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Seattle • Less than a month into his Major League Soccer career, Sounders midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro has created enough highlights that opposing defenses know they cannot afford to give him any space.
"We did a lot of video and stuff," Real Salt Lake center back Justen Glad said of his team's preparations for the Uruguayan star. "Obviously he's a quality player and we knew we had to be careful [with] what he could do whenever he was on the ball."
Now RSL has seen Lodeiro up close.
And after his performance Sunday on the CenturyLink Field turf, they won't be forgetting him anytime soon.
Lodeiro, the former Boca Juniors standout, scored his first goal in his new league and tallied an assist to help the Sounders beat RSL 2-1 in front of nearly 40,000 fans in downtown Seattle.
"He's top class and today he was a difference maker," Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar said.
Lodeiro opened his MLS account with a fantastic one-timer in the 27th minute, putting Real on its heels for the rest of the contest.
Seattle forward Andreas Ivanschitz set up the score, finding Lodeiro unmarked in the box, and the Uruguayan playmaker took care of the rest with a single touch, sweeping his left foot through the ball and bulging the back of the net.
"I thought our numbers were right around the ball," Cassar said. "At the end of the day, it was a really special finish from a special player."
A few moments later, Lodeiro was slapping the turf after smashing a shot wide and missing a chance to double the lead. But the midfielder's frustrations wouldn't last long. In the 37th minute, Lodeiro found striker Jordan Morris with a cross into the box and the young U.S. international headed home the Sounders' second goal.
With a host of games against the West's top teams next on the schedule, a win or a tie Sunday against ninth-place Seattle would have done wonders for RSL (10-8-7) and its playoff hopes. Instead, Real looked out of sorts early against the Sounders' attack and was never able to fully recover.
"In these away games, especially when you have the whole league rooting for Seattle, it's tough," said striker Yura Movsisyan. "You have to score early. You have to not get scored on early. That's the key. But I thought we had a good reaction in the second half."
Movsisyan was key to that reaction. Coming on as substitute to for the final 45 minutes, his first action since suffering a hip flexor strain late last month, the striker created RSL's lone goal with a bit of guile and individual effort in 62nd minute. Movsisyan baited Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei into setting the ball on the ground after a defensive stop. Movsisyan quickly stole the ball, dribbled around and through a host of Seattle defenders, and found Joao Plata alone in the box for a goal.
"I was kind of trying to stay behind him. Make him feel like I'm too lazy to run back," Movsisyan said. "That's one of those things you pull it off one in a million or one in 10,000. … I got lucky."
Frankly, RSL was lucky to have a chance at a draw Sunday.
Missing usual starting center back Aaron Maund because of a foot injury, Salt Lake's defense looked shaky early against a Seattle attack spearheaded by Morris, Lodeiro and U.S. star Clint Dempsey.
After Movsisyan's goal cut the deficit to 2-1, another defensive lapse — a foul from Glad inside the box — put Dempsey on the penalty spot with a chance to seal the victory in the 82nd minute. Instead, Dempsey rocketed a shot off the crossbar, keeping RSL within striking distance.
But, in the end, they couldn't take advantage.
"It was an opportunity to push ourselves further away" from the teams below them in the playoff hunt, Cassar said. "… We just didn't capitalize on the opportunity."
Twitter: @aaronfalk —
Storylines
R Seattle's newest Designated Player, Nicolas Lodeiro, recorded a goal and an assist in the Sounders' 2-1 victory.
• RSL forward Joao Plata's second-half goal was his seventh of the season, moving him into a tie with Yura Movsisyan for the team lead.
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