Sounders hold Cincinnati, keep playoff hopes alive
seattle: Brenner scored in the first half to give FC Cincinnati the lead, but Fredy Montero equalized for Seatle in the second half of a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night that kept the Sounders slim playoff hopes alive.
Brenner scored his 15th goal of the season in the 24th minute on a breakaway ater a defensive miscue by the Sounders.
Montero pulled Seatle even in the 58th with his fourth goal. But Seatle was unable to find a winning goal on a night the Sounders needed three points.
Seatle has qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs every year of its existence but now must win its final two games of the regular season and get plenty of help from others to keep the streak going.
Midfielder Cristian Roldan entered in the 55th
Associated Press minute, his first appearance since recovering from groin surgery on Aug. 23. The 27-year-old midfielder, hoping for a spot on the US World Cup roster, had not played since Aug. 14.
Cincinnati moved into fith in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining.
Cincinnati had a major chance to leave Seatle with a victory, but Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei came up with a point-blank stop in front of net in the 76th minute ater Seatle was reduced to 10-men when Kelyn Rowe was shown a red card.
Meanwhile, Javier Hernández scored twice ater San Jose fans unfurled a huge banner calling LA “clowns” and he mocked the fans for their display, leading the Galaxy over the Earthquakes 3-2.
Before the game, fans in the crowd of 44,200 at Stanford Stadium displayed a large banner that said: “The LA circus - same clowns, different costumes” and included a picture of a pair of clowns below the words.
Chicharito then got two goals to raise his season total to 17 and give him 10 in his last 10 games.
Ater scoring the game’s opening goal in the 12th minute, he ran toward the stands, pointed to the fans, put a hand with fingers splayed next to each ear, stuck out his tongue and hopped from side to side while mimicking a clown.
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