into the match fighting for a playoff spot, while LA was just trying to secure a top seed.

It was a hot afternoon in LA as both teams started relatively sluggishly, with no real chances being created in the opening minutes. The Galaxy broke the deadlock in just under 20 minutes as Robbie Keane beat Roman Torres to a close-range header and sent it right into the net. Nicolas Lodeiro earned a free kick for the Sounders in a dangerous area not long after, but his effort hit the wall and deflected out for a corner. After the first water break (the temperature was approximately 92 degrees), Stefan Frei came up with a huge 1v1 save to deny Dos Santos. Not long after that, Seattle equalized off a corner kick thanks to an LA own goal. The teams went into halftime with the score at 1-1.

Davis: Jordan Morris 3rd on MLS ’24 under 24′ list

The second half started similarly slowly for both sides, with a few opportunities opening up but neither team doing much with them. A foul just inside the Sounders’ third gave LA a great chance from a free kick, but Seattle headed it out of play for a corner. Poor communication by the defense on a series of corners after nearly gave LA an easy goal, but Seattle managed to end the onslaught.

Just after 60 minutes, Jordan Morris produced a goal out of nowhere after latching into a long pass, knocking it past Galaxy defender Daniel Steres, beating him to the ball and going 1v1 with the keeper. The rookie left no doubt, blasting it past Brian Rowe to make it 2-1. The Galaxy brought on Landon Donovan and Gerrard to try and get back into it, but Morris put them to the sword again in the 74th after some pinballing around in the box. Seattle then put the game away for good after Osvaldo Alonso scored an excellent goal in the 78th.

The Galaxy drew one back through a penalty from Robbie Keane after Gerrard was brought down in the box. Things got a little choppy on both sides as time expired, but the Sounders held on for the win.

Man of the match: Jordan Morris, no doubt. With his brace, he’s only five away from tying the rookie scoring record.

Turning point: Morris’ first goal put Seatte ahead, and they never looked back.

One reason to worry: Morris has shown he can do everything himself, but his teammates aren’t always stepping up to help.

One reason to relax: This is a big, unexpected win that certainly boosts Seattle’s playoff chances.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.

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