Barrett scores in stoppage time, Sounders draw Galaxy 1-1

The Galaxy remain one point ahead of FC Dallas for the conference lead.

Finally, the equalizer came: a corner kick from Pappa, touched on by Evans to Barrett. Early on Obafemi Martins located Clint Dempsey behind the Galaxy back four, but his shot was tame and Donovan Ricketts was able to make the stop.

The whole Sounders (14-13-5) lineup was long in the tooth, even after 28-year-old Lamar Neagle replaced Nelson Valdez, 31 and suffering from a nagging calf strain, in the starting lineup. Keane beat Pineda to the ball, swooped in alone on stranded goalkeeper Stefan Frei and finished inside the right post.

Oscar Pareja’s side may have had the most dominant showing of the weekend, but the Hoops were unable to leapfrog the LA Galaxy in the Supporters’ Shield race as Bruce Arena’s team drew 1-1 in Seattle to secure their spot in the postseason.

“It’s done. A guy that’s done so much for the club, that bleeds rave green, you don’t say (expletive)”, said the captain.

The Rapids (8-12-10) struck first. “So, it’s a good thing we did”.

The Galaxy finish up at home to Portland and at Sporting Kansas City, which sits fourth at 48 points, one up on Seattle. Almost the entire rest of the match from Seattle’s perspective was a frantic dash for goals. Determined to remedy that when he entered in the 85th minute as Seattle’s final sub, Barrett was inserted for Andreas Ivanschitz on the left – far from his more comfortable position up top – and almost connected on a cross just after coming on.

A few hours later, in the 93rd minute of a game that had turned on a teammate’s mistake, Barrett straddled the fencing that separates the field from the stands, celebrating his stoppage-time goal while a delirious fan enthusiastically patted his rear end. “It’s, ‘Let’s go.’ Pick the ball out of the net and we’ll carry on”.

“It’s been a amusing day”, Barrett said.

“At this point in the season, a point is a point, and we have to take it in stride”, said Evans.

Perhaps most importantly, the Sounders have proven that they can dig deep and score with their backs against the wall, an important trait come playoff time when defenses bristle and the away-goals rule reigns supreme. It was a good team effort and a good defensive outing for us tonight.