Sounders 2 came to Merlo Field and left with all three points again. Only their second road victory of the season and just like the first it comes against T2 in a 2-0 victory where they score a goal in each half.
For almost the entirety of the first half, any shot taken went wide by either team. Both teams were up for the fight and battled each other for every ball. But any decent chance couldn't find its way on frame. Most of the attacks from S2 that went up the middle were put out well by the T2 defense. On the wings they struggled and S2 had a few chances but nothing too threatening. Not until the 45th minute that is, where the visitors got a tap in to take the lead into the break.
Darwin Jones sped up the right flank and ran right to the endline where he sent in a low cross from the right that got past Gleeson and found Sam Garza. Garza tapped the ball into an empty net from one yard out and S2 were able to go into the break with a 1-0 lead again.
T2 came under pressure from S2 right out of the gate, but eventually got back into the swing of things a few minutes into the half. It was more of the same with both teams battling for possession and trying to create good scoring chances. It was very hard to say one team had the upper hand over the other for most of the match. Unfortunately, it was that one move against the run of play that cost T2 a chance at some sort of result.
One minute after subbing on, Duncan McCormick assisted substitute Pablo Rossi on the second goal of the evening. In the 86th minute Rossi got into the box and converted with a blast of a shot into the top left corner from near the penalty spot. After S2 went up 2-0 again they comfortably saw out the result as T2 tried to get something from the game but were unable to find the net.
Tonight's result puts T2 with a home record of 3-3-0 and gives S2 only their second road victory of the season. The three points they took puts S2 tied for 1st in the western conference while T2 continue to drop away from the red line. Good news was the solid performance from Blake Bodily who put in a good 75 minute shift in his debut tonight. It is nice to see academy players getting minutes with T2. Hopefully this continues as the season progresses and into the future.
After tonight's loss, T2 will get to stay at home again. They next face Arizona United this Thursday, July 2nd at 7:00pm here at Merlo Field.