SEATTLE – Chad Barrett wasn’t even supposed to play on Sunday.
When the Seattle Sounders veteran forward arrived at CenturyLink Field for his team’s home clash with the LA Galaxy, he was all set to watch the game from the press box having just finished off a can of Coca-Cola and getting ready to eat a plate of food from the buffet.
It was only after a late injury scratch to Nelson Valdez, who tweaked his left calf during pregame warm-ups, that Barrett got the call that he was in Seattle’s lineup as a reserve.
“I was up [in the press box] sitting next to Tyler Miller and Andy Craven,” Barrett told reporters after the game. “And I looked down and I was like, ‘Valdez is out, he’s not going to make it.’ Then I get a call from [Sounders assistant coach] Kurt Schmid telling me I needed to come down. That’s why you’ve got to show up to the stadium.”
That twist of fate would turn out to be game-defining, as Barrett buried a stoppage time equalizer in the 93rd minute after entering as a second-half substitute to allow Seattle to nab a dramatic 1-1 draw.
“When you get your moments, you’ve got to step up and I love the spotlight,” Barrett said. “I’m 30 now. It might not last too much longer. I’m going to soak it up.”
It was the same result as Seattle’s draw against Sporting Kansas City last weekend, but one that Sounders captain Brad Evans admitted felt much different.
“Ties come in different shapes and sizes and forms,” Evans said. “Last week against Kansas City was much different from this week’s feel in the locker room and how we carry on from here. …At the end of the day, we salvaged a point and I think the guys coming in the locker room were obviously happy about that. We showed a lot of fight, a lot of character.”
Seattle and head coach Sigi Schmid now have two games left to lock down a postseason berth in the ever-crowded Western Conference, starting with a road matchup with the Houston Dynamo on Oct. 18.
Sunday’s draw didn’t carry as much luster as a victory over their Western Conference rivals would have. Schmid said he was pleased with his team’s showing in the second half and that he feels as though Seattle can be a tough postseason matchup regardless of the opponent, provided they get there.
“There’s nobody in this league that we can’t play with and we can’t beat,” Schmid said. “That’s the main thing. …At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how we get into the playoffs, it’s just that we go into the playoffs and let things go from there.”
