The shot came from an angle where chances just aren't taken, where it's foolish in most circumstances to even make an attempt.
Having seen Seattle score twice in about 180 seconds to take a stunning lead, Vancouver's Eric Hassli turned and fired a half-volley from a nearly impossible angle and outside the penalty area.
''I closed my eyes and shot. I had a lot of luck there,'' Hassli said.
The result was a goal that will be hard for anyone in Major League Soccer to match and a 2-2 draw as the rivalry between Vancouver and Seattle renewed Saturday night.
Leave it to a crazy goal to cap a frantic ending.
''I could give him that shot probably another 99 times and I don't know if he's going to score it,'' Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller said. ''But he did today and sometimes you just have to shake someone's hand and just say that's a hell of a goal.''
Three times between the 81st and 85th minute balls found the back of the net, providing a frenzied finish to the 124th meeting between the soccer franchises from Seattle and Vancouver.
Vancouver (1-6-8) appeared on its way to just its second victory of the season before Mauro Rosales collected a loose ball inside the penalty box and scored in the 81st minute to pull Seattle (5-4-7) even at 1.
That was just the beginning.
Three minutes later, Osvaldo Alonso collected a turnover just outside the top of the penalty area and let loose a left-footed blast that beat Vancouver goalkeeper Joe Cannon and sent Qwest Field rumbling. Alonso's celebration held extra meaning having fouled Vancouver forward Camilo inside the penalty area midway through the first half leading to the Whitecaps first goal on Hassli's penalty kick.
''It was a beautiful goal, but I'm not happy it didn't give us the victory,'' Alonso said through an interpreter.
But all those fireworks from Seattle got overshadowed by Hassli's second goal.
''I don't think anyone in the world - I think you could have put two goalies in there and that thing goes in,'' Cannon said. ''I don't think I've seen a goal from that angle - that's going to be one of the world's greatest goals in 2011, that's how good it was. He had no angle, and Kasey Keller is no slouch.''
Just seconds after play was restarted following Alonso's goal, Hassli was celebrating his extraordinary strike. Hassli collected a poor pass by Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, chipped the ball to himself and before it bounced, let loose with a right-footed shot.
Keller had no chance. Hassli's strike dipped just under the crossbar and curled off the inside of the far post.
''I guess if you have to concede a goal you concede on something like that,'' Keller said.
The rivalry between the Seattle and Vancouver dates to 1974 and the NASL. Considered tame and less venomous than the rivalry between Seattle and Portland, the first meeting of the Whitecaps and Sounders in MLS came with plenty of heated moments.
Vancouver struck in the 29th minute when Camilo, the young Brazilian, showed his quickness against Seattle's soft defense. Camilo tracked down a pass on the wing just outside the Seattle penalty area and quickly darted to his right. Alonso was lax and stuck out his foot, tripped Camilo just inside the box. Referee Mark Geiger immediately pointed at the penalty spot and there wasn't much argument from the Sounders.
Hassli stepped up and softly chipped his shot into the middle of the net while Keller dived helplessly to his left. It was just the fourth time in 15 MLS matches that Vancouver was in the lead, and the contingent of Whitecaps fans that made the trip south across the border waved their light blue Whitecaps flags, a few Maple Leafs and a couple of Canucks' flags wildly.
Seattle coach Sigi Schmid was infuriated with Geiger after he did not call a penalty when forward Mike Fucito fell in the penalty box late in the first half with Vancouver defender Alain Rochat on his back.
Seattle still trailed 1-0 into the 80th minute before Tyson Wahl's cross ricocheted around the penalty area and fell to Rosales who punched it in an open net for his first MLS goal.
Hassli's two goals gave him six for the season, tied for third in the league.
''I might go even further and look at goal of the year,'' Vancouver coach Tom Soehn said. ''I think I used to score those like that - maybe in my dreams.''
