CF Montréal earns 1-1 draw with Sounders in Seattle

CF Montréal earned a 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field on Saturday night, with Hennadii Synchuk scoring for the visitors before Sebastian Gomez equalized in the second half, according to ESPN’s match data.

The match drew more than 200 searches in Canada on Saturday, according to Google Trends.

Synchuk put Montréal ahead in the 13th minute with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner after a fast break, with an assist from Noah Streit, ESPN’s play-by-play showed. Gomez tied it in the 66th minute with a right-footed shot from the middle of the area.

The point was a modest step for Montréal, which entered the night 6-17-6 with 24 points, last in the Eastern Conference, after a 3-0 home loss to Atlanta United on Wednesday, according to an Associated Press preview. Montréal had lost two straight and seven of its past eight matches.

That loss to Atlanta drew a heated response from Montréal’s supporters. Fans in the Collectif IMFC section held up a sign reading “Honte à vous,” or “Shame on you,” and head coach Philippe Eullafroy said afterward that “there’s a feeling, even internally, that some have given up,” The Canadian Press reported. CP said Montréal is on pace to finish with the worst season in club history. The Atlanta loss came days after Montréal let a lead slip in a defeat to rival Toronto FC, according to CP.

Seattle came in at 11-10-8 with 41 points after a 1-0 loss at FC Dallas on Wednesday ended a nine-match unbeaten run, the AP said. Forward Dejan Joveljic had four goals in six matches since joining from Sporting Kansas City.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Toronto FC beat the New York Red Bulls 2-0 and the Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-1 at Austin. Montréal’s season has had high points too, including a Canadian Championship semifinal win over the Whitecaps in September.

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Sources: ESPN match data; The Associated Press; The Canadian Press; Google Trends Canada.