Facing an opponent on eight days’ less rest, who was missing several key players and stuck in a funk just about as bad as their own, the Seattle Sounders’ trip to Southern California seemed to present an opportunity to get things headed in the right direction.
Instead, it started off as badly as it possibly could. Mateusz Bogusz was allowed to coast through the midfield almost completely unimpeded and take a shot from about 22 yards out that took a deflection and beat Stefan Frei.
That the Sounders recovered enough to mostly have the better play for the next 60 minutes or so is a point in their favor.