Zakuani starts, assists as Sounders grab point in Dallas heat

FRISCO, Texas - Mauro Rosales and Jackson each scored goals as Sounders FC (12-6-8, 44 points) and FC Dallas (8-12-9, 33 points) played to a 1-1 draw Sunday at FC Dallas Stadium. Steve Zakuani recorded an assist in his first start since suffering a broken leg on April 22, 2011.

In the 20th minute, Zakuani burst past a defender on the left side and sent a low cross that found Rosales at the far post for a tap-in. It was the second goal of the season for Rosales, who leads the league with 13 assists.

Just 12 minutes later, Dallas equalized when Jackson knocked in a cross from Blas Perez.

Sounders FC has just one loss (4-1-1) in their past six league matches, and is 8-2-2 in their last 12 across all competitions.

It was the first start in 500 days for Zakuani and his first point since April 16, 2011. The 24-year-old has made two appearances as a substitute in 2012. He nearly put Seattle up 2-1 in the 64th minute when he got behind the defense on a ball from Montero, but his shot was saved by Dallas keeper Kevin Hartman.

Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning matched his season-high from last week with five saves and improved his record to 9-2-2. He made back-to-back stops around the 69-minute mark, first diving to tip away a point-blank shot from Jackson and then catching a strong header from Blas Perez in the box.

Defender Pat Ianni came up big on multiple occasions in the back for Sounders FC. In the eighth minute, he cleared an Andrew Jacobson glancing header off the line after a free kick from the corner. In first half stoppage, he broke up two consecutive Dallas chances in the box, and in the 90th minute he cleared a hard cross from mid-air in front of the goal mouth.

Sounders FC returns to action next Saturday when they host the third and final meeting with Chivas USA. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.

Scoring Summary:

SEA – Mauro Rosales (Steve Zakuani) 20′

DAL – Jackson (Blas Perez) 32′

Seattle Sounders FC – Michael Gspurning, Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Pat Ianni, Leo Gonzalez, Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco 78), Christian Tiffert, Brad Evans (Marc Burch 88), Mauro Rosales, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani (Alex Caskey 66).

Substitutes Not Used: Josh Ford, Zach Scott, Mario Martinez, Sammy Ochoa.

TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 20; OFFSIDE: 4; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 5.

FC Dallas – Kevin Hartman, George John, Zach Loyd, Matt Hedges (Herman Pertuz 58), Jair Benitez, Brek Shea (Carlos Rodriguez 86), Jackson, Andrew Jacobson (Daniel Hernandez 63), Julian de Guzman, David Ferreira, Blas Perez.

Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, Bryan Leyva, James Marcelin, Scott Sealy.

TOTAL SHOTS: 24; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 17; OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 3.

Misconduct Summary:

SEA – Fredy Montero (caution) 30′

DAL – George John (caution) 42′

DAL – Jackson (caution) 56′

SEA – Leo Gonzalez (caution) 72′

SEA – Servando Carrasco (caution) 86′

Referee: Sorin Stoica

Referee’s Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry, Jonathan Johnson

4th Official: Hilario Grajeda

Attendance: 12,811

Time of Game: 1:51

Weather: Sunny and 99 degrees

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