Earthquakes, Sounders finish in 1-1 draw

SEATTLE – Chris Wondolowski tapped in a point-blank shot in the 65th minute on Wednesday night and the San Jose Earthquakes came back from the worst loss in franchise history to pull out a 1-1 draw against the Seattle Sounders.

The Earthquakes (6-9-7) were routed 5-0 at home last Saturday by FC Dallas.

Even with the draw, the Sounders (13-7-3) climbed back into a tie for both the Western Conference and overall top spot in MLS.

Seattle, West co-leader Real Salt Lake and East leader Sporting Kansas City all have 42 points.

Halftime substitution Cordell Cato started San Jose’s scoring play when he took the ball down the left wing nearly to the goal line. He sent it across the goalmouth to the far post, and Wondolowski redirected it into a wide-open net for his ninth goal of the season.

Chad Barrett gave Seattle the lead just 36 seconds into the second half. He caught up with a long through ball from Obafemi Martins, got behind three defenders, and drilled a shot from the top left side of the penalty area for his sixth of the year.

The Sounders, playing their fourth game in 11 days, kept forward Clint Dempsey on the bench to start. He replaced Barrett in the 71st minute and took two shots.