Danny Musovski Rescues Sounders in 1-1 Draw With San Diego FC at Lumen Field

Danny Musovski started Saturday night on the bench, watching Seattle throw shot after shot at a San Diego FC wall. He finished it as the reason the Sounders' home unbeaten streak is still alive.

The substitute forward had a point-blank effort saved, hit the post, was denied again and then, in the 80th minute, finally poked home the equalizer as the Seattle Sounders and San Diego FC drew 1-1 in front of 31,528 at Lumen Field. Marcus Ingvartsen had given San Diego an 18th-minute lead, and for most of the night it looked like the visitors might snap a winless run that had lasted since early March.

Against the Run of Play

Seattle came out flying. Jordan Morris had a shot blocked in the third minute, Albert Rusnák had another blocked in the fifth, and Morris sent a header high and wide off a corner in the sixth. In the 12th, Cristian Roldan missed narrowly from distance and Snyder Brunell skied one from the middle of the box. The Sounders' own recap said they dominated the opening 15 minutes.

Then San Diego struck. In the 18th minute, Onni Valakari slid a through ball to Ingvartsen, and the Danish forward finished with his right foot from the center of the box. The Sounders' website described the goal as completely against the run of play, which is about as polite as a home club can be about it.

San Diego nearly doubled the lead almost immediately. Andrew Thomas made a diving save on an Amahl Pellegrino header in the 22nd minute, then stopped Ingvartsen from the left side of the box in the 25th. Seattle thought it had leveled in the 31st minute when Morris got in behind and scored, but the club said the goal was ruled out for offside. Jackson Ragen and Paul Rothrock both missed off a corner in the 36th, and Morris headed over from very close range in the 42nd. San Diego went into the break up 1-0.

Brian Schmetzer Goes to the Bench

The second half got scrappy. Jesús Ferreira, Brunell and Roldan were all booked between the 51st and 57th minutes, all for bad fouls. San Diego had chances to put it away, with Ingvartsen having a shot blocked in the 54th and firing over in the 55th, and Anders Dreyer forcing Thomas into a save from distance in the 64th.

Brian Schmetzer made his move in the 63rd minute, sending on Musovski and Peter Kingston. Nouhou Tolo came off injured two minutes later. Then the pressure became relentless. Roldan's header was saved by Duran Ferree in the 69th. Musovski was denied from very close range in the 71st. In the 79th, Morris set up Musovski, whose shot hit the right post. Moments later, Musovski was through again and Ferree saved him in the bottom left corner, and Ferreira's follow-up header was blocked behind for a corner.

On that corner, the dam finally broke. Roldan redirected the delivery and Musovski finished from very close range into the bottom right corner for 1-1.

San Diego still had its say. Ingvartsen headed off the left post in the 82nd minute, and in the fifth minute of stoppage time Thomas made a reaction save on Dreyer before Ingvartsen sent the rebound over the bar. Neither side found a winner.

The Main Characters

Danny Musovski took five shots, put three on target and scored once in roughly half an hour, plus the post. Seattle said it was his third goal in all competitions and his first in MLS this season.

Andrew Thomas made four saves, including the stoppage-time stop on Dreyer that kept the point in Seattle. Duran Ferree made three for San Diego, two of them on Musovski.

Marcus Ingvartsen was the most dangerous player on the field for long stretches, with seven shots, two on target, a goal and a header off the post. San Diego said it was his eighth goal of the MLS season and his fourth in his last five MLS matches. "I feel like I could have scored another one. Hit on the post and a big chance at the end," Ingvartsen told the club.

Cristian Roldan had five shots and the assist in ESPN's data. Both clubs also credited Rusnák with a secondary assist on the equalizer.

The Corner That Changed Everything

The equalizer came from one of Seattle's eight corners, and San Diego head coach Mikey Varas was not happy about how that corner came about. "It's as clear as day, offside that leads to a corner that leads to a goal," Varas said, per the club. He doubled down later: "This one is not on the boys, in my opinion."

Varas still framed the result as progress. "So, for me, it's a point well earned," he said. Ingvartsen was more torn: "We could and should have scored at least one more, and then it's very frustrating leaving here with just a point."

Seattle's recap noted the goal was the club's fourth from corner kicks this season, which it said leads MLS.

Stats That Mattered

• Shots: Seattle 26, San Diego 15. Both teams put 5 on target.
• Blocked: eight Seattle attempts were blocked, compared with four for San Diego.
• Corners: Seattle 8, San Diego 2.
• Possession: San Diego 53.5 percent, Seattle 46.5 percent.
• Clearances: San Diego made 24 to Seattle's 10.

Where It Leaves Them

Seattle moves to 6-3-1 with 21 points and, per the club, sits fourth in the Western Conference with the fewest matches played in the league. The Sounders are unbeaten in eight straight league matches since their lone loss at Real Salt Lake on Feb. 28, and the club said its home unbeaten streak across all competitions reached 21 games, a club record. Next up are two more home dates this week, against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday and the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

San Diego moves to 3-4-5 with 13 points. The point extends a nine-match league winless run, four draws and five losses, dating to a 1-0 win at Sporting Kansas City on March 7. The club said it has gone 10 matches without a win across all competitions. San Diego hosts Austin FC on Wednesday, the first of three straight home matches ahead of this summer's World Cup, per the club.

The Closer

Musovski's night was a whole sports movie montage compressed into 17 minutes: the post, the save, the gritted teeth, and finally the tap-in. San Diego will leave grumbling about the flag that never went up. Seattle will leave with the streak intact and a reminder that sometimes the best answer to a wall is to keep running into it.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by San Diego FC (sandiegofc.com); match notes from the Seattle Sounders (soundersfc.com).