Zach Scott headed in a corner kick from Alex Caskey midway through the 63rd minute for his first Major League Soccer goal, leading the Seattle Sounders past the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on Saturday.
Scott's goal ended a 305-minute drought for the Sounders (3-1-1). Michael Gspurning picked up his second straight shutout and third of the season.
Colorado (3-3-0) was blanked for the second straight game, both on the road.
''We practice it a lot, trying to find the right spot for swinging in good balls,'' Scott said. ''Caskey put it right in my path. I really didn't have to do much other than run in the right area and get the tiniest bit of deflection on it and put it away.'' Sounders goalkeeper Gspurning needed to make just one save for the shutout, even though the Rapids had 60 percent of the possession for the game.
''We were not as consistent as we were in the first half trying to go forward and be dangerous,'' Colorado coach Oscar Pareja said. ''In the first half, I saw a lot of intensity and courage and discipline, and we moved the ball very well. We need to be more dangerous and create more options to score.''
Saturday's game was the first for Rapids forward Brian Mullan against the Sounders since his two-footed sliding tackle last April 22 in Colorado left speedy Seattle midfielder Steve Zakuani with a broken right leg. Mullan served an MLS record-tying 10-game suspension, which ended before the return match in Seattle on July 16. But he did not make that trip because of back spasms, which also had kept him out of another game before that.
''I want him back on the field more than anybody,'' Mullan said. ''For that to happen to him on my watch is something I'll never live down. I don't know if you've watched me play since then, but it has completely changed my game.''
Zakuani still has not returned to action for the Sounders. A club spokesman said Saturday no specific timetable is in place for Zakuani, but early summer is the best-case scenario. Zakuani did play 45 minutes of a Seattle reserves game on April 1.
Mullan was loudly booed every time he touched the ball. He put a shot into the net in the 33rd minute, but was flagged offside. Mullan and Seattle forward Fredy Montero got into a shoving match in the 87th minute, and both were issued yellow cards by referee Baldomero Toledo.
