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Chivas USA Fall, 4-2, to Sounders FC in Series Finale

September 27, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


SEATTLE (Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014) - Chivas USA could not hold on to two early leads as they fell, 4-2, to Seattle Sounders FC Saturday afternoon at CenturyLink Field. The sides battled in a first-half shootout that began with striker Erick "Cubo" Torres' club-record 15th goal of the season, but the Sounders were led to the comeback win on a brace by Obafemi Martins and scores from Lamar Neagle and Clint Dempsey.

The Red-and-White opened up the scoring in the 12th minute when Akira Kaji chipped a ball over the top that put Felix Borja into the box. Borja brought down the entry, worked around his marker and fired a shot on frame that was deflected by Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei toward Torres. The striker then collected the loose ball, cut back to his left and beat the final defender to deliver the tally.

Seattle responded two minutes later to level the contest at 1-1 when Martins got into range and fired a well-placed left-footed strike from outside the box and inside the right post.

Chivas reclaimed the lead at 2-1 in the 18th minute after midfielder Leandro Barrera unleashed a strike from the edge of the box that crashed off the crossbar. With Torres trailing the rebound, the forward looked to return the favor and played Borja a short cross inside the six-yard box in traffic that was knocked in by Seattle's defense for an own goal.

The home side answered back with a pair of scores to claim their first lead of the match. In the 37th minute, Neagle got behind the Red-and-White defense after an attempted threaded pass was redirected by a defender, which left the midfielder in a one-on-one meeting with Chivas keeper Dan Kennedy for the short-range goal.

Seattle capped off the first-half shootout a minute into stoppage time when Dempsey and Martins linked up for a give-and-go sequence that culminated with Dempsey finding the back of the net to give his side the 3-2 advantage heading into halftime.

The Sounders extended their lead to 4-2 in the 51st minute when Martins created space for himself inside the box after gathering the ball on the end of a scrum near the arc. Martins shot at goal and found the inside of the left post after the ball caromed off a Chivas defender.

Looking to cut into Seattle's lead, the Rojiblancos went to their bench for fresh attackers, but were unable to bounce back with a goal of their own, as the Sounders would go on to secure the 4-2 result.

Chivas USA now kick off the final month of the regular season at home when they host defending Western Conference champ Real Salt Lake on Sunday, Oct. 5, beginning at 4 p.m. (PT). The match will mark the second leg of the season series and will be televised on KDOC-TV LA56. The action can also be heard on ESPN Deportes Radio KWKW 1330 AM. For more information follow the club on Twitter and Facebook.



Major League Soccer Stories from September 27, 2014


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