The Seattle Sounders continued their campaign in Leagues Cup on Thursday night as
they took on the LA Galaxy. For Seattle, this high-stakes matchup at the Round of 32
presented an opportunity to rebuild momentum after they fell 3-1 to Club Necaxa, who
went on to win the group. The Sounders have had their struggles in the final third as the
lethal final touch has been missing for extended periods of time. On this pivotal night, it
was critical that they found a way to get out of their offensive slump. Fortunately, the
Sounders were able to do just that.
Seattle got off to a scorching start in the 4th minute as Yeimar Gomez Andrade headed
home a great ball from Albert Rusnak off a corner. Things got even better for the
Sounders a few minutes later when Jackson Ragen also got on the end of a corner from
Rusnak in the 7th minute. Much like the game against Necaxa, the Sounders had a
phenomenal start to the game. This time, the team would have to find a way to see the
game through towards a positive result.
The Galaxy had some moments where it looked like they might pull one back in the first
half. Gabriel Pec had a glorious opportunity from up close, but he shot it well over the
crossbar. The Galaxy’s moments of positive play going forward were stifled by some
stout defending by Seattle, especially in the counterattack, which is an area in which it struggled in the game against Necaxa.
“I think [what worked today was] just not falling asleep. We got to stay focused as much
as we can for 90 minutes,” said Ragen.
Given that a 2-0 score line is the most dangerous lead in football, a third goal was
necessary. Thankfully for the Sounders, that third goal was provided by Alex Roldan,
who scored an absolute beauty of a curling goal towards the back post. The Sounders
were now in a comfortable spot going into the halftime break.
“You know, those are the goals you wish you have. I think it really is a testament to the
work I have been putting in,” Roldan said after the match.
For much of the second half, the Sounders had the game on relative cruise control.
Indeed, they did not have much of the ball. In fact, they had 37% possession throughout
the game. They were content in letting the Galaxy have the ball, and when given the
opportunity, try to hit them on the counter.
“You could say that my game plan didn’t work because we wanted to take some sting out of the game [by] extending our possessions… but it didn’t happen,” Schmetzer said. “But, we won 3-1 so there you go. That is coaching in a nutshell.”
The Galaxy was able to pull one back late in the second half when Pec scored in the
83rd minute. The goal did give the Galaxy some much-needed fight but the two goal
disadvantage proved to be too much.
Three of the four starting defenders scored tonight for Seattle, which is a very
welcoming sight for a team that has struggled to score at times. Nouhou, even if he
didn’t score like his fellow defenders, still had himself a great game. He was the one
that forced both of the early scoring corners and he was giving the Galaxy trouble on
the left side of the pitch all night.
“I love the kid. [Nouhou] has been such a good player for the club, so kudos to him. He
had a very good game,” said Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer.
The team is now into the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup. In addition, they have an
important U.S. Open Cup semifinal vs. LAFC on August 27 th at Starfire. On top of all
that, they still have to finish out the MLS season in a strong manner. Knowing that his
defenders have that ability to get on the scoresheet must be a great feeling for
Schmetzer as he knows he can potentially rely on scoring from all over the field.
“We [as a team] have been pretty good at knockout competitions,” Schmetzer said. I think that is a testament to the mentality that this club has built over the years, and it’s kudos to those guys in the locker room that continue that tradition.”
The winning tradition will be put to the test as the Sounders now turn their attention to
Liga MX side Pumas UNAM, whom the Sounders will be hosting on August 12th at
Lumen Field.
“We know that they still have that bad taste in their mouth after coming here and losing
the Champions League [final in 2022]. We are going to treat it like any other game and
go out there and prepare for a tough game,” Roldan said regarding Pumas UNAM.
It will be an intriguing and exciting matchup on Monday as the Sounders will look to
advance and continue their successes in knockout tournaments.
Feature photo by Earving Marquez / Area Sports Network
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