In the sixth minute Nicolas Lodeiro nearly opened the scoring for the Seattle Sounders in Saturday’s match against Real Salt Lake. He had a free kick from a horrible angle about 12 yards from the endline and wide of the 18. Like any confident goalscorer he shot at the near post side of the wall, forcing a brilliant save by Nick Rimando.
At Friday’s match, the Seattle Sounders’ point of emphasis was to get an early goal. Their grinding possession game can stifle teams, but often only when Seattle has a lead.