Minnesota United remained undefeated at new Allianz Field after Saturday night's 1-1 draw with Seattle, sparking a discussion whether the team deserves more or less than six of a possible 12 points it earned at home.
The Loons are now is 1-0-3 there against four of MLS' better teams — New York City FC, L.A. Galaxy, D.C. United and a Seattle team that has reached two of the past three MLS Cups.
The Loons went into the good night Saturday with another draw after it arguably won the first half's run of play and yet felt lucky to get out of a scoreless second half all even.
United veteran defender Ike Opara's set-piece header in the 26th minute and Sounders young star Cristian Roldan's 24-yard blast just before halftime were the game's only goals, in part because Seattle hit the post with headers twice in succession late in the game.
"It shows how far we've come that we've been really disappointed not taking more points than we've got," United coach Adrian Heath said. "I think that's a positive for us moving forward. They're bringing 10-million pound guys [Raul Ruidiaz] off the bench. We showed a lot of fight, a lot of determination. We don't take anything out of that game last year, trust me."
In fact, the Loons didn't last year, when they gave up two second-half stoppage time goals to Seattle to lose at TCF Bank Stadium in August.
This time, they played to a draw against a Seattle team for which new United captain Ozzie Alonso played these past 10 years.
Opara's header got him a second bang to the head in the past three weeks, but it also was United's first set-piece goal this season when he leapt and scored off Jan Gregus' 30-yard free kick.