Sounders, Real Salt Lake go scoreless in first leg

SEATTLE, Wash. - Sounders FC and Real Salt Lake battled to a scoreless draw Friday night in the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field. Goalkeepers Michael Gspurning and Nick Rimando made a combined nine saves in the match.

If you want to bet on the next match, check out detailed sports betting reviews.

Gspurning made four saves and recorded a shutout in his first career MLS playoff match. In the 23^rd minute, he came off his line to smother a Ned Grabavoy breakaway, making a slide tackle at the edge of the box to clear the danger.

In the 38^th minute, Marc Burch blocked a wide-open Kyle Beckerman shot from the top of the box, then Gspurning slapped away Will Johnson's rebound attempt at the near post.

The Austrian goalkeeper made two crucial second-half saves on Alvaro Saborio headers, first diving to smother a shot in the 47^th minute, then diving hard to his right to cover up a strong header from the Costa Rican in the 85^th minute.

RSL's keeper made five saves en route to his 10th career playoff shutout, including four in the opening 45 minutes.

In the 33^rd minute, he made back-to-back diving stops on Seattle headers on consecutive corner kicks. First he parried a powerful Ochoa header over the crossbar, then similarly knocked away a Jhon Kennedy Hurtado header at the near post.

In the 51^st, he made another diving save on a powerful header from Christian Tiffert in traffic.In second half stoppage time, Rimando dove to stop a Mauro Rosales cross intended for an open Fredy Montero.

Seattle saw its best chance to score in the 50^th minute when Montero played to Brad Evans up the left side, who sent a cross to an open Ochoa in the box, but the striker's shot sailed high.

The second leg of the semifinal series will be played on Thursday, November 8 at Real Salt Lake. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. PT at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. If the aggregate score is tied after 180 minutes of play, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played in their entirety, followed by penalty kicks, if necessary. 

American Red Cross volunteers raised $11,203 at tonight's match for those impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The Paul G. Allen Foundation matched $10,000 for a total of $21,203.

Scoring Summary:

None

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning, Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch, Mauro Rosales (Steve Zakuani 90+4), Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert (Mario Martinez 82), Brad Evans, Fredy Montero, Sammy Ochoa (David Estrada 57).

Substitutes Not Used: Marcus Hahnemann, Servando Carrasco, Alex Caskey, Zach Scott.

TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 4.

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando, Tony Beltran, Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Jamison Olave 76), Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Ned Grabavoy, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales (Yordany Alvarez 87), Will Johnson, Alvaro Saborio, Fabian Espindola (Paulo Jr.).

Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Reynish, Luis Gil, Kenny Mansally, Jonny Steele.

TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 4.

Misconduct Summary:

SEA - Jeff Parke (caution) 45+1'

RSL - Kyle Beckerman (caution) 53'

SEA - Brad Evans (caution) 54'

RSL - Javier Morales (caution) 56'