SHELL ENERGY STADIUM -
After dropping out of the U.S. Open Cup midweek in a loss to the LA Galaxy that featured mostly Tacoma Defiance call-ups, the rested First Team returned to down a Houston Dynamo side who ended the match with nine men on the pitch after red cards were issued to Amine Bassi and Hector Herrera. The win keeps Seattle atop the West ahead of a midweek match against another Texan side, Austin FC.
Seattle’s lineup was mostly the first-choice side, excepting injuries to Nouhou, Kelyn Rowe, Cristian Roldan, and Raúl Ruidíaz. In the place of the starters entered Cody Baker, who made his first MLS start, Dylan Teves, and Héber.
Baker looked natural in his role on the left of a back four that’s been largely stable prior to Nouhou’s absence (revealed after Seattle’s defeat to Sporting Kansas City to be due to malaria), in a largely uneventful defensive performance highlighted by a well-tracked covering run that cut out a dangerous ball towards Corey Baird.
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Schmetzer has been coy regarding Baker’s future with the First Team, but suggested after the win that, “That was a solid shift by Cody…he smells the opportunity for a First Team contract and that’s a conversation that (General Manager) Craig (Waibel) and I have to have: has he done enough?”
A promising start for Brian Schmetzer’s side was derailed by a near hour-long weather delay just nine minutes into the contest. In that time, Dylan Teves had already seen his header flash over the bar, Seattle’s high press had come into full swing, and chances were finally flowing to Héber. Schmetzer said the start of the match was going, “...really well, we were playing, moving, passing…(Dylan) Teves had a good shift, and then we got sidetracked”.
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The Sounders maintained the pressure after the weather intermission, in part due to the red card to Amine Bassi just 11 minutes after the restart, issued for the Frenchman’s studs up tackle on Nicolás Lodeiro. Seattle ended the half with nearly 70% possession, but did not manage a shot on target throughout the first 45 minutes. Chances were largely directed towards the wings, where diagonal passes from Jackson Ragen and Joao Paulo could find Lodeiro in the left half space.
Lodeiro looked time and again for the cutback ball, but chances were squandered in a mounting pile of missed opportunities - Rusnák and Montero both spurned similar looks. Much like in past matches, Seattle were generating the xG that would suggest that they were in a superior position but could not put it away.
Rusnák spoke about Seattle’s start, saying that, “...especially after the (Sporting) Kansas City game and the (LA) Galaxy game in the Open Cup, having a poor start and conceding so early…it’s one of the things that we try to do and I thought that we did, and then you know, that break set it back.”
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The same trend continued after the halftime interval, but Seattle wouldn’t find their first shot on target until the 69th minute, when a top-of-the-box shot from Albert Rusnák finally found its way towards the net. Just afterwards, the first of Brian Schmetzer’s five changes entered the pitch. In a 12 minute span, the Sounders manager introduced Fredy Montero, Ethan Dobbelare, Paul Rothrock, and Reed Baker-Whiting, the latter three of whom are products of Seattle’s renowned academy system.
Rothrock would go on to find one of several crosses launched into the box by a returning Alex Roldan drop onto his foot: the substitute made no mistake as he tucked it neatly in the side netting before wheeling away into a knee slide made all the better by a slick pitch - he told media that, “I’ve always wanted to knee slide!” after the match.
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The Georgetown graduate, who in his young playing career has traveled from the Pacific Northwest to Ontario and back, called the opportunity, “Joyful…it’s been really good to be back home and l feel great in my decision”. Seattle have an option to sign him to another short term contract, but it’s not something that he’s focusing his attention on; he said that, “That’s out of my control…all I can do is continue to put in good performances and that’s a decision that’s up to the club”.
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Seattle’s performance throughout the match eased tensions to a degree over the recent slide in form (Schmetzer told the team postmatch that, “You have to believe that this is a really good result”). The win keeps them atop the Western Conference (for now) and provides a platform ahead of a midweek match against visiting Austin FC - another team (much like the Galaxy and Kansas City) that find themselves underperforming expectations. If this season has revealed anything, it’s that Seattle struggle against sides they’re expected to beat. Austin will be another chance to prove that wrong.
Seattle return home to face Austin on Wednesday night, a rare midweek match in the Emerald City. The game will stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, with kickoff set for 7:30 local time. It’s a packed week for the side as well, as they’ll face Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday in a trip up I-5. The Whitecaps, who currently sit 8th in the Western Conference, lost out to the Portland Timbers on Matchday 12; their battle with the Sounders will mark the two’s first meeting this season.
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