SEATTLE -- Gyasi Zardes is hitting his stride.
Zardes scored for a second consecutive time on Saturday in the Galaxy's 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC. During the match, Zardes put forth another strong showing as a lone striker, repeatedly finding room to operate behind the Seattle back line.
The striker's efforts paid off in the 25th minute when he slipped his defender and nodded in Romain Alessandrini's pass for the lone goal. After the draw, the ever-humble Zardes credited his team’s wide play as the reason he has found space as of late.
“I’m working hard at training with my coaches, but also our wing guys are doing an amazing job, Roman [Alessandrini] on the right and Ema [Boateng] on the left,” Zardes said. “They’re getting to the end-line, they’re getting crosses in, and that’s allowing me to get opportunities. I can easily free myself from two defenders, but they’re finding me.”
Boateng lauded Zardes and admitted that even more is to come from the talented forward and the rest of the squad as the Galaxy looks to end their season on a high note.
“Like I said last week, Gyasi does a lot of things, and it shows. It’s just him up top, he just pulls the center backs away and pulls up space to allow our wings to do our things,” Boateng said. “It opens up [space] for me to create chances. It’s good for us, and it helps the team, and hopefully, we can keep building on that.”
