SEATTLE – It may have been Clint Dempsey or it may have been Chad Barrett – all that really matters is that the Seattle Sounders scored a stoppage-time winner to steal a 2-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday afternoon at CenturyLink Field.
In the end, it was Barrett who was credited with the goal, a sneaky finish set up by Dempsey’s cutback of a Tyrone Mears cross that looked like it was primed for the back of the net before the second-half sub swooped in and finished the job.
Barrett’s goal completed the Sounders’ comeback from New York midfielder Lloyd Sam’s 36th minute opener, with Marco Pappa equalizing in the 69th minute before the late heroics gave Seattle all three points.
The Sounders had a great early look in the 12th minute after Pappa’s free kick found the head of rookie midfielder Cristian Roldan in the New York penalty box. But Roldan was denied his first career MLS goal by Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles, who made a fantastic diving save to deflect the shot away and keep the game scoreless.
New York snatched the first-half lead in the 36th minute after Sounders center back Brad Evans was whistled for a handball just outside his own penalty box, giving the Red Bulls a look at a free kick from prime position.
Bradley Wright-Phillips’ free kick then deflected off the Seattle wall and toward goal, allowing Sam to sneak in and head the ball past Seattle ‘keeper Stefan Frei to give the visitors the early 1-0 cushion.
The Red Bulls had a penalty shout in the 54th, when Wright-Phillips was tackled from behind in the box by Seattle defender Brad Evans.
New York very nearly made it 2-0 in the 61st after midfielder Mike Grella teed up a look from distance on a Red Bulls counter. But Frei came up with a big save of his own, laying out to his right and tipping the shot away to safety, keeping the Sounders within a single goal.
The save would prove to be a big one, as the Sounders would equalize just minutes later. Pappa collected an Obafemi Martins ball in the left side of the box, juking New York defender Chris Duvall before rifling a laser shot into the top right corner.
The game seemed destined to end in a draw as the contest hit stoppage time. But the Sounders would find their winner in the 91st, with Mears lifting a cross in from the right wing that Dempsey latched onto at the back post. The Designated Player hit the ball back across the face of goal, with Barrett tapping it home into an empty net from close range.
The goal was originally credited to Dempsey but changed to Barrett after review, giving the veteran forward his third goal of the season.
With the victory the Sounders vaulted back into first place in the Supporters’ Shield race with 26 points. The Red Bulls fell to 4-3-5 and now sit in third-place in the Eastern Conference with 17 points.
