The Seattle Sounders had a great chance to earn their first win of the season at San Jose's Buck Shaw Stadium but twice blew the lead and ultimately could only manage a 2-2 tie. Four games into the 2011 season and the Sounders are 0-2-2, but they came much closer against the Earthquakes than they have against their previous opponents after first Brad Evans then O'Brian White gave them the lead over their hosts. Unfortunately, their goals were cancelled out by a sweet finish from Simon Dawkins then a long-range wonder strike by Khari Stephenson.
The match didn't start particularly well - basically the first thing the Sounders managed to do was blow an offside trap and let Chris Wondolowski through for a one on one against Kasey Keller. He managed the stop, fortunately, and Seattle managed to overcome their jitters to get on the lead shortly thereafter when Brad Evans finished from point-blank range after being fed by Mauro Rosales on a low cross.
San Jose replied with a slick goal from Simon Dawkins, who took a 25 yard diagonal pass from Bobby Convey in his stride before slotting brilliantly past Keller, but the hosts couldn't make it through to half time without conceding again, this time standing around slack-jawed while an entirely unmarked O'Brian White rose to power home a cross from left winger Steve Zakuani.
The Sounders lead didn't last long past the interval, although when the equalizer came there wasn't a whole lot anbody could have done about it. Out of nothing, Khari Stephenson provided San Jose with a goal, letting lose a magnificent strike from 35 yards that Keller had no right to come near saving. The veteran goalkeeper somehow managed to get a touch on the shot, but couldn't manage to keep it out, and the game was level at 2-2.
2-2 is how it would ultimately end, with the game slowly petering out after the fourth goal of the contest. The result doesn't do the Sounders a whole lot of good - they might have double their points total but they're still languishing in the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They need a win, and fast. Their next shot at getting one will be against the Chicago Fire at Qwest Field.