It's not much of a coincidence that Jamison Olave coming off means better chances for the Seattle Sounders. Instantly, Sammy Ochoa finds himself with more space in the centre - the fact he wastes the opportunity is neither here nor there - it's a chance he'd never have gotten had Olave still been in the match. The injury (described as a right quad strain) could well be a game changer, and it's not even clear that he'll be back for the second leg in Seattle.
Real Salt Lake continue to press the attack, but there's a certain added sharpness to the visitors' ripostes, and they get their first genuine scoring chance shortly thereafter when Fredy Montero breaks through the centre and feeds Lamar League wide right. The cross lands on Alvaro Fernandez's head, but the Uruguay international doesn't connect properly and the ball loops harmlessly over Nick Rimando's goal.
There's action at the other end of the pitch too, where Fabian Espindola's low long-range effort is well retrieved by Kasey Keller, but there's been a bit of a momentum shift since that early substitution. RSL need to do something to retrieve the momentum.
For more on this game and playoff series, check out Seattle Sounders blog Sounder At Heart and Real Salt Lake blog RSL Soapbox. We'll have live coverage of this match in our RSL vs. Seattle Sounders StoryStream. For more on the entire world of soccer and the rest of the MLS Playoffs, check out SB Nation Soccer.
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