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Sounders surrender Supporters' Shield in loss to Union

Oct 9, 2011 - 4:06 AM Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Seattle Sounders FC suffered a 2-0 defeat to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, surrendering the Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Freddy Adu and Brian Carroll scored ten minutes apart in the second half to end Seattle's hopes of claiming the regular season title. The Sounders have 57 points on the year, seven points shy of the league-leading Galaxy with two matches remaining.

After a scoreless first half, the match came to life in the 52nd minute with a spectacular effort from Brad Evans. The Sounders midfielder chipped a lovely shot from the top of the box that looked destined for the top corner, but the ball skimmed the bottom of the crossbar and back into play before the Union were able to clear it to safety.

Philadelphia answered immediately with near-goal of their own. A ball played into the box was met by Veljko Paunovic, whose powerful header forced a brilliant one-handed save from Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

But the Union eventually broke the deadlock, as Adu struck in the 60th minute to record his second goal of the year. Gabriel Farfan took the ball to the end line and played a low pass in front of goal for Adu, who flicked a shot past Keller to give Philadelphia the advantage.

Carroll doubled the lead in the 70th minute. Sebastien Le Toux started a quick counterattack, advancing all the way to the Sounders box before unlocking the defense with a pass to Carroll. The Union midfielder collected possession and calmly slotted a low shot to the far post for his first goal of the season.

The win sees the Union top the Eastern Conference with 47 points, extending their unbeaten streak to seven games. Sporting Kansas City occupies the second spot in the East with 45 points.

Both teams return to regular season action with home matches on Oct. 15. Philadelphia (11-7-14) hosts Toronto FC at PPL Park while Seattle (16-7-9) will face the San Jose Earthquakes at CenturyLink Field.