Sounders see lead slip away again

The Seattle Sounders can't seem to hold on to leads, especially games they should win at home.

Despite leading five of the last six matches, the Sounders failed to secure a win for the fourth time.

Greg Howes scored his first goal during his second tour of duty with the Sounders, but the Rochester Raging Rhinos rallied for a 1-1 tie in a United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division match on Friday night in front of 2,209 fans at Qwest Field.

Despite the tie, Seattle players remained positive.

"We just let teams get back into it," Sounders midfielder Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar said. "We're frustrated, but we're going to do well this season. We're a good team."

Howes, who played the previous two seasons with Rochester, banged home a header at the 8-yard line off a precision cross from Alcaraz-Cuellar in the 58th minute. Howes, who got his first start of the season, hammered the header hard into the right-middle portion of the net through a crowd of Rochester defenders for a 1-0 lead.

Howes, 2000 Rookie of the Year with Seattle, moved from forward to midfielder in the second half. The Tacoma native and eighth-year pro re-signed with the Sounders in the offseason.

The tie left Seattle (1-3-3, 6 points) searching for its customary home success of the last three seasons. Rochester (2-2-3, 9 points) remained in third place behind USL First Division co-leaders Vancouver (3-0-2) and Atlanta (3-1-2), who each have 11 points.

It took the Raging Rhinos about two minutes after the Sounders scored to net the tying goal. Johnny Menyongar curved a 12-yard shot into the left corner of the net on a pass from the right side by Kevin Novak in the 60th minute.

"This is the third game in a row that we've had a lead and we've only gotten two out of a possible nine points, so it's frustrating," Howes said. "To score and give up a goal right away, it's tough to maintain momentum that way.

"The time is now. We're starting to let too many points slip away."

The two teams played to a scoreless first half that saw more hot tempers than scoring opportunities. Sounders goalkeeper Chris Eylander had five saves in the first half.

Sounders midfielder Josh Gardner missed a 30-yard strike on a breakaway down the left side in the 41st minute. Howes was free about 12 yards away late in the first half, but couldn't get a shot off.

The two teams combined for three first-half yellow cards, including ones from Sounders defenders Jake Besagno and Zach Scott.

Note

• The Sounders leave at 5 a.m. today for Sunday's 1 p.m. (PDT) match at Montreal.

SOUNDERS 1, ROCHESTER 1

Eylander) 5. Fouls -- Roc 22, Sea 14. Offsides -- Roc 2, Sea 2. Corner kicks -- Roc 6, Sea 5. Cautions -- Roc (John Ball 45:00, Jason Perry 77:00, Stephen Shirley-Black 79:00), Sea (Jake Besagno 26:00, Zach Scott 38:00). Ejections -- Roc (None), Sea (None). A -- 2,209.