Ryan Edwards thought he wasted a good scoring chance for the Seattle Sounders in the first half last night against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

He made up for it later.

The veteran defender made good on a second chance in the 64th minute as the Sounders rallied for a 1-1 tie in front of 2,696 fans at Qwest Field.

The Sounders (7-1-3 overall) managed one point, hiking their United Soccer Leagues First Division record to 5-1-3 with 18 points, despite having a bench depleted by injury and suspension.

"We didn't have a lot of guys on the bench to rely on," said Edwards, whose Sounders suited five subs instead of the customary seven. "It was kind of whoever was on the field had to make a difference. Plus, we were excited with Leighton [O'Brien] coming back here. We wanted to play well."

O'Brien joined Seattle for two matches on loan from Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. He will play in the teams' rematch in Vancouver at 7 p.m. tonight.

Edwards' first scoring chance came and went in the 35th minute. Later on, his perseverance paid off. The eighth-year pro had one shot in the 64th minute blocked by a Vancouver defender. But he followed it with a lunging, 8-yard rebound shot into the upper right corner of the net off a feed from Roger Levesque.

It was Edwards' second goal of the season and his ninth as a Sounder.

"In the first half, I felt bad because I should've put one away," said Edwards. "I felt like I should've done better."

The tie ran the Sounders' unbeaten streak to 10 overall and eight in USL First Division play.

Steve Kindel's goal in the 19th minute gave Vancouver (6-3-3, 21 points) a 1-0 lead and put Seattle behind for the first time since trailing 2-0 early in the second half of a 2-1 loss to Portland in the April 30 season opener.

The goal also was just the second goal allowed by Sounders goalkeeper Preston Burpo in seven USL matches and nine overall this season. He finished with seven saves.

"The game was like two different halves," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. "In the first half, they were in control. In the second half, we did to them what they did to us.

"We had enough chances to finish them off. We just weren't able to execute the chances we created in the second half."

SOUNDERS 1, WHITECAPS 1

Vancouver Whitecaps	1 0 — 1
Seattle Sounders	0 1 — 1

Goals — Sea: 1, Ryan Edwards (Roger Levesque) 64:00. Van: 1, Steve Kindel (unassisted) 19:00. Shots — Van 12, Sea 15. Saves — Van (Mike Franks) 6, Sea (Preston Burpo) 7. Fouls — Van 14, Sea 17. Offsides — Van 3, Sea 1. Corner kicks — Van 4, Sea 4. Cautions — Van (None), Sea (Edwards 68:00). Ejections — Van (None), Sea (None). A — 2,696. Records — Van 6-3-3, 21 points; Sea 5-1-3, 18 points.