In his first start of the season, Greg Howes scored the go-ahead goal against his former club, but the Seattle Sounders couldn’t hold the lead, eventually playing to a 1-1 draw with the Rochester Raging Rhinos.

Seattle’s goal came in the 58th minute. Midfielder Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar started the play on the right side with a perfect cross into the Rochester penalty box. Howes, who just last year played for the Raging Rhinos, was waiting and buried a header past goalkeeper Chase Harrison.

The lead was short-lived, however, as just two minutes later Johnny Menyongar found the equalizer for the Raging Rhinos. The 5-foot-5 Rochester midfielder buried a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Chris Eylander in the 60th minute, as Seattle saw its lead disappear for the third straight game.

In the 69th minute, the Sounders nearly found its second go-ahead goal of the match. Alcaraz-Cuellar, who has led the USL First Division in assists in 2004 and 2005, crossed the ball in front of the net to Sebastien Le Toux, but the Frenchman’s shot from 10 yards out went wide.

Seattle had another great chance in the 78th minute, when Alcaraz-Cuellar lobbed the ball ahead to forward Andre Schmid. The 6-foot-4 forward was engaged with the Rochester defender and his shot went wide. Schmid appeared to be dragged down on the play, but the referee waved the play on.

Both teams continued to threaten their opponents’ goal until the final whistle blew but neither could find the back of the net.

In the first half, the Sounders boasted most of the possession in a fast-paced, but scoreless, 45 minutes. Despite controlling the ball, Seattle was unable to create many scoring chances from its 7-3 shot advantage. The Raging Rhinos, on the other hand, appeared to create more dangerous opportunities off a quick-strike counter-attack.

The game's first scoring chance came for the Raging Rhinos in the 10th minute. Rochester midfielder Danny Kramer has a breakaway on the Sounders goal, but goalkeeper Chris Eylander made a sliding tackle to stop the attack.

In the 16th minute, Seattle had its first chance to score. Midfielder Josh Gardner gathered the ball on the left side of the goal and fired a shot that went wide.

The Sounders will travel north of the border for an away match against the Montreal Impact on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Scoring summary—1, Seattle, Greg Howes (Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar) 58:00; 2, Rochester, Johnny Menyongar (Kevin Novak) 60:00.

Lineups—SEA: Eylander, Jackson, Scott, Besagno, Sakuda, Alcaraz-Cuellar, Le Toux, Levesque, Gardner (Treschuk 68), Howes (Tomlinson 84), Knox (Schmid 62). ROC: Harrison, Bertz, Novak, Perry (Craft 82), Palguta, Shirley-Black, Ball, Ambersley (Diallo 46), Kramer (Martinez 46), Delicate, Menyongar (Lines 73).

Shots—SEA: 9 ROC: 5
Saves—SEA: 5 ROC: 1
Fouls—SEA: 14 ROC: 22
Offsides—SEA: 2 ROC: 2
Corners—SEA: 5 ROC: 6

Cautions—SEA: Besagno 26, Scott 38. ROC: Ball 45, Perry 77, Bertz 79.

Ejections—None.

Attendance—2,209.