The Seattle Sounders survived an ejection to goalkeeper Chris Eylander and held on for a 1-0 win over the Carolina RailHawks on Wednesday at Qwest Field.

The Seattle goalkeeper was sent off in the 65th minute for pushing Carolina’s Chad Dombrowski after some apparent contact between the two in the Sounder penalty box.

Despite playing down a man for the rest of the match, the Sounders (2-4-3) were able to hold off the RailHawks’ pressure for their first win in five games.

The Sounders scored in the 57th minute when midfielder Josh Gardner passed the ball forward to a sprinting Sebastien Le Toux, who had run past the Carolina defense. The Frenchman then finished the breakaway with a solid strike past goalkeeper Chris McClellan.

It was Le Toux’s second goal of the season and gave Seattle the 1-0 lead at home. The Sounders have, in fact, scored first in all four matches at Qwest Field this season.

Seven minutes later things got physical. In the 64th minute, all 22 players were involved in a scuffle in the Seattle penalty box. The animosity began when Eylander gathered the ball and was contacted by Carolina’s Chad Dombrowski. The Sounder goalkeeper took exception to the bump and retaliated, earning himself a red card.

Reserve goalkeeper Ben Dragavon came in and saw his first action of the season. Dragavon was tested early and often, making a remarkable save in the 75th minute to preserve the lead on a shot by Carolina forward Connally Edozien.

The RailHawks attacked until the final whistle blew, but the Seattle defense did just enough to keep Carolina from scoring.

In a back-and-forth first half, Seattle's first scoring chance came in the ninth minute. Midfielder Josh Gardner played the ball to forward Greg Howes, who redirected it quickly to Sebastien Le Toux.

The Frenchman was all alone on the left side of the goal, but his shot from 10-yards out was saved by goalkeeper Chris McClellan. Just moments later, Seattle midfielder Leighton O'Brien's shot was blocked in the penalty box.

In the 35th minute, the RailHawks came alive and fervently pressured the Sounder net. Carolina (2-2-3) earned two corner kicks and created many dangerous opportunities, but saw no return for its efforts.

A new-look Seattle lineup saw player-coach O'Brien make his first appearance since the season-opener at Vancouver in April. The six-year veteran missed seven games with a hamstring injury.

In another change by Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer, defensive stalwart Danny Jackson played 90 minutes as a midfielder for the first time this season.

Wednesday’s game was Kevin Sakuda’s 100th as a Sounder; it was also the midfielder’s 85th consecutive start with the club.

Coming up next for the Sounders is an away match at California on Saturday, May 26, at 7 p.m. On June 2, Seattle will return home for an exhibition match against Chivas USA of Major League Soccer at 7 p.m. at Qwest Field.

Scoring summary—1, Seattle, Le Toux 2 (Gardner) 57:00.

Lineups—SEA: Chris Eylander, Noah Merl, Danny Jackson, Zach Scott, Jake Besagno, Roger Levesque, Leighton O’Brien (Kenji Treschuk 80), Kevin Sakuda, Josh Gardner (Ben Dragavon 65), Sebastien Le Toux (Andre Schmid 86), Greg Howes (Santa Maria Rivera 89).

CAR: Chris McClellan, Frankie Sanfilippo, Chad Dombrowski, David Stokes, Caleb Norkus, Jonny Steele, Kupono Low, Joey Worthen (Santiago Fusilier 79), Stuart Brightwell (Philip Long 84), Connally Edozien, Kevin Jeffrey (Chris Carrieri 56).

Shots—SEA: 5; CAR: 10.
Saves—SEA: Eylander 1, Dragavon 2; CAR: McClellan 2.
Fouls—SEA: 12; CAR: 15.
Offsides—SEA: 4; CAR: 0.
Corners—SEA: 4; CAR: 4.

Cautions—SEA: Scott 20, Besagno 41, Dragavon 73, Merl 85; CAR: Norkus 37, Stokes 58.

Ejections—SEA: Eylander 65.

Attendance—1,991.