Sounders down Dynamo 4-1
Rodriguez scores twice
SEATTLE, Oct 9, (AP): Victor Rodriguez and Will Bruin haven’t played as many minutes as they would have liked in the past few months. Both were on the field for all 90 Monday night and made the most of their opportunity.
Rodriguez scored two goals in the second half as the Seattle Sounders defeated the Houston Dynamo 4-1.
Bruin and Cristian Roldan added first-half goals for Seattle, which moved closer to an MLS playoff spot with the win.
The Sounders (15-11-5) are trying for their 10th straight postseason berth. The loss eliminated Houston (9-14-8) from playoff contention.
Rodriguez has been limited to just 16 games due to injuries. He went the distance and scored a goal in a 4-0 rout of Colorado on Sept 29 in Seattle, then followed up with another full game and Monday’s two goals.
“I’m very happy for today and for the goals. I’ve worked a lot every day,” Rodriguez said. “For me, the situation was complicated, but I feel better. Now I’ve had a great performance and have to keep working.”
With Seattle leading 2-0, Rodriguez doubled the lead with two goals in a nine-minute span.
The first of Rodriguez’s goals came in the 64th minute. Kelvin Leerdam, playing to the right of the penalty area, passed the ball into the middle of the box and Rodriguez buried a shot in the back left corner from about 8 yards out.
Rodriguez scored again in the 73rd minute when he found space between two Dynamo defenders and again scored from 8 yards in front. He has four goals this season.
“He has just found a really good run of form – we saw it coming a while back,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. “He has put a lot of work and effort into his rehab when he has been injured. He’s reaping the benefits of being a good pro now, and we’re happy it’s happening at the tail end of the season when he can be at his peak and help us tremendously.”
Bruin, whose playing time has diminished since the midseason signing of Ligz Mx star Raul Ruidiaz, got the start on Monday with Ruidiaz having been called up to the Peruvian national team for an upcoming pair of international friendlies. He responded by scoring his seventh goal of the season in the 18th minute, drilling a 13-yard shot from just behind the penalty spot and into the back left corner.
“I’ve scored goals every year in this league. As the league brings in higher quality players, a lot of them are attackers, and I have to kind of evolve my game as well,” Bruin said. “And I think I’ve done that throughout the years. Whenever I get opportunities, I’m going to do my job and try to score goals.”
Roldan made it 2-0 in the 34th minute his fourth of the year.
DaMarcus Beasey scored in the 87th minute for Houston, his first of the year. The Dynamo thought they had a goal from Darwin Ceren late in the first half. But the whistle had blown for a foul on a Houston player in front of the Seattle net before Ceren took his shot.
“If you go into halftime and it’s 2-1 (instead of 2-0), it’s totally different,” said coach Wilmer Cabrera, whose team was missing 11-goal scorer Alberth Elis to international duty. “We were really poor defensively, and you pay for it. It has been a tough year for us.”
Leon scored in the 11th, 23rd, 55th and 59th minutes, while Huitema scored in the 13th, 37th, 52nd and 71st minutes. Christine Sinclair, Deanne Rose, Rebecca Quinn and Diana Matheson also scored.
Matheson made her 198th appearance for Canada, while Sophie Schmidt earned her 175th cap.
Group A, which is playing in Cary, North Carolina, includes the defending World Cup champion United States. The top two finishers in each group advance to play in the semifinals in Frisco, Texas, next Sunday.
The top three finishers in the tournament earn spots in the Women’s World Cup in France next summer. The fourth-place finisher goes to a playoff against Argentina for a berth.
Group B play concludes Thursday.
In Texas, Khadija Shaw scored just after the halftime and Jamaica went on to upset Costa Rica 1-0 on Monday in the group stage of the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament.
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Maria Sanchez #17 of Mexico and Cecily Stoute of Trinidad and Tobago compete for the ball during the soccer game at WakeMed Soccer Park on Oct 7 in Cary,
North Carolina. (AFP) Samantha Mewis #3 of the USA slips past Aldrith Quintero #6 of Panama during the soccer game at WakeMed
Soccer Park on Oct 7 in Cary, North Carolina. (AFP)
Costa Rica, ranked No. 34 in the world, was playing backup goalkeeper Daniela Solera because Maria Bermudez fractured her arm in the opening group game. Shaw’s goal for the 64th-ranked Reggae Girlz came in the 46th minute.
Group B also includes Canada and Cuba, which play in Monday’s late match at HEB Park.
Group A, which is playing in Cary, North Carolina, includes the defending World Cup champion United States. The top two finishers in each group advance to play in the semifinals in Frisco, Texas, next Sunday.
The top three finishers in the tournament earn spots in the Women’s World Cup in France next summer. The fourth-place finisher goes to a playoff against Argentina for a berth.
Jamaica, which has never made a World Cup field, fell 2-0 to Canada in the team’s opening Group B game. Costa Rica defeated Cuba 8-0 in their first game.
On Sunday, Carli Lloyd scored three goals as the United States beat Panama 5-0 Sunday to advance their bid to qualify for the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
With the win in Cary, North Carolina, the Americans have won the first two of their three group matches in the eight-nation CONCACAF Women’s Championship.
They opened with a 6-0 victory over Mexico and were assured of a semifinal spot in the regional qualifying event when Mexico beat Trinidad & Tobago 4-1 on Sunday.
The US will play their last Group A match against Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday, when Mexico will take on Panama – level on three points – in a duel for the second semifinal spot in Group A.
The top two finishers from the each of the two groups after round-robin play advance to the semi-finals in Frisco, Texas.
The semifinal winners automatically advance to next year’s World Cup in France, with the winner of the third-place playoff also advancing. The team that finishes fourth will play Argentina for a World Cup berth.
US coach Jill Ellis made nine changes from the Mexico match, retaining only midfielders Julie Ertz and defender Abby Dahlkemper in the starting lineup.
Lloyd took her tally of international goals to 105 with strikes in the 23rd, 29th and 48th minutes.
Samantha Mewis opened the scoring in the sixth minute when she headed in a corner kick by Christen Press. Press herself scored on a breakaway in the 32nd.
Despite the lopsided score, it was a solid display for 17-year-old Panamanian goalkeeper Yanith Bailey, whose eight saves in the first half were double the US goals that got through.
“Very, very impressed,” Lloyd said of her impression of Bailey. “Hopefully that gives her a lot of confidence in herself and Panama. They put the ball down and played and credit to our team for getting the job done.”