Cristian Roldan, Sounders hand Galaxy a costly defeat
The El Rancho High product scores in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time as Seattle clinches a playoff spot with a 2-1 win that leaves the Galaxy six points out of a playoff spot with three matches left
Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, a former Pico Rivera El Rancho High standout, celebrates after scoring a stoppage-time goal to give his team a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Galaxy defender Maya Yoshida walks off the field after the team’s 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond (1) can’t stop a goal by Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris (13) during the first half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Galaxy defender Julián Aude, left, looks toward the goal as Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris, third from left, celebrates his goal with midfielder Albert Rusnák, second from left, and midfielder Cristian Roldan (7) during the first half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris gestures to a television camera as he celebrates after scoring a goal during the first half of their MLS match against the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris, left, gestures to fans after scoring a goal during the first half of their MLS match against the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Galaxy defender Julián Aude, left, tries to work around Seattle Sounders midfielder Alex Roldan for possession of the ball during the first half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei makes a leaping save in front of Galaxy forward Billy Sharp (27) during the first half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Six points out of a playoff spot with three matches left, Galaxy coach Greg Vanney knows his team has no margin for error the rest of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Galaxy defender Tony Alfaro (93) and midfielder Oriol Rosell, center, defend against a shot from Seattle Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák, right, during the first half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders midfielder Alex Roldan, left, and Galaxy forward Diego Fagúndez vie for the ball during the first half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, center, tries to regain control of the ball as he falls between Galaxy midfielder Edwin Cerrillo, left, and defender Tony Alfaro during the second half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Galaxy forward Douglas Costa, left, scores as Seattle Sounders midfielder João Paulo (6) and goalkeeper Stefan Frei fail to deny him during the second half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Galaxy midfielder Tyler Boyd, left, falls as he pulls on the jersey of Seattle Sounders defender Nouhou Tolo during the second half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders midfielder Alex Roldan (16) steals possession of the ball from Galaxy forward Diego Fagúndez, right, during the first half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris, center, looks at the ball in front of Galaxy defender Maya Yoshida, right, during the second half of their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, a former Pico Rivera El Rancho High standout, celebrates after scoring a stoppage-time goal to give his team a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, right, celebrates his stoppage-time goal with Josh Atencio, left, and Nouhou Tolo in their MLS match on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, a former Pico Rivera El Rancho High standout, celebrates after scoring a stoppage-time goal to give his team a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
The Seattle Sounders, including midfielder Alex Roldan, top left, and midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro (10), celebrate after Cristian Roldan scored a stoppage-time goal to give them a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting, left, and midfielder Josh Atencio, right, react as time expires in their 2-1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Seattle. The Sounders clinched a spot in the playoffs. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
SEATTLE — The Galaxy’s playoff hopes suffered a serious blow on Wednesday night, courtesy of a player who grew up not that far from the club’s home base.
Former Pico Rivera El Rancho High standout Cristian Roldan scored in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time as the Seattle Sounders clinched their own playoff spot and snapped a four-match winless streak at home with a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday night.
The loss leaves the Galaxy (8-12-11, 35 points) six points out of a Western Conference playoff spot with three matches left in the regular season. It also extended the club’s futility when it comes to solving the Sounders.
Seattle (13-9-10, 49 points) ran its unbeaten streak against the Galaxy to 11 matches (7-0-4). It is the longest unbeaten run by an opponent in the Galaxy’s storied history, and the Galaxy’s only win in the last 17 matches between the teams was a home match in 2018. The club’s last win in Seattle was a 1-0 decision in 2016.
“To lose the point at the end is heartbreaking for the group,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “And just, again, for the effort that the guys put in, what they’ve continued to battle against all year, but even tonight, just looking at the microcosm of tonight. They’ve battled the situation where they had to get a point.
“The mission tonight was to be in it. Take one (point) if we had to and three if we could. We felt like the three if we were even, that we would see if we could play for the three, with the mindset of not giving away the one, obviously. And so, the gut punch in the end, is that it’s the last play of the game. When they get the long throw and they’ve got some big guys in there, we’ve got to do a better job of fronting the big guys and try to make it really difficult for them to try and get the flick.
“And then, [Cristian] Roldan just runs off the back of us as we’re kind of ball watching what’s happening at the front, and Roldan sneaks in behind us as we lose our mark. And, you know, as would have it, with everything, the ball finds the guy that’s in front of the goal to finish it. So, after a ton of work, effort, not an easy place to play. I was really proud of the group. Their fight. Their spirit. And working through it in a difficult place.”
The Sounders, in second place in the Western Conference, jumped out to an early lead when Jordan Morris took a pass from João Paulo in the ninth minute and scored his 11th goal of the season.
Douglas Costa scored the equalizer for the Galaxy in the 54th minute when he used an assist from Julián Aude to score his second goal of the season.
Roldan’s winner and third goal of the season came with assists from Joshua Atencio and his younger brother Alex Roldan.
“Everybody knows how difficult it is to get a result in Seattle,” Galaxy defender Kelvin Leerdam said. “I’ve been on the other side for a long time. We put in the work, and sometimes it’s not about playing good football. Sometimes it’s about energy and fight. I think we’ve done all of that today. And then it hurts in the end if you see it go away like that. It’s just one play. One final play and we didn’t make it.”
Stefan Frei finished without a save for the Sounders. Jonathan Bond saved two shots for the Galaxy, both in the first half.
The Galaxy was coming off back-to-back 3-3 draws following a 4-3 victory – the first time in MLS history that a team played in three straight matches where both teams scored at least three goals.
The Galaxy faces one of the teams it is chasing in the standings when it travels to square off with Minnesota United (9-12-11, 38 points) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT. After that, the Galaxy will close the regular season with home matches against Real Salt Lake (Oct. 14) and FC Dallas (Oct. 21), which currently sits in ninth place and holds the final Western Conference playoff spot.
“For me, it doesn’t matter who is in front of us,” Leerdam said. “We know what we have to do. We have to win all our games. So, I’m not looking at which team we’re playing, where we’re playing. I’m only thinking about winning. I think everybody in the locker room thinks that way. Today we wanted to win also. That’s why it hurts so much. I think that’s what we all care about. Forget about the names. Forget about who we play. It’s all about us now. I think we have to give it all until the final second of the season. And we know what we have to do. Nine points. That’s all that counts. Nine points.”
